- For years I have sought enlightenment – said the disciple. – I feel I am near it and want to know how to take the next step.
- A man who knows how to seek God knows also how to take care of himself. How do you support yourself? – asked the master.
- That is just a detail. I have rich parents who help me along my spiritual path. Because of that, I can dedicate myself entirely to sacred things.
- Very well – said the master. – I will explain to you the next step: look at the sun for half a minute.
The disciple obeyed.
When he had finished, the master asked him describe the landscape around him.
- I can’t. The sun’s brightness dazzled my eyes.
- A man who looks fixedly at the sun ends up blind. A man who only looks for Light, and shifts his responsibilities onto the shoulders of others, never finds what he is seeking – was the master’s comment.
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I love this!! thank you for sharing
La alegria se manifiesta de muchas maneras. En un amanecer, en una flor, en la simpleza de una caricia hacia un bebe…. Tenemos que fijarnos en eso y ya seremos felices, aveces nosotros los seres humanos no los damos cuenta que la alegria enriquece nuestros corazòn y nuestras almas, y es nuestra gran obsiòn de vida.
If you want to learn more about the world, how do you expect to do that, unless you are curious about it!
love, com amore,
L.
its all about saying of “karma” the work you have to do, every individual is responsible for spiritual or materialistic liabilities, ultimately every one has a duty to fulfill forgetting tat and running behind a new light or ray of synergy is not practical,know yourself ,be intelligent about Wat you learn ..if its not worth for learning or doing ..dont’t go for tat … ” protect yourself “
Em tudo o que fazemos, temos em vista alguma outra coisa.
ego.. ego.. ego…
youhave to control it
This reminds me of the ancient yogis who stared at the sun all day so that they would go blind and have only inner sight by which to see. In a sense they were taking care of themselves too, just in a different way.
Never needs to shift its responsibilities onto the shoulders of others, for all that have asked us to do, we should be doing, and answer for their actions only to us. The Master was right when he chastised a student for excessive pride in the fact that he had rich parents. Everything in life you have to get myself and never depend on others. We have given life to ourselves tried to live in harsh realities of our world. When young people begin to build itself from the masters of life, it does not give them gloss, but rather makes them turn away from cynicism and pride! I believe that life should be lived so that you talked about the good fame not only in the eye, but behind your back!
Babbling, words, concepts, empty wisdom, beautiful and optimistic … The legend of Babel tower tells the story of loosing the contact with essentially, with God, immediately the man invented the word. What about the reallity, the personal truth? What do you do when you go wrong, over and over? Continue or quit? And why always goes wrong? Maybe you do not want the right thing for you or give up too easily? You never know. Just pray that the agony stop naturally without the need of another sacrifice.
I always liked to tell myself this quote from time to time.
It is helpful in many ways:
The flight to the sky starts from the ground.
If you would have had to be just an enlighten soul you wouldn’t have had to be born a man and live on Earth.
We were made a gift. The gift of experiencing this life between the sky and earth for a reason and it would be foolish to just miss and underestimate one part, because it seems unimportant.
Wouldn’t, the “spiritual experience seekers” be as fool as those who are drown only into material world who just like that disciple they wouldn’t care about spiritual world?
Just taking the example in “ideal” conditions. :P
Love
WODERFUL COMMENT LOVED IT SO MUCH
Cuidarse así miso es muy importante… pero también
quererse
mimarse
regalarse
ilusionarse
entusiasmarse
amarse
alegrarse
things are tough…. but doing them… completing them in the end… is what matters… with full faith and everlasting hope… just focus on the job… rather than what result will it bring it fruits would i bear…
well said. Focus on the work at hand whole heartedly.
hi,
i want to take care of my physical health as physical perfection is gateway to spiritual perfection . i am in a fix that if your friend is blessed with naturally glowing skin, bulging eyes,,,,,,,,,, and every thing that is lovable and you are a normal person with nothing exceptionally excellent or adorable …than can you a common person get attractiveness in any other way.
i mean it does also comes under the heading of take care of your self.
Isn’t it funny when my parents took my hand showed me how to walk; walked me through the difficult times when I could not bear the pain of failing in the races; kept encouraging when I was looking for admission in a good college;gave a nod when I chose my life partner;blessed us as a family when they became grandparents…was I ever left alone..I think they forgot to leave me alone to take responsibility or just that I got used to that “nod”!
