V: 21

Chapter 5, Verse 21

"They are not bound by outside things,
And within they find gladness.
Alive to the bliss of the Atman,
Their souls are at rest in the Self,
And they abide in everlasting joy."

Sri Eknath Easwaran:

"For a long time, until we break through the surface layers of consciousness, meditation is little more than arduous discipline, and pretty boring at that. But once we enter the depths, we shall begin to sense the deep peace that is called Shanti in Sanskrit. When the tensions of the nervous system are relaxed, such a profound peace arises from within that one becomes like a cat, basking in the sunshine."

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi:

"The reason why the thrills of the senses do not make a lasting impression upon sages of steady wisdom is that they rest in the Self, which is totally blissful in its essence. Being permanently established in bliss-consciousness, the temporary pleasantries of relative existence fail to fascinate. When pleasing sensory objects come into contact with the senses, the quality of such contacts are not so powerful as to distract those sages who constantly abide in the natural bliss of their true nature."

Eckhart Tolle:

"Being is experienced in the still, alert presence of consciousness itself, the consciousness that you are. Humanity is form. Being is formless. Humanity and Being are not separate, but interwoven. The other's otherness then stands revealed as an illusion pertaining to the human realm, the realm of form.

The longing for love that is in every child is the longing to be recognized, not on the level of form, but on the level of Being. If the parents honor only the human dimension of the child but neglect Being, the child will sense that the relationship is unfulfilled, that something absolutely vital is missing; and there will be a buildup of pain in the child and sometimes unconscious resentment towards the parents. The pain of resentment is saying, in so many words, 'Why don't you recognize me?'

When you are recognized by another, that recognition draws the dimension of Being more fully into this world through the both of you. That is the love that redeems the world.

God is the One Life in and beyond the countless forms of life. Love implies duality: lover and beloved, subject and object. So love is the recognition of oneness in the world of duality. This is the birth of God into the world of form. Love makes the world less worldly, less dense, and more transparent to the divine dimension, the light of consciousness itself."