Spontaneous moderation

'When thoroughly enjoyed, moderation is spontaneous' - Anthony de Mello

Call to Love

Way to love by Anthony de Mello

This is one of the best books on meditation that I have read! Strongly recommend this book! I found an alternate edition, 'Call to love', in Bengaluru for Rs. 50/-!

Contact with God

I really love Anthony De Mellos wit. Most of his wit and short stories are collected in the following four books:

• One minute wisdom
• One minute nonsense
• Prayer of the frog
• Song of the bird

I strongly recommend all of these four books. All four of them contain one page short stories that are filled with great wisdom and sharp wit.

Inspired by these books, I read another of his book titled 'Contact with God - Retreat Conferences'. I couldnt stand it. I found it to be exceedingly boring except for the second half of a chapter titled 'The dangers of Repentance'. Ill have to say I liked this chapter. In here, he talks about the neurotic fear of God that many christians have (he talks about christians only because this book is a transcript of a retreat he organized for christian priests). He talks about how people imagine God to be demanding and how God seems to be a kill-joy.

He has an interesting quote from a jesuit priest who was perpetually under fear until he recognized something. I am reproducing here what he thought,

"God, I really hate you. You are a kill-joy. I just cannot enjoy life while you are around. You won't allow me. You wont let me free"

Anything that binds us, anything that wont let us free is a hindrance!

Belief

"There was once a student who bought a maths textbook and believed that all answers given in the answer key for the exercises in the textbook to be correct, without ever learning to verify it. Sadly, he never became a mathematician! Ironically, all the answers in the answer key were correct!" - Father Anthony de Mello

Mortality

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on mortality

To a disciple who begged for wisdom, the Master said, "Try this out: close your eyes and see yourself and every living being thrown off the top of a precipice. Each time you cling to something to stop yourself from falling, understand that it is falling too..."

The disciple tried it out and never was the same again.

Monastery living

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on monastery living

The Master ordinarily dissuaded people from living in a monastery.

"To profit from books you don't have to live in a library", he would say.

Or even more forcefully. "You can read books without even stepping into a library: and practice spirituality without ever going to a temple."

Enthusiasm

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on enthusiasm

To the women who complained that riches hadn't made her happy, the Master said, "You speak as if luxury and comfort were ingredients of happiness; whereas all you need to be really happy, my dear, is something to be enthusiastic about."

Spiritual immunization

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on spiritual immunization

To everyones surprise, the master seemed unenthusiastic about religious education for the young.

When asked why, he said, "Inoculate them when they are young and you prevent them from catching the real thing when they grow up."

Guilt

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on guilt

The Master was always teaching that guilt is an evil emotion to be avoided like the very devil.

"But are we not to hate our sins", a disciple said one day.

"When you are guilty, it is not your sins you hate but yourself"

Master's light

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on his light

The Master had been on his deathbed in a coma for weeks. One day, he suddenly opened his eyes to find his favorite disciple there.

"You never leave my bedside, do you?", he said softly

"No, Master. I cannot"

"Why?"

"Because you are the light of my life."

The Master sighed. "Have I so dazzled you, my son, that you still refuse to see the light in you?"

Master as authority

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on himself as authority

"If you make me your authority," said the Master to a starry eyed disciple, "you harm yourself because you refuse to see things for yourself."

After a pause, he added gently, "You harm me too, because you refuse to see me as I am."

Holy places

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on holy places

To a group of his disciples whose hearts were set on a pilgrimage, the Master said: "Take this bitter gourd along. Make sure you dip it into all the holy rivers and bring it into all the hold shrines."

When the disciples returned, the bitter gourd was cooked and served as sacramental gourd.

"Strange", said the Master slyly after he had tasted it, "the hold water and the shrines have failed to sweeten it!"

Expression

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on expression

He was a religous writer and was interested in the master's views.

"How does one discover god?"

Said the Master sharply, "Through making the heart white with silent meditation, not making paper black with religious composition."

And, turning to his scholarly disciples, he teasingly added, "Or making the air thick with learned conversation."

Finding God

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on finding god

"Where can I find God?"

"He is right in front of you."

"Then, why do I fail to see him?"

Later the Master said, "Find out what it is that makes you drunk. To see, you must be sober."

Enlightenment

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on enlightenment

"Make a clean break with your past and you will be enlightened", said the Master.

"I am doing that by degrees."

"Growth is achieved by degrees. Enlightenment is instantaneous."

Later he said, "Take the leap! You cannot cross the chasm in little jumps."

Worshiping the master

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on worshiping the master

To the disciple who was overly respectful, the master said,

"Light is reflected on a wall. Why venerate the wall? Be attentive to the light."

Wisdom & Action

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on wisdom and action

The master once asked his disciples which was more important, wisdom or action.

The disciples were unanimous: "Action, of course. Of what use is wisdom that does not show itself in action?"

Said the master,"And of what use is action that proceeds from an unenlightened heart?"

Intelligence as prison

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on intelligence as prison

"You are so proud of your intelligence", said the master to a disciple.

"You are like the condemned man who his proud of the vastness of his prison cell"

Teaching truth

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on teaching truth

"I wish to become a teacher of the truth"

"Are you ready to be ignored, ridiculed and starving till you are 45"

"I am. But, tell me, what will happen after I am 45"

"You will get used to it"

Spirituality

Fr. Anthony's master speaks on Spirituality

Even though it was the Master's day of Silence, a traveller begged for a word of wisdom that would guide him through life's journey.

The Master nodded affably, took a sheet of paper and wrote a single word on it: "Awareness"

The visitor was perplexed. "That's too brief. Would you please expand on it a bit?"

The master took the paper and wrote "Awareness, awareness, awareness"

'But what do these words mean?', said the stranger helplessly.

The Master reached out for the paper and wrote: "Awareness, awareness, awareness means AWARENESS."