Scribblings

on Life Spirituality & Non-duality

mahesh hangal

Mind and Spirituality

Scribblings
The human being has always been anxious to know the meaning of life, to realize his true nature, to attain the ultimate possible fulfillment. It is hoped that these Scribblings may perhaps trigger a process that might culminate in what the human heart has always been longing for - Peace & Harmony. At least they will help develop insights beyond ordinary perceptions They could even be read just for entertainment or can simply be flipped through.
- Publisher

P R E S S

"Pavan Ganga", Behind Gujarat Bhavan, Deshpande Nagar, HUBLI - 580 029. (Karnataka) INDIA. e-mail : maheshnhangal@gmail.com Cell : +91 9538934989.

Scribblings
on Life Spirituality & Non-duality

mahesh hangal

P R E S S

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Copyright 2012 by Soham Press First Published in India - June 2012 Soham Press 'Pavan Ganga', Behind Gujarat Bhavan, Deshpande Nagar, HUBLI - 580 029. Cover Design & Page Layout : Print Styles, Ayodhya Hotel, Opp. Old Bus Stand, Hubli.

Dedicated to

Wayne Liquorman
[Teacher of Non-duality]

True humility is in realizing that each of us has been created with a role to play and that none of us were consulted before hand about what that role was to be
-Wayne Liquorman

Publisher's Note
Writing a note to a book, which at first glance appears to be a reflection of your own feelings and claims almost nothing, is nearly an impossible task. A book of this sort may well not be an entirely harmless one (I mean to the readers ego). I know Mahesh since my school days. He is quite taciturn by nature. I was not aware for quite some time, that he was the grandson of the legendary Hindustani classical singer Smt. Gangubai Hangal. He is quite conversant with books as he is a librarian. Mahesh has already written a few Urdu Ghazals. Here [only on my insistence] he has culled from his personal diaries, a few of his own 'utterances', for the first time in English. You will find in them, the beauty of sher-o-shayari, the supra-logicality of mysticism and of course the light of the author's being. When I asked Mahesh to write something about himself, he smiled & flippantly quoted one of his 'Scribblings' Apart from the story of the world, I have no story of my own.

Soham
1st July 2012

A Word...
When ever I have tried to write, I have always felt that the immaculate empty sheet of paper in front of me, expresses, whatever I have to say much more eloquently than any words I might use. Yet the miracle is that these scribblings have happened as naturally and as spontaneously as the process of breathing.

A brief look into astronomy will reveal that this planet of ours is nothing more than a little speck of dust. If we take a minute off and reflect on the sheer magnitude and diversity of the universe we inhibit, we come to the conclusion that any utterance, however profound & insightful can at most only be a scribbling on the part of the minuscule human intellect. These 'utterances', of course are no exception. Hence the name 'Scribblings'. - mahesh hangal

Scribblings?

Scribblings

Intellect tries to solve the problem Wisdom knows there never was one. Why contemplate the movement of the river? It will join the sea anyway. When you sign the offer document of life Don't forget to read the fine print. What is present, cannot say that it is absent.

Scribblings

I have found that the process of seeking God interferes with my experience of Godliness. It is I that exists in all that exists. Even when you go against the flow You are still with the flow. I have piled up the toys But the child in me is dying.

Scribblings

When you enjoy the game Does it matter whether you win or lose? It isn't that all life be devoid of pain Some pains are meant to be embraced. It is impossible to be cheated when you expect nothing in return. Only when you are nothing, are you truly free.

Scribblings

All love for the destination has gone What a wondrous tour guide I have had. Birth is a happening.. Death is a happening.. Why should living be any different? Only when you are ready to die are you ready to live. Trying to find the Absolute in the realm of the relative is what all spiritual seeking is about.

Scribblings

A Buddha is only an image in the seeker's mind. I myself have gone missing What a bizarre journey! What can be more real than 'nothing'? Some people won't mind living in a prison Only the prison has to be a golden one.

Scribblings

There is nothing belittling about being satisfied with little. And finally, you have to answer the question for yourself. We understand the true purport of words only when we are free of them. Anything that is not self evident exists only in your imagination.

Scribblings

Fiction is the only reality. Heaven can at best only be an oasis in hell. 'I can't' expresses the human predicament more accurately than 'I won't'. Truth has little audience as it doesn't tell people what they want to hear.

Scribblings

Just look! It takes no effort to see things as they are. Both are illusions alright But I would still prefer a happy dream to a nightmare. A 'purposeful' life ironically misses the very purpose of life. The suffering you wish to be liberated from can itself be the cause of your liberation.

