Dear Buddy

Last night it rained in Delhi suddenly...wild lightening, thunder and pouring rain. After the dust and still heat of the last week, the night just took my breath away. I sat on my balcony late into the night, mesmerised by the unexpected gift which suddenly changes everything, everywhere.

Seeing and reading you this morning felt exactly like that buddy. Good to have you back.

As for the roads that you have sought and found... here's a zen quote on your 'edge of forever':

"Only break through the world of words
So that the flower of Being may bloom.
Just become suddenly still,
Inside and out,
So that you may pierce through the
Thin shell of the world
And fill the entire cosmos."
- Ji Aoi Isshi

love and hugs

Dear Aachi,

Great to have you back!! Lovely thoughts indeed! I guess thats the reason why I feel the need to be in total silence for some time during a day. It helps me gather myself.... helps me find the edge of forever :-)

Cheers!

i think all i am left with in answer to every thread is WOW!

jadon tun kithe javan pushda si lagde udo hi asal wich tun ithe pahunch gaya si..the world of words had been left...

anyway, welcome back...i thought pata nahin kithe chala gaya pagal jiha...

Welcome back Aachi!

Was wondering what happened to Part 3 of Edge of forever! But ofcourse it had to come after a long silence and from an experience of the state of silence itself. Afterall it was a search for the edge of forever and no search can be fruitful with a chaotic mind. It's only when we have tamed the chaotic mind that the silence prevails and so does our search end.

Welcome back and looking forward to share more of what you found in this search

Love
Chaitali

Dear Jasjit (ji)
A lovely poetic expression!!
Last night I was already on bed, when it was raining. But with my closed eyes I was only listening to the sound of rainfall, may be sound of silence.
I felt I was totally cut from this World. May be as Aachi said "No disurbance,no thoughts no wave".
Love to you all
Buas

Aachi Pal

What a beautiful, silent and poetic post. Welcome back, we missed you. Am rushing around today but just wanted to write in for now and say a big, warm hello. Will get back to you in the evening.

Hi Shubhz, Buas and Harb:-)

The Lord is my saviour
I know of no lack

In silence i receive,
unconditionally....

I create and give it back, unconditionally ....
to the Lord, in silence

Espavo

This is my one and only contribution to this blog. I have read most of the articles and enjoyed them very much, thank you for this gift.

Mieke

Hi Mieke

Thank You for visiting, for your kind words and for the powerful simplicity of the wisdom you share. Struck a significant chord in me. Just curious, are you the same Meike who's translating Harb's book?

love

Hi Harb

Are you sure Aachi will get all that Punjabi? maybe you need to translate it too for him. :)

Just felt like posting an excerpt from your book here in resonance with this thread:

"…Lastly, as I promised above, we may wind up the answer with a parable which I hope would further clear the whole question of consciousness – even of both kinds.
A certain prince lived in a state called Oneness with his king-father. One day the king-father put before him an interesting proposition. He told him that he will make him the king of the state of Oneness if he would successfully travel through four specially built towns named Gravitown, Electrotown, Strongtown and Weaktown and come back to stake his claim. He warned him that each of the first three towns will be more labyrinthine than the previous one, and it will be only the last, the fourth one which may be of some help to him.
The prince agreed, thanked the king-father and embarked on the proposed journey. He did not face much difficulty in passing through the first two towns – the Gravitown and Electrotown. But he found himself overwhelmed by the intricacies involved in the construction of the third one, i.e., the Strong town. This town seemed more inside than outside, more full of virtual mazes than actual, more full of illusive mazes than real. He at once knew that he would have to study it thoroughly to get out. Brilliant as he was in his college days, he put himself on the job of learning all the facts about the town with complete confidence.
Soon he was lost even to himself so to say in the study of the town, more so because the town's intricacies so fascinated him.
Anyway, after a certain time he had studied it so thoroughly that he knew it inside out so to say. He became conscious of every actual and virtual aspect of it, even every actual and virtual brick used in its construction. He became sort of a specialist of this town. He thought there was left really nothing more in it for him to know.
But alas! While he had thus reached the peak of knowledge of this town, peak of awareness, of consciousness of this Strong town, wow be to his thorough absorption into its study - to the point of almost losing himself as we said above - he forgot his original state of Oneness, and needless to say, his promise to return to it to stake his claim.
He may well have remained lost in it for ever were his king-father, knowing his plight, not to sent his messenger by the name of Time to gently pick him up during his sleep or perhaps during one of his losing fits so to say, to catapult him into the next town, the Weaktown. From where because he could see the boundaries of the state of Oneness once again, he could come to remember it again. And of course, his promise to return to it to stake his claim.
Needless to add, from there onwards it was again a smooth journey for him. All he had to do was to shed his so-called knowledge/consciousness of the previous town and only keep his attention now fixed on the state of Oneness soon to be reached.
So that is that dear reader! Our usual knowledge, usual consciousness is like the knowledge of only the towns. In this we can be no different from computers. It is only the consciousness of the original state of Oneness, from which we began and to which we are bound to return, which can and will give it its meaning."

