The Hug Inspired By a Hug Awaiting a Hug
This hug was inspired by a hug we witnessed while awaiting our hug from Amma.
You Cannot Borrow Happiness From Outside
The mind is restless; it is always looking for a change. That is the nature of the mind. It can never be satisfied. It might rebel and want you to go live in a teepee in the mountains. After a while it won’t be happy with your teepee on the mountaintop; it will think that only putting a teepee in the valley will make you happy. Once you are in the valley, it will want a teepee on Mars. There is no limit for the mind’s restlessness.
You have to educate the mind. Ask it:
“Why do you want to go to the mountain?”
“To find peace there.”
“Why do you want to come down?”
“I am tired of that and want to be with people.”
What does it all mean? That you are trying to borrow happiness from outside. Once you realize that peace and joy are always within you, you will be happy no matter where you are. Whether you are in the valley or in the mountains, it is the same thing.
Whether you are on the earth or on Mars, it is the same thing. Wherever you are, you should have a purpose. Go to the mountain for a purpose; come down for a purpose. And don’t let that purpose be a selfish one. The purpose should be for the benefit of others, for service to humanity.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi
– Swami Satchidananda
NOELC
7 March
Send Out The Prayers
Don’t think that because you pray, somebody gets healed. No. God is not to be fooled that way. He didn’t give someone a problem because you didn’t pray. He did it to teach that person a lesson. By praying for someone, you open your heart. You become more compassionate; and of course your prayerful thoughts will reach the person being prayed for. If the person deserves to receive them, he will. Even if that happens, don’t think that your prayer literally cured him. Your prayer helped him.
Peaceful and healing thought forms spread, and the person who is ready to receive gets healed. That is the power of prayer. Prayers bring powerful thoughts. If the sick person really looks for it and wants it, he or she can use it. You simply make it available. But you cannot force it onto him. If his previous offence was that big, his own destiny might cause him to reject the prayer. Such a person cannot be helped.
Don’t think that because you appeal to God, God simply obeys you. That would mean that God doesn’t love that person, and will only help him because you prayed. No. You should remember that each one is God’s child. God doesn’t wait for your prayers in order to take care of His children.
Your duty is simply to send the prayers. If the person for whom you’re praying is ready, he or she will receive the prayer. If not, somebody else might get the benefit. That is why we pray for the entire world.
Send out the prayers, broadcast. Whoever tunes in, will receive it.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi
– Swami Satchidananda
The Heart Will Win
“The heart should play an important role, not only in married life, but in all of our relationships: with friends, relatives, business associates, and even strangers. Even if the other person uses the head, you should use more heart. Remember, ultimately the heart will win; it might take time but it will win. If you really want to use your heart, you will be guided in that direction. God’s guidance will be there. Pray more and trust in that higher force.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi”
– Swami Satchidananda
The Giver and Receiver Both Have Lessons To Learn
Both Have Lessons To Learn
If you want to give some advice, your first duty is to look and see if that person will accept it, if he or she will be benefited by your saying something. If the person gets upset, it shows that you don’t know how to say it gently in the proper way. In that case, you learn something from it: “Ahh, I made her angry. I should have known how to present the problem. It is her problem, but I have to learn how to present it in the right way. Maybe I put it bluntly and that is why she got upset.” There are things for you to learn also. If your intention is to help someone but you fail to make him realize that you are helping him, it’s your mistake. You can’t blame him for that.
The giver of the help should remember certain things about how to give constructive suggestions. Stop and think, “Is this the right moment to discuss this? Am I presenting it in the proper way?” If you positively know that the person is not in a mood to receive it from you, wait until another time or start very gently. Then give that person time to think about it. Maybe at the spur of the moment the ego will come and say, “How dare you tell me that!” But when you go away, he or she will try to apply your advice. Remember there is a giver and a receiver; both have lessons to learn.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi
– Swami Satchidananda
Just Close Your Eyes And Think For A Minute
Just close your eyes and think for a minute, “Does the whole world love me? How many people don’t love me? How many animals don’t love me? How many plants don’t love me?” Then you will know yourself how healthy and happy you are.
