Charlie Chaplin – A Sahaj Declaration about Life on his 70th Birthday

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(attributed to) Charlie Chaplin on his 70th birthday: As I Began to Love Myself

 

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.

Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY“.

 

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody as I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me.

Today I call it “RESPECT“.

 

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.

Today I call it “Maturity“.

 

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment, so I could be calm.

Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE“.

 

As I began to love myself I quit steeling my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm.

Today I call it “SIMPLICITY“.

 

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything the drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.

Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF“.

 

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since I was wrong less of the time.

Today I discovered that is “MODESTY“.

 

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING is happening.

 

Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT“.

 

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally.

Today I call this connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART“.

 

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born.

Today I know THAT IS “LIFE“!

(however, after 1 year since this article was created, there are doubts that this beautiful and wise declaration above does belong to Charlie Chaplin after all  as much was we’d love to believe it – we are on a quest to find once for all 🙂)

Today I have received the above message from a friend and I’ve felt right away that is meant to be shared further on .. so we can meditate upon it, and luckily, we start applying some of its (utterly sahaj!!) truth before our 70th anniversary .

Indeed, at that age he managed to remain more firm than ever behind the wheels of his life and all the phrases above are in essence very much imbibed with eternally fresh truths, so I dare to say that his message is totally sahaj.

“The Tramp”  (check it out) and other creations reflect such an universal and complex truth about life that speaks to our heart, any heart .. And has its message fully absorbed…

Also it’s interesting because Chaplin was able to establish his level of peace and to really live up – in his late years of life –  to the wisdom that is transparent in the quote above. Yes, he was even able to know and clearly define himself.

And if Charlie Chaplin has reached to that sincere realization about his Self that gave him the serene comfort of his spirit, we instead, even as recently as this Aprill 2009, are still fighting the futile war of labeling him post-mortem.

As usually one can see the irony: in India he is much respected by movie makers that want to have a statue in his name, maybe the greatest ever dedicated to Chaplin .. while in the same place is a strong opposition for this tribute to happen. The reason?! This genius happened to be officially registered as Christian, though during his life there was another war going on, triggered by the rumors that he might be Jewish or partially Gipsy.

** http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/4996884/Hindus-reject-statue-of-Christian-Charlie-Chaplin.html

We all fight these wars, of course starting with the ‘civil wars’ that happen inside of ourselves: the heart will generously give us a name, while our mind will try to impose its own “title” and our senses will sneak also all kind of “subtitles” to this entity that either way is known and perceived always differently by others.

So why not start knowing this ‘personal’ being, by simply beginning to love the core of it, the Self. What we love, we know.. That love will bring the peace of integration that delivers the consensus within.

Only then, after knowing ourselves, gaining one distinct voice, we may utter definitions about others ..

charlie2 .. if those will still matter.

 

This Post Has 27 Comments

  1. Anna M. (USA)

    Some years ago we had heard that Charlie Chaplin was a realized soul. This article that you have sent proves that!! Very nice!

    1. sheema khan

      learning never ends..:)

  2. Claudia

    I love the depth of Charlie’s message.

  3. Liz

    I just love this poem. The truth found him. Thanks for sharing!!
    Liz

  4. DessyR

    I really do love Sir Charles Spencer “Charlie” Chaplin!

  5. Brenton Cappellini

    I finally resolved to drop a remark, and let me tell you this is certainly yet another very strong post. I have been checking some of your previous blogposts and have been browsing your blog site every now and then|Hello, I appreciate your post.

  6. Pingback: Smartest & most positive quotes ever | ZZE.ST - inspiration to make life better

  7. Hartmut Rast

    The ideas by Charlie Chaplin are timeless and indeed, his remarks at his 70th birthday should be shared further on so that many people can start applying some of its truth right now.

  8. Danielle C.

    Today, I have received an email – with this declaration of Chaplin translated in French… I bound so much with it that I have decided to post it on my FB page…

    I was looking on a picture of Chaplin to associate it with… and I immediatly picked up that image amongst all the ones that came out from my googling search…

    It was a big suprise to find out that this picture of himself was already associated with his declaration about life on your Website! What a coïncidence…

    Being on the right path!

  9. Sergei P.

    I see Chaplin’s message as real instructions for my life. All I need are ideas more than 50
    years old!!!!!!!!

    1. Kartikeya

      This is so amazing Jon my sister and I watched this clip from the movie, “The Great Dictator”, just a day ago and found it to be a very Sahaj speech by Charlie Chaplin. A lot more people should watch it as it seems like the remedy to the disturbance of peace because of the egotistical leaders in the current days. The subtle meaning behind Chaplin’s work often goes unnoticed but it really has a deep underlying message always and of course on top of being hilarious!

  10. adrian

    It begins with an awareness that loving self is the epicentre from which all outwardly extended love is manifest.

    Simply…
    Honour self first
    Then…
    Honor others

    To know Self is to understand how to give…
    Because then you can take enjoyment in self, and in that of others.
    As Chaplin did.

  11. commercialloan

    thx for site it is very nice :))

  12. Kristopher

    The man is always at cross road to make decision about the life and its moments. In the beginning the life is tied to material accomplishments such as degrees, car, house, acquiring land, money and even a hot sexy and beuatiful woman. These accomplishments die with time and take us back to oblivious world.
    The true scale of the life and its measurement is our virtues and wisdom. So the Authenticity, respect, self control, compassion, love, joy, peace, harmony, tranquality, simplcity, modesty, fullfilment and maturity, it all refelct in our behaviour that leads to be happy, satisfied and contended. This sketches the complete life during our own time and afterwards. The time remembers it. The people realize it and admire it.

    1. adrian

      That is the wonder of continually expanding in the present. And in that way the past/future and present become One.

      1. adrian

        With wisdom then…
        Suffering dissipates…
        And so do hidden secrets of the past…
        Yet…
        The real treasure emerges…
        A different sort of hidden secret…
        The realization of Love…
        Eternal…
        Heaven on Earth…
        To experience a new BEginning.
        One of JOY.

        Lovely carol singing

        Thankyou

  13. LD

    Great words. Sadly not Charlie’s apparently (I wish they were). But still words to live by.

    http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin

    “Quoted by many sites and blogs as “speech that Charlie Chaplin gave on his 70th birthday”. Actually, a re-translantion (from Portuguese-BR) of a text from the book “When I Loved Myself Enough” by Kim & Alison McMillen (2001).”

  14. Soren

    So deep so right.

  15. Balraj Singh

    I am interested to share SY experiences from Western brothers and sisters as you are greatest seekers

  16. Ronnie Ogden

    I’ll be 80 next March and it is high time to live up to his speech…It’s never too late. Thanks Sir Charles.

  17. Pingback: As I Began To Love Myself | Dark Views

  18. Jolanta

    The speech is great. So is the 70th birthday message. Does that make the actor, Charlie Chaplin a realized soul? What makes one a realized soul? Is everyone who has experienced Kundalini awakening a realized soul?

  19. Niti

    When I was a child I used to watch all the serials of Charlie Chaplin and those were silent comedy,I never knew that behind this comedian image a realized soul is there.Thanks for sharing this wonderful
    article dear Ioana.

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