Be Empty
The Teachings of Sri Tirtha Lal Mahanandhar
Welcome
Sri Tirtha Lal Mahanandhar
'Om Namaha Shivaya'
This site is dedicated to the teachings of Sri Tirtha Lal Mahanandhar of Kathmandu, Nepal, who passed away in the early 2000's.
As a young man, in the absence of any teacher or guide, Sri Tirtha Lal's intense desire to understand the truth of existence eventually led to his experience of spiritual enlightenment. Becoming firmly established in this realisation, he spent most of his life teaching small groups of family, friends and followers while as a father and husband, he continued at the same time to provide for his family. Especially in his later years, he put down in writing a few pieces from the perspective of his own spiritual experience, including a book called 'Bed Crow' (literally, 'utter cry of joy from the base, or bottom of the heart') which is an intensely advaitic (non-dualist) work with the simple message - 'BE EMPTY'.
Although written in English, Bed Crow can be a little difficult to read, and it was for a long time my intention to edit and make it somewhat more readable and thereby available to a wider audience, and so this was the original reason for creating this site.
Subsequently, I have collected and edited all the other available writings and teachings that Sri Tirtha Lal produced in English as detailed below. As you will see, there is quite a lot - most of which are only seeing the light of day in being published for the first time here. Belonging to the pre-internet era, I'm sure TL ('True Love, thy own Atman' - as he liked to sign his letters) would have been more than happy to see his writings made available to everyone through such means.
Apart from the great pleasure I have derived from creating this site, which has enabled me to me to relive the wonderful years I spent with him and his family, it is my hope that some who find their way here will recognise the authenticity and value of his words, and thereby derive true benefit, sustenance and enhanced clarity on their own individual paths toward deeper spiritual understanding.
The profound implication of Sri Tirtha Lal's teaching and philosophy is that there is indeed a final solution to the transitory and fleeting nature of existence and everything here - the seemingly interminable ups and downs of life, its good and bad, its sufferings and joy - and a sublime resolution to the enigma of existence itself.
Patrick Lewis
"The valueless pearl hidden at the bottom of this vast ocean of creation - I am that. The person of great patience and firm determination who dives in to reach Me, facing all the dangerous problems that come on the way, will come to Me. The single-minded one sees none except Me at all times. After achieving this, such a person of arrow-like aim will like to turn into ‘thee valueless pearl’. I am valueless in two ways. Firstly, most people don’t understand My real value, so I am valueless for them, and secondly for the realised souls I am valueless because they know there is nothing that can ever equal My real value. Thus, realise My faceless face which is valueless in two ways, and enjoying Me, always remain happy both ways." TL.
mumble.....
What? Another guru? Yes. This is my personal pleasure, to publish here the writings and teachings of Sri Tirtha Lal, and a way of recapturing and enjoying his presence. His language may not appear as clear-cut as some, but you will find no contradiction between the realisation he so earnestly describes and that of all such authentic souls throughout the ages. The relationship between seeker and guru or spiritual teacher is intensely personal yet its uniqueness lies in the transcendence of personality, whereby all forms are but flickering manifestations or 'expressions' of that which is infinite and encompasses all that can ever be - and in regard to which there ultimately are no distinctions to be found.
It's a matter of resonance whether you find his words inspirational or not. The intellect is always looking for a magic formula, climbing ladders of concepts and perspectives - seeking, in fact, its own demise in the end of any further questioning. The heart however, seeks unity - and the whole point of a guru is the reversal of individuation through trust in the wisdom and love of our own highest self that he/she represents, and as a ray returning to the sun it never left nor could ever be apart from, realise that the shining and that which shines - is one.
So what you find here is yet another offering of the love that is the light of all - free for the taking, trusting, and 'being empty' as much as you may wish.
Bed Crow
Sri Tirtha Lal now and then used to lament the fact that he had had no teacher or guru himself, saying it might have made his path easier. However, as a consequence of this, his expression and teaching in regard to that which ultimately defies all attempts at being revealed in words is quite unique, following no particular dogma, scripture or formulated religion and significantly, it refers to no other spiritual or religious authority than his own experience and insight. Bed Crow is thus his own inspired and very individual message to the world.