This excerpt is from Harb's (Harbhajan Singh)Self-Designed Universe, by Janus Publications, available through Amazon.com and also excerpted at www.selfdesigneduniverse.com

Enjoy!

Hello Buas

Rain, especially in the night has that power to transport you beyond yourself. I guess it must be the power of the water energy (since we are also made up of 90% water)to draw us instantly into our depths where lies our infinity wrapped in waves of resonant silence.

love

wow, blog uppar full khire paye lagde ne [wow, the blog seems to be full of blossoming flowers...]what with the sudden appearance of first my friend aachi from the nowhere of his heavenly silence and then of my very own mieke with her first but very special poetic appearance. welcome, welcome...

jasjit has spread further fragrance by giving an excerpt from my very own book of all, moreover an excerpt which i liked as much as doubted whether anybody would really appreciate it in full, especially its inherent explanation of why someday we will have to go beyond the world of words, of ideas, in a word, of mind itself, of which almost the whole of our religious literature is full but without real, basic explanation.

of course not to forget anusheh's straight as a kick Hi Harb:) as from her somehow even this much seems to be enough..given her special powers to kick places. as we often joke here between us: "from a thanedar even a foki sulah ( an offer not really meant)for tea is enough" lol.

anyway, now as to my writing in punjabi to aachi, jasjit perhaps you may have an explanation why the bhoot of punjabi has suddenly possessed me for the last so many days. perhaps all duplicacies/false superimpositions/personas are being removed and being angrej too was one of them...??

i have never felt punjabi coming so on its own to my mind before. perhaps it used to but i somehow suppressed it. (i wrote my only story "maut kadd parrashan chinh" in punjabi after my first 'freedom' experience and it got immediately selected to be included in a book "dhund wichon niklade suraj" of budding punjabi story writers, but after that i lost all interest. similarly, i wrote an essay in punjabi in college "jekar maut na hundi" and my professor was so impressed that he gave a lecture on it in class moreover saying that i may some day become a great punjabi writer. then, once a daughter of my brother-in-law was to appear in a punjabi story competition at some district level function and as she told me i instantly wrote her a story then and there in an hour and all wondered when it came first in the competition getting a cash award and a shield. but perhaps i suppressed all my punjabi writing talent to write something in english and get famous in the english world or rather the whole world? or perhaps i was supposed to give hint of some new line of thought (set some new trend as pro. virk said)to the whole world and this idea caught me and so did not allow me to lose myself in punjabi writing...now it seems having got dispossessed of that i am being left with my original pesonality and punjabi lol.

anyway, now as to translating my punjabi words for aachi, i think really they were not needed in the first place. as ramana would have said "when heart speaks to heart what is there to say?" and aachi and i know from our very first meeting that words between us are unncessary. but..as you have suggsted it too must be in the fitness of things here so here is the translation too:

jadon tun kithe javan pushda si lagde udo hi asal wich tun ithe pahunch gaya si..[when you were asking 'where to go from here' it seems you had actualy already reached there about which you are talking now in this thread]

anyway, welcome back...i thought 'pata nahin kithe chala gaya pagal jiha...'[dont know where the 'god-mad' has gone...]

