Our time on this earth
Engage yourself in such useful pursuits
that even the worst of your enemies
hardly has any chance to despise you;
engage yourself in such a manner
so that you have satisfaction in your mind also,
that you didn’t waste your time on this earth.
Love and devotion
That which makes the mind soft and strong and strenuous, so it may keep itself in a balanced state even in the condition of pain – that which perpetually creates a pleasant feeling within, is called love.
Devotion is identical with love. The moment devotion is aroused, the love of the Supreme Consciousness comes.
No one is insignificant
Every age had its own flora and fauna and it disappeared with them.
Every tree and every creature of every age and stratum is created by the Divine.
None is unimportant.
What is happening in the universe is the gradual death of one created being and the gradual emergence of another, Therefore, whatever will come, it will only be the Divine coming in that form. No one is insignificant, no one is small, no one is low.
Infinite Love
You may be an ordinary creature – you may have to pass your days in the ups and downs of your worldly existence – still do not forget the Divine.
Keep all your desires inclined towards the Divine. Always keep yourselves merged thusly. Go deep into the mood of that Infinite Love.
Every being
Hating is not a courageous quality or a creditable tendency.
When every being is the Divine’s own creation, how can you hate anyone?
How is it possible that you meditate upon one form of the Infinite
and abuse another?
This ever changing world
The world is a changing phenomenon. Therefore, it is unwise to be attached to any object in the ever-changing world. The very name and form will undergo changes with the change in time and place. The child changes into youth, the youth into the old, and the old into the corpse.
But if wise people take every object of the world as the expression of the one and single Cosmic Consciousness, then on seeing the changes in the name and form of any particular object, they will not be affected by pain or pleasure.
The lily
Train yourself in the ideal of the lily, which blossoms in the mud and has to keep itself engaged in the struggle for existence day in and day out, parrying, bracing and fighting the shocks of muddy water and storms. And yet it does not forget the moon above.
Movement
No movement in this universe is possible without encountering opposition. Wherever there is movement, there is opposition also. The result of struggle against this opposition is termed progress. The more one desires to proceed vigorously to the goal, the more one is to struggle against the opposition.
Thus those who are adverse to struggle can never progress. They lag far behind, what to speak of progress. That’s why struggle is the essence of life. Those who abhor struggle, who misconstrue struggle as violence, have no place in the world.
Flaming Moral Purpose
You must have a flaming moral purpose so that greed, oppression and exploitation shrivel before the fire in you.
No One Is Low
No one is insignificant, no one is small, no one is low. Suppose there is a drunkard, a fallen man. You have no right to hate him. You talk with him, persuade him – if necessary scold him for his regression. All these efforts are alright, but you have no right to hate him.
Hating is not a courageous quality or a creditable tendency. When every being is His own creation, how can you hate anyone? How is it possible that you meditate upon one form of the Supreme and abuse another?
Good works
Whenever considering doing good works, do not hesitate – do them immediately. Whenever contemplating doing bad works, linger and delay, so that the thought of performing them will wither away from the mind.
There is One Moon
There is one moon, but its reflections, falling in countless puddles of water, appear as countless moons. No new moon is born. The same moon is being reflected in many receptacles. Similarly, the one and the same Supreme Consciousness is being manifested as limitless individual entities, in countless mental receptacles, in countless minds.
You Are Never Alone or Helpless
You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars, guides you too.
- from Baba’s Grace, 51
Miyerkules, Setyembre 28, 2011
Upland Municipalities of Ilocos Sur
The Upland Municipalities of Ilocos Sur
Mountains are always considered by most urban dwellers as well as the artists a perfect place to go when one wants to meditate or experience silence and tranquility. Mountains are the campers’ common destination for retreat and recollection.
The yogis or yoga practitioners often says they experience samadhi (heavenly state of mind) when they meditate in the mountains it is because the place is free from pollution or contamination espcially from negative thoughts and narrowmindedness.
One writer said, “life in the uplands is a picturesque image of serenity and delight, a place when one treks to encounter the Creator amidst untainted Creation. In the mountains, food is simple, and fashion is immaterial, but uniquely tribal.”
In the upland areas, one can find and feel the beauty of nature and an interesting place. There are several areas in the upland municipalities of Ilocos Sur which are identified as tourist destination. Some of these are the Bessang Pass National Park in Naiba, Cervantes; the Tirad Pass National Park located in the municipality of Gregorio del Pilar, the Aw-asen Water Falls in Sigay, and the newly developed Eco - Mountain Park Resort in Suyo. There are also occasions of festivities where local people perform their unique culture such as the tapey festivals in Lidlidda and San Emilio. The fiesta celebration in Gregorio del Pilar during the first week of December remembering the valiant struggle and the death anniversary of General Gregorio del Pilar also attract foreign and local visitors.