Scribblings

Neither did the world measure up to my standards Nor did I measure up to the standards of the world. I am like a water-bubble My manifestation is itself the harbinger of my destruction. An illusion has to exist, in order not to. Mind is an instrument which personalizes the impersonal process of living.

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Scribblings

First, I was contaminated with a name and form And then, I was doomed. All understanding, is fundamentally a misunderstanding. If you don't meet your destination at every step It's no path at all. We can create a just world. We only need to follow the principle AN EYE FOR AN EYE.

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Scribblings

I believe in blessings and curses I only don't know which are which. life is a free fall in the abyss of eternity. The path that doesn't die, even after reaching the destination That's the one to look for. We all have a say But it is not for us to decide.

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Scribblings

We never stop dreaming We only wake up from one dream to find ourselves in another. You haven't got anything from me because you haven't lost anything. Every prayer is answered, but not in the way you want it to be. To love another is to see the face of God To know that there is no 'another' is to be God himself.

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Scribblings

If you take off your mask How will I recognize you? Why say your vision is limited as long as you can see the horizon? You will never get the true picture There simply isn't one. If life has any purpose I am afraid I have missed it.

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Scribblings

In the craft of Life We are forever apprentices. I am a religious man I have a personal religion of my own. The need of the hour is the strength of a rose. Not the strength of a rock. It doesn't bother me much, that you deceived me What bothers me, is you deceived yourself.

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Scribblings

I leave no footprints in the sky The sky itself is my footprint. How happy would you be if you didn't know how happy you are? He who doesn't provide for this life, takes no care for eternity. Any response other than love is a reaction.

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Scribblings

You can never get out of the game You.are the game. Just walk. The legs know where to go. Death is the end of story which never started anyway. If you have a clue as to who you are, so be it Just don't follow the clue.

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Scribblings

When you can't see what I can You call me blind. Even if you hate the rain You still get to see the rainbow. In the final analysis perfection can only mean coming to terms with imperfection. You will find no milestone to help you take the untrodden path.

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Scribblings

The setting of the sun is already a promise of its arising. The hand that takes can never understand the hand that gives. If I don't know what I am missing Am I missing it?. No matter how noble, the presence of the will only exists in defiance of God.

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Scribblings

Where is the difference unless you differentiate? To understand your side of the story I should have no story of my own. You needn't own the property in order to enjoy the landscape. A Lamp has no abode of its own.

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Scribblings

A mountain does nothing to change the course of the river. If you are able to see that everything is perfect as it is. Everything will be. The song sings you as much as you sing the song. Humility, is simply the art of seeing oneself, in true proportion with the universe.

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Scribblings

You pay God a great compliment when you ask nothing of him. Life has no responsibility of being fair to you. If nothing makes you cry It's good enough reason for you to. The problem possibly is that we have more answers than questions.

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Scribblings

Except waiting, one can do nothing to ripen the fruit. Some times the best tool for exposing a good lie, is an even better lie. To understand the truth is to misunderstand it. The hope that arises out of hopelessness That's the one to hope for.

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Scribblings

You cannot alienate a part of you without cutting yourself up. When you overlook the obvious, it's obvious that it isn't you that's looking. Masked. Unmasked. It was only you I beheld everywhere. Unlocking the door Is to simply realize that there never was one.

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Scribblings

In darkness we are merely invisible It's only in Light that we disappear. There were mirrors and mirrors everywhere Never could I behold myself. The Script Life has written for you is all the Script-ure you will ever need. It's quite amusing that one has to go a long way. Only to learn that there is no where to go.

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Scribblings

Either you see God everywhere or you see him nowhere No other vision of the world is possible. All roads lead to Rome Only everyone doesn't last the journey. The health of the disease is the disease itself. Walking on earth is as much a miracle as walking on water Only one is familiar, the other unfamiliar.

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Scribblings

It's an ironical fact of life that when someone tries to play God he behaves more and more like a devil. The best shortcut is the Highway itself. Why is there no travel guide to show the way back home? If you don't under stand my silence How will you understand my words?

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Scribblings

The Play goes on. It's we, who leave the theatre. Search for it where you have lost it Not where there is light. Biting the finger may be someone's way of looking at where it's pointing. A foe, if not a friend The journey of life needs a companion.

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Scribblings

It isn't that you are being questioned You yourself are in question. A rose appears now and then But the thorns are always there. What is happening when nothing is happening? Search for it, if you must But make sure you have lost it.

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Scribblings

Pleasure torments us as much as pain does. Nothing makes any sense It never did You hoodwinked yourself all the way. People don't mind moving in circles as long as they have the feeling that they are getting somewhere. A malady that can be cured is hardly a malady.

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Scribblings

Happiness cannot be found because it was never lost. If we both aren't winning Both are losing. The Journey from here to there begins right here. That which goes in search of light is light itself.