now i will take rest...there is a pain in my lower back...some of it is because of my sitting almost all day on bed with laptop or otherwise, some because i got it sprained while playing cricket in a bit more enthusiastic way than warranted by age...and laslty, it may also have something to do with the times i am in as jasjit says bodies pains have quite an other story to tell...perhaps from the left of my body it has come to this lower part because of some evolutionary/spiritual development? i would request jasjt to throw some light for me...

sorry for the long post...i know each one of you will have to spend at least half an hour on it :))while saying so i swear i have no pig in my mind lol

hi subhosree, chaitali, buas :)

wow, blog uppar full khire paye lagde ne [wow, the blog seems to be full of blossoming flowers...]what with the sudden appearance of first my friend aachi from the nowhere of his heavenly silence and then of my very own mieke with her first but very special poetic appearance. welcome, welcome...

jasjit has spread further fragrance by giving an excerpt from my very own book of all, moreover an excerpt which i liked as much as doubted whether anybody would really appreciate it in full, especially its inherent explanation of why someday we will have to go beyond the world of words, of ideas, in a word, of mind itself, of which almost the whole of our religious literature is full but without real, basic explanation.

of course not to forget anusheh's straight as a kick Hi Harb:) as from her somehow even this much seems to be enough..given her special powers to kick places. as we often joke here between us: "from a thanedar even a foki sulah ( an offer not really meant)for tea is enough" lol.

anyway, now as to my writing in punjabi to aachi, jasjit perhaps you may have an explanation why the bhoot of punjabi has suddenly possessed me for the last so many days. perhaps all duplicacies/false superimpositions/personas are being removed and being angrej too was one of them...??

i have never felt punjabi coming so on its own to my mind before. perhaps it used to but i somehow suppressed it. (i wrote my only story "maut kadd parrashan chinh" in punjabi after my first 'freedom' experience and it got immediately selected to be included in a book "dhund wichon niklade suraj" of budding punjabi story writers, but after that i lost all interest. similarly, i wrote an essay in punjabi in college "jekar maut na hundi" and my professor was so impressed that he gave a lecture on it in class moreover saying that i may some day become a great punjabi writer. then, once a daughter of my brother-in-law was to appear in a punjabi story competition at some district level function and as she told me i instantly wrote her a story then and there in an hour and all wondered when it came first in the competition getting a cash award and a shield. but perhaps i suppressed all my punjabi writing talent to write something in english and get famous in the english world or rather the whole world? or perhaps i was supposed to give hint of some new line of thought (set some new trend as pro. virk said)to the whole world and this idea caught me and so did not allow me to lose myself in punjabi writing...now it seems having got dispossessed of that i am being left with my original pesonality and punjabi lol.

anyway, now as to translating my punjabi words for aachi, i think really they were not needed in the first place. as ramana would have said "when heart speaks to heart what is there to say?" and aachi and i know from our very first meeting that words between us are unncessary. but..as you have suggsted it too must be in the fitness of things here so here is the translation too:

jadon tun kithe javan pushda si lagde udo hi asal wich tun ithe pahunch gaya si..[when you were asking 'where to go from here' it seems you had actualy already reached there about which you are talking now in this thread]

anyway, welcome back...i thought 'pata nahin kithe chala gaya pagal jiha...'[dont know where the 'god-mad' has gone...]

now i will take rest...there is a pain in my lower back...some of it is because of my sitting almost all day on bed with laptop or otherwise, some because i got it sprained while playing cricket in a bit more enthusiastic way than warranted by age...and laslty, it may also have something to do with the times i am in as jasjit says bodies pains have quite an other story to tell...perhaps from the left of my body it has come to this lower part because of some evolutionary/spiritual development? i would request jasjt to throw some light for me...

sorry for the long post...i know each one of you will have to spend at least half an hour on it :))while saying so i swear i have no pig in my mind lol

hi subhosree, chaitali, buas :)

Harb Ji

tussi tey ethey kitab hi likh chuddi. Hmmm. mainu excerpt wala hissa bada profound lageya, and especially so in the context of Aachi's post. Its also amazingly clear and mystifying at the same time for one who is digging into the corners of subtlety.