God is love. That is the essential teaching from all the scriptures. If we want to experience God, we should express that love in our life, just as God loves everything and everybody. God loves a rat, a cat, a dog, a donkey, a pig, a sinner, a saint, an idiot, a scholar. The most beautiful and the most ugly. A good dancer. The one who doesn’t even know how to walk. (more…)
Where Wrath Springs Forth
“Wrath springs only from thwarted desires. I do not expect anything from others, so their actions cannot be in opposition to wishes of mine. I would not use you for my own ends; I am happy only in your own true happiness” – Sri Yukteswar from Yogananda’s AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI
Mystical Mantra Energy
Apparently here in Europe there’s a Jesus holiday going on today. Something about the Holy Spirit. Obviously, I am not well versed but respectful. Posting this, my favorite version of Hare Krishna, in respect to the holiness of the day. But isn’t everyday holy?
“A mantra is mystical energy encased in a sound structure and each mantra contains within its vibrations a certain power. But of all mantras, the maha-mantra (the Hare Krishna mantra) has been prescribed as the easiest and surest way for attaining God Realization in this present age.”
George Harrison (1943-2001),
in his autobiography :’I, me and Mine’
More on the Hare Krishna Mantra can be found here:
http://www.meditationiseasy.com/mCorner/techniques/Hare_Krishna_Mantra.htm
The King Might Punish You Immediately
“There is a proverb: “The king might punish you immediately if you get caught. If you escape, God will punish you in time.”
You can never escape from Divine law. Don’t ever forget that.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi”
Your Crystal Ball Ain’t So Crystal Clear
I’m off that sauce for a while.
Trusting my intuition and inner self-guide while not binding myself to karma or what another may see for me.
“Don’t waste your time in thinking about the past or worrying about the future. Some of the astrologers might be a little unhappy with me for saying that. They have a job to do; fine, let them do it. They are also needed. But don’t get caught up in these things. You can rise above your planets. Don’t get attached to thinking, “What is your sign? I am an Aquarius. Are you a Taurus? A Capricorn?” You are not any of that. You are the pure Self. Your body and mind have limitations, it is true; but you can rise above them.
It really doesn’t help much to know the future. If God had wanted you to know your future, it would have been easy for Him to leave the door open. He knew that it would not be beneficial for you, so He shut the door. It’s the same for the past; it’s better if you don’t remember all the past lives. If you remembered it all, you would still have hundreds of enemies. You might forget all your friends, but you will remember your enemies. Isn’t it better to forget them?
Let’s not waste time on all these things. Think of the golden present. Enjoy the present. You might still ask, “Don’t you think I should at least plan a little bit for my immediate future?” All right, make your plans; but remember: after you make your plans, submit it to Him / Her. “Lord, if You say ‘Okay,’ let it happen. If not, I won’t worry.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi”
Accept
“Whatever comes, accept it as G-d’s Will.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi”
– Swami Satchidananda
Nothing Comes Easily
“Wherever you are, whatever you do, have discipline in your life. Discipline your mind, discipline your senses, discipline your body. When we want a big reward, we have to pay a big price. Nothing comes easily. Even for a few minutes of ego gratification for climbing to the top of a mountain, so much effort is needed. How many months of great difficulties will you have to undergo to attain such a goal? How many times will you slip, get up, start, slip, get up, start again? At last you stand there at the top, plant your flag, and say, “I conquered Everest.” You may have conquered Everest, but you can never rest there. In ten minutes you even have to come down. For that ten minutes’ joy you worked so hard, you followed so many disciplines. Then it’s over.
In the spiritual life, however, once you get to the top, you have reached Ever-rest. You do rest there, and you won’t have to come down. You can even pull others up as well. But there are no shortcuts. A great price must be laid to reach that great goal. What is that price? Leading a selfless life.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi”
– Swami Satchidananda
Nataraja-asana – The King of the Dance Pose
We practice yoga asanas (poses) in an effort to purify our bodies. The idea is that if we bring our bodies to a healthy state we will be able to purify our minds, getting closer to our True Selves and bliss. If you’re familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs you can consider asana practice as the bottom of the yoga pyramid, a basic survival necessity.
When practicing asanas one may find there are some poses that hit the spot more than others or even find within each asana there is a point of sheer bliss. That AH-HA moment.
Last week I found myself in Nataraja asana (The King of the Dance or King Dancer’s pose) and that AH-HA moment hit like a wave crashing over the beach. It was MY sheer bliss.
The thing is, you don’t have to be in the perfect position, you can be in a position that is suitable for your comfort level and reach that AH-HA moment. Don’t push yourself, that’s how injuries occur. I do urge you to seek out that AH-HA moment with an asana practice. However, let it come to you. It may take a few times but it’s worth waiting for.
