HH Shri Bhola Nathji -- Thoughts for Peace of Mind

Thoughts from April 8 to May 31 for Peace of Mind

2010-09-01T11:03:00.040+05:30

8^th April

You worry about your food. You worry about your clothes. You worry about the insurmountable difficulties placed in your way.

Such worrying is not to your credit. It shows you distrust His Power – He, who has given you everything, without your asking, and without a word being said from your side.

Even before you were born, He created the World for you.

Whom did you ask for this World?

The answer to all your needs is seen exhibited everywhere in Nature.

Yes, even when you are asleep – He is awake. He is always Awake.

Yet, you sleep, and sometime even in wakefulness do you slumber in your heart and forget His great Power.

But, He, who runs the clock of this Universe, cannot afford to sleep for even the fraction of a second, because if He slumbered there would be destruction everywhere.

He keeps awake and seeks to awaken others to tell them that He, in whose world they are living, is looking after them, and is forming the answers to even the questions that they have not thought of.

9^th April

A tiny bud lay concealed in the leaves of a bush.

When it was asked – “Why do you not manifest yourself?” – this is what it gave in reply;

“I do not reveal myself, because the moment I do so, there will be a hundred hands to pluck me off the branch. I await the coming of the master of this garden so that I may give up myself as a gift unto Him. I am His creation.

I wish to fall at His feet, petal by petal. I have undergone numerous hardships. Thorns have pricked me. The wind has buffeted me.

There have been numerous things that would prevent my growth, and these have I braved.

Patience has been my friend. Hope has been my salvation. I am convinced that He will someday pass by.

I have not been born to behold my own beauty. It is meant for the Master of this garden.”

The moments spent in waiting are difficult, but rewarding.

10^th April

Sacrifice increases strength. When the rivers pass on their waters to the lower regions, they get more water from higher up; when the stars and other planets give their light to us, they are blessed with more light.

The moon wanes only to wax again. When a seed destroys itself in the mud, it gives place to a beautiful tree from which numerous other seeds spring. Likewise must you destroy your ego and merge yourself into the Creator, giving up everything – even this World – to Him.

Separate not yourself from Him, for thus you will be made infinitesimally small. Lend all your energies, physical or mental to His service.

Any good that exists within you must serve mankind.

When you sacrifice your objects for the sake of others you yourself will be filled with more.

The Right Hand is stronger than the Left only because it does the greater amount of work.

Follow the laws of Nature and thus spend your energies. You will be filled with great strength from an Unknown Source.

11^th April

You cannot relinquish hold of anything until you have achieved something bigger. It is only after placing one foot on the second step that you can leave the first.

You have come into a garden. The garden contains within itself many beautiful flowers, and leaves.

Look at the flowers, and your mind will cease to dwell upon the buds from which the flowers sprang.

If there were no flowers how could your mind ever conceive of anything beyond the buds?

The flower is before you, whether it gives fragrance or not.

You cannot leave the flower because you see nothing beyond.

At the far end of the garden you see an exquisitely perfumed flower that takes away your heart, making it a prisoner of its beauty.

In the sight of this flower you forget that the bud ever existed.

Look towards the Creator of this World in a like manner.

12^th April

You think you are great.

O, look only once at the Himalayas and then at yourself.

Stand on the shore and look at the mighty ocean swelling and expanding, and then look at yourself.

Look at the infinite sky above and then at yourself. Look at the Sun, the moon, and the planets and the stars that float in this vastness. Look at the light that travels from them with an incredible speed to reach the earth.

There are numerous worlds around the Sun, and numerous Suns in the Universe. O, Look at them all, and then at your own greatness.

The sky exists like a tiny bubble in one single thought born in Someone’s mind, and in it do float the tiny specks of these worlds.

Look upwards and realize that great Infinity which sustains the life of the Universe, that Vast Ocean of Greatness in which our tiny earth exists, and then see yourself standing somewhere in some obscure corner of it.

O, How great art thou?

As big, perhaps, as the drop of water when compared to the ocean….

13^th April

When you stand before a row of judges you feel humbled.

Words stumble out of your mouth with care and respect. You become small.

Close your eyes and see Who it is in front of Whom you are standing!

It is He, the Creator of the Universe. It is He, the all powerful, Who can create a Universe in a single breath and can destroy it in another.

Who can, in the twinkling of an eye-lash, create Heavens and eclipse them, even as He eclipsed the tree in a seed. He has infinite strength.

What does your heart say before Him? Let Him come within it, and all its wanderings and restlessness will cease. It will then sink in an undisturbed meditation.

14^th April

The earth is dead. Man is helpless.

There is happiness and joy in the world.

Man desires happiness and joy. But there is sorrow in the world. Man runs away from it, because his heart revolts at it.

Alas! Try as he may, man cannot elude the tentacles of sorrow; nor can he gain absolute happiness by his own endeavours. What is the way out?

Will man, beset upon by pain, live his life out in a never-ending deluge of tears? Or will he lift up his heart towards a greater Reality and seek to merge himself into it, come what may?

There is pain in this, too. There are great obstacles to be overcome, numerous evils to be conquered before that great Reality is reached.

But if this pain be borne, then there is hope of everlasting peace.

Man desires happiness, but has no means of attaining it. This is sufficient proof of the existence of some Supreme Being; some great Reality.

Bow your heads before Him, and call upon Him.

He will surely reply.

15^th April

The giving of Thanks is not necessarily propitious only when the giver is before you. And it is not necessary for the Giver to be before you in order that you may thank him.

You receive a gift from a far-off land, and from an anonymous person who does not know you. The gift is beautiful, and he has seen it only to establish a relationship with you.

Will you, or will you not thank him for his generous gift, be he thousands of miles off? You have not seen him. You do not know him. Yet you thank him because you know that the sender of such a beautiful gift must have only love in his heart for you.

If, without knowing you, and without seeing you, he sent you a beautiful gift, then who knows what he may give to you on receiving your gratitude and thanks?

Perhaps he may call you to himself or come to you, so that finally, face to face, he may say:

“I am He who had desired to make you my friend.”