The Upland Municipalities are populated by the tribal communities and they observe value systems which is a heritage from their early ancestors. These value systems are cooperativism, volunteerism, docility, honestly and act of sharing. The cooperativism is shown in their effort to beautify and clean the community and in building a house. The practice of volunteerism is observed in times of weddings and in death such as borrowing utensils and returns them after, good cooks volunteers their expertise, washing of dishes, volunteering to dig the grave and in the building of the sapao or collecting saranay. They practice docility by obeying the laws and regulations of the community. They share vegetables to others and they observe the saying “uray matay ti nagtulagan, saan la ket ti tulagan” and unknown visitors are welcomed to their house.
I can say that my personal experience in the upland municipalities of the province, when I went there recently to conduct a research study, is really something worth remembering. All the people I met and talked are very kind and hospitable. Though they are usually referred to as taga surong or residents from the second or third floor, I consider them people with pure hearts and open minded.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people I met during the conduct of my research study in the Upland areas. They are: Mayor Clifford Patil-ao of Quirino, Vice Mayor Henry Gallardo of Gregorio del Pilar, Mr. Seferino Tucdaden and Mr. Bennie Habon, punong barangay of Conception, Gregorio del Pilar, Mr. Odie and Mrs. Priscilla Tiwan of Poblacion, Quirino, Mr. Francisco Pusayen and family of Poblacion, Cervantes, Dr. Romulo Ramos and his wife, Marissa San Jose of Banayoyo, Mayor Lorenzo Bragado Jr. of San Emilio, Liezl Pasahol Polides of Sigay, Vita Sirra and Mr. Cecilio Quidangen of Lidlidda, Mr. Daniel Agyapas of Poblacion, Sugpon and many more who helped me a lot. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.* (Ver Alviento - March 2009)
Mountains are always considered by most urban dwellers as well as the artists a perfect place to go when one wants to meditate or experience silence and tranquility. Mountains are the campers’ common destination for retreat and recollection.
The yogis or yoga practitioners often says they experience samadhi (heavenly state of mind) when they meditate in the mountains it is because the place is free from pollution or contamination espcially from negative thoughts and narrowmindedness.
One writer said, “life in the uplands is a picturesque image of serenity and delight, a place when one treks to encounter the Creator amidst untainted Creation. In the mountains, food is simple, and fashion is immaterial, but uniquely tribal.”
In the upland areas, one can find and feel the beauty of nature and an interesting place. There are several areas in the upland municipalities of Ilocos Sur which are identified as tourist destination. Some of these are the Bessang Pass National Park in Naiba, Cervantes; the Tirad Pass National Park located in the municipality of Gregorio del Pilar, the Aw-asen Water Falls in Sigay, and the newly developed Eco - Mountain Park Resort in Suyo. There are also occasions of festivities where local people perform their unique culture such as the tapey festivals in Lidlidda and San Emilio. The fiesta celebration in Gregorio del Pilar during the first week of December remembering the valiant struggle and the death anniversary of General Gregorio del Pilar also attract foreign and local visitors.
The Upland Municipalities are populated by the tribal communities and they observe value systems which is a heritage from their early ancestors. These value systems are cooperativism, volunteerism, docility, honestly and act of sharing. The cooperativism is shown in their effort to beautify and clean the community and in building a house. The practice of volunteerism is observed in times of weddings and in death such as borrowing utensils and returns them after, good cooks volunteers their expertise, washing of dishes, volunteering to dig the grave and in the building of the sapao or collecting saranay. They practice docility by obeying the laws and regulations of the community. They share vegetables to others and they observe the saying “uray matay ti nagtulagan, saan la ket ti tulagan” and unknown visitors are welcomed to their house.
I can say that my personal experience in the upland municipalities of the province, when I went there recently to conduct a research study, is really something worth remembering. All the people I met and talked are very kind and hospitable. Though they are usually referred to as taga surong or residents from the second or third floor, I consider them people with pure hearts and open minded.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people I met during the conduct of my research study in the Upland areas. They are: Mayor Clifford Patil-ao of Quirino, Vice Mayor Henry Gallardo of Gregorio del Pilar, Mr. Seferino Tucdaden and Mr. Bennie Habon, punong barangay of Conception, Gregorio del Pilar, Mr. Odie and Mrs. Priscilla Tiwan of Poblacion, Quirino, Mr. Francisco Pusayen and family of Poblacion, Cervantes, Dr. Romulo Ramos and his wife, Marissa San Jose of Banayoyo, Mayor Lorenzo Bragado Jr. of San Emilio, Liezl Pasahol Polides of Sigay, Vita Sirra and Mr. Cecilio Quidangen of Lidlidda, Mr. Daniel Agyapas of Poblacion, Sugpon and many more who helped me a lot. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.* (Ver Alviento - March 2009)
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