St. Francis of Assisi's prayer in praise of God given to Brother Leo.

You are holy, Lord, the only God,
and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good, Lord God, living and true.
You are love. You are wisdom.
You are humility. You are endurance.
You are rest. You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage. You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord,
God Almighty, Merciful Saviour.

 Let Your goodness Lord appear to us, that we made in your image, conform ourselves to it.
In our own strength we cannot imitate Your majesty, power, and wonder nor is it fitting for us to try.
But Your mercy reaches from the heavens through the clouds to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child, but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts, the gift of eternal love Caress us with Your tiny hands, embrace us with Your tiny arms and pierce our hearts with Your soft, sweet cries.
Amen.

 I will weep and weep for you, O Mind;
(my Soul) The world hath caught you in its spell.
Though you cling to them with the anchor of steel,
Not even the shadow of the things you love
Will go with you when you are dead.
Why then have you forgot your own true Self ?

If, Lord, Thy love for me is strong

As this which binds me unto thee,

What holds me from thee Lord so long,

What holds thee Lord so long from me?

O soul, what then desirest thou?

Lord I would see thee, who thus choose thee.

What fears can yet assail thee now?

All that I fear is but lose thee.

Love’s whole possession I entreat,

Lor make my soul thine own abode,

And I will build a nest so sweet

It may not be too poor for God.

A sould in God hidden from sin,

What more desires for thee remain,

Save but to love again,

And all on flame with love within,

Love on, and turn to love again.

Poem by Swami Abhishiktananda (1910 - 1973). Born Henri Le Saux, he was a French monk who, having moved to India in 1948, adopted sannyasa in accordance with Indian tradition. His meetings with the famous Advaitin sage Ramana Maharshi led him to profound advaitic experience as well as to final recognition of the truth of advaita during the last years of his life.

Return within,
to the place where there is nothing,
and take care that nothing comes in.
Penetrate to the depths of yourself,
to the place where thought no longer exists,
and take care that no thought arises there!
There where nothing exists,
Fullness!
There where nothing is seen,
the Vision of Being!
There where nothing appears any longer,
the sudden appearing of the Self!
Dhyana is this!

Andal is the only woman among the 12 Alwar saints of South India. The Tamil word, Alwar, means one who has drowned, lost himself in the sea of the divine being.
We know few real facts about Andal but very symbolic legends can tell even more. Andal's life as well as her poetry is entirely occupied with her passion for the divine Being. The 10th Century poetess Andal was the foster-daughter of Vishnuchitta, found by him, it is said, a new-born child under the sacred tulsi-plant. It is said that she went through a symbolic marriage with Sri Ranganatha, Vishnu in his temple at Srirangam, and disappeared into the image of her Lord. So beautiful isn't it?
Here is one of her poems translated by Sri Aurobindo.

Thou art Fire:
enkindle in me Thy love.
Thou art Light:
enlighten my mind with the knowledge of eternal things.
Thou art the Dove:
give me innocence of life.
Thou art the gentle Breeze:
disperse the storms of my passions.
Thou art the Tongue:
teach me how to bless Thee always.
Thou art the Cloud:
shelter me under the shadow of Thy protection.
And lastly, Thou art the Giver of all heavenly gifts:
animate me, I beseech Thee, with Thy grace;
sanctify me with Thy charity;
enlighten me with Thy wisdom;
adopt me by Thy goodness as Thy son,
and save me in Thy infinite mercy;
so that I may ever bless Thee, praise Thee, and love Thee;
first during this life on earth,
and then in heaven for all eternity. Amen.

---By Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), an Italian Catholic saint.

Poem by Sant Dariya (1634 - 1780), a poet-saint who is revered by Sikhs, as well as Hindus and Muslims.

The musk is within the deer,
But he searches for it outside in the grass
instead of searching within himself.
He runs back and forth,
Wondering where the fragrance comes from.
The fragrance is nearby,
But he knows it not.

Caught by delusion, he roams about.
So do all people wander in pilgrimages
and outer observances.
If you wish to obtain your own true Home,
Then find it by looking within yourself
and dwell therein.