Why is it, then, that we forget to thank the magnificent Creator of this Universe just because we have not seen him? Why is it, then, that we find it so difficult to believe in Him?

16^th April

A drop of water rests on the petal of a flower as dew; it goes up in the sky in a tiny cloud that is a sigh; it falls from the eye as a tear-drop, and splatters on rocks and gravel. Why this restlessness?

Why this frantic search, and for what?

There is something within it that seeks to draw it away to some far-off goal.

The streams seek to capture it, but it eludes them and joins the rivers that become mightier and mightier, but fail to capture it.

The dew knows not where or what the goal is, but the streams and rivers flow on and on, until they merge into the stillness of the ocean.

The drop of water lies there amidst the vastness of that great entity and awaits further changes. But no changes take place. The stillness that is the ocean’s is shared by the drop and after a while the realization comes that the ocean was the goal it had sought after.

When it sways upon the waves of the ocean, for a moment old memories creep back and it fears that it is on the move again, but Nay! There is nothing beyond, nothing greater that the ocean will flow down to.

It cannot leave the ocean and in that realization meets with endless peace.

These are the various stages of Spirituality.

17th April

Now that you know that even as the drop of water is connected with the ocean, and the rays of the sun not separate from the sun, you are forever with that Great Reality. Look towards it, and lie on its feet.

Storms do threaten, and earthquakes do shake the foundations of your life,- and in this, you lose courage and your boat appears to sink.

This is the time for the great test. Your faith is on trial. Give it a test. Go and sit with Him even as a child sits with his parent, after thrusting aside his toys.

You will be made fearless and an umbrella of protection will hover over your head forever.

And, thus will your faith surpass all limitations.

18^th April

Somebody wrote a letter to someone and he got a reply. This proved to him that the address on the letter was correct. He, to whom the letter was sent, was at home. Why, then, this delay?

Why the argumentation?

Time is speeding away, and with the close of the day evening draws nigh.

Make haste, lest the darkness envelope you, and leave you in a blindness where neither pen nor paper may be found. O what a wonderful thing it would be if the letter were finished in the light of the day!

A few pennies would be all that would be spent in sending the letter – but think of the millions that are gained in exchange!

Keep in mind the vast gains when you think of the loss of a few pennies.

There is an urgent need for haste. Darkness is approaching, but before it comes, the letter must be sent – a single prayer will bring the answer to all your questions.

19^th April

What you cannot accomplish, leave before the all-powerful. He will satiate unfulfilled desires. He, who commands the Universe, will find an answer to your problems.

Your strength is little and your hands grow weary of the work.

Leave everything before Him and wait to see what results He sends.

Do not be impatient, if there be too many pitfalls in your route.

A seed must pass through various stages before it can grow into a tree, that may be laden with flowers.

The cloth must first be cut to pieces before a suit can be tailored.

Look not upon the cutting of the cloth as wanton destruction, but visualize the making of the suit in every cut.

Have faith in the Creator. Have faith in this, that all the crooked and sorrow-stricken paths lead to great success.

20th April

A straw must float down with the river. It cannot oppose the flow and it cannot leave the river.

If it were to go in the opposite direction, by some effort of its own, it would finally reach the fountain from where the river began. Not a very wonderful accomplishment, indeed, for were it to go the way it was meant to go by the river, it would finally reach the mighty ocean in which a thousand lakes and fountains and springs dwell.

Why not identify your ways with the ways of Nature?

Opposition brings you to sorrow.

Submission before His Will takes you forward to a highly prized goal.

When inside a train, constant peeping out of the window will only lead you to believe that the train is stationary and the trees and the fields are moving past you. A delusion.

Far better will it be if you sit back comfortably and let the train reach you home.

21st April

There is no Diversity anywhere. There is Unity everywhere.

Numerous leaves surround the same flower; millions of stars give forth the same light; all the differences of the world are united together in the world itself.

Today is the Twenty First.

“Two” and “one” form twenty one.

“Two” is proclaiming that everything is “one”

Numerous thoughts spring forth from the same brain. Numerous colours unite in the centre of the eye. Different words unite inside the ear.

Living in differences, the people of the world are one.

All exist in one, and one exists in all. The world of the dreams and the world of the eyes are all united in that great Reality.

Where then is “two”?

The Twenty First is one day in itself; it is neither the twenty second, nor the twentieth.

In that one day there is one second, one minute, one hour and then several such hours.

What a boon it would be, if man could learn to see “oneness” everywhere and to consider all like himself, the different aspects of the same one Soul.

22nd April

When one person looks into the eyes of another, he sees therein his own reflection. He looks at another but sees himself.

A pomegranate shelters within its skin numerous tiny grains, all of which did spring forth from the same seed, and though different, perhaps, from one another in shape and form, have the same protective covering. The entire assembly forms one pomegranate.

The petals of a flower may differ from one another, yet there is no denying that all of them together go to form the flower. The origin is one single seed, which lies concealed in each and every grain of the pomegranate; and in every petal of the flower. The manifestations of the various grains are nothing but the manifestation of the seed itself.

All are different and yet united together in the one pomegranate, which sprang forth from the one seed.

This is the picture of the Universe itself. All the various worlds and all the various beings living in them have for their foundation some Great Reality which is present in all and yet concealed in all.

23rd April

The Infinite ends in Infinity. It is the Almighty who has no end, and in whom everything ends. When the vision of the Infinite comes to man, everything in the world appears united to that One Whole. He who exists is the Almighty, and all exist in Him. There can be no end that does not end in Him.

Limitations of individual entities tend to separate the parts of the United Whole, but there can be no separation, for all limitations, and individualities exist merely in Him.

“It is the Lord –

In the sweet-scented flower,

In the petal of the rose

In the twigs and the branches,

In the scent and perfume,

In the beauty and softness,

Yes, - even in the seed –

It is the Lord,

In the multitudes of trees

In the vastness of the land

In the beings who dwell upon it,

In the nations and the continents

In the diversity of thought –

In the drop that leaves the ocean

And in the drop that plunges into it

-Yes, and in the Ocean itself,-

-And in the water – everywhere –

Everywhere, it is He – the Lord.”