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Scribblings

I might look like I am doing nothing But isn't that how the whole existence looks. Could it be that we are more afraid of the light than darkness? All your conclusions. Won't help you conclude anything. Lighting a candle is any day less arduous than fighting the darkness.

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Scribblings

It's time we stopped raising houses It is these very houses that turn into prisons sooner or later. Every journey is a detour. You are your own destination. When you confuse a concept for a truth You are in bondage. Seeking solace, how come we have landed in the market place For once, we all stand hoodwinked.

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Scribblings

If every one takes off the mask How will the play go on. If the mystery deepens as you go along. You are on the right Path. Musical notes seeming to be erratically juxtaposed create perfect harmony. We are terrified of the possibility of inaction as if the whole world will drop dead the moment we cease to act.

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Scribblings

If I give you my wings Both will be unable to fly. An unselfish man is only more greedy For he longs for greater fulfillment than the selfish man. The rose, bloomed in my eyes, before blooming in the garden. Dreams come true. But every time they may not be your own.

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Scribblings

The longer you carry a burden the lighter it gets. He who fails to live, lives to fail. To ascribe a reason for a happening is a myopic way of looking at life. What was your face before the face you now have?.

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Scribblings

Ask yourself. Are you really happier than your dog? The answer could well surprise you. The storm that drowned you carried someone safely to the shore. God has no obligation of making all things intelligible to the human mind. Beginning and end remain a mystery We get to hear the tale of life only in-between.

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Scribblings

Every season brings its own joys And Sorrows. Shadows are born when Light is obscured So are we. It is to the season of spring that the garden finally belongs to. Path unknown Goal unknown And the voyage imperative What an adventure life is!

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Scribblings

Mine is an everyday story No wonder no one listens to it. It is futile for the ear to envy the eye. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the world What I am saying is, it can't be anything different. In questioning the assumptions on which life runs. I question my own existence.

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Scribblings

Apart from the story of the world I have no story of my own. The reason why you can't see something that's present is, because you are absent. A story can only stay with you long after it's over, only if it has stayed with you long before it was told. We ask Why me? when we break a leg We don't ask Why me? when we win a jackpot.

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Scribblings

To hear the clarion call of mortality is to walk the earth lightly. You can be the master of your destiny Only if you are so destined. Can wisdom really mean anything other than the realization that everything is the way it is supposed to be? Those who don't make a mountain out of a molehill Will be made to make a molehill out of a mountain.

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Scribblings

If you don't see beyond yourself You will never be able to see yourself. Questioning the right answers is more important than answering the right questions. What else is suicide other than getting habituated to misery? The sure way of reaching the shore is by drowning.

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Scribblings

When ever you ask a 'Why' question. All you do is open a can of worms. The truth of the moment is itself the truth of all eternity. You have to be confused in order to have an insight. Perils of prosperity far outweigh the perils of poverty.

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Scribblings

When dying appears as futile as living What is one to do? Everything gets over. For you Not for everything. The bubble has to burst in order to merge with the ocean. The right path for you is the one that lies right under your feet.

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Scribblings

I can't tell you what the Master exactly said But I can always tell you what He exactly meant. Whenever you encounter a paradox The Truth is somewhere near. If one has no idea what happiness is one doesn't need it. The best way to get rid of a great man is to put him up on a pedestal.

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Scribblings

Rather than the faith that moves mountains I would have the one that rests happily with the way God has placed them. It's basically a one word story Destiny. All a mirror sometimes does is to help a reflection to merely look at its reflection. Words become untrue when spoken.

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Scribblings

I have realized what is real in me And what is real in me is, what is real in you. If you don't care whether you win or lose You have already quit the game. The mirage doesn't disappear, as you go near It just, was never there. The goal of life, is life itself.

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Scribblings

Roses have no choice but to coexist with flowers. More the moments that take your breath away The more, your breath stays in place. We just lip sync It's God, who is doing the singing. The tragedy of human drama is that an actor can only play one character all his lifetime.

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Scribblings

We never really grow up Only our toys change. You never find the Truth It's the Truth that finds you. Let's take darkness as an opportunity to open the eye inwards. Flowers are without a future but that doesn't stop the gardener from growing them.

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Scribblings

Not every word is destined to become a story. The beauty of the sunrise is as much made possible by the night as by the day. A story ends Only for another to begin.... What was once a leaf, is now a tree.

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Scribblings

What you are, is what you already are. It's not only the blind that see through the eyes of the other. But for your wanting to be always right You would be. There is only one freedom To be free from the desire to be free.

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Scribblings

If you say, you have reached all by yourself You probably haven't reached far. What could I tell you that you don't already know? The only way out Is to realise that you were never in. It's only when you know your face too well that you avoid looking in the mirror.

