posted February 01, 2008 08:27 AM
Hello all.I have been reading books by a former Jain monk named Satish Kumar who became a Jain monk at the age of 9, then left the monastry at age 18, when, inspired by the teachings of Ghandi, he decided to become a pilgrim for peace.
The first book I read, "The Buddha and the Terrorist" I thought was an amazing story from the ancient scriptures, retold by him and his wonderful way with words.
It wasn't only the story that amazed me, but that the messages of wisdom were the same messages which had been delivered to me, in answer to questions I had, either from guides or from my own "inner light".
For example, the words that came to me some time ago "there is no evil except ignorance itself"- this is basically the message of this very story!!!!
Then, I began to read this other book by him "You are, therefore I am" last night.
The vision he gave of his childhood and how things were, the way they collected and stored monsoon rain water in wells and tanks, etc.....felt familiar somehow.
Also, when he mentioned all these wells and tanks, I thought about what my aunt explained to me, this memory she had of being a little girl in India in her previous life who drowned in a well.
My aunt is a vegan animal lover and when I used to see her more often when I was younger, was a great source of inspiration to me. I always felt close to her spiritually.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share these thoughts.
I saw this beautiful documentary on TV with him in about nature and spirituality.
And what do you know- someone has put it on Youtube. Here are the links.