Today, I was reminded of a few experiences I had about Jesus.  They were within the last 15 years. 

1)  I was new to USA and had no idea or concept about Good Friday.  I was deep in meditation and I had a very clear and concise vision of Jesus.  Later that day, while driving I heard on the radio, it was Good Friday

2) The love of Jesus is beyond comprehension.  I was deep in Samadhi and saw the first encounter of Jesus with Judas.  What is not known is that even on the day Jesus saw Judas, he knew that Judas would betray him.  However, the love of Jesus was so intense that love became objectified – it was no longer an abstract or emotional feeling but had become a solid reality even in the gross physical world.  I remain immersed in that environment till my Samadhi was broken.  For the following few weeks, any thought of Jesus brought intense tears to my eyes!  I can say with certainty that Jesus was an avatar of Love!

The places where Jesus roams still vibrate with the divine love.  However, it is so amazing that inspite of all the love in those areas, it remains a source of many a violent conflict right now!  One can only imagine how violent a place it would be if Jesus had not roamed those areas and had not left the vibrations of love there.  If only the people living there could turn within and feel that love, all violence in the area would cease. 

Jesus forgave all those who crucified him.  However for Judas, his words were, “It would have been better for mankind if he was never born”  A warning for all those who betray!  It is not a sin that is looked upon lightly by God.  As per Yogananda, Judas finally achieved salvation 800 or so years later.  He was born again in India and was in Orissa near Jagannath Puri.  Even in that birth, Judas continued to have a strong love for money.  It had to be overcome before final salvation came to him.

According to Yogananda, during the missing 15 years (duration?) of his life, Jesus was in India.  There is a picture of him on the walls of Jaggnath Puri.

3) I have in the past mentioned my other encounter about Jesus.  However, I will recapture it here.  I had a fairly long and unbroken experience of his love.  He appeared before me but his feet never touched the ground.  His love and the light on his face and my own unworthiness (more on this later) made it impossible for me to see anything but his feet.  He started telling me a story where he guided a lost girl from danger.  She happened to be a Jewish girl who was lost and in danger.  She prayed ardently to God (her concept of the Jewish God, not Jesus).  Jesus told me how he affectionately guided her and got her out of danger.  I was perplexed a little. 

I asked, “But she did not pray to you!”

His answer, “Did she not pray to God?”  Then he transmitted without words the immense understanding, that no matter how someone prays to God, it makes no difference to him, he will help and answer.  This is very similar to what is said in the Gita, “Oh Arjuna, no matter how someone prays to me, in any form,  I accept his prayer and answer him”

My second question, “Why are there so many sects in Christianity?”

His answer, “Do they not all pray to God?”  Once again, without any exchange of words, he subsequently said, “I permit all faiths to exist because they all lead to me”  Once again, this is very reminiscent of the Gita.

My last question was, “When will I be pure, like you?”  Obviously, the time was not ripe and he disappeared with that question!  The level of purity Jesus had took several births.  As per Yogananda, in his previous birth or life, Jesus had already reached perfection as Elijah! Even in that birth, when it was time to depart, he had taken “akash Samadhi”, his body was seen to rise in the skies in a blaze!

4)I have had other minor visions of Jesus but none as profound as the above. 

This is all I can remember now.  Perhaps, more will come to me in the future.  These are all experiences in the remote past, burried now by many more current experiences.

A few days ago I had a talk with Pramodhbhai.  During the talk, I made a statement, the way Great souls perceive this universe is different from our visions.  I had a talk with Gurudev and he had told me that the light of the supreme never leaves the liberated souls, they constantly perceive the same light within and without.  As I was stating this, I had a question in my mind about the accuracy of the statment.  That night, I had confirmation.  As I slept, throughout that night, with eyes closed, all I could see was the light of the divine.  When I finally opened my eyes, I saw the same light lining the whole room, the bed, the linen etc. This gave me the confirmation about the accuracy of the statement.  Alas, for me the light did not last permanently!

The second discussion I had with Pramodbhai was how perfection in any of the Shad Sampatti (6 wealths as described by Vasishta Maharaj in Yoga Vasishtha Mayaramayana) can lead to perfection.  I related a story which is related in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda.  There was a Fakir, who walked around naked always immersed in the divine.  He was totally oblivious to the fact that he was roaming into the tents of Muslim women.  The men were obviously very upset about it and they used their swords and severed his upper extremities.  All that the saint did was pick up his limbs and reattach them and move on! 

The moral of the story?  One should not be delighted by the miracle of the story how he was instantly healed but by the fact that a corollary of perfection of the Sampatti (wealth) of being content and remain constantly immersed in the divine all things are possible instantly.  One should keep working on clearing one owns fault to this degree!  

One more small fact. The saint was so immersed in God, that even his genetalia failed to develop – it remained infantile!