When exactly have I learnt to be able to choose the right college and the right life partner? Who gave me the strength to make the choises I made? Those smiles and nods did what I would like to give my children today. To be able to see the light within, many lose sight of!
another moral i find from this story is…blindly following a guru will leads u to be a blind.
truely said nobody is perfect
Very enlightening !
Me parece que muchas personas por querer seguir una luz . No se paran a disfrutar de lo que tienen en ese momento y disfrutar de lo mucho que han encontrado , al contrario siguen una búsqueda sin fin, en realidad nos puede el interés por saber más , experimentar más . No sé si tenemos un punto de final.
I believe that, to become ‘enlightened’ we must find,
encounter the light in ourselves by looking for it inside
ourselves, not outside ourselves. Isn’t that what is called
INSIGHT ?! And we must learn to TRUST it, because it is exactly that that guides/enlightens us. As do too, on a
certain level, the insights of others. That is why it is
valuable to listen to what others have to say, which does not mean that we AUTOMATCALLY have to follow their insight,
advice, etc…..no, but all insights help us to change our
perception and see/look at things in a different way and change our ‘conditioned’ thought-patterns, etc. Anyway, wish you all the very BEST on your way towards ‘enlightenment’ to whatever degree….all progress is progress, evolvement….
Love Sue
Muito interessante a história contada, pois o mestre quis dizer com a experiencia proposta que quem busca a iluminação decerto saber prover a si mesma e dispor de cuidados. A iluminação está dentro do próprio indíviduo cabe ao mesmo descobrir-se.
amazing .. you should find your own light without depending on the others =) .. yes to be your own guide =)
It`s simply true… I totaly agry!
la alegria es tener paz co uno mismo y amar a los demás,el amor es el sentimiento que mueve y embellece todo……
Too completed to understand and too tired to think about it and interrupt it, can’t you say it in a simple way to make it easy for simple people seeking guidance?
Be your own Guru.
You are a great writer but there is no God and the masters answer should read – A man who truly knows how to seek enlightenment knows also how to take care of himself. Enlightenment is not a finite end in some distant future but attainable in the here and now; the journey and the goal are the same. That distant future is not some place we are going to, but one each of us creates en route. The paths to it are not found, they are continually being made and the activity of making them continually changes both the maker and the destination.
this story is not specifically about God. It’s more – as you say – about the enlightenment. for the mystic ones that is the truth that answers all the questions and that has to be at the end of the journey for the others is the every day learning. what I understand from this is that you cannot separate this process from the world we live in, we cannot isolate and get a relevant understanding of what is really going on, the mad scientist or the dedicated monk got to have some roots in the world and society otherwise the result of their struggle would be compromised.
so common sense! but coelho tells the whole point so well and so politely.
Is there anything to seek. I am experiencing more n more that we are nothing more than a witness to all that there is. am a part of the whole which we call GOD/Universe. Have forgotten this for the last 38 years of my life on this planet and am slowly becoming one with the whole. i am only a channel or a medium through which the universe will operate. my responsibility if at all is to be aware and keep myself open for the music to play.
Rajan, what you are writing is so beautiful. Recognize every word. Being a witness of all there is around, and in everyone of us. And yes, it took me 43 years to see this. Every day is a day of openness. Surprises in every way…. Thx for the words you wrote in here….
As u describe urself as a channel or a medium, you can be very fluid, helpful and kind to others
I am in the same state now a days. Truly agree what you have written.
Nicely put Rajan. I agree with all the others. In a sense, it is easy to get caught up in being individualistic and not see your role in the greater part of the universe, but we shouldn’t forget our more important responsibility, as you say: “to be aware and keep myself open for the music to play.”
I have been a little sick for 2 weeks now. Fighting with meself, not knowing how to continiue…It is hard for me, a working mother of 3 beautifull girls to take care for my-self. There is no time and energy left,after taking care of my family to begin realising my dreams…
I don’t know how you all do this !
Your books inspire me a lot and
give me hope and
I really hope at a point in my life God will give me the chance to change this in ’1 week’
;-)
La luz ? Para ciertas personas es mas facil la busqueda.
Pero todo se mereze.
La luz viene a ti y no al contrario.
absolute reality is unaffected, unchanged,
relative reality is affected and changed
he is so small that we miss him
he is so accomplished tha we cannot see him
he is like sun /moon
he is hot/cool
i love you god
Maybe this will make the world perfect but living in perfect world is boring if i don’t make mistakes my life will be boring after all life is to live happily and to satisfy yourself.
desolee j ai pas de grandes connaissance , tout ce que j ai c est que je ressens que dieu est plus grans qu on imagine, et quand tu as besoin de lui , tu le ressens tout proche de toi , c est arrive avec moi pas mal de fois et je le remerci chaque jour de tout ce qu il m adonne de bon et ossi de mauvais car enfin de compt ça donnera le bon ossi , je ne suis pas pratiquante de la religion , mais dieu existe et je le ressens dans mon profond
esta noche comense a releer el libro de veronica decide morir despues de parar en la pagina 35, decidir mirar que cosa nueva estaba sucediendo en FB. Despues de mirar algunos comentatios y fotos de conosidos vi una pequena frase de este gran escritor “take care of oneself” ummm al leer lo que tanto me llamo la atencion clique al articulo sabiendo que lo que iba a leer me iba aparecer conocido anyway, el querer cuidarse A uno o una misma es algo casi imposible. por ejemplo desde que somos pequenos nuestros seres queridos nos protejen y nos ensenan a estar acompanados y nos recuerdan lo triste que es estar sola “o”. Nos ensenan aquerer a los demas, a respetar a los demas, ahhh tambien cudiar las palabras o peor los sentimientos que tengamos en alguan momento. Mas yo me pregunto y disculpen por mis horrores hortograficos, como uno puede querer se asi mismo cuando nuanca nos dieron esa oportunidad? muchas personas viven sus vidas tratando de complaser a otros o simplement no saben si ellos mismo se conocen. Nos miramos al espejo y nos seguimos preguntamos si estamos bien!! o gordos o muy flaco….. al fin de cuentas No creo que el quererse uno mismo no es algo facil de conseguir y a esas personas que si lo han hecho pues espero que nos compartan como lo hicieron pero lo mas problable es que no lo haran..
How can you find the answer to all when you havent lived through experience the most important experience, figuring out how to take care of yourself, a lesson I am only beginning to learn :-D
True understanding can only be found by experiencing it yourself, I think.
Corretto!
Ogni uomo e donna devono cercare e trovare la propria strada nel mondo. Ogni uomo deve con dignità inseguire e perseguire i suoi sogni.
Chi vive sulle spalle altrui non conoscerà mai la fatica e l’ebbrezza del vivere, quindi sarà sempre e soltanto un uomo che giudica senza mai aver fatto esperienza.
Una cosa è vedere spostare un masso pesantissimo, altra cosa è provare anche noi ad eseguire quel faticoso compito.
Finchè non si prova non si capisce.
Così è per tutte le cose della vita, per quelle materiali e per quelle legate alla sfera dell’intangibile.
Un essere umano acquisisce la comprensione della realtà solo vivendola in prima persona:
- se sei ricco, prova a vivere un anno da povero,
- se sei famoso, prova a calarti nella realtà di chi viene considerato un numero e nessuno gli apre una porta
- se sei sano e cammini, prova a legarti i piedi e camminare così per tanto tempo;
- se puoi sentire e parlare prova a tapparti le orecchie e la bocca e prova a comunicare senza questi due organi,
e così via.
Ma nessuno dovrebbe rinunciare a cimentarsi nella vita usando al meglio i propri talenti, anche se minimi, peggio ancora se pretende che siano altri a dover superare le nostre difficoltà ed i nostri ostacoli.
Non diventeremo mai atleti della vita ma spettatori distratti.
I think that if everyone was responsible of his/her own life , this world would be much better. We can really understand who we are through our relationships with others and being accountable to ourselves. Once we accept and understand who we are and are responsible of our life, then we can be at Peace with ourself and the world also can be more peaceful.
luv u man… u r a gem…
what I understand is ..there is no end …the way continue …but we should move ….
i agree with this, as our religion also teach us that we have responsibility of every man around us. if we spend our time in search of light but cant see a person who has nothing to eat, or a child who dont have parents then how can we find light? we have to serve people if we want to reach God.
What if the master left the disciple permanently blind? thats kind of a douchebag move for a spiritual man! Just kidding though, Ive read all of your books, and i like them all a lot.
I guess the lesson is that we need to choose our masters and advice wisely :)
In the wisdom of kalil gibran, work is love made visible. We exist to contribute and participate, to be in the world, not of it. If we do not sustain ourselves, how are we then an example to others? What becomes of a world in which all pursue enlightenment without living the human existence?
We certainly do not need to work ourselves to death, work need not consume us, and it seems that this is a common affliction these days. Enlightenment is attained by living in the darkness.
responsibility is the key! If you learn to relay on others,and not on your own then the dificuldies you meet in life are huges we must be brave and face anything with true!
it’s so true. That’s what i’m doing now. Becoming responsible
Especially because i’m kind of addicted of other’s help.
I keep on working on it
In Geeta its said to do ones duty which is equal to worship, in short its known as Karma Yoga, to do Karma, i.e, work without expecting any return from it.
I think we would all enjoy being gifted with enlightenment.
I wonder where you go to obtain it? do you go to a seminary? a four year college? Do you find it trekking through Tibet?
Or does it find you? knock on your door, Is it only available to poor people or also rich People? Has it always been there but you never noticed?
Once you have it what do you do with it? Having it is liberating or a burden to be carried and acted upon?
Is it relative to the kind of life you live? Once you have a hint of it do you just take what you want from it or do build on it or maybe even share it with others?
Does being enlightened earn you status or a cross?
Hmm, seems the post is not new…Anyways, since the next time, I am still sort of alone, no rich parents or such, so I am not in danger to be blinded by the light…What to say?
Still, at times I wish I had some more support…
But we have to carry our cross.
Love
Alexandra
Puedo expresarte mi admiracion, mi crecimiento en cada libro leido de los cuales varios te tienen como autor, puedo expresarte mi amor sin conocerte, gracias por tanta luz, claridad, sabiduria..nadie llega casualmente y no es casual que me hayas guiado tanto, es admirable que cumplas con una mision de Dios tan hermosa como la de expresar los misterios de un mundo sagrado y de sanacion. Un abrazo! mucha luz!
I am the youngest member of my family, since the early years, I have seen a lot of trouble in my house between my parents I only had my brother to support to confide to. So from a very young age we realized the trauma of the world and had to grow responsible for our own education.
During the college years people used to go home to restore their mental peace to come back and fight the pressure at college, and I went home to settle the discord between my parents.
In retrospect, I believe now I am more mature than my friends in handling my relationships however the fear that I would fail in my marriage hast stopped lurking in my mind
Mirar al sol no es lo único lo que nos mantiene ciegos, sino el no querer ver que estamos causando mal , despues del deslumbramiento es difícil encontrar lo que buscamos…., pero aún sin mirar ya deberíamos saber en donde es que está lo que buscamos, si no deberemos buscar en medio de nuestra alma y lo encontraremos, así es como encuentra uno el camino para seguir avanzando….
!!!!!!Saludos Paulo de la última de sus amigas , buen día !!!
Being rich and poor!
We seeks nothing.
We are looking for anything, no seek
Funny this reading should come along today. As a person in recovery, I have spent a great deal of time exploring myself and my relationship to God. I have been nurturing my spiritual needs and pursuing spiritual growth. But I have done this to the exclusion of the rest of my life. I have kept myself from others and from the world. Today I realized that I won’t continue to grow spiritually unless I put myself out into the world and practice what I have learned and give what I have learned to others. What good is having the light within me if I am not allowing others to see it too? I have blinded myself to the world I live in. Now it’s time for me to see again.
Thank you Delores, I was wondering what the connection is between being blind from looking into the sun, and relinquishing your responsibilities to others lol
Now I know :))
Bravo Cuelho!!
Qué lindo, lo leí en uno de sus libros,ahorita no recuerdo en cual.( Creo que en el Zahir)
Si es cierto, pero si miramos el sol a cierta hora del día, no nos quedamos ciegos (por la mañana cuando el sol sale ). O sea, tenemos que tomar tiempo para crecer espiritualmente, para conectarnos con nosotros mismos y el Universo,tiempo para solucionar nuestras cosas sin esperar que todo lo hagan los demás, sin recostarnos. La luz se obtiene, poco a poco…..como quería el maestro que entendiera el discípulo, bueno así lo entiendo.
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