If you really want to experience life, if you really want to know the ultimate mystery of Existence, if you want to dive into the ocean of bliss, then the way into it is intensity.

Be intense in whatever you do. Let you dissolve in it. Do not be partial. Be integrated in yourself.

If you dance, dance so totally that you become the dance. There will be no dancer remaining then, only the dance remains. If you paint, paint so intensely that the painter disappears in the painting and see how that piece of art becomes so exquisite. When the ego dissolves, the false sense of identity disappears and you can see the flow of the intelligent and total energy of Existence through you.

There is a beautiful story on Bodhidharma, the enlightened master who took Zen Buddhism to China, Japan and other parts of Asia. It is said that Bodhidharma sat for nine years facing the wall of his cave. He just sat silently, not doing anything for nine years. His legs withered away as there was no movement at all. He would not accept any disciple unless he showed a burning intensity. After nine years his first disciple, Hui Kujo, came. It is said that he cut off his hand and offered it to Bodhidharma, saying, ‘Master, please accept this. If you don’t look at me now, I will cut off my head as well.’ Bodhidharma turned to face the disciple. He said, ‘The man has come to who I can deliver my message.’

Kabir says beautifully, ‘If thou art a true seeker, thou shall at once see Me.’

How can you identify whether you are a true seeker?

If the fire is there, if the intensity is there, if the urgency is there, and if the quest is there, then you are a seeker. As Kabir says, what is important is the genuine desire. What matters is the intensity, passion, sincerity and integrated seeking. If you have this, you will ‘see’ the Divine surely. If you are not able to, be very clear, your intensity is not yet complete. You are calling Him halfheartedly.

Many of us claim, ‘I have been praying so intensely. What is the way to see god?’ Just look closely at yourself. Is god your very first priority? For most of us, more often than not, god is somewhere down in the list. Actually, you feel, ‘If I have good food to eat, if I have a house to live in, after I provide for my family, and if there is time, I will add god to the list of what I seek.’ God is the last in the big list of desires. Of course, the list never ends. It is a vicious circle. God can never make it to the top of the list because your desires are endless. You do some action to fulfill a desire. The seeds of many further actions are sown in that action because you are not total in that action. Then, god gets pushed further down the list.

source: Living Enlightenment