Besides the homely anecdotal teachings in Bed Crow there is a central Context of 45 statements written, uniquely for this day and age, from the standpoint of the Supreme Reality, describing the nature of non-duality or advaita in contrast to the everyday reality that we assume to be our daily life and existence. This I have also collated together on a separate page for ease of reference, and likewise the illustrated sayings drawn by TL himself (see links below). Finally there is the essential message and teaching of Bed Crow together with pith instructions for actual practice in the chapters 'Quasar' 1 & 2.
"Bed Crow is divine, so is your empire. This must not be handled roughly. He who respects it as his own heart is fit to rule. Non-interference is the win."
"O! Real aspirants of this world, my heart! You may be of any religion, I have nothing to do with that, but please listen! At the end, do you not want liberation to be your ultimate aim? I know this is your target - to be free for ever. You, the Real, are ever free. There is no attachment, there is no ego in you. But the ego concept that you have had from the very beginning has covered you with so many coverings, just like a spider's web ties the bee".
The Avadhuta Gita - an interpretation in English of verses 1-60 by Sri Tirtha Lal
Teachings of TL
The collected teachings and writings of Sri Tirtha Lal including notes, letters, dictations and tape transcripts in English.
"Enquire within. There is one essence, the all-beauty at the back of the mind and behind all objects of the universe.
You are that ATMAN in full, at the end. Realise this, that is all."
"My friends are dreaming. They are enjoying, they say, in this dreamland. They are suffering, they say, in this dreamland, They are playing, they say, in this dreamland. That is why there is night and day. In fact, when you will wake up, you will see there is no dream - there is no trace of dream - you alone are existing".
I and You
This is a compilation of teachings and statements on about 100 pages that were hand-written by TL and found stapled together with the title of 'I and You'. It consists of some 28 verses of teachings in the same vein as the context in Bed Crow followed by a series of poetic exhortations and and outpourings which were, perhaps, the draft of another book.
"Your day and night are never in Me. Your sleeping and waking states are not Mine. So your dream and conscious worlds are nowhere in Me. Twilight and evening are nothing more than your concepts. I am beyond all your concepts - ever free from bondage and liberation. Know Me this way and enjoy eternity."
the blog, discussion, guest book etc...
Nothing much happening blog-wise as yet, but you are welcome to start a discussion here if you like. There is also forum page that can be added to the site if enough members were interested. You're always welcome to add your comments in the guest book area, and I'd certainly appreciate it if you could let me know about any broken links or typos etc. Thanks.
Another Book of Nothing (by Patrick Lewis)
Although I hesitate to include this here, you may perhaps be interested to have a look at 'Another Book of Nothing'. It began initially as a way of putting down in writing some thoughts and perspectives about this subject and has evolved into a collection of musings that range from some simple observations in regard to 'the spiritual trip', enlightenment and devotion to the divine, through to some expressions on the enigmatic subject of emptiness and the basic Advaita philosophy of Non-dualism. It also includes a few chapters describing the primary deities of India and Nepal and some favourite stories concerning them together with the occasionally amusing but pertinent anecdote. The text is illuminated throughout by the quoted words of many great souls throughout the ages, from over 2000 years ago to the present era, which point to a perennial and universal wisdom that seems to have always been present and which has continued and indeed continues to flow, though often unseen, through many different faiths and philosophical tenets.
Note: Beginning during the Covid-19 years of 2020/1/2, I have been reviewing, editing and largely rewriting Another Book of Nothing and including many additions which hopefully reflect an ongoing and more thorough and focussed understanding over the years since it was first written. As a result, some of the spontaneity of the original may have been lost, but hopefully compensated to some extent by greater depth. ABN is thus a continual 'work in progress', subject to these ongoing revisions, and while (as yet) the basic structure of chapters and their subject matter remain unaltered, there is likely to be more tweaking, elucidation and additions here and there which may continue, sometimes on an almost daily basis, as time (and life!) goes on, with no particular end or 'finished article' in sight. As it is only published here, not marketed in any way and with an extremely limited readership, I'm not sure if I should apologise for this or not!