The true Lord resides within this body,
Recognize Him through the manifestation of true love.
By churning this body,
And by entering within yourself,
See the manifestation of true wisdom.

Saint Augustine was walking by the seashore one day contemplating and trying to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity when he saw a small boy running back and forth from the water to a spot on the seashore. The boy was using a sea shell to carry the water from the ocean and place it into a small hole in the sand.

The Bishop of Hippo approached him and asked, “My boy, what are doing?”

“I am trying to bring all the sea into this hole,” the boy replied with a sweet smile.

“But that is impossible, my dear child, the hole cannot contain all that water” said Augustine.

The boy paused in his work, stood up, looked into the eyes of the Saint, and replied, “It is no more impossible than what you are trying to do – comprehend the immensity of the mystery of the Holy Trinity with your small intelligence.”

 The Sufi call it "the most sacred body" and the "supra-celestial body". Taoists call it "the diamond body", and those who have attained it are called "the immortals" and "the cloud walkers".  Tantric yoga - "the divine body",  Kriya yoga  - "the body of bliss",  Zoroastrian Vendanta - "the superconductive body", Gnosticism  - "the radiant body", Mithraic liturgy  - "the perfect body",  Hermetic Corpus - "the immortal body" and "the Golden Body" in Emerald Tablets. Certainly, it not always the same identical concept but it concerns a supreme level of realization when the yogi dissolves the physical body. Sometimes, that is occurs the apparent dematerialization and transmutation of the physical body to some mystical luminescence. Possible to think that it's just mythology but mysterious stories of luminosity or saintly radiance are common among Buddhist mystics, Christian saints, Sufis, Taoist sages, Hindu yogis and Tirthankaras of Jainism. Especially in Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, where Parinirvana and Mahasamadhi are refined sometimes into Rainbow Body. It is depicted by the five rainbow colors, or the Five Pure Lights.
This "rainbow light" is not material light. It is the natural energy of the primordial state and the cause of samsara and nirvana. Through the movement of this pure light, which is the inner rigpa energy in the dimension of the primordial base, the five pure lights develop and begin to appear.
But what we can see? In philosophical sense, for the deluded, only rough matter seems to appear. It includes classical elements, namely: space, air, water, fire, earth. Conditionally, each element has own colour.
The Five Pure Lights are the most subtle dimension of these five elements. Interesting that Tenzin Wangyal holds that the Five Pure Lights become the Five Poisons if we remain deluded, or the Five Wisdoms if we recognize their purity. So, in this connection, it is also Buddhist correspondence of five Lights to five knowledge-wisdom levels -  pañca-jñāna:
Ādarśa-jñāna - Melong, mirror-like awareness
Samatā-jñāna - Awareness of sameness, the non-dual method of upāya and prajñā
Pratyavekṣaṇa-jñāna - Investigative awareness
Kṛty-anuṣṭhāna-jñāna - Accomplishing activities, spontaneously
Tathatā-jñāna - Suchness, dharmadātu, universal substrate

But all this is philosophical interpretation and, after all, the mystical phenomenon is not subject to it. It is awareness itself and is dependent on nothing else. Despite of different definitions - as the body of Light, or alchemical transmutation, or rainbow body - it represents a complete, total and radical transformation of one's status of being, therefore, while we still here we cannot understand it. After all, all colors of the rainbow are an outcome of One Light. As Siddhar Sage Vallalar, who was mystically dissolved also, has left some words to us

In Shiva's Eight post I have mentioned one Adi Shankaracharya's story. More detailed about it.