I guess Punjabi is flowing through you for here it flows through us too( Anusheh and me). Since I don't get to speak it much otherwise, getting to share it with you on the blog is quite a treat. On a more serious note, it is truly shedding of artifice. Also i have noticed a greater simplicity and sharpness has emerged in you self-expression which is all indicative of the arrow-like precision of peaking awareness. I remember two great writers whose immortal words echoed with me for years (I too was often told to be a writer and perhaps harboured some delusions myself) because not only was I fond of reading but aslo scouring the creative biographies, auto biographies of writers. U.R Anantamurthy and Girish Karnad, both Kannada scholars/writers and Rhodes Scholars wrote and published in english extensively as their first language of creativity. However when Ananthamurthy wrote his first classic 'Samsakara'-it was in Kannada similarly Karnad's first really powerful literary work came out in Kannada. Karnad who had never written or even thought in Kannnada was shocked but the langauge would have its way. Ananthamurthy had a similar experience. And in separate interviews ( many years ago) they both admitted to the same phenomenon. "When you write from the heart, when your creation comes from some lyrical source larger than you, then it will never tolerate any artifice. And what stunned me was that language was the most powerful bridge between you and your truth. Kannada seemed to rise then as a river of eloquence as ancient as the cultural tapestry I was trying to weave. Having written it, I realized the work would have had no depth if written in any language but my own- and that was Kannada not English."

Having grown up with English and a desire to write in that very same language, these words left a deep impression. So you too, who unearth deep wisdom of your soul, move to the language of it memory quite naturally.

The back pain is due to a situation being created where you are experiencing extreme aloneness and somewhere a feeling of no support. This is just at an emotional level and you must acknowledge it and the pain will begin to ease. There is much change in your environment and uncertainity marks the future, the lower back is expressing anxiety at some level. Talk to your back and involve it in some hassa thatha and you will feel it ease up.

Just to add Harb

In the SOT there is great room for the lyrical world of emotions especially pain and tears. Ey khed khedi jaana hai jadh tak sab kuch vichon muk na javey. These are the final, slow deaths of illusory selves/bonds. So perhaps some tears need to be shed to acknowledege that the final portals of separation leave behind the beauty of poignant bonds like those that you share with your little grandchildren. A kind of offering of tears at the idol of Maya for her matchless dance in which we have been players for so long. Ey jeda saara din consciousness da lihaf pandey haan usdi vi tey ik thakaan hai. The lower back usually stores a lot of such unspent emotion.

I love the line from Gurbaani ; Sooey Chaad bhuaiyey janth; We all spin like tops perched on the needle point of life (such is the SOT)lol

love

i exactly understand jasjit...i have even scientific explanation as to where my grands fit into it...all is happening at its due time...my grandson seems even one step ahead of me..and is even of my rashi saggi. like shankra of old he will force me to leave if i will not. so with such strong forces from both sides there is really no problem. but at the same time there is time for everything. nothing premature. in fact where we have to go later. this is the game... khana hai to jehi khana hai nahin khana hai to jehi khana hai. thanks you for the thoughts though, it is kind of you.

i can immediately stop the pain by merely identifying myself with the basic spirit beyond the bodies...but then i let go again, thinking let the body run its course...otherwise it will be like using siddhis on myself for myself...which are really not advisable...just while i was writing it a thought came that perhaps my immediate goal is to concentrate on that something which is beyond body...i'll refelct over it...

Hi friends!

it is indeed a wonderful emotion...this Silence.

many of us have met people who jump into this deep states every week when they practise their ritual Moun Vrath ( Vow of Silence)

I was a devil when I was a kid. I used to trouble people like a mini demon. Used to throw knives at them thinking myself to be a cowboy, smashed my grandma's arm with a pestle, destroy the interior decorations which were so beautifully set in various houses...I even threw a huge rock at my cousin in a fit of rage which barely missed his eye ( he sports a scar now just below the eye...and swears that girls find it very sexy :) )...I was so notorious that my mom had to fight daily with neighbours and other family members...

one day I suddenly went into silence..I knew not why...I became aloof, indifferent and quiet.

