He and I

‘He and I’ by Gabrielle Bossis

‘He and I’ is the chronicle of one woman’s rapturous relationship with the Eternal Beloved.

Gabrielle Bossis was born into a privileged French family in 1874. Recognizing her innate spirituality, her family priest tried to guide her into convent life. But she resisted this attempt. Nor did she ever marry. Blessed with many talents, she lived a full life, enjoying the life of the world, while living the essence of the spirit – shining in many endeavors, but dedicating herself to the service of her Lord in thought, word and deed. From 1936 to her death in 1950, ‘He and I’ is the narration of this deeply intimate association with the Divine.

This book, taking the form of conversations between the author and Christ, is infused by Mlle. Bossis’ love for her Redeemer Christ, who offered his life as the supreme sacrifice for humanity. It is this love of her Savior that inspires her to live her life in the spirit of constant service, yielding all to him:

“Look at the stained glass windows. Some are in the shadow and have kept all their colors to themselves. Others have surrendered to the sun and are completely lost in its light.”

Though Spirituality is supposed to transcend Religion, it is but natural if our spiritual journey is experienced through the prism of the faith that we are born into. We must row our fragile vessel of individual consciousness, before allowing it to dissolve into the ocean of the Universal.

Lovers of devotional literature will find echoes of Mirabai’s poetry, Andal’s ‘Thirupaavai’, and the songs of the Sufi saints in this book.

Songs of Consciousness

The Inner Consciousness
By
Rumi

The inner consciousness
Of the saint
Is the true mosque
Where all should worship,
God lives there.


Between the Poles of the Conscious
By
Kabir

Between the poles of the conscious and the unconscious,
there has the mind made a swing:
Thereon hang all beings and all worlds,
and that swing never ceases its sway.

Millions of beings are there:
the sun and the moon in their courses are there:
Millions of ages pass, and the swing goes on.

All swing! the sky and the earth and the air and the water;
and the Lord Himself taking form:
And the sight of this has made Kabîr a servant.


Apocalypse
By
Sri Chinmoy

Within, without the cosmos wide am I;
In joyful sweep I loose forth and draw back all.
A birthless deathless Spirit that moves and is still
Ever abides within to hear my call.

I who create on earth my joys and doles
To fulfil my matchless quest in all my play,
I veil my face of truth with golden hues
And see the serpent night and python day.

A Consciousness Bliss I feel in each breath;
I am the self amorous child of the Sun.
At will I break and build my symbol sheath
And freely enjoy the world's unshadowed fun.

The Golden Rule

Buddhism:

Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.

Christianity:

Always treat others as you would like them to treat you: that is the Law…

Hinduism:

This is the sum of all true righteousness – Treat others, as thou wouldst thyself be treated.

Islam:

Do unto all men as you would wish to have done unto you; and reject for others what you would reject for yourselves.

Judaism:

What is hurtful to yourself do not to your fellow man. That is the whole of the Torah and the remainder is but commentary.

April 2010

“It is the duty of every cultured man or woman to read sympathetically the scriptures of the world. If we are to respect others' religions as we would have them respect our own, a friendly study of the world's religions is a sacred duty.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.” – Albert Einstein

“I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.” – Abraham Lincoln

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” – Mother Teresa

“Always do right! This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”
- Mark Twain

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King

“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” – the Dalai Lama

One Day in Vietnam

It was early in the Vietnam War, and an American platoon was hunkered down in some rice paddies, in the heat of a firefight with the Vietcong. Suddenly a line of six monks started walking along the elevated berms that separated paddy from paddy. Perfectly calm and poised, the monks walked directly toward the line of fire.

"They didn't look right, they didn't look left. They walked straight," recalls David Busch, one of the American soldiers. "It was really strange, because nobody shot at 'em. And after they walked over the berm, suddenly all the fight was out of me. I just didn't feel like I wanted to do this anymore, at least not that day. It must have been that way for everybody, for everybody quit. We just stopped fighting."

(from "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Coleman)