Daily Thought For The Day by Eknath Easwaran http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 – Mother Teresa of Calcutta

An obsession with hurry has been so worked into our social system that we scarcely notice we do not have time to love. Everywhere the slogan is “Hurry, hurry, hurry.” Yet to be aware of the needs of others, to spend time with others, to speak and act with thoughtfulness, patience, and consideration, we must give time – a lot more time than most of us are willing to give at present.

We all need warm, deep, personal relationships to thrive, but modern life seems to place such a small value on them – compared with the high value placed on money and prestige and pleasure. It is so easy to be distracted and to fritter our attention away in countless ways, until we find we have little left for family and friends. By simplifying our lives, dropping less important activities, we allow more time for what matters most. But it is also essential to slow down our pace of living, so that we can free ourselves from the grip of time-driven thinking and behavior. ]]> info@easwaran.org (Eknath Easwaran) http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/14/11 http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:00:23 PST – Confucian traditio

In a home where one person can be patient and forgiving, even if the rest of the family does not see eye to eye with him or her, they will share in a spiritual bonus. All of us benefit by living with someone who does not live for himself or herself.

It is misleading to think that people who meditate are seeking only their own illumination. They are contributing to the removal of selfishness and separateness in the world. ]]> info@easwaran.org (Eknath Easwaran) http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/15/11 http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:23 PST – Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

When I was a boy in my ancestral home in South India, the children used to play a game called kooee. One little boy or girl would run and hide in a room of the labyrinthine building. Then he would call out “kooee,” and we would hear “kooee” echoing from all corners. “Kooee” would be coming from upstairs and downstairs; from the ceiling “kooee” would reverberate. We would race through the halls, tear through each room in search of the one who was crying “kooee.” Then at last we would catch her, and the game would be over.

This is the game we are all playing. Some people hear the call coming from the bank. Others hear the call from the haunts of pleasure. Many hear it coming loud and clear from status and prestige. Still others, tragically, seek power that calls to them with a loud voice.

We need to open our ears, so that when we hear the elusive call we will say, “Oh, that is Krishna playing on his flute. That is Jesus beckoning to us to follow him. That is the Divine Mother calling us home. That is the Buddha trying to wake us up.” Finally, we learn how to trace the sound to its source and say, “Caught you at last!” ]]> info@easwaran.org (Eknath Easwaran) http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/16/11 http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:23 PST – G. K. Chesterton

Every one of us can learn to love without qualifications or reservations. Naturally, we start with imperfections. But there is no need to throw up our hands as so many are doing today and say, “Let us be separate and have a relationship. Here are my duties, here are yours. This is the boundary line. If you stay on your side, I’ll respect you; but if you cross over, you’re an invader.” Wherever people go their separate ways like this, love cannot grow. It is not possible to have both separateness and intimacy. ]]> info@easwaran.org (Eknath Easwaran) http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/17/11 http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:00:23 PST – Simone Weil

One of the profoundest laws of spiritual psychology is: you see what you are, and you are what you see. The observer cannot help conditioning what he or she observes.

Those who cannot love see a world where love has little place. Those who live to enlarge their love, by contrast, see a world of hope: a world of men and women who, despite their failings, are capable of love in the core of goodness in their hearts.

To see life from this lofty vantage, we need detachment, not from others but from ourselves. ]]> info@easwaran.org (Eknath Easwaran) http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/18/11 http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:00:23 PST – Saint Teresa of Avila

I am not my body. This body is like a jacket that I wear.

I have a brown jacket with a Nehru collar, made in India, which has served me very well. I take good care of it, and I expect it to last me at least another five years. This body of mine is another brown jacket, made in South India and impeccably tailored to my requirements by a master tailor, whose label is right inside. This jacket has to last me much longer than the other, so I am very careful with it. I give it the right amounts of nutritious food and exercise. Just like my Nehru jacket, this body-jacket will someday become too worn to serve me well. When death comes I will be able to set it aside, with no more tears than I would shed when I give my old Nehru jacket away. ]]> info@easwaran.org (Eknath Easwaran) http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/19/11 http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:00:23 PST Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
Man marks the earth with ruin, – his control
Stops with the shore.
– Lord Byron

Alas, Lord Byron, no more! Industrial society’s reach has extended deep into the sea. Pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming – threats like these are changing the ocean.

In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord says, “Among bodies of water, I am the ocean.” He does not say merely, “I made the ocean”; he says, “I am the ocean.” To me, this is the basis of all our environmental efforts, and it accords with what ecologists tell us about the importance of the sea. The sea supports us, balances our climate, provides a home for whales and seals and dolphins. When we look at the sea, we should remember the infinite tenderness and compassion of God. When we pollute the ocean we are ignoring and abusing that compassion in a manner unworthy of us. ]]> info@easwaran.org (Eknath Easwaran) http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/20/11 http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:23 PST – I John

The idea of romance held by the modern world seems to be taken from the world of business. We are told that love should not be freely given, but that it is a commodity that must be bargained over. Some wary couples are even drawing up “contracts” to specify who will do the dishes and who will wash the car. As long as the contract is observed to the letter, peace reigns, but any breach brings serious consequences. We model our personal lives after our business lives. If it works when negotiating a contract with your supplier, why shouldn’t it work when negotiating with your domestic partner?

Yet no one is content with this state of affairs. None of us really wants to strike back at those we love. We do not get satisfaction out of hurting people who have let us down. We have simply fallen into the habit of brooding on wrongs done to us, until we finally explode.

Love means that regardless of what someone does to us, we will not strike back in anger. ]]> info@easwaran.org (Eknath Easwaran) http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 http://www.nilgiri.org/thoughts/21/11 Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:23 PST