We have considered Meister Eckhart’s teachings on peace and repose which seem especially meaningful not only at this time of winter and advent but also in our times of rancor and noise all around us in the media and in political discourse and posturing.
We have also found these same theme developed in Buddhism and in indigenous teachings of Black Elk.
In the Hindu tradition, the Bhagavad Gita teaches this:
The Lord dwells in the hearts of all creatures, and he hurls them around on the wheel of time.
Isn’t this what Eckhart was teaching also, that the repose of God is found in all beings and all beings are busy seeking out the repose of God?
In the Upanishads we learn that
…there is a Light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us all, beyond the heavens….This is the Light that shines in our heart.
Doesn’t this echo the teachings of Black Elk? Furthermore,
In the center of the castle of Brahman, our own body, there is a small shrine in the form of a lotus-flower, and within can be found a small space. We should find who dwells there, and we should want to know him.
Notice that our bodies are not something to control and lord over—they are “the castle of Brahman.”
And within them is a “small shrine in the form of a lotus-flower.” How like Eckhart’s “spark of the soul” is this small shrine? For him the “spark of the soul” sets a divine fire in our hearts that burns the whole world. It is a fire of love and compassion as Aquinas taught, “compassion is the fire that Jesus came to set on the earth.”
This spark of the soul is a manger, a birth place for God, for the son and daughter of God that we are all here to birth. Especially in this season of advent and Christmas.
Who does dwell there? The Upanishads continue.
The little space within the heart is as great as this vast universe. The heavens and the earth are there, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars; fire and lightning and winds are there; and all that now is and all that is not: for the whole universe is in him and he dwells within our heart.
Is this the One we encounter when we quiet down and go inside?
Adapted from Matthew Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faith Traditions, pp. 155f.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner Image: The flame in this lotus candle holder echoes the spark of the soul. Photo by Alli on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you sometimes feel that the “little space within the heart is as great as this vast universe”? What follows from that?
Recommended Reading
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
10 thoughts on “The Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads on Peace and Repose”
We have considered Meister Eckhart’s teachings on peace and repose.
We have also found these same theme developed in Buddhism and in indigenous teachings of Black Elk.
In the Upanishads we learn that, “In the center of the castle of Brahman, our own body, there is a small shrine in the form of a lotus-flower, and within can be found a small space. We should find who dwells there, and we should want to know him. “The castle of Brahman” is like unto our bodies as the temple of God. The Upanishads continue: “The little space within the heart is as great as this vast universe. The heavens and the earth are there, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars; fire and lightning and winds are there; and all that now is and all that is not: for the whole universe is in him and he dwells within our heart.” So you ask us: “Do you sometimes feel that the ‘little space within the heart is as great as this vast universe’?” Yes, I have had a number of those kind of “peak” experiences.
“Loving to love.” What is it, what is the ‘love to love’? Is the ‘love to love’ like a heartbeat that we are consciously unconscious of? It is best to just let the heartbeat happen, is it not? If so, why do we stop our innate ‘love to love’ at times which may be withheld and / or meted out with discrimination?
Beyond the encasement of our flesh, we ourselves are ‘drops of pure love’ in the ocean of love, in the ocean of mercy, in the ocean of joy, in the ocean of peace, in the ocean of solitude, in the ocean of all-inclusiveness. We belong, we all belong, even those people including ourselves that give all of us those feelings and emotions that say ‘otherwise’. Should we not fight through the deceptions we continue to throw at ourselves with a faith that accepts the simple notion that ‘Loving to love’ is not a hollow metaphor but who we really are and has been written on ‘the walls of eternity’. What better reason is there than to read ‘the writing on the wall’ and ‘loving to love’ while doing so?
If we are to ‘get real’ is ‘loving to love’ not our moment to moment ‘contemplation and action’? If a well-intentioned or delusional holy person / activist stops to tell you “Here are the things you must do to show your love”, politely say back, “I am more than those things alone, and in fact I am all things, and ‘loving to love’ is my only thing.” — BB.
Is this what Thomas Merton refers to as the point vierge?
There was one particular word that Mathew spoke within todays DM, with regards to that which lies within the heart, which really sparked an insight of how one can experience the vast universe… this word being IMAGINATION. It is the gift of imagination that opens that little space within my heart to the infinitely vast and diverse expressions and manifestations of the essence and presence of the Divine, within the all and the everything of creation… within both the visible and invisible, internal and external realms of the Great Mystery and Webb of Life of which we are all apart of. The gift of the imagination is a unique open hearted pathway of sensing the vastness of the mystery within all of creation, beyond the limitation of our usual five senses of perception. Its like experiecing a second set of spiritual inner eyes and ears that dwells in the heart, which enables us to see, hear, experience and intuitively know, through directly encountering ourselves, the unfolding, evolving, emerging essence and presence of the Spirit of the Divine present within ALL. The language of imagination is often beautifully spoken through images, sigils, shapes, symbols, patterns, colours, and vibrations… in a creative, transformative, metaphoric storytelling kind of way, which expands our perceptions of reality and our responsive engagement with the Great Mystery, the Divine Spirit, within the heart, mind and soul of the all and the everything.
Jeanette, You write: “There was one particular word that Mathew spoke within todays DM, with regards to that which lies within the heart, which really sparked an insight of how one can experience the vast universe… this word being IMAGINATION.” I point this out to you because if you don’t already have it, Matthew’s book, where he writes on this topic is titled, CREATIVITY: WHERE THE DIVINE AND THE HUMAN MEET. Read and enjoy !!!
Deep within the confines of my mind,
The window with the Sun against my side,
I glanced a piece of nothing there,
And knew it was my pride.
Where does one go, where is one?
Then asking “is it me?”
I cried ten thousand thousand tears,
I’d touched this Unity.
The heartache and the reverence
The godhead standing near,
I knew there was no settlement,
The cost was much too dear.
How does one lose this evil,
This bitter sense of shame?
Where did I part from Oneness,
Or is it all the same?
P.E.N.
Nice poem Paul !!!
Every moment
the Universe reveals itself
in all its glory
within and beyond.
Don’t wait
for something better
than Now.
If you hold back
now
is already
too late.
Today’s DM reminds me why some mystics refer to the Divine and Her~His Divine Love within us as our TRUE HEART SELF, our Eternal Soul, in our Creator’s Loving Diverse Oneness….
????
True Heart Self~Cosmic Christ Consciousness~Divine Love-Wisdom~our ongoing co-Creation~Evolution~Diverse Loving Oneness in our eternal multiverse Cosmos….
????