One day Shankara with his disciples went for their bath in the Ganges. When they came close to the Manikarnika Ghat they saw an untouchable worker at the cremation ground at the bottom of the social scale and devoid of any culture, primitive in their sight, extremely ugly and of a terrifying shape. The man who held four dogs in leash, was approaching in a disorderly way from the opposite direction. Finding no way of avoiding the man, Shankara, greeted him and said, "Untouchable! Step aside aside with your dogs so that we can pass."
The man did not seem to listen to his words at all, and did not wait or deflect. Instead he went on. Shankara cried out again in a somewhat excited voice, "Stop, fellow, stop! A leave a passage for us."
Still the man did not care to pay heed to Shankara. The terrible-looking man burst out into hideous guffaw. Then he turned to Shankara and spoke in Sanskrit verses,
"Who are you asking to move aside? Are you demanding an omnipresent Self to do so or the body to do so? If you ask the body to move aside - if it is inert matter, how can it move at all?
"And how is your own body distinct and different from any other body?
"You say that you are firmly established and rooted in the Supreme Truth that there is but One non-dual Entity - One without a second. I see that you are indulging in vain pride through words of wisdom.
"Now, is there any difference between the untouchable and the Brahmin in the eye of the knower of Truth?"
On hearing these words and others too, Shankara was greatly ashamed. He clasped his palms in adoration of the man and spoke,
"He who perceives all beings with an awareness of Same-sightedness, acts in consonance with that perception of sameness in all - he indeed is my Guru. I bow down at his feet many times."
But Shankara saw something else too: A divine Being, radiant and shining like the sun and the fire, had met him in all glory, holding the four Vedas (the four dogs) in his hands.

The same episode from a remarkable old film "Adi Shankaracharya" (1983):

The Hundred Verses of Advice of Padampa Sangye, a Buddhist mahasiddha of the Indian Tantra.

Just as worn-out clothes can never again be made as new,
It's no use seeing a doctor once you're terminally ill;
You'll have to go. We humans living on this earth
Are like streams and rivers flowing toward the ocean -
All living beings are heading for that single destination.

Now, like a small bird flying off from a treetop,
I, too, will not be here much longer; soon I must move on.

1
If you spend the present meaninglessly and leave with empty hands,
People of Tingri, a human life in the future will be very hard to find.

2
To apply yourselves with body, speech and mind to the sacred Teachings,
People of Tingri, is the best thing that you can do.

3
Give your very life, heart and soul to the Three Jewels,
People of Tingri, and their blessings cannot but arise.

4
Forget your goals for this life - concentrate instead on lives to come.
People of Tingri, that is the highest goal.

5
Families are as fleeting as a crowd on market day;
People of Tingri, don't bicker or fight.

6
Wealth and poverty, like a magic show, just seduce and deceive;
People of Tingri, don't let the knot of avarice bind you.

7
This body's just a bag containing various kinds of filth;
People of Tingri, don't pamper it and spruce it up so.

8
Family and friends are no more real than a magic show;
People of Tingri, in your fondness for them don't tie yourself down.

9
Country and land are like a nomad's pastures
People of Tingri, don't cling sentimentally to them.

10
As parents, all beings in the six realms have cared for you;
People of Tingri, don't relate to them with your ideas of "I" and "mine".

11
The day you were born, your death began approaching;
People of Tingri, remember: there is never any time to spare.

12
Fundamentally there's no delusion, it's an ephemeral occurrence;
People of Tingri, look at the nature of what it produces.

13
Without distraction apply yourselves to the sacred Dharma;
People of Tingri, after death it will guide you on the path.

14
The truth of cause and effect ensures that actions yield their full result;
People of Tingri, avoid all actions that are negative and evil.

15
Leave all your activities behind like a country in a dream;
People of Tingri, just put non-action into practice.

16
The very thing you feel attached to, let go of it, whatever -
People of Tingri, there isn't anything that you need.

17
Since you won't be staying in this world forever,
People of Tingri, make your preparations for the journey now.

18
If you first finish what you have to do, you'll never get to Dharma;
People of Tingri, while you're thinking about it, practice straight away.

19
Inside the forest, monkeys may be living happily at ease,
People of Tingri - but at the edges forest fires are closing in all round.

20
Birth, sickness, ageing and death flow on, a river without ford or bridge;
People of Tingri, have you prepared yourselves a boat?

21
In the narrow defiles of birth, death and the intermediate state
Bandits await - the five poisonous emotions - sure to ambush you;
People of Tingri, avail yourselves of the teacher as your escort.

22
Your never-failing source of refuge is the teacher;
People of Tingri, carry him constantly on the crown of your head.

23
If your protection is the teacher, you'll reach wherever you aspire to go;
People of Tingri, cultivate devotion as the fare you pay for the journey.