24th April

Unity dispels all visions of duality, but without duality Unity could not stand together. If “One” were all alone –a who would call it “One”? It is, indeed, “Two” that establishes the existence of “One”, because it can only come after “One”.

There is Unity all around, yet the hallucination of duality is merely an offspring of Unity, and gives to Unity a glint of pleasure in finding itself in its own duality.

Nobody ever thinks of uniting himself with himself, the obvious reason being that lie is never separate from himself.

In order to feel the joy of union it is necessary to feel the pain of separation first.

When that Great Reality overflowed with the light of oneness then it created on one side the flame, and on the other the moth, and in this separation took the joy of union.

He looked at his own face in the mirror and thus saw separation from Himself; and then overturned the mirror and was lost in Himself again.

25th April

From whence came separation? From whence was born duality? From whence came this Universe?

Ignorance and Knowledge were companions born.

From the same seed came the fragrance of the Rose and the greenness of the leaf – who can explain this mystery of nature?

They came together and from the same place. Though they may have different shapes and colours, yet they are, even in their diversity, united.

He has, in a single thought, created this varying vastness. The rose and the thorn can be seen with the same eye, and it was thus in a single vision that he did create them.

Water is water, even though it may turn to ice.

Softness, even though it appear as coarseness, is by touch soft.

The river of the dream that dashes against mighty boulders – different as it may seem from the rocks – is in truth of the same essence as the rocks – a dream.

What appears is “Two”, but what exists is “One”. Ignorance is ‘to not to know’ and to know that one knows not. Therefore ignorance is another shape of knowledge, inasmuch as it is like the night that gives unto the awakened eyes the beautiful dawn which brings with it the sun.

In the same Great Reality, diversity appears to give ultimate pleasure in the Unity behind.

26th April

“O, mighty ocean why didst thou separate me from thyself?”

- thus cried the tiny drop of water –

“When I was with thee, I was with happiness,

I played upon thy waves.

The sky was mighty above

Yes – but I was mighty below.

Grand was it in its blue vastness,

But grand was I in my serenity.

Ah! But thou didst remove me from thyself!

And I, then left to my dual identity –

Like a shining pearl on the petal of a flower,

Like the tear that fell out of the eye.

Laughed I, and wept.

Poised perilously on the petal of a flower,

And the rude winds did buffet me;

Tried they then – the beautiful eyelashes

To hold me back – but No –

I fell and perished in the dust.

Slid off the back of the flower,

And I was deeply hurt.

Fear and worry did my short-lived existence haunt

O, mighty Ocean – can I ask of thee

Why thou didst remove me from thyself?

Can I ask of thee why thou didst

Plunge me into this fire of fear and despair?

Can I ask of thee what means this separation?”

27th April

Love is Love in itself. For over here there exists no feeling of separation, there exists no feeling of union.

Love resides alone with itself, but never does it feel the joy of the Lover and the Beloved.

The child runs towards its mother. The tiny rays of light from a flame rush towards the sun. Particles of dust rise up to the mountains and then sink back to earth again. The drop of water races swiftly towards the ocean, and once there, finds salvation.

But where there is Love alone, within itself, - there can be no separation and hence no joy of Union.

The father takes joy in seeing his existence reflected in that of his son; he sees his “I” reflected in the faces of his relatives by calling them his own – and then does he feel the reflection of love.

By separating one into two, he finds love.

The ocean tells the drop of water that it has been separated so that it may one day take the joy of union.

28th April

A certain man carried with himself a precious pearl. With the passage of time he forgot that the stone was with him.

Thus began a frantic search for what was even then with him. But what was with him could not be found elsewhere! He wept bitterly and tears flowed down his cheeks. So beset upon was he with the thought of the pearl that each and every tear that store down his cheeks appeared to him as the glistening pearl. And he grabbed at it, only to see it dissolve in his fingers. Anguish rent his heart. He could not live without the pearl, nor could he find it.

When it rained, he stared at the drops of rain that fell to the earth; he stared at the dew-drops on the petals of a rose; he sought for the pearl in the spray that the ocean delivered to its shores. And yet he searched for the pearl without finding it. Illusions appeared before his eyes, and he wept with sorrow.

At last his hand strayed to his pocket and it clasped upon the pearl.

He was filled with happiness and said to himself:

“I am happier now at finding the pearl which I lost – when in truth I never lost it – than I ever was, when I knew the pearl was with me!”

The momentary separation brought later a much greater joy.

29th April

How came this separation? Why came it?

What gain is there in the knowledge of this?

A lover must experience the pangs of separation, after the joy of love.

If it is true that Union comes after separation, then it is equally true that separation itself comes after Union.

If you do not know a person you can never feel his separation. You can only feel yourself separate from somebody you know. You have not met me. That I was far from you, you could never guess. We meet today and then we separate tomorrow. Then only do you feel me far away.

Our union reveals this. And separation then brings a yearning for Union again.

The little drop of water that flies towards the ocean, has in reality, come from the ocean itself. A bird returns to the same nest which it left a moment before. Separation comes only after Union, and brings with it a desire for Union.

30th April

When the moth has set in its heart the beauty of the flame, and the flower has entwined in its petals the heart of the nightingale – then should they seek the cause of their separation, or seek the road to Union?

Seeking the cause of the separation will only tend to delay Union; and then, again, the cause will in itself become clear once there is Union.

Whenever there has been an injustice done, there only can Justice take its course.

The drop of water has been separated from the ocean and can only discover the cause of its separation by meeting once again the ocean.

But behold! When the tiny drop plunges into the ocean there is no drop and no ocean aloof. They are one. Who, then, can speak of the cause of separation? There is no answer, no cause.

Whence there is separation, there is no answer.

Where there is the answer, there is no separation.
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1^st May

The flame shook with fear in the darkness that surrounded it. Its life was uncertain. The little that it saw in its light was the fact of the Beloved, whom it sought to meet. Yes, it was the Sun that it sought to meet and thus become great.

The black demon of night sought to enslave the flame. Numerous were the tears that the flame shed. It burst fiercely.

