I thought this meditation on the eve of Christmas was appropriate:

The Advent

The events of history were controlled for my coming to this world
no less than for the coming of the Saviour.

The time had to be ripe, the place just right, the circumstances ready, before I could be born.

God chose the parents of his Son and endowed them with the personality
they needed for the child that would be born.

I speak to God about the man and woman that he chose to be my parents
until I see that they had to be the kind of human beings they were
if I was to become what God meant me to be.

The Christ child comes, like every other child, to give the world a message.
What message have I come to give?
I seek guidance from the Lord to express it in a word or image.

Christ comes into this world to walk a certain path, fulfil a certain destiny.
He consciously fulfilled what had been "written" for him.
As I look back I see in wonder what was "written" and has thus far been fulfilled in my on life,
and for each part of that script, however small, I say, "Thanks" to make it holy with my gratitude.

I look with expectation and surrender at all that is to come and, like the Christ,
I say, "Yes. Let it be done."

Finally I recall the song the angels sang when Christ was born.
They sang of the peace and joy that give God glory.
Have I ever heard the song the angels sang when I was born?

I see with joy what has been done through me to make the world a better place,
and I join those angels in the song they sang to celebrate my birth.

Anthony deMello-Wellsprings. Gujarat Sahitya Prakash. booksgsp@gmail.com

The recent siege in Sydney, Australia prompts me to share my two cents worth. I contemplated keeping my mouth shut…However, when I thought about it, I felt that if others shared the same sentiments me and passed them on maybe- just maybe we could all change attitudes.

I notice that someone came up with the brilliant idea of- “I’ll ride with you tag”. Great! This indicates that we support one another and don’t dump everyone into the ‘rotten apple’ basket along with the other rotten apples.

Now, here are my thoughts- If we think like Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, or Agnostics we are bound to offend. 

I am NONE of the above. In fact there is no religion I wish to follow or subscribe to. I AM A HUMAN BEING. Everything else- religion, caste, nationality, status, wealth, whatever- doesn't matter one iota!

I realise not everyone can subscribe to this and yet, I accept you just as you are...without reservations. Will you now accept me with no strings attached?

Considering that I do not belong to or follow any of the above mentioned categories... would you ride with me?

And if you don’t- I’ll still ride with you if you want me to.

If you agree, share with others!

Peace……… 

Another Swansong review. Only available at www.tonydemello.com

Swansong. Anthony deMello's Last Seminar.

I can see that you have done an excellent job, Bill, of transcribing the participants' notes from Tony's last retreat in India. I thank you for doing so. To me Swansong is a distillation of Tony's most poignant and powerful teachings. The book is jam-packed with Tony's wonderful wisdom, warmth and humour.
To me Swansong demonstrates how Tony was the best at succinctly arriving at the essence of the world's great spiritual teachings, especially those of Jesus and Buddha.
You convey in Swansong how Tony clearly practised what he preached, speaking with courage and conviction. I especially appreciate how you captured at the end of the retreat Tony putting forth the concepts of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness (suffering), and not-self, the three characteristics of all existence, how understanding these leads to insight and seeing clearly, in Tony's words: “In the one who sees – there is only love. And in that love there is great beauty. And you will find God.”
For the lucky reader Swansong brings forth the culmination of Tony's journey into and through the world's great spiritual truths. It contains the heart of Tony's wise and compassionate teachings, such a feast for those who know Tony's work, as well as for the newcomer to Tony wanting to know what this modern day mystic was all about.
A final note: the book title is perfect for Tony. It harkens back to his early story meditation books, Song of the Bird and Taking Flight, as well as to the wonderful compilation on Tony by Aurel Brys and Joseph Pulickal, We Heard the Bird Sing. I am sure Tony glides above smiling down at you and your wonderful accomplishment.
Thank you so much, Bill, for your painstaking effort, your labour of love, in bringing forth Tony's last retreat in India for the world to see.
Sincerely,
Richard Hennessey.
Hawaii.

This post from Silent Entry says it all.

http://silententry.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/if-you-like-eckhart-tolle-part-ii-more-about-the-happy-wanderer-anthony-demello/#respond

Swansong- Another review.

I was more than delighted to receive Swansong. Quite evidently, Bill transcribed the seminar on which the book is based with the love and attention that only a brother can lavish.

Fr Tony’s last seminar may have been his swan song but what he says is a mighty clarion call to us all to open our eyes and wake up. As a true master, Fr Anthony De Mello shows us “where to look” but never tells us “what to see”.