24
Those who get wealthy get miserly too;
People of Tingri, give generously without being partial.

25
Whoever gets power acts sinfully, too;
People of Tingri, abandon all desire for rank and power.

26
Those with rank and riches are never happy and at ease;
People of Tingri, get ready to claw at your chest in anguish.

27
In the next world, there are neither family nor friends;
People of Tingri, place your confidence in the Dharma.

28
If you wander in distraction, you'll waste the freedoms and advantages of human life;
People of Tingri, make a resolute decision now.

29
While you're busy being distracted, the demon of Death will catch you;
People of Tingri, practice from this very moment onwards.

30
When will the demon of Death appear? There is no easy way to tell;
People of Tingri, right now be always on your guard.

31
The day you die, there's no one who'll protect you;
People of Tingri, be ready to have yourselves alone to count on.

32
If you reflect on death, there's nothing you will need;
People of Tingri, always keep your death in mind.

33
Like lengthening shadows as the sun sinks low,
The demon of Death relentlessly draws nearer;
People of Tingri, quickly! Get away from him!

34
The morning's ravishing flower will wither by nightfall;
People of Tingri, don't put your hopes in your body.

35
Even if resembling, while alive, the children of the gods,
Once dead they are more frightful than a demon horde;
People of Tingri, you've been deceived by these illusory bodies.

36
Visitors to market day, their trading finished, on the morrow have dispersed;
People of Tingri, your friends will part from you, be certain.

37
Since the scarecrow conjured up by magic is sure to tumble down;
People of Tingri, act now according to the linking of effect with cause.

38
For sure, the vulture of your mind will one day fly away;
People of Tingri, now is the time to soar up to the heights.

39
All beings of the six realms have cared for you as parents;
People of Tingri, towards them cultivate your love and compassion.

40
Hate for enemies is samsara's hallucination, caused by actions;
People of Tingri, transmute your hatred and your hostile mind.

41
Prostration and circumambulation purify obscuration of the body;
People of Tingri, abandon all your worldly physical work.

42
Recitation and taking refuge purify obscuration of the speech;
People of Tingri, abandon all your ordinary conversation.

43
Fervent devotion purifies habitual tendencies of the mind;
People of Tingri, meditate on the teacher above your head.

44
Your flesh and bones took form together, but in the end are sure to separate;
People of Tingri, do not believe that you will live forever.

45
Capture that most sublime of countries, the constant land of the natural state;
People of Tingri, where there is no transition or change.

46
Enjoy that most sublime of riches, the treasure of the nature of mind;
People of Tingri, which cannot ever be depleted.

47
Savor that most sublime of foods, the exquisite taste of meditation, People of Tingri, which abolishes the pangs of hunger.

48
Imbibe that most sublime of drinks, the ambrosia of mindfulness, People of Tingri, whose flow is never interrupted.

49
Rely upon that most sublime companion, primordial awareness wisdom, People of Tingri, from which you never can be parted.

50
Seek for that most sublime of progeny, the young child pure awareness, People of Tingri, for which there is no birth or death.

51
In a state of emptiness, whirl the spear of pure awareness;
People of Tingri, the view is free of being caught by anything at all.

52
In a state without thoughts, without distraction, abandon the watcher;
People of Tingri, the meditation is free of any torpor or excitement.

53
In a state of natural spontaneity, train in being free of any holding back;
People of Tingri, in the action there is nothing to abandon or adopt.

54
The four bodies, indivisible, are complete in your mind;
People of Tingri, the fruit is beyond all hope and doubt.

55
The root of both samsara and nirvana is to be found within your mind;
People of Tingri, the mind is free of any true reality.

56
Desire and hate appear, but like birds in flight, should leave no trace behind;
People of Tingri, in meditation be free of clinging to experiences.

57
The unborn absolute body is like the very heart of the sun -
People of Tingri, there is no waxing or waning of its radiant clarity.

58
Thoughts come and go like a thief in an empty house -
People of Tingri, in fact there is nothing to be gained or lost.