People first were surprised...and then the same people who despised me warmed up to me....aunties would come lovingly and squeeze my cheeks...older ones would give me long bear hugs and wonder what happened to the devil...

in fact the parents of my cousin also felt surprised and then enchanted by my silent behaviour.

this was my first experience with the power of Silence.

and since then I have tried in vain to regain that state of spontaeneous Silence. It was so beautiful...so wonderful...no malice...only indifference to Noise and calm submission to Love.

It was wonderful...

lots of love to Jasjit, Anusheh, Chaitali, Shubhosree, Harb, Buas, Mieke and all others...

It mesmerised everyone near and dear.

Hi Harb,

When I was a kid I used to write letters to my aunt. In the beginning I used to write to her in English but found that I could not express all my emotions and feelings to her. THis really frustrated me. I did learn Bangla and can read but can't write. So I started penning my Bangla thoughts in roman script. It worked like magic!

Language is not just about phonetics, scripts etc. It's related to our expressions, our thoughts. We learn to express through a certain language and putting down our thoughts (consisting of these expressions)in another language I guess is quite a tough thing. Probably that is why many regional language stories translated into English do not make much of an impact.

Hello Aachi,

Your childhood description reminded me of a boy I used to know when I was a kid. He was a terror! I remember once he got hold of a scissor in one of our family friend's house and cut their curtains into shreds! Till the time I knew him he hadn't 'silenced'. I just hope he did later on.

Aachi many times when we feel confused and disturbed our mind automatically starts recalling moments in the past where such confusion did not exist and we lament on how those cherished moments have been lost. I have often felt these thoughts itself creating more restlessness in me because I am unable to get them back.

The truth is I can never get those moments back because they were relevant only for that time. For now, perhaps something different is required. Striving to get back that same 'silence' is going to bring more stress than looking ahead to find a new state of mind that will bring in a different and more evolved form of silence. The consciousness needs to make a leap ahead.

Excuse me for the rambling.

Love
Chaitali

very apt observation, chaitali! the more near you are to your own truth the more you would like to express yourself in your own language. here i am reminded of a dialogue between famous late actor balraj sahni and rabindra nath tagore.

once balraj sahni went to shantiniketan to meet with rabindra nath tagore. in the course of guftgu tagore asked sahni what he does or wants to do. he said he is an actor but really wants to be an english writer. why english, why not in your mother tongue punjabi, tagore questioned. balraj sahni replied that he doesn't think what he wants to write can be expressed in punjabi. "do you mean to say you intend to write something even deeper than nanak?" asked the greater poet, "if he could express himself in punjabi, why cant you?" balraj sahni later wrote a few good books in punjabi.

love, harb

Harb that was a wonderful!

Can't get over "do you mean to say you intend to write something even deeper than nanak?"

Hello Everyone

Hi Harb :-)(lol) That was a wonderful excerpt from your book. Made me want to read more.

Dearest Aachi

Your profile of you as a child took me right back to the potent truths of Jasjit's earlier thread on Sinners and Saints. Children who are wild and destructive like you were are also extremely bright and capable. One of the books of Osho's which I have enjoyed is Memories of a Golden Childhood. Its all about his antics as a young boy. You should read it, both for amusement and ofcourse wisdom. Some of his antics are soooo hilarious and others just plain outrageous. But all of them steeped in truth. If you cant find a copy let me know and I'll mail you one.

lots of love

piari anusheh, dont fall into the trap of reading my book :-)

jasjit has posted the only excerpt which i myself understand lol. and probably she too. kitaban wicho ki lena jadon jo lena uh tan andar hi hai lol.

in fact my book was just a device to convey a new idea on evolution, which journals otherwise would not publish, by hook or by crook for copyrighting purposes. otherwise it may bore common readers to death. anyway, you have been warned.

btw, can you suggest any direct-hit remedy for back pain...just above the...:-)

so aachi was like our makhan chor in his childhood..hi buddy now stop talking of childhood as chaitali indirectly said and find some kuri (girl/wife) for you....the test of your divine silence will come when you will remain silent even when she will be with you lol. this reminds me of socrates and his wife...