Luther Burbank was one of the great American Inventors, as important as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, both of whom were friends of his. He suggested to Ford the use of factory automation processes. As a botanist he developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. Burbank’s varied creations included fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables. He developed a spineless cactus (useful for cattle-feed) and the plumcot.
Burbank’s most successful strains and varieties include the Shasta daisy, the Fire poppy, the July Elberta peach, the Santa Rosa plum, the Flaming Gold nectarine, the Wickson plum, the Freestone peach, and the white blackberry. A natural genetic variant of the Burbank potato with russet-colored skin later became known as the Russet Burbank potato. This large, brown-skinned, white-fleshed potato has become the world’s predominant potato in food processing.
Though most people have heard his name (often in reference to schools names), few know about the contributions he made to the American food table. He also was very spiritual and was referred to in “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda
“His heart was fathomlessly deep, long acquainted with humility, patience, sacrifice. His little home amid the roses was austerely simple; he knew the worthlessness of luxury, the joy of few possessions. The modesty with which he wore his scientific fame repeatedly reminded me of the trees that bend low with the burden of ripening fruits; it is the barren tree that lifts its head high in an empty boast.” (Yogananda, 1946, p. 352)

We ended the previous blog in a rather gloomy and dismal way.  After all, who likes an existence where there is nothing to look forward to.  A situation where the mind wants nothing and has nothing to look forward to is quite depressing!

This is where the problem lies.  The soul is not the mind.  Any desire of the mind masks the soul.  Hence, when the mind is bereft of desire, can lie vacant and without any of the dualities, then and only then is our existence revealed.  Our existence as the soul, as the pure spirit. This pure spirit is ever joyful, needs nothing from the material existence and has a powerful power called the “Will” or “Sankalp”  Anything the soul wants, is materialized. But the changes the soul can make are restricted to its micro environment, not to the macro environment – the universe.  The power to affect changes in the universe lies only with God.

The previous chapter on the mind was the painful part of spirituality. The mind will resent and revolt against a situation bereft of desires.  The progress in terms of the kundalini here is, the dormant kundalini ascends upto the manipur chakra.  The progress from anahata chakra is the sunlit path (as stated by Sri Aurobindo and by Ramkrishna Paramhansa).   Moreover, the anahata chakra is the second stopping site for the sadhaka.  But this part of the ascent from anahata onwards is more of surrender.  Since the surrender is close to perfection, the sadhaka has no fear or worries.  God or shakti takes care of everything!  Isnt that a wonderful existence, where the sadhaka has joy / bliss and no worries?

It should be noted that it is impossible for anyone to stay in that state for long.  Everyone falls down while they live in the gross material world but, for someone who has reached such an exalted state, at the time of death, they valiantly go to the otherside never to come back to this existence!

I have had a series of spectacular experiences some of which I have already forgotten.   However, some of the experiences I remember about the Gita are as follows

1) I was very fortunate to have the darshana of Krishna Bhagwana.  He started off with many many shlokas all praising his Guru.  He praised his Guru when he was Rama i.e. Vasishta Maharaj and his own Guru.  The shlokas were in sanskrita but as is typical in the Sukshma world, language is no barrier and miraculously I could understand all that was said. At the end of the shlokas, Krishna bhagwana told me these are the missing shlokas in the Bhagwada Gita.  The point being that in the entire Gita, there are no shlokas that praise the importance of a Guru.  The truth of the matter is the supreme cannot be reached without the grace of a Guru. 

When I told Dineshuncle about this, he praised our Gurudev very highly.  My gurudev only spent a few minutes with his Gurudev and reached the highest.  (I will explain this in more detail some other time).

2) A few days later, I had the extreme pleasure of having the darshana of Vishnutirthji Maharaja.  All advanced disciples have 2 Gurus. One guru for the gross physical world or sthula world and another Guru for the Sukshma world or astral world or subtle world.  At times the Guru maybe the same or other times it maybe a different Guru.  In my case, my Gurudev for the gross physical world is Sombargiri Maharaj and for the subtle world it is Vishnutirthji Maharaja.  For Paramhansa Yogananda, his gross physical world teacher was Yukteshwara maharaja and for the subtle world it was Lahiri Mahashaya.

Bade Guruji (Vishnutirthji Maharaja) was all joy, with a tremendous smile on his face and seated.  He did not have a shirt on but had a dhoti.  His face was beaming with the light of God.  His joy was very infectious.  This experience occured to me 3 days before Raksha bandhana in 2009.  Before I could say anything, he smiled and said, he will take me to the highest.  Even before the thoughts had fully formulated in my mind, he continued, yes, of course, I promise.  I promise to be bound till you reach the highest. (the true meaning of Raksha Bandhana).  His statement gave me great joy and pleasure.  The next question that passed my mind is, who is my true Guru.  Once again, he answered with a big smile on his face.  If your goal is to be somewhere at 7 am, can you tell the difference if your taken a certain distance by one person and the remaining distance by someone else? The goal is more important than anything else.