59
Sensations leave no imprints, like drawings made on water;
People of Tingri, don't perpetuate deluded appearances.

60
Thoughts of attachment and aversion are like rainbows in the sky;
People of Tingri, there is nothing in them to be grasped or apprehended.

61
Mind's movements dissolve by themselves, like clouds in the sky;
People of Tingri, in the mind there are no reference points.

62
Without fixation, thoughts are freed by themselves, like the wind, People of Tingri, which never clings to any object.

63
Pure awareness is without fixation, like a rainbow in the sky;
People of Tingri, experiences arise quite unimpededly.

64
Realization of the absolute nature is like the dream of a mute;
People of Tingri, there are no words to express it.

65
Realization is like a youthful maiden's pleasure;
People of Tingri, the joy and bliss cannot be described.

66
Clarity and emptiness united are like the moon reflecting in water;
People of Tingri, there is nothing to be attached to and nothing to impede.

67
Appearances and emptiness inseparable are like the empty sky;
People of Tingri, the mind is without either center or periphery.

68
The mind with no thought and no distraction is like the mirror of a beauty;
People of Tingri, it is free of any theoretical tenets.

69
Awareness and emptiness inseparable are like reflections in a mirror;
People of Tingri, nothing is born there and nothing ceases.

70
Bliss and emptiness inseparable are like the sun lighting up the snows;
People of Tingri, there is nothing there to apprehend.

71
Deluded talk will fade without a trace, like echoes;
People of Tingri, in sound there is nothing to be grasped.

72
Happiness and suffering, through a mechanism like the sounding of a lute's body and strings, People of Tingri, are produced when actions are combined with necessary conditions.

73
The natural freedom of samsara and nirvana is like a children's game;
People of Tingri, have a mind without any aims.

74
Your notions of the outer world derive from the mind within;
People of Tingri, let the solid ice be melted into liquid.

75
The mechanism of ignorance is like the gush of a meadow spring;
People of Tingri, it cannot be halted by obstructing it.

76
The delusions of samsara and nirvana are like coming face to face with an enemy;
People of Tingri, as your ally practice virtue.

77
The natural clarity of the five kayas [aspects of enlightenment] is like the expanse of a continent of gold;
People of Tingri, there is no hope or doubt, attachment or aversion.

78
With its freedoms and advantages, human life is like a treasure island;
People of Tingri, do not come back an empty-handed failure.

79
The practice of the Great Vehicle is like a wish-fulfilling gem;
People of Tingri, however hard you search, it would be difficult to find again.

80
For this life, come what may, you'll have enough to eat and clothe yourself;
People of Tingri, put everything you have into practicing the Dharma.

81
While you are young, practice hard and with austerities;
People of Tingri, once you're old your constitution won't withstand it.

82
When emotions arise, bring antidotes to bear on them;
People of Tingri, let free all concepts in their very nature.

83
Think from time to time of all the defects of samsara;
People of Tingri, that will make your faith become much clearer.

84
Right now, develop diligence and stand your ground;
People of Tingri, when you die it will guide you on the path.

85
If you're not free now, when will you ever get to be free?
People of Tingri, your chance to eat comes only one time in a hundred.

86
Life is so ephemeral, like the dew on the grass;
People of Tingri, don't yield to laziness and indifference.

87
From where you are now, should you lose your footing,
People of Tingri, it will be hard to find a human life again.

88
The Buddha's teaching is like the sun shining through the clouds;
People of Tingri, now is the one time that it is present.

89
You say such clever things to people, but don't apply them to yourself;
People of Tingri, the faults within you are the ones to be exposed.

90
That faith succumbs to circumstance is only a short step away;
People of Tingri, contemplate samsara's imperfections.

91
Frequenting evil friends is bound to make your own behavior evil;
People of Tingri, abandon any friendships that are negative.

92
Frequenting virtuous friends is bound to make your own good qualities arise;
People of Tingri, follow your spiritual teachers.

93
Deception and lies deceive not only others, but yourself as well;
People of Tingri, as witness take your own conscience.

