Reality

We should not be frightened by nightmares of pain nor unduly elated by dreams of beautiful experiences. By dwelling on these inevitable dualities or "pairs of opposites" of maya, the cosmic delusion of incessant change, we lose the awareness of God, the Changeless Abode of Bliss. When we awaken in Him we shall realize that mortal life is only a picture made of shadows and light, cast on a cosmic movie screen. You are not here to become mixed up with the movies and cry when there is a tragedy or smile when there is comedy. You should know that you are watching movies of life and death but that you are apart from them. You must get away from the hypnotizing dance of the senses. You must wake up. You must not waste time. Soon the show will be over, and where will you be then?

~ Paramahansa Yogananda

Happiness

LIFE CAN GIVE YOU NO HAPPINESS

MAHARSHI:  The truth about happiness and suffering, which has been correctly determined by the wise, is this:  outwardness of the mind is suffering; its inwardness is happiness.

RAMESH:  The knowledge of Truth comes about when dispassion arises in a man after he has learned from personal experience that whatever life provides is truly hollow.  The man of the world becomes the man of wisdom through recognizing that non-attachment is liberation whereas the passion for sensory objects and experience is bondage.

     Pursuit of pleasure and pursuit of happiness are totally different.  It is a physical sense that seeks pleasure. It is the heart that seeks happiness.  Not pursuing pleasure, not wanting continuity of pleasure, is the happiness the human being seeks.

WAYNE:  Desires that arise in the human mind and body are in themselves transient and benign.  It is involvement by the False Sense of Authorship that converts a desire into suffering.  When the False Sense of Authorship is finally dissolved desires can no longer lead to suffering.

from​-​ CALM IS GREATER THAN JOY by Shirish Kumar S. Murthy. p89​, Zen Publications (2010) ​,https://advaita.3dcartstores.com/CALM-IS-GREATER-THAN-JOY-by-Shirish-Kumar-S-Murthy_p_434.html

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I am that

Understand first that you are not the person you believe yourself to be. What you think yourself to be is mere suggestion or imagination. You have no parents, you were not born, nor will you die. Either trust me when I tell you so, or arrive to it by study and investigation. The way of total faith is quick, the other is slow but steady. Both must be tested in action. Act on what you think is true -- this is the way to truth.
~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
...from 'I Am That', chapter 79
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Reality

There is no greater mystery than this - viz., ourselves being the Reality we seek to gain Reality. We think that there is something hiding our Reality and rather it must be destroyed before the Reality is gained. It is ridiculous. A day will dawn when you will yourself laugh at your past efforts. That which will be on the day you laugh is also here and now.

(Bhagavan in 'Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi' 146)

Be still

CONVERSATIONS WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI

Question: Bhagavan often told devotees to "Be still". Did he mean "Be mentally still"?

Annamalai Swami: Bhagavan's famous instruction "summa iru" [be still] is often misunderstood. It does not mean that you should be physically still; it means that you should always abide in the Self.

If there is too much physical stillness, tamoguna [a state of mental torpor] arises and predominates. In that state you will feel very sleepy and mentally dull. Rajoguna [a state of excessive mental activity], on the other hand, produces emotions and a mind which is restless.

In sattva guna [a state of mental quietness and clarity] there is stillness and harmony. If mental activity is necessary while one is in sattva guna it takes place. But for the rest of the time there is stillness. When tamoguna and rajoguna predominate, the Self cannot be felt.

If sattva guna predominates one experiences peace, bliss, clarity and an absence of wandering thoughts.

That is the stillness that Bhagavan was prescribing.

- LWB

I am lover of reality

“I AM A LOVER OF REALITY”

"It’s insane to believe that suffering is caused by anything outside the mind. A clear mind doesn’t suffer. That’s not possible.

Even if you’re in great physical pain, even if your beloved child dies, even if you and your family are herded off to Auschwitz, you can’t suffer unless you believe an untrue thought. I’m a lover of reality.

I love what is, whatever it looks like. And however it comes to me, my arms are open. This is not to say that people shouldn’t suffer.

They should suffer, because they do. If you’re feeling sad or afraid or anxious or depressed, that’s what you should be feeling. To think otherwise is to argue with reality. But when you’re feeling sad, for example, just notice that your sadness is the effect of believing a prior thought."

- Byron Katie

Self knowledge

Of what avail is knowing things
Other than the Self? And the Self being known,
What other thing is there to know?
That one light that shines as many selves,
Seeing this Self within
As Awareness’ lightning flash;
The play of Grace; the ego’s death;
The blossoming of bliss.

['Self-Knowledge' ('Atma-Vidya'), Verse 4]