An oriental sage once said : “If a blind man walks a thousand miles to ask of another man where light is, he will tell him: ‘If you had eyes, light was there also where you came from. Without eyes, light will not be, no matter where you go’. Light is wherever eyes are - else there is nothing but darkness”.

But it is inherent in the human conditon, in this matrix we live in, that most of us are blind. We need a master to point us in the right direction. We then choose whether to follow the path to peace that passes all understanding or continue to exist within the confines of our conditioning.

As a human (mechanical) being I’d say that Anthony De Mello was taken away from us far too soon but deep in my heart I know that he sang all of his song and he sang it beautifully. Could he have given us further insights, untrammelled by rigid, doctrinal, lifeless formalisms had he lived longer? Perhaps. But what does it matter, his joyful voice still rings clear. Swansong exudes his humour and his love for humanity – the beauty of his being is still with us.

Barry Long said, “The living master never returns. He teaches the truth, he is in his own body, his own time. When that is finished, all that he had to say and do is said and done. If it weren't, he would not die. The body is the precise time allotted. There can be no return of J. Krishnamurti, Meher Baba, Ramana Maharshi or any living master of his time. The master never needs more time.”

Fr Tony’s teachings live on in his stories, books and the few, alas, videos we have of him dancing his dance. He was a floodlight of wisdom and divine inspiration for this world. He touched the hardest hearts, the confused, the dogmatic, the seeker. He continues to do so.

So I can only offer a big THANK YOU to his dear brother Bill (and his generous correspondents) for gifting us, in Swansong , with the authentic words of a rare mystic.

Franco.

Swansong, Anthony deMello’s Last Seminar has been available through Tony's website www.tonydemello.com for some months. I have yet to receive a negative review of this seminar.

This review is no exception; but it is in many ways special. Because the man who wrote  it was a novice in the Jesuit seminary when Tony was Rector of the house (see Anthony deMello SJ, The Happy Wanderer)

He gives me great credit for transcribing this last seminar but I humbly claim none. Unless pre-arranged and agreed to by Tony, his seminars were never taped or filmed. Therefore his last seminar, delivered in May 1987, in Pune, India, would be but a blissful memory for those who attended it, never to be accessed by the wider community. I attribute all credit to the sister (who still wishes to remain anonymous) and Fr. Joaquim Tellis, who shared their notes on this seminar which they attended, with me.

The review:

Bill,

Towards the end of last month I completed 3/4 century, aided by not regretting the past and not being bothered about the future. 

 

And you know what?!  On my birthday, I gave out presents: A copy each, in fancy wrapping, of SWANSONG. with a sticker, signed by me, on the first page, saying: " This is to share with you,  thoughts expressed by my guru, that keep me enlightened, and to admit I am able to keep sane because of the questionable company I keep. Like in the case of Jesus—see Mk 2:15f and also Lk 7:33."

You certainly did a great job transcribing the seminar and I will not be the only one to say that.  Tony followers all over will be highly indebted, for they will have Tony's final thoughts and feelings about what really matters in life.  You must have taken great pains over the transcriptions and you certainly edited them expertly for when I read SWANSONG I felt as if I was hearing Tony himself, just as I remember him.  The flow of words, the aptness of the illustrations and jokes, the depth of mystical understanding, the forthrightness of speech, and the simplicity and clarity of everything---all that is associated with Tony---came out strongly through what you gifted all of us.  You have our undying gratitude.

A million, trillion thanks for SWANSONG!

 

 

Albert SJ

I asked Tony whether it was absolutely necessary that I enter a church to communicate with God. I asked him why it was necessary to spend so much money on structures when there were millions around the world who had no food or shelter.

His answer:

Once upon a time there was a forest where the birds sang by day and the insects by night. Trees flourished, flowers bloomed and all manner of creatures roamed about in freedom.

And all who entered there were led to Solitude which is the home of God who dwells in Nature’s silence and Nature’s beauty.

But then the Age of Unconsciousness arrived when it became possible for people to construct buildings a thousand feet high and to destroy rivers and forests and mountains in a month. So houses of worship were built from the wood of the forest trees and from the stone under the forest soil. Pinnacle, spire and minaret pointed towards the sky; the air was filled with the sound of bells, with prayer and chant and exhortation.

And God was suddenly without a home.

God hides things by putting them before our eyes!

Anthony deMello-Prayer of the Frog Volume I.