Sacred Heart #22

Self is everywhere, shining forth from all beings,
vaster than the vast, subtler than the most subtle,
unreachable, yet nearer than breath, than heartbeat.
Eye cannot see it, ear cannot hear it nor tongue
utter it; only in deep absorption can the mind,
grown pure and silent, merge with the formless truth.
He who finds it is free; he has found himself;
he has solved the great riddle; his heart forever is at peace.
Whole, he enters the Whole. His personal self
returns to its radiant, intimate, deathless source.
As rivers lose name and form when they disappear
into the sea, the sage leaves behind all traces
when he disappears into the light. Perceiving the truth,
he becomes the truth; he passes beyond all suffering,
beyond death; all the knots of his heart are loosed.

The Unpanishads (8th-5^th BC) are the most recent addition to the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. They deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness and ontological knowledge. German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer called them “the most profitable and elevating reading which … is possible in the world.”

I find the Upanishads some of the most beautiful and inspirational writing I have ever read. I love the certainty of the declaration … Self is everywhere, shining forth from all beings…. There is no equivocation, no maybe, no possibly, no doubts, no hope it is so. You can feel the weight and truth of the statement. It stands solid like a mountain.

At the end, the sage disappears into the light … all the knots of his heart are loosed. For some reason the image that came to my mind was of the “quipu” of the Incas who used a system of knotted cords to categorize information. Our lives can appear to be a series of knotted chords. Each knot signifying the events and emotions that lodge in the tight corners of our souls and constrict our joy of life. If we can loosen those knots, untie our minds and open our hearts, our true Self can shine forth and we will be forever at peace.