94
Delusion born from ignorance is the worst disaster-bearing demon;
People of Tingri, hold fast to your vigilance and mindfulness.

95
If you don't hold on to the three or five poisons [desire, hatred, ignorance, jealousy, pride], the path is near; People of Tingri, generate powerful antidotes against them.

96
If your perseverance has no strength, you will not reach Buddhahood;
People of Tingri, make sure that you don that Armor.

97
Habitual tendencies, being old acquaintances, keep on coming back;
People of Tingri, don't go on following the past.

98
If your understanding and realization are weak, pray to your lord teacher;
People of Tingri, and deep meditation will be born in you.

99
If you aspire to happiness in future, accept your present trials;
People of Tingri - then Buddhahood is right here just beside you.

100
This old Indian master will not stay in Tingri, he will go away;
People of Tingri, it is now that you must clarify your doubts.

101
I myself have practiced without distraction;
People of Tingri, you too should follow this example.

By Sri Ramana Maharshi

Action yields fruit,
For so the Lord ordains it.
How can action be the Lord?
It is insentient.

The fruit of action passes.
But action leaves behind
Seed of further action
Leading to an endless ocean of action;
Not at all to moksha.

Disinterested action
Surrendered to the Lord
Purifies the mind and points
The way to moksha.

This is certain:
Worship, praise and meditation,
Being work of body, speech and mind,
Are steps for orderly ascent.

Ether, fire, air, water, earth,
Sun, moon, and living beings --
Worship of these,
Regarded all as forms of His,
Is perfect worship of the Lord.

Better than hymns of praise
Is repetition of the Name;
Better low-voiced than loud,
But best of all
Is meditation in the mind.

Better than spells of meditation
Is one continuous current,
Steady as a stream,
Or downward flow of oil.

Better than viewing Him as Other,
Indeed the noblest attitude of all,
Is to hold Him as the `I' within,
The very `I'.

Abidance in pure being
Transcending thought through love intense
Is the very essence
Of supreme devotion.

Absorption in the Heart of being,
Whence we sprang,
Is the path of action, of devotion,
Of union and of knowledge.

Holding the breath controls the mind,
Like a bird caught in a net.
Breath-regulation helps
Absorption in the Heart.

Mind and breath (as thought and action)
Fork out like two branches.
But both spring
From a single root.

Absorption is of two sorts:
Submergence and destruction.
Mind submerged rises again;
Dead, it revives no more.

Breath controlled and thought restrained,
The mind turned one-way inward
Fades and dies.

Mind extinct, the mighty seer
Returns to his own natural being
And has no action to perform.

It is true wisdom
For the mind to turn away
From outer objects and behold
Its own effulgent form.

When unceasingly the mind
Scans its own form,
There is nothing of the kind.
For everyone
This path direct is open.

Thoughts alone make up the mind;
And of all thoughts the `I' thought is the root.
What is called mind is but the notion `I'.

When one turns within and searches
Whence this `I' thought arises,
The shamed `I' vanishes
And wisdom's quest begins.

Where this `I' notion fades,
Now there as I, as I, arises
The One, the very Self, The Infinite.

Of the term, `I' the permanent import
Is `That'. For even in deep sleep
Where we have no sense of `I'
We do not cease to be.

Body, senses, mind, breath, sleep --
All insentient and unreal --
Cannot be `I',
`I' who am the Real.

For knowing That which Is
There is no other knower.
Hence Being is Awareness
And we are all Awareness.

In the nature of their being, creature and creator
Are in substance one.
They differ only
In adjuncts and awareness.

Seeing oneself free of all attributes
Is to see the Lord,
For He shines ever as the pure Self.

To know the Self is but to be the Self,
For It is non-dual.
In such knowledge
One abides as That.

That is true knowledge which transcends
Both knowledge and ignorance,
For in pure knowledge
There is no object to be known.

Having known one's nature one abides
As being with no beginning and no end
In unbroken consciousness and bliss.

Abiding in this state of bliss
Beyond bondage and release,
Is steadfastness
In service of the Lord.

All ego gone,
Living as That alone
Is penance good for growth,
Sings Ramana, the Self.