Real Love Is Possible
“Don’t love only your fellow humans. Love everyone and everything equally. All things are your fellow beings, not only humans.
By loving everything, you are really loving yourself. Everything is nothing but the expression of yourself. If you stand in front of a mirror, you love that reflection. You smile at it and it smiles at you. In the same way, the whole world is your projection. You love because you are made of love; not because you have to love. The scriptures say to love your neighbor as your Self. You don’t love your neighbor as an individual; you love that person as your Self.
That means you have to see your Self in the other person. Real love is possible only when you see everything as your own expression. All others are none other than you; they just appear to be different. We always need to go beyond the name and form. When we rise above the worldly limitations, we will find that the essence is the same.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi”
– Swami Satchidananda
Ahimsa
Ahimsa (Sanskrit: Devanagari; अहिंसा; IAST ahiṃsā, Pāli: avihiṃsā) is a term meaning to do no harm (literally: the avoidance of violence – himsa). It is an important tenet of the Indian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism and especially Jainism). Ahimsa means kindness and non-violence towards all living things including animals; it respects living beings as a unity, the belief that all living things are connected. Indian leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi strongly believed in this principle.[1] Avoidance of verbal and physical violence is also a part of this principle, although ahimsa recognizes self-defense when necessary, as a sign of a strong spirit. It is closely connected with the notion that all kinds of violence entail negative karmic consequences.
READ MORE:
Nothing is Impossible to Accomplish
“The entire life is based on imagination. In a way, you are also imagining in meditation. In meditation, you think of God. Have you ever seen God? No. So you are imagining, “That must be God. God should be like this. God should be like that.” That is your God. Another person would imagine the same God in his or her own way. That is why even God’s form varies according to the person who imagines God. That is the proof that everything comes from within.
In meditation you are imagining something that you want to ultimately become or develop. “God is almighty, God is all-powerful, God is all-forgiving, God is all love.” You constantly think of certain things and the mind assumes that image, assumes that quality. But one thing is important: you should think strongly. You should be strong enough in your suggestions. That is what you are trying to develop in your meditation. You are strengthening your thoughts by constantly thinking of the same thing. To make yourself strong in your thoughts, you have to keep on dinning that into your mind. “This is what I want to become. This is what I want to become.” That means you imagine that you are going to be like that – that you are that. Then certainly you will become that. Once you achieve that kind of thought power, nothing is impossible to accomplish.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi”
– Swami Satchidananda
Nobody Can Replace You
Divine Will has no tinge of selfishness. Ego means selfishness, “I,” “me,” “I am doing this for my sake.” So whatever you will to do for your sake is egoistic and will have its own return. We have to face it. But without the ego, we would say, “Some Cosmic Power makes me work. The God in me motivates me. He sent me here and He is making me do everything. I am an instrument. He gave me everything. He may take it all back. Nothing belongs to me. Not even the body belongs to me.” We should perform all our actions with this feeling, free from egoism. That is Divine Will. Your conscience prompts you, not the ego. The conscience will always say, “It’s good for everybody.” Don’t even pray, “Let me be happy, Help me. Make me good.” Always think in terms of the cosmos: “Sarveshaam swastir bhavatu.” — “May all be happy.” So, keep on dinning it into the mind, “Thy Will be done. It’s all for Jesus, all for Moses, all for Buddha, all for Allah.” Use any name, it doesn’t matter. “All for the Ashram. All for the Cosmic Consciousness. Nothing for me. I’m not even eating for my sake. I am eating because I have to serve.” That should be the thought behind our every act. The minute you begin to live that way, your life will be totally, totally different. You will enjoy supreme joy. You will not be affected by these petty little things.
We should always roar like lions, “I am that I am! I am ever joyful, ever peaceful! None of this nonsense will affect me!” We must have that strength and courage. Even if you act temporarily, “I am a super yogi!” for one week, you will see the difference. It’s not just to be read, or heard or preached. It should be lived. And you can live that life. Don’t say, “Oh, that is only fit for saints. I am just an ordinary person.” You are not ordinary, If you were ordinary, you wouldn’t even be here. Nobody is ordinary here. No. Even a thorn has a purpose. It had been placed here for a particular cause and it is unique in its place. Nothing can be substituted for that. Nobody can replace you. You are unique in your position. Don’t try to compare yourself with others. You are all important. Everybody is needed in this cosmos. Be proud of your existence.
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi
– Swami Satchidananda
The Consummate 
leave a comment