Presence (Book)

De Simple Silence.

While i sat in my Master’s presence, clad in the garments of tradition, years slipped through my fingers. My master appeared regal in his wrap of matted cloth, receiving the obeisance of those who came to him for succor. To him they said : « Master, all these years we have come to you with outstretched hands asking for the grace of God. What will become of our children when we shall have become the dust under your feet? »—He answered them :

« This child of mine you see sitting yonder will be Father to your children. And only when your children become the dust of his feet, will they attain true fulfillment. He is the Father of all creation, and since your children are a part of creation, he is their Father as well. Therefore live as children of one Father until his grace awakens you to the consciousness of your divinity. »

-- « Tell your children to be like dust, for it is only dust that is free of all impressions. You can walk on dust, trample it under your feet or apply it on the forehead with reverence. Dust will ever remain dust, indifferent to praise or ridicule. »

« Look again at the face of this boy, for I have made him perfect. He will live with you in illusion as the center of the cosmos and spread equitably his radiance to the entire universe. Come to him with your impurities and he will turn you into gold. Know that you can become him, for he is Love. To men toiling in the fields, I say, love him. And to the women suckling the new- born, I say, become him by loving him, as you would love the babe that draws your milk. »

-- And the tired faces of the seekers and aspirants turned towards me, as one of them spoke, « We have seen you, but have not known you. »—« You will not know me till he whose will governs illusion and reality wills it. »—« Are you a seeker? »

« Yes, I am a seeker of those souls who long for me as they would thirst for water in the midst of a parched desert. I seek those who are desperate to see me as I really am and have yet not reached that state of desperation that would make me bestow my grace on them. »

-- « What is it that brings you into the presence of our master? »

« Before I am born, those who have realized Reality and experienced the absoluteness of the absolute Oneness of god await my presence. When I appear they hand over the keys of their domain to me, drop their bodies and remain eternally merged in the unmanifest aspect of god. I am the total manifestation of God in human form. From the woman who sat under the tree and kissed me on the forehead to the one who sits here like an emperor without a crown, like a king without a kingdom, I have received Godhood. The Power they have given me is not to rule over the minds of men, but to awaken love in their hearts. The Knowledge they have given me is not for the fulfillment of ambition, but to remove the veils of ignorance that blind mankind. The Bliss they have given me is not to experience the pleasure of the senses, but to give true happiness to those who seek it. »

-- The master spoke then with the serenity that becomes his true majesty.

« Do not wonder, for in this child you behold Presence. He will give realization to those who are spiritually aware, liberation to those who are ready to surrender, conviction to those who are prepared to believe. He brings the greatest treasure which mankind can receive ; the treasure that endures eternally, for he now consciously knows and feels that eternal state of existence. Be ready to receive his grace, and he will give it to you in keeping with the depth of your receptacle of love. »

-- So saying, the master left his cage, came and embraced me and led me to the hut nearby. As we entered the narrow pathway, the people bowed in reverence and uttered, « Blessed are we to be in the presence of the Eternal Beloved, » and pledged, « we have seen Presence, we must now try to see him as he really is. We have known Presence, we must now try to feel Presence. May Presence be with us. »—As they turned to go home, the sky became brighter and the firmament glowed with joy.

-- It was the beginning of a New life.

[modifier] The Descent

On a tumultuous morning, the sun, paled into a haze of grey clouds, making the dawn appear like dusk. Suddenly, from within the bowels of the darkening clouds, shafts of light emerged.

Long and diffused, but sharp in intensity, these shafts of light were formless and appeared only to human eyes to have the glow of form. But then such is the quality of illusion.

The people seeing the dark clouds, the grey mist, the darkening shadows, found it very strange. Never had they seen such a morning. They did not know what to make of it. "Is it a bad day, ominous, and foreboding evil?" they wondered. Or, "Is it just another morning foretelling the coming of a harsh and mournful winter?" They looked at one another in silence.

As their gaze fell back to the sky, they knew not what to say. Many such days when the clouds were grey and hazy had brought them face to face with the severity of weather.

As the old and young gathered, they watched the shafts of light glow with even more radiance. Moving in a slow swirl, the first shaft reached out to catch the flowing hem of a smoky grey cloud that seemed to be passing in haste.

The second colonnade of light was filled with small globules emanating from a single large bubble. At each moment the small, new bubbles grew. They then broke into a thin, viscous layer to quickly form into one bubble which died a rapid death, only to be be born anew, infinitely conscious of its death in illusion and its birth in reality.

The people were astonished. Never had they seen shafts of light so dissimilar, yet glowing with such intensity. The third shaft of light emerged from its source awhirl, as if eager to break through its limits, but in actuality constrained by its limitations. It bore several forms in illusion to ultimately perish in nothingness.

The most remarkable was the fourth merging of light. It changed into an indescribable form, but died to live eternally in a state of formlessness.

More powerful than this, was the fifth column. In it glistened a million stars, each burnished by a glow of light. Here was the shaft of purity. In unison the people said that it illumined the other columns of light. This Was their belief. It appeared to give light, yet it had its own glow and glowed in its own light. It had the power, yet not the incandescence, to help the other light shafts glow more brightly. It was the shaft that gave birth to a million forms through evolution.

The people continued to stare and wonder. Should they rejoice or take this as the day when their lives would be measured by such events? They peered into the parchments prepared by their foreparents, their record of the mental impressions of humankind.

Where, they asked, do we begin our search? Above them, lay this strange spectacle, this inexplicable display of magic and illusion. Their hearts searched for what was real. They wished to deduce whether this strange event was merely an illusion, a bubble on the serenity of their lives, or was it something that had not transpired in billions of years, occurring on this February morn?

Most curious of all to them was the sixth shaft of light. It stood alone, unguarded, glowing. Those gathered asked themselves: was this not the illumined one? The one light that gave its luster to the other five. They wondered. They wondered and sought a meaning. That one light had moved through spirals of infinite forms, evolving as the form.

The sage ones thumbed once again through their parchments. Finding them laden with words they put away the scrolls and stopped skygazing for the meaning of their existence. It was then that they heard the Voice:

"I am Presence. I take birth in your midst. When my finger of love touches your heart, the seventh shaft of light will manifest itself. Then you will feel me, for I cannot be known, I can only be felt. Listen. Feel my silence. If you cannot hear and feel my silence, you cannot hear my word. For my word is embodied in my silence. Feel it with your hearts."

Naosherwan Anzar. © 1992 Naosherwan Anzar