Lastly he asked me, do you know the Gita for a abhyasi?  I said no.  He said, the Gita for an abhyasi is Devatma Shakti the only book he wrote in English.  Then he told me to give this message to Pramodhbhai Jaiswal.  I immediately travelled astrally and gave the message to him. However, I intuitively sensed the message was not translated to the gross physical world.  I called him personally a few days later and conveyed the message.  I was surprised to hear from him that he felt he was stuck for the last 2 weeks and was looking for a book to help answer his question “there is tremendous joy in his meditation but what next?”.   At present, I am not at liberty to discuss a few more things on the matter.

3) In the Gita, there are many shlokas which praise the importance of Gita.  One of the shlokas, Lord Krishna says Oh Arjuna Gita is my divine abode!  Gita goes by many names, Gita, Ganga, Gayatri, Sita, Satya, Saraswati, Ardhmatra, Chidananda, Bhavagni, Bhayanashini, etc.  In the end Lord Krishna says, anyone who does the Gita Patha (studies the Gita) is liberated.

Gurudev always said this, but till I had the experience I could understand but not appreciate it.  In deep meditation, when one goes very deep, so deep that one is far beyond the sounds of the gross world, there are very subtle sounds of the atoms, that are constantly played within.  This divine music, is heard when one has full attention on the Agna Chakra.  These sounds, is the symphony of sounds, very melodious.  These sounds are the true Gita.  Listening to these sounds is the true study of Gita (Gita patha).  These sounds go by many names including Gita, Ganga, gayatri, etc. 

One more thing, one should not confuse the sounds of the initial meditation with the divine symphony which I am alluding to.  Nada or music is heard at 3 different levels.  1.  The sounds of the gross body.  2.  The sounds which occur from an intermediary stage which is heard easily but does not give any divine power and after a while becomes painful or not fun to hear.  3.  The divine sounds that come from the deepest atomic level.  These are the true sounds and listening to these sounds or nada gives us various Siddhis.  The true Gita is the sound at this level.

The word Gita itself means song.  The word Bhagvada means God so Bhagvada Gita means the divine song of God.  There is no other truer Gita than listening to the celestial music.  I am using words which have been used by Paramhansa Yogananda, one of my favorite spiritual guides.

Non è questione di credere; l’ unico atteggiamento scientifico che si dovrebbe assumere di fronte a qualsiasi soggetto è quello di sapere se sia vero. La legge della gravitazione era ugualmente attiva prima e dopo Newton. Il cosmo sarebbe davvero piuttosto caotico se le sue leggi non potessero operare senza la sanzione della credenza umana.

Dai riferimenti astronomici contenuti nell’ antica letteratura indiana, gli studiosi hanno potuto accertare le epoche degli autori. La conoscenza scientifica dei rishi era vastissima; nel Kaushitaki Brahmana troviamo riferimenti astronomici esattissimi, dimostranti che nel 3100 a.C gli indù erano avanzatissimi nell’ astronomia. I trattati vedici contengono già da circa 5000 anni quel sapere scientifico che pose l’ India all’ avanguardia di tutti i popoli antichi. L’ antichissimo Brahmagupta è un trattato astronomico che comprende argomenti come: il movimento eliocentrico dei corpi planetari nel sistema solare, l’ obliquità dell’ eclittica, la forma sferica della Terra, la luce riflessa della Luna, la rivoluzione assiale quotidiana della Terra, la presenza di stelle fisse nella Via Lattea, la legge di gravitazione e altri fenomeni scientifici che non si rivelarono al mondo occidentale prima di Copernico e di Newton

P. Yogananda

Entry for February 08, 2006

The following is ancopy and pasteof things I wrote over the last year.

The central process of Yoga.

There are many different paths that take us to God. Everyone follows a different path to reach God. However, in spite of differences that are perceived, it is my firm opinion that all paths – although to a superficial observer seem different – in reality they have more common concepts than meets the idea.

The person who follows the path of Wisdom or Gyan makes the claim that liberation is only possible with knowledge or gyan. According to the path of wisdom, the soul is encased in 3 bodies – Sthula or gross physical body, Sukshma or subtle body and Karan Deha. One may read volumes after volumes of this knowledge but it does not help one bit unless one has the perception. The true Gyani is one who has an accurate perception of this. Without this perception, the knowledge is a mere theory and does not lead to liberation.

The person who follows the path of Bhakti places emphasis on the love for God. The biggest mistake they make is in their own concept of love. Love is unconditional. Swami Vivekananda has described the concept of love in great detail. Most people who follow this path have a very selfish motive in their Bhakti. The lord only wants the true love. Love that is for loves sake. There should be absolutely no personal motive at all. Moreover, in most cases, the love is usually is at an emotional level, at the level of their mind. The mind is ever wavering and cannot be the true source of love (at least initially). However, the true desire and love for God is inherently present in the soul. Unfortunately, this love is covered up by the intellect, passions of the mind and ego.

It should be quite clear by now that the central process in any of the above is to identify or realize ones identity. Most people when asked who they are, they identify themselves with their body and emotions or intellect or a combination thereof. They are wholly ignorant of the soul or the inner consciousness which is present.

The entire human consciousness is far more complex than meets the eye. According to Sri Aurobindo there are many facets to the human consciousness. There is an outer consciousness and an inner consciousness. Most people are unaware of the inner consciousness. What we generally call as consciousness is the outer or surface consciousness. This outer consciousness can generally moves from the outer gross physical body or intellect or emotional / desire + ego level. As one makes the transition from the outer to the inner consciousness, we slowly realize that just like there is the outer physical, outer intellect and outer emotional consciousness, there is also an inner physical consciousness, inner intellect and inner emotional consciousness. The inner emotional consciousness corresponds to the chitta described by patanjali. Collectively, the inner physical consciousness, inner intellect and innter emotional aspects are called the subliminal body. This subliminal body is NOT the sukshma or subtle or astral body. The subliminal body is still part of the outer consciousness.

One of the methods to make progress and to realize the differences in the human consciousness, Kapila muni and the sankhya philosophy have given us the method of being a witness to the thoughts and emotions. This method has also been described by Swami Shivohum tirthji. By merely being a witness and not participating, eventually we become aware of the inner intellect and inner emotional aspect. When we succeed in doing this, we are still at the outer consciousness but observing our intellect and emotions from the inner intellect and inner emotional level. Since it is still at the outer consciousness, the mind can tire while observing and it takes effort to be a witness.

Generally speaking this witness attitude starts at either the intellect or emotional level. A few rare souls have this spontaneously at the physical level and they naturally see the outer world from the inner physical consciousness. Edgar Casey in the 1930s was a psychic. He was generally established in the inner physical consciousness. This gave him the ability to see auras around people and go into a trance. However, this trance is not the trance of Samadhi.

This progress, of being able to take the witness attitude is still a prelude to the deeper witness attitude at a much deeper level. As the surrender to Shakti grows deeper and stronger and rejection of more and more desires becomes habitual and the desire for God becomes stronger, one begins to live at a much deeper level. Once this happens, the whole picture changes. One is no longer observing from outside but one is observing the outside from within. The intellect and emotions seem as if they are not yours but belong to someone else. When desires arise, it seems like an attack from the outside. Thoughts also seem like they belong to someone else. It is at this stage when yama and niyama actually become a possibility and not a dream. This is the stage which is described in the bible as born again and this is the stage which is called Dvija (dvi means second and ja meaning birth). Without this stage, no one can make any progress in yoga or meet god. It is only after this stage begins that one can be called a yogi

During meditation, this stage starts by a pleasant sensation of numbness in the entire body. When this happens, the outer consciousness is retiring into the inner consciousness. It is also associated with immobility and heaviness. Moreover, one becomes aware of a sudden silence and although the mind maybe active, the soul very silently observes it but does not care. It makes no attempt to intervene. Often times before this silence is reached, the mechanical mind (eg songs or bhajans) suddenly crop up as may certain desires. The only way to overcome this is by a very strong desire for God. This strong desire is the will of the Jiva or purusha. Later this silence becomes calm and then into peace.

Up to this point one is still under the realms of Maya. This point by itself is the junction between Maya and the Divine.

This inner core person is the first step in progress. However, this cannot be achieved unless there is significant purification of the mind, the intellect, the ego and several desires have been relinquished. After this initial unveiling there is still a great chance of falling down because one is not anchored in the divine. That anchoring, is known as Nirvikalpa Samadhi by Paramhansa Yogananda and Sahaja Samadhi by others.

The separation of the inner core from the the outer consciousness can occur initially in one of three places – the gross physical body, the sukshma sharir or subtle body or the karana body.

The inner core is in direct contact with the divine. However, this is entirely unknown to the external mind, emotions or ego and the inner self is unable to exert its influence. If there is Shaktipata, then the inner core is able to directly influence the external mind, emotions and ego and help in the cleaning process. This is the method which was used by Swami Muktananda and By Yogandra Vigyani of Mahayoga. It usually started in the physical body. They often times gave a Mantra Diksha (which involves giving a Jagrat Mantra) and this allowed the inner core to exert an influence on the external. This process is called Siddha Yoga or Maha Yoga.