It was surrounded by its heat and light, and it waited.

Ah! The mighty essence of light was awakening! Was it just a dream? It fought against the powers of darkness, and this demon fled further and further away as the rays of light spread outwards from the flame. But the demon of night gave battle and was powerful, surrounding the tiny flame all the time.

“You shall not go further, nor shall the sun meet you!”

Just then, hours of patient waiting passed over into the day, and there was light.

Darkness disappeared, the demon of night took to flight, and the flame reached out freely towards its goal – the sun; and was soon one with it.

2^nd May

A moth is defined “Parvana”, and this spells “Par-va-na”, a phrase meaning “that which has its wings tied”

That which is in chains that which has trapped itself in its own wings. That which is a slave sometimes to one thought and sometimes to another. Separation from the flame has enslaved the insect. The light of the Sun has pinioned its wings so that it cannot fly away and meet the flame. But where is the flame? The moth knows not, it can only feel the separation. It has never seen the flame face to face but the flame is hidden in its heart. In this strange light emanating from the heart does it seek the flame.

The one thing that the moth desires is that the world be plunged into darkness o that te flame may become visible, and all other pictures of the world be hidden.

But sunset is not to come for a while. What, then, must it do?

It must from “Parvana” become “Parva-na” – that without fear – and consume itself in the fire of its love for the flame, so that free from bondage, it may ultimately meet the flame.

3^rd May

When, ‘tis He, who is in thy heart,

When ‘tis He, who is so ear, -

Hidden from the eyes – O, Why?

Time, beyond recall, spent,

And waiting does sweeter make

The Union, and the Separation.

Desire intense, and patience supreme

Thus He makes the ends to meet

The Lover doth all his possessions burn,

In the fire of his waiting

And thus, lightened, with speed proceed,

Thence, where resides the Beloved.

Satiates he his thirst then

In the Nectar of His love;

Love that resides in separation

Love that ends in Union.

‘Twas for Love that the Lover

Was separated from the Beloved –

And, When filled to the Brim

With the nectar of Love – Appeared face to face with the Beloved,

Who saw then in this mirror of Love,

The beauty of His own face.

4^th May

A lover has never unwillingly to sacrifice anything for the Beloved. One glance at the Beloved, and all that is worth sacrificing is forgotten. Yes, the lover does sacrifice many a thing for the sake of the beloved, but he, in truth, can never know.

If an object is to be sacrificed, then in the first place it must exist in the mind. Remembrance of the object endears it to the mind, and to the heart.

And what heart that is bound in thoughts of sacrifice can ever be free enough for the Beloved?

What the lover has sacrificed, he cannot remember. He can only remember Him, whom he has found. A learned man has gained all his realization by sacrificing ignorance. But the lover holds the Beloved with no thought of objects sacrificed, or of sacrifice itself.

It is perhaps one of the greatest miracles of Love that even on sacrificing everything one is not conscious of the sacrifice.

And there comes a time when the lover even forgets whom or what he holds.

He is awake, but not conscious of it.

Duality and Unity appear before him and disappear at the same time.

5^th May

Nothing that is not empty can ever be filled. A vessel must empty itself of the water within it before it can receive air.

It is not in your hands to “catch” the air and force it inside the vessel.

You need only throw out the water and the air will enter of itself. The vessel and water are in your hands, but not so the air.

When have you ever seen it, to doubt its existence now on seeing it? When the beautiful flowers swayed in the breeze and scattered scent, you believed there was this air; when the cool winds dried your perspiration you believed that it existed; when the trees trembled and dropped fruit you believed there was air. And all this you believed without actually “seeing” the air. And these would be the proofs that you would offer to one who did not believe in it.

How then can you capture this air in your vessel?

Empty the vessel of its contents and air will rush in of itself. Empty yourself of pride. That Great Reality will, of Itself, enter your heart.

It is “You” who must leave your heart, and “He” will enter unasked.

When shall I be free?

When “I” shall cease to be.

6^th May

God is “Khuda”. And this in turn is “Khud-a” i.e. “Come by Thyself.”

For who in the world can reach Him?

Swifter is He than the flowing waters,

Swifter than the wind,

Swifter than the flash of Lightning

Swifter than the mind can think.

No matter where the wind may fly,

There shall it forever meet the sky;

The mind can chase that which exists

And lose trace of that which is not.

Wisdom doth its prowess with the mind contrive

And reach far out.

To things full of mystery, to things sublime

And yet find Him there,

Before and after – yes – that Being Divine.

But Wisdom and the mind do lose

Their identity and their thoughts

Confronted with nothingness – what then to choose?

Ah! But He is ever-present,

He, Whom none can find,

Residing in His Grandeur’s Crescent,

Supreme and powerful and kind.

The wind and the sky before Him are still –

Like the mighty Himalayas.

Who, then, can His grace fill,

Into the cup of his antiquity?

Where lives the seeker

He, the sought, is not to be found;

Where lives the sought,

He, the seeker, is not to be found.

Thou must cease to exist –

Then only will He come by Himself.

7^th May

He is fire in the fire;

He is the flame, He the light –

But different from the radiance of the sun,

Different from the light of the earth,

But not the humanity therein;

Different from the light that drives away

Shady Domains of the Dark.

But doth not drive away,

The misery and ignorance of the Soul.

Nay, ‘tis not the light of the moon,

Nor the waxing and waning light

Of twinkling, sparkling stars above

Or candles that burn and die.

The earth, it was, revealed

In light of this kind –

But Alas! Not the Creator.

Light that is false and bound,

Light which blinded eyes nought can see,

Light, which depends upon eyes,

Light which is in the flash of lightning.

He is the Light in which is revealed

The innermost recesses of the Soul.

He is the Light which blinds all visions,

Of this hopeless destitute illusion

He is the Light in which there is no dark,

Now or ever.

He is the Light that Showers

Happiness, Peace and Unity sublime.

He is the Source, He, the light;

In Him are reflected all –

And before His Light

Must bow all.

8^th May

After the fifth floor of the House had been constructed, and it stood erect and proud, it seemed to say: “Now I exist!”

