एकं हृदयम्
One Heart
Five mystical traditions. One inner realization.
God dwells within.
Across centuries and continents, the contemplatives of every tradition arrived at the same discovery: that the Divine is not distant, but intimately present in the cave of the heart. The Upanishadic sages called it the Dahara Vidya. Teresa of Avila mapped it as the Interior Castle. The Hesychasts descended into the heart through the Jesus Prayer. The Sufis called the heart the throne of God. What they found there was the same silence, the same light, the same love.
दहर विद्या
The Dwelling Place
God's presence in the heart. The Dahara Vidya, the Interior Castle, the Noetic Heart, the Qalb
अद्वैत·Advaita Vedanta
“In the city of Brahman is a secret dwelling, the lotus of the heart. Within this dwelling is a space, and within that space is the fulfillment of our desires.”
Chandogya Upanishad 8.1.1
भक्ति·Bhakti
“The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, causing them to revolve by His power as if mounted on a machine.”
Bhagavad Gita 18.61
Carmelite
“In the interior of the soul there is a mansion... where the most secret exchanges between God and the soul take place.”
St. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, I.1
Hesychasm
“The Kingdom of God is within you. Descend with the mind into the heart, and there you will find the Kingdom.”
St. Theophan the Recluse
Sufism
“The heart is the throne of God. Heaven and earth contain Me not, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me.”
Hadith Qudsi
आत्म ज्योति
The Inner Light
Atma, Holy Spirit, the Divine Self within. The self-luminous reality that all traditions point toward
अद्वैत·Advaita Vedanta
“This Atman is self-luminous. It shines by its own light. All else shines after it. By its light, all this is illumined.”
Katha Upanishad 2.2.15
भक्ति·Bhakti
“I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all beings. I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings.”
Bhagavad Gita 10.20
Carmelite
“God is like a light from which, though it is divided into many rays, the light remains whole. God is also like a fountain from which all streams are nourished, and yet it remains whole.”
St. John of the Cross, Living Flame of Love, 3.8
Hesychasm
“The light of Christ illumines all. The heart that has been purified by grace beholds this uncreated light.”
St. Gregory Palamas
Sufism
“I am the Truth. The light that shines in the heart is the light of God Himself, and when the veils are lifted, the servant and the Lord are one.”
Mansur al-Hallaj
प्रेम
The Return of Love
Pure selfless love for God. The fruit of every path, the dissolution of the seeker into the Beloved
अद्वैत·Advaita Vedanta
“Where there is duality, one sees another. But where everything has become one’s own Self, then what could one see and through what?”
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.5.15
भक्ति·Bhakti
“Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, whatever austerity you perform... do that as an offering to Me.”
Bhagavad Gita 9.27
Carmelite
“Love is repaid by love alone. I wish to have no other joy than to bring You joy.”
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Hesychasm
“Acquire the Spirit of Peace, and thousands around you will be saved.”
St. Seraphim of Sarov
Sufism
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
Rumi
“The lamps are different, but the Light is the same. It comes from Beyond.”
Rumi