it is said that socrates wife was very quarrelsome but socrates took this trait of hers as a test of his ability to remain cool/silent at any provocation by her. once socrates was out of his home for a few days and his friends knew that when he will return his wife will scold him and so when he returned they accompanied him to his home just to enjoy the tamasha as also to see whether he passed in his test.

when socrates entered his home, his wife was carrying a bucket full of water and as soon as she saw him she lunged forward and emptied the bucket on his head. true to his resolve socrates just smiled. over to our aachocrates!

Dearest Harbji

Ae vi 100 feesady sai gall keeti ai. Bulleh Shah kenday nain "gall samajh lai te raula keh, ae ram, rahim te maullah keh". Tvaadi warning ne ae lafaz yaad dila ditte.

I have a rememdy for your back. Press the lowest point possible (before hitting the bone)between your thumb and forefinger with your other hands thumb pressing on the outside of the hand and forefinger pressing on the inside same point. You should press it hard and then you should instantly feel the pain slowly lifting. If it doesnt work by say pressing the left hand then press the right hand point and try. Also when you sleep you should sleep on your side and bring your legs up so that your legs are at a 90 degree angle to your body. Keep a small pillow between your knees and you will feel the pressure lift from your back. Hope these work....either they will or else my directions are unclear and you have tied yourself up in a knot lol.

Hope you feel better soon.
LOL

Hey Everyone!! [Still can't get over my "bhanji's" sooooo small soft hands & such funny little yawns :) ]

Hi Aachi, welcome back. That's a great expression of Silence. You've reminded me of the times when I feel like having some time with myself to go over the questions that seem un-answerable at times - and go on in my head for like forever - and then a few moments of silence at times seem to flash the answer too.

Feel like re-iterating these lines from a song:

"Read between the lines, no words, just vibrations,
Don't ignore hidden desires,
Silence must be heard, noise should be observed,
The time has come to learn that silence,
Cause silence has the right to be heard,
People talk too much for what they have to say,
Words without a meaning, they are fading away,
Silence must be heard, noise should be observed"

[And this piece got me wondering about my bhanji's silence too :)]

Once again ... great to be back all of you.

Love Surya
:)

[Sorry for the breaks in my presence everyone :( ]

dear anusheh, thanks, but it seems your remedy is for pain which is always there, while in my case it comes only when i try to get up from bed/chair, make a side move or kneel down. even this has improved a lot today perhaps with a homoeopathic medicine which i took, perhaps with tablets of calcium which my son suggested, perhaps with the best wishes of well-wishers like you, jasjit, mieke and others, perhaps even by merely getting it out of my system by telling here. moreover, i already sleep as you have suggested. because this way already seems most comfortable to me.

however, you will have to explain it step-wise if you still think that i should try it. i could not understand it properly. if you find it problematic just forget it...good wishes are enough...by tomorrow the whole pain seems to be going...

and wanted to say many times, your punjabi bari piari hai...original...as perhaps of all pakistanis punjabis is...(or at least of those who know punjabi if they are otherwise not from punjab).

Dear Harb

Thanks for the Punjabi kick lol but I am from the Punjab. I hope you're feeling better. I understand that the directions are complicated. Basically you have to press hard the lowest point between your thumb and forefinger (try left hand first and then right). Works for all kinds of pain. However I'm hoping you dont need it anyway by now:-)

Love
Anusheh

Hi Surya

Good to see you pal. I've often wondered about babies too. Would love to be able to be in their head for a bit to figure out what is going on there. How strange that you pass through that state but cannot recall it for yourself.

love

Hey Aachi, was just going through some of the ld posts and reread your earlier piece on There She Goes. I think you need to reread it too :)

Hello Dear Aachi,

So that was what your silence was all about. Reread the Part I and II of edge of forever. I think these three posts of your sums up the journey from our outer world into our inner world. From the cosmic 8 to the 9 national highways to the silence within wherein lies the idea of forever.

Thank you for taking us through this journey friend.