But where is the foundation? A purely imaginary concept, indeed, for it cannot be seen!

And this argument prevailed, and was accepted by all, - for what cannot be seen cannot be believed. Everybody came to the unanimous conclusion that the foundation did not exist!

It is equally true that after the flower has come in full bloom there is no trace of the seed.

The roots of a tree are entrenched firmly within the ground and cannot be seen. Yet the tree stays, still and mighty.

The roots and the seed, that are the very first evidence of the tree and the flower, and which gave birth to these entities, cannot be seen because they are hidden in the beauty of their creations.

So it is with the world. God created the Universe and hid Himself in His creation. But He is always the Foundation, and without Him nothing could exist.

Who can deny Him, without Whom nothing can exist?

9^th May

Even after an ant has burrowed deep into the earth, He can hear its footsteps, far more clearly than the beating of drums. The very sound that the ant is unaware of, is audible to Him.

When you can hear your own mind speak to you – a mind that speaks only with thoughts and ideas but has no audible voice – then why cannot He, Who gave you the mind, hear you call out to Him in prayer?

He exists before all your thoughts and wisdom.

He exists after all your thoughts and wisdom.

It is for you to fearlessly open your heart before Him and lay all your troubles before Him.

He will hear your voice, and he will answer your prayers.

10^th May

You cannot see Him, but He can see you. He knows, too, that you cannot see Him.

When you are alone an when you trip and fall, He will catch you by the hand. Then only will you realize that He is watching you.

When He obliterates your unclean thoughts and fills your mind with clean ones, then only will you realize that He is watching you.

When there is an inner conflict raging in your heart and you cannot choose or see the way, then He will come and show you the path; then only will you realize that He is watching you. And when the realization dawns upon you that He is watching you, then you, too, will be able to see Him.

He will then show you the path to Salvation, and, henceforth, for all ages to come. He will remain in your sight and you in His; He will care for your troubles. This thought will cleanse you of every sin, fear and worry.

11^th May

You think it is you who are running towards Him; and that He is keeping away from you. But this is not true.

When you look towards the sun, the rays of the sun reach you even before your eyes open.

You are encouraged to look at the Sun because you see its rays – the very rays that open your eyes at dawn, and fill them with joy.

Similarly He gives Himself to you and then reveals Himself. His Love is infinite, your love is limited.

He burns like the flame all the night long. He burns in His own fire so that you may see the path leading to Him, glittering with the golden rays of His flame. He wishes to quench your thirst. He wishes to fill you with the joy of His meeting.

His Love is ever-lasting. The love of the moth is for a moment only, for it brings extinction upon itself by plunging into the flame. But the flame burns in this Love, before, after, and with the moth.

It is this infinite Love that leads man to seek Him.

12^th May

The closed eyes see many a beautiful and many a horrifying dream at night, until at last, when the limits of darkness are crossed, the first rays of the Sun show the true path. The lost child is inevitably sought out by his father. The dead leaves and branches are laden with flowers with the coming of spring. And these are laws of Nature, that work at all times and places.

But, as sure and as rigid as these laws, there exist others. When man is helpless and cries out for somebody; when his path is obscured buy a narrow vision, and he cries out with a tear-filled voice, then some Unknown Power lends its help in some shape or the other, and shows the path. Desire and fulfillment are one and the same.

13^th May

You will be granted whatever you desire. But you will not be granted whatever you ask for. There is a subtle difference between these two.

On the surface, it may appear, that to desire and to ask for something are essentially the same. When you ask for something all that is required are a few words and a little wisdom.

A boy “asks for” text-books to study at school but obviously “desires” the pleasure of the playground. He desires one thing and asks for something else.

When you cannot live without something and are restless for it, that is desire. It springs from the soul and comes unasked.

There may be something that we ask for merely for materialistic reasons but we do not desire it. Desire comes from the heart, whereas the task of asking for something is essentially that of the mind.

Has the heart of man been filled with the desire to see that Lasting Beauty of His face, or is it merely asking for Him?

To Desire is to be given; to Ask for is merely to grope for the way.

14^th May

A certain man fell into a river. He knew nothing of swimming and was lost in the depths of water. He came up once or twice and then sank again. His friend, who was on the shore, leapt into the river and saved him.

After they were high and dry on the shore, his friend asked him:

“I wonder what you were thinking of when you were drowning? This morning you mentioned all the important things you had to do – look after your health, become famous, attend to your business. You must have been sorry that you were drowning without having had a chance at any of these.”

His friend replied:

“My business, my health, my fame, were all forgotten. I was thinking of none of these things. All I desired was air, nothing but air!”

In this one desire all other desires merged and vanished. This is true craving.

15^th May

A candle beheld light all around it and was astonished to see the illumination. From whence came it? The candle looked in all directions but could see no source from where the light emanated. It was lost in ignorance. A few hours slipped by. Somebody got up and placed the candle in another room. The candle was astonished again to see the light now in that room. From whence came this light?

At last, unable to bear the suspense, it asked a passer-by:

“O, Sir – where does this light come from?”

The passer-by laughed loudly and said:

“Do you ask such a question? You, who are the enemy of darkness and are scattering golden rays everywhere? You are the source. You are the light!:”

The candle was perturbed and sought to see itself, but in vain. There was no mirror in the room, and it could not see itself. This brought doubts back again and the candle refused to believe that the light was its own.

The night long, the solitary candle burned and perished, consumed in its own flame, and yet was never for an instant aware that it was the source of light.

Here was goodness done without the least consciousness of the act.

16^th May

The little “Deepak” of clay was filled with oil, and the wick inserted therein.

Somebody came inside the room and searched for the match-stick. This, too, was submerged in the darkness of the room.

That, which was to dispel the darkness, was itself in the dark.

A search led to a lighted house from whence a light was obtained and the “deepak” of clay lit. The house was filled with this light.

The light of the Deepak leapt up in its own flame; it shed radiance into groping eyes, and then looked down upon itself, upon the wick and the oil, and said;

“They who burn in my flame, they who gave me place – they are my companions. My radiance plays upon them and then flies everywhere!”