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Scribblings

The task isn't over, till you have reached the shape of nothing. Where did the nightingale learn to sing? For once, why not call it a day, before the day begins? You can quit a habit Only If the habit is ready to quit you.

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Scribblings

The dreamer lasts, as long as the dream. The question itself is the answer. Don't mind asking a stupid question All questions are stupid. What is most useful, is not always, what is most important.

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Scribblings

A person, is more of a story, than a fact. Why change the mirror If you don't want to change yourself? The moment you know yourself it's already a fiction. If the path is your own, you will find that, there is no one, who is walking the path.

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Scribblings

Do we need some one to tell us the way back home? You would have grasped had your grasp not exceeded your reach. If you are not happy Now You are never going to be happy. The fulcrum remains unaffected by the oscillations of the pendulum.

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Scribblings

If you don't know where you are going any road will take you there. A mirage surely gives a false hope But that's all some people need. Once you ask 'What's the meaning of everything?' You stop asking the meaning of this and that. In living for oneself One lives for all.

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Scribblings

You can sure win the war Only don't forget to leave the warrior behind. If all are busy building wings Who will build the sky? To seek something from life I have to be separate from it. You will find a place in heaven Only if you have lived in one before.

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Scribblings

Don't believe your eyes such a lot You could be seeing a dream. Though all are travelers in the journey of life Rarely does anyone behave like one. It's strange that only when we 'awaken' does life begin to appear like a dream. The most lamentable form of going astray is to be oblivious of the journey.

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Scribblings

Once the puzzler dissolves into the puzzle The puzzle falls into place. Every milestone resembled the destination There was no way I could reach. As long as you believe in believing It doesn't matter what you believe in. The most beautiful things come to us when we are no longer seeking them.

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Scribblings

It's only when the character leaves behind the story, that the real story begins. Had you not thought of the dream as only a dream You would be living it. You can never throw the world out of you You... are the world. To know is to be arrogant.

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Scribblings

The thing you want to drop will always feel heavy. There is nothing you can do except describe the movie. The last missing piece of the puzzle is the puzzler himself. Can a droplet ever flow on its own?

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Scribblings

There is nothing in it for you But you can't quit the game. In fighting with the phantom You make the phantom real. Your story is so much like that of a shadow in search of light. The other is just an excuse You only talk to yourself.

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Scribblings

And that, which can be burnt, is only an idea. The mind tries to solve the problems that would not be there without the mind. Only because someone is pulling its strings, that the kite appears to be flying freely. Simple imprisonment for some Rigorous imprisonment for some It's LIFE SENTENCE for all.

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Scribblings

BRICKS & BOUQUETS Life embodies the reality of polaric opposites. The moment you want to know you start accumulating ignorance. Whatever has a before & an after has to be unreal. He who talks here is also the one who listens there.

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Scribblings

Pretend that you are And you only postpone yourself. Life is a sport. You fish for sport not to catch fish. Light can present itself in all the different ways But it is never the way it is presenting itself. What I find interesting about your face is you don't have one.

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Scribblings

No matter where you are pointing You are always pointing at yourself. The relative is the absolute. True renunciation means renouncing the renouncer too. As long as there is one who is happy There is one who is unhappy.

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Scribblings

A Sage & an Idiot Two people often difficult to distinguish. You can't live the Truth You can only live a lie. A problem becomes a problem only when it's your problem. You needn't be good to feel worthy & complete You need only be yourself.

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Scribblings

I am born, I will die Yet I am eternal. You know it when you know it And then you are lost. You will see, once the fog lifts And it always has. All the phantoms can do is create a phantom world.

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Scribblings

Arrogance is the belief that things should be different than the way they are. Even the one who sees everything as a lie, is a lie. What exists in time is nothing but a fleeting shadow. How can you become what you already are? You can only be It.

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Scribblings

If I help you, it would only confirm that there is someone who needs to be helped. You will find your face only if you are lucky enough to find someone without one. False note can be excused but not false music. Knowledge is acquired Truth is revealed.

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Scribblings

You are always in the Now There is no other place to be. Wanting pleasure without pain is akin to looking for a single-sided coin. We are victims of our own beliefs What more, we can't even choose our brand of poison. Look again You may have reached the destination.

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Scribblings

How can you be humble as long as you know something. The only answer to a question is to question the question itself. Only the psychologically dead are psychologically free. There is nothing more heavier than an empty heart.

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Scribblings

The disciple wants to know the unknowable Out of compassion, the Master speaks about the Unspeakable. It's not your story It's the story of life. You can become the Infinite But first you have to be a zero. Bondage is merely a notion And so is enlightenment.