A common space for harmonic peacemakers

IX: 18

Chapter 9, Verse 18

"I am the Goal, the Infinite Treasure House,
Origin, Foundation, and Dissolution,
Refuge, Abode, Friend,
Witness and Imperishable Seed."

Srila Prabhupada:

If there is a possibility of going to the top of a building by elevator, why go by the staircase?

Everything belongs to Krishna, and everything exists in his energy. Situated in every heart, he is the Supreme Witness. No one can be a better Friend than Krishna, the Eternal Cause of all causes.

Sri Eknath Easwaran:

St. Teresa of Avila writes of the deep security that comes when we take refuge in God. She makes six points.

Nothing upsets you. You become un-upsettable. None of your energy is wasted. You live a long life with an abundance of energy to carry out God's work.

Nothing frightens you. There is tragedy in life for everyone. You will grieve, but there will be no oppression, for through the drama you will feel the Lord present always.

You will accept that everything is changing. "Like corn, a person ripens and falls" (Katha Upanishad). Everything that changes is going to pass away.

You will know that God alone is changeless. Turn to him, love him with all your heart, and you will be secure always. You will find fulfillment everywhere you go.

Your patience will bring you to the goal. Patience outlasts all obstacles. In the heart of every storm in life there is always the unchanging center which is God. When you bear with those who rage against you and keep your trust in them, you are helping them to trust and respond to their innermost Self.

You who have God lack nothing. You live for our benefit and not your own. Others can take what they like from you. You will still be full. You can give anything away. You will still be full.

Paramahansa Yogananda:

God is the True Friend of humanity, the one who eventually restores to his bosom all of his children. He is the one Consciousness that creates, preserves, dissolves, and witnesses all of creation. He is the one Storehouse wherein all of the cosmic-dream blueprints are kept during the periods of dissolution (Kalpas), and at the beginning of the great Kalpas of manifestation, it is God as the Imperishable Seed that fertilizes Nature and quickens her forms.

[Re: "I am the Origin, Foundation, and Dissolution"...Father-Mother God is sower, sustainer, and reaper, all in one. When we recognize him/her in the reaping, we are less prone to complain: "What kind of a God would allow this destruction to happen?"]

Two Boxes

I have in my hands two boxes,
Which God gave me to hold.
He said, "Put all of your sorrows in the black box,
And all of your joys in the gold one."

I heeded his words, and in the two boxes,
Both my joys and my sorrows I stored,
But though the gold one became heavier each day,
The black one was as light as before.

With curiosity I opened the black one.
I wanted to find out why it was so light.
I saw in the base of the box a hole
Which my sorrows had fallen through.

I showed the hole to God, and mused,
"I wonder where my sorrows could be!"
He smiled a gentle smile, and said,
"My child, they're all right here with me."

I asked God why he had given me the boxes,
Why the gold one and the black one with the hole?
He said, "My child, the gold one is for you to count your blessings,
And the black one is for you to let go.

~ author unknown