They who give place to that Great Reality; they who burn in His flame – they are the ones that are filled forever with a radiance Divine, that illumines the world.

17^th May

Ah! ‘Twas the chamber closed,

And without assembled the storm;

Trees denuded, bowed before the Autumn,

Flowers, dead and weary, filled the path,

Birds, their nests left behind –

Sought refuge in niches of the wall.

And the winds blew and blew,

The window shattered, curtains-a-flying,

Came in the cruel cold, the cruel breeze,

Threatened they the poor candle-flame,

That shook with fear and shook with misery

As if on earth no haven secure.

Just then came the hand of mercy,

And shut-to-close the window open;

Vanished then the tremble and the fear,

Vanished then the cruel wind.

Ah! So it is with man -

His heart, the chamber closed,

Desire, the cruel wind,

His soul, the trembling flame of peace,

The breach in faith the window broken.

18^th May

In the beauty of the garden,

Stood they, the pillars of Nature –

Trees, upon whom fowls of the air

Sat and rested, their wings a-tired,

Chirped they in the delight

Of the pleasures of the air,

Of the mighty endless sky above,

Of the flights so gay and free.

Yet it, the mighty, endless Ocean

So full of air, so full of freedom,

Gave not a place secure –

A place to call a haven.

Nay, proud and indifferent and still,

So distant, so gay so free;

But not a place for rest

Not a place to build a nest.

Trees, humbled with age, stock and sturdy,

Not so distant, not so free –

Ah! But upon earth a place to live in;

A place to build a nest.

So it is with man –

The restless, weary creature,

Whose mind and heart do upward soar

Seeking nothing, finding nothing,

And then with despair alight

On earth-bound trees secure.

A search for the God invisible,

A search for the Power Divine,

Incomprehensible flights of Logic,

Ah! But what do they find?

Turning inwards, turning homewards,

To the multitudes of beings below,

To the rolling wheel of mankind

There and there it is –

That Power Divine.

19^th May

Fell again, lie, the child,

Fell again, he, - and fell again;

Fell in agony and cried.

Falls so frequent, would they be,

Had there no mother been?

The child, would have fallen he?

His falls do ever prove

The existence of the mother,

Of one who hears and sees,

And then her hand doth seize,

And stills the crying voice,

Had there no mother been,

The child would ne’er have fallen,

And if fallen, would raise himself.

These the laws of Nature are,

These the laws of the Creator,

Trees and bushes that must barren be,

Are left on plains and deserts parched;

Others that bear the fruit,

Are left on pastures green,

Tended by the hands of mercy

Of the gardener.

Man, the barren garden is,

And He the Gardener.

Man completely incomplete –

And He, the complete,

Together must they stand,

His strength to supplement,

The Dying Life of man.

20^th May

Yes, ‘tis the bubble weak and frail,

But no! ‘Tis yet the ocean great –

Seeks it to raise itself above the mighty,

Seeks it to ride atop the ocean;

But still ‘tis the ocean,

A bubble though it be,

Seeks it then to raise itself above itself?

The ocean, wide and big,

The bubble, weak and frail,

Why seeks the wide and mighty,

To appear in the small,

To appear in the bubble?

Ah, thou without a limit!

Seeks thee the limitation of frailty?

Seeks thee, without end,

Seeks thee, - an end?

Not an inch wilt thou gain,

Not an inch wilt thou lose,

Then why this of thee in the bubble?

Then why this of thee in the bubble?

In the tiny bubble, in its limitation,

Finds itself constrained to limits

It, - the mighty ocean, it, without limits.

But in this the limitation,

In this, the ending entity,

In this alone sees the mighty ocean

Its own greatness, its infinity,

In two there is one,

In the fruit and in the tree,

In the beginning and in the ending,

And in infinity.

21^st May

What relation dost thou have with Him, the Creator – with Him, the INFINITE – O, human! How const thou find Him and know Him? Wisdom is of no avail, and likewise sects and dogmas.

Who can set a strange child before a grown-up and ask a strong acceptance of the son-and-father relationship?

Though close physically, yet leagues apart will stand their souls. Such a relationship cn have no meaning.

What relation const thou re-establish with Him, the Creator?

Sink deep into meditation, fill thyself with the thought of Him, - and before wisdom can interfere, accept the voice of thy soul. That voice will speak of thy relationship with him.

In a glance, the nightingale

Recognized its Beloved in the Rose;

In a glance, the tiny moth

Recognized its Beloved in the Flame.

In a glance the Lover,

Recognized the Beloved.

Relations these, made from ages past –

The Creator and the creation forever last.

22^nd May

O, Man! Seekest thou to know the existence of Him above?

Filled with doubts and fears, blinded art thou. Search for Him, not elsewhere, but in thyself. Turn thy thoughts inwards and ask of thy heart, who it was that filled thy life with success after success, when of success there was no chance? There were some that thou had power over, and these can attribute to thy strength. But what of the moments when despair heaped upon misery and no ray of hope was seen – and even then, as if by chance, were granted thou a route that led to Light?

If it were He, then why did He, and how did He?

“Twas His Grace, His mercy. When He saw thee labour hard, when He saw thy efforts fail. He stepped upon thy sorrow and showed thee the path.

Lucky is the man who, having failed in his own efforts, sees in the Success that comes, the Face of the Almighty.

23^rd May

When, of a sudden, thou art smitten by a calamity, thy reason can find no “how” or “why”. Then thou art forced to accept it as a chance, as an exception.

There are no clouds in the sky and yet lightning strikes. What reason canst thou offer for the strange and sudden calamity that falls upon thee?

Thou canst but call nit a chance.

But no! There is no chance! What is sudden is not a chance! It comes in its own sphere of laws that guide it. There is much behind it and much after.

A flash of lightning may be sudden, but it appears through the guidance of certain physical principles.

There is a reason for everything, even a reason quite apart from the reasoning of men.

When the wind attacks the tiny bud, it does so to hasten its opening.

The potter thumps and beats the clay to mould it into a pitcher.

The ocean rages and scatters its formation of waves and pearls.

The ocean rages and scatters its formation of waves and pearls.

The sudden calamity is not a chance. It originates from Him, even as His sudden help.

Therefore, whether it be a sudden chance to success or a sudden calamity, they point equally to Hi, the Creator.

Such is His strength.

24^th May

One of the greatest proofs of the existence of God is that he can dispose in the twinkling of an eyelash what man takes years to propose.

He shatters the hopes and aspirations of man, so that man may know that He who rules is above, and the laws that exist are His. He is the Lord and Master.

A man that resides in a kingdom without knowing the king nor the laws of the kingdom is bound to consider his own laws as the correct ones. Yet, now and again the Real Laws of the land must be enforced, and the man’s self-imposed laws completely scattered. Not realizing that the breaking of his laws is merely the enforcement of the Greater Law, he thinks that all laws are untrue. Yet, he must, in the end, submit to the Greater Law, and accept the Real King and Emperor.

25^th May

In silence stood the little rose,

Looking hither now and thither.

Not a rustle of the leavers,

Not a drop therein of dew.

Tears smiled and withered,

On its petals, pink and red,

Gave relief to stricken wonder.

Why, O, wondrous Rose, why

Dost thou gape and wonder?

Why, with awe and fear

Dost thou in dreams a-dwell?

“Who can know my wonder?” said the rose,

“Who can feel my awe?

Ah! What was it, ‘tis I saw!

Yesterday I bent the twig –

Willy-nilly, where I wished;

To the North, and to the South,

Aye, to the East and to the West.

And this I did, when’er I wished.

But Lo! Today, when to the East,

I wished the twig to bend,

Who was it – Nay – What was it

That to the West did it send?

When to the North,

Exert I did, with all my might

Why, o –a why, to the South it went?

Who did on this twig alight?

Who was it – Nay – what was it!

Know I now,

That when to the East

I wished the twig to bend –

It – the unseen, wished the same, -

And bending with the twig,

Vanity filled me in vain.”

O, Rose so pure and fair,

Know thou then the truth –

For what it was that bent the twig,

Was not thy wish – ‘Twas the air!

26^th May

An artist painted a beautiful picture and left it for exhibition in an Art Gallery. When people saw the picture they were greatly moved. In a matter of minutes a crowd thronged around the picture. All unanimously acclaimed its beauty and praised this work of art. Their hearts were held in captivity by the rainbow-like apparition before them. Someone expressed his desire to buy the picture. No sooner was this made manifest than a general clamour arose in the crowd. Everybody wished to buy it.

They were all collectors of valuable pieces of art. What one could pay, the other could pay as well. All eyes saw it, but all hands could not possess it.

The clamour gave place to a quarrel and matters would have taken a turn for the worse had not some intelligent person amongst them suggested, that they find the Artist who made the picture. He would, of course, sell the picture to a man of his own choosing.

Now the Artist was hidden behind a wall, bewildered and happy. He had listened to the words of praise and then to wishes that sought to possess the picture. He came out in the open and said:

“I am the Artist, and this my painting. There is only one such picture, but the buyers are many. If all desire it, then they must first meet me and know me. Then will I make unto each such a picture.”

He is the Artist, - He the Creator. And the Universe is His painting.

To possess this world you must learn to know Him.

27^th May

Another day has gone. Evening is setting in to drown the last remnants of light, and time is passing unawares. Weary of the world, the eyes seek to close and lose themselves in the sights of the inner soul.

Alas! Not even today! He cannot be found! The heart seeks in vain!

Sleeplessness makes way for sleep, and the eyes close, and wander away into the land of dreams. The world appears even there, - but where, O, where is that Divine intoxication? How can the sleeper proceed a step further on the way? Alas! He sleeps, dead and faint, drunk in the wine of sleep.

Groping eyes wander hither and thither in the world of sleep but find Him not, and thus disappointed, awaken to the world of Reality.

Light is setting in to drown the last remnants of night; birds are flying in the air; and the seeker weeps with the pain of separation. Tears fall to the ground. The tears fly on the sighs of the seeker, away, for away, towards Him.

28^th May

The route is difficult. Each and every tear-drop is filled with a multitude of sparks of fire. The traveler grows weary and tired. The Divine Garden is hidden from sight and no one may find it.

There are footsteps going away, far, far away, but one that return.

Thousands have gone on this road, thousands have passed on, far, far away, but none that have returned.

What exists at the end of the road, - Death or Salvation? Did not they, who had gone before, give consideration to this?

Death or Salvation?

Nobody returned. Nobody shouted back a warning, or words of encouragement. There is no refrain of music, nor the sweet scent of flowers.

But let us proceed all the same! We have had enough of fear and worry behind us. If nothing, then a new experience. Yes, let us be on our way before the Sun sinks and night prevails.

Hark! Is not that the wondrous melody of a flute, the wondrous refrain of much? Is not that the sweet scent of a flower? From whence cometh this Light?

O, Intoxication Divine!

I am Drunk! Take me whither thou wilt. Reach out thy hand and take me away, ne’er to Return.

29^th May

When you have reached the middle of the river and the opposite shore is in sight, then .swim on!

Do not hesitate and turn back. There is as much distance ahead as that left behind. And if you return you will be filled not only with fatigue but disappointment as well. Go forward and span the gap with courage.

There is rest on the opposite shore.

If your strength grows weak and your courage fails, then think of the Beloved on the opposite shore. Think of the beauty of the Beloved, the smiling eyes and waiting heart. Think of the difficult time the Beloved has spent in waiting. These thoughts will fill you with a new strength and you will swim on with vigour. You will then reach the opposite shore and see the Beloved face to face.

30^th May

The flame burns alone in the darkness. The path of the moth is filled with the golden radiance of the flame. There are no pitfalls in its route. There is Love within the moth for the flame. The moth – a tiny little insect, that was cooped up in dusty closets and was frightened of every object it struck, - now flies towards the burning flame without any fear, oblivious of the objects around.

It reaches the flame. The light of the flame shows the way. The hot blast of air singes its wings. It feels a burning sensation and seeks to turn back, but the flame holds it strongly and whispers:

“How can my fire burn you; it does not burn me.

This perishing fire is a deception, for within me there is eternal life.

My fire is cold within.

My beauty has bound thee to stay.

This is my Love, and you must come forward and not go back now.”

31^st May

After the long and tortuous journey through the paths of separation, the drop of water plunged into the ocean at the mouth of a river. It was beset upon by a fit of weeping and seemed to turn into a spray of water.

It wept for a long time. It had wept in separation. It wept now in Union. And this is what it cried:

“O mighty Ocean! Knowest thou how I, a tiny little drop of water, reached thee? Canst thou conceive of the rocks and the valleys and the marshy grounds that I trod?

Thou art Great. Every wave of thine contains millions of drops of water.

And me, alone! O, How did I ever reach thee?”

The Ocean was moved and replied:

“Thou art small and the pain of separation terrible I am big, but I say unto thee that the pain of separation was for me, more terrible.

Did not I dash my waves against stony shores in search of thee? Did not I spread out my hand on my hands on open beaches? My hands, that groped for thee!

Ah! But forget the past. Forget the separation. Take joy now in this Union.”

Song World Day of Love

2009-06-14T11:35:00.001+05:30

Tribute by Amy Kelly, USA

2008-10-06T00:08:00.003+05:30

Even as the 365 Thoughts for Peace of Mind by HH Shri Bhola Nathji continue, we give below a video made by Amy Kelly, a wonderful video maker who has several hundred videos to her credit on YOuTube alone which have won laudations by multitudes of people.

She is a great philosopher, psychologist, teacher, and deeply spiritual person in her own right.

She was so taken up by the spiritual philosophy of HH Shri Bhola Nathji that she began reading his book "The First Rays of Dawn" daily and then paid a wonderful tribute to Shri Bhola Nathji as well as the book in her beautiful video below.

Her daughter, Shuggie, was so enthralled by HH Shri Bhola Nathji's dance in the galaxies that she wanted to have a crown similar to his in the video!!

A Message of Peace

2008-10-05T22:31:00.018+05:30

The video below shows HH Shri Bhola Nathji in November 1983 at the age of 81, in various dresses of the world, depicting a unity and oneness with humanity. His incredibly beautiful personality is seen here, exuding beauty and light, even at the age of 81.
In the background his famous Message of Peace is being read out by his Harvard educated son, Priya Nath Mehta.

DANCING IN THE GALAXIES

In the video below HH Shri Bhola Nathji is shown dancing in the galaxies to the tune of his Urdu poetry, visualising a oneness with the Universe and with God:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvE6f8IlC3E
"In this Universe of Light
I stand shoulder to shoulder with the Galaxies

I am like a drop of water, like a particle of dust,
But I am also the ocean and the desert vast

I know everyone, but they do not know of me,
I am hidden in every heart, I am the bliss of every heart,

I am the darkness of the night,
And I am the rising hope of dawn,

I know of the mysteries of creation
Of the smallest of particles in the Universe,

Mine eyes have seen the Glory of the Light above,
I am mingled into its radiance and become Light myself"

AUDIO GHAZAL OF HH SHRI BHOLA NATHJI
SUNG BY PRIYA NATH MEHTA

HH Shri Bhola Nathji wrote over 30,000 poems, or spiritual lyrics, during the last eleven years of his sojourn upon earth, at a time when he was beset upon by dangerous illnesses.

Astonishingly these ghazals portray only the highest of divine bliss, in which there is no trace of sorrow or pain. They are a great miracle in themselves. He would recline in bed and these divine revelations would just flow out of him, hour after hour, day after day, year after year.

Indeed he wrote for about 20 hours of the day--when he was in his 80's and ended his writing at the age of 90 when he left the planet earth.

Even during the worst phases of his illnesses he was giving peace and happiness to the people of the world, relieving them of their sorrows and sufferings and showing them the path to God Realisation, of which these ghazals are a part.

Although HH Shri Bhola Nathji was in no way connected with music-- yet his poems and lyrics were so perfect in their rhyme and rhythm that they could only have been divine in origin. This was experienced by all who heard them.

Another miracle was, that Priya Nath Mehta, who had no formal training in music, miraculously got the inspirations to compose music for the ghazals and to sing them in a voice that touched the depths of the human soul. It was as if HH Shri Bhola Nathji was writing the ghazals and simultanously sending inspirations to Priya Nath to compose them.

Priya Nath was able to compose only a few hundred of these wonderful ghazals. One of these is given below. It can also be heard at:

http://www.myspace.com/pnmghazals

http://www.archive.org/details/GhazalOfHhShriBholaNathjiSungByPriyaNathMehta

The beginning of the ghazal is with the words:

"Nigaahon men agar too hai,
To Dil men bhee too hee to hai"

"When Thou art before the eyes,
Then it must be Thee and Thee in the heart"

HH Shri Bhola Nathji

2008-10-05T20:28:00.006+05:30

HH Shri Bhola Nathji (1902-1992) was a great spiritual luminary of his time, who was the Founder of the World Prayer Day for Peace, which he had founded in 1984 to save the world from a nuclear holocaust. He was fondly known as "nathji".

All his life he gave peace and beatitude to countless souls, relieving them of their sorrows and suffferings through his message of love and peace. His speeches and writings transcended boundaries of race, religion or nationalty.

His incredibly beautiful personality glowed with a divine radiance all the time. He would say:

" I have no mission except Love in this world. My mission is Love and my work is Love."

It was also his saying that "God is Love."
He called himself, in all humility: Nath, Ghulam Rue Zameen, which means the Servant of the Earth.

A brief biography of HH Shri Bhola Nathji can be found in the blog
http://hhshribholanathji.blogspot.com/

The writings in "The Thoughts for Peace of Mind" are taken from his enthralling book "The First Rays of Dawn"-- which serve to bring peace of mind to the reader the first thing in the morning, so that he will have strength to face whatever life may bring. They bring solace to wounded hearts and serve as unique companions of life. Read them every morning before going out to face the day, or else read them in the night before retiring for a peaceful rest.