Friday-Saturday, September 9-10
There is a core of wisdom
teaching that is common to most of the world’s great religions. There is a name
for these teachings: Perennial Wisdom. Much of this teaching deals with
spirituality. Rami Shapiro says that the signs of a spiritual person are “compassion,
selflessness, humility, equanimity, forgiveness, grounded and reasonable.” Perennial Wisdom, p. 196 This reminds me
of Paul’s teaching about the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
(Gal 5:22).
Today I’d like to present to you
a passage from the Hindu scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita. Take from these
teachings what resonates with you, and leave the rest behind. Here it is:
One
who is incapable of hatred toward any being,
who
is kind and compassionate, free from selfishness,
without
pride, equable in pleasure and in pain, and forgiving.
Always
contented, self-centered, self-controlled, resolute
with
mind and reason dedicated to Me,
such
a devote of Mine is My beloved.
One
who does not harm the world,
and
whom the world cannot harm,
who
is not carried away by any impulse of joy, anger, or fear,
such
a once is My beloved.
One
who expects nothing,
who
is pure, watchful, indifferent, unruffled,
and
who renounces all initiative,
such
a one is My beloved.
One
who is beyond joy and hate,
who
neither laments nor desires,
to
whom good and evil fortunes are the same,
such
a one is My beloved.
One
to whom friend and foe are alike,
who
welcomes equally honor and dishonor,
heat
and cold, pleasure and pain, who is enamored of nothing,
who
is indifferent to praise and censure,
who
enjoys silence,
who
is contented with every fate,
who
has no fixed abode,
who
is steadfast in mind and filled with devotion,
such
a one is My beloved.
Bhagavad Gita 12:13-19, quoted in Perrenial
Wisdom, p. 197.
Some of these lines need further
explanation, and perhaps I will write about them in future reflections. But, as
I said, take what makes sense to you, but be especially attentive to things
that puzzle you. They may open the door to greater wisdom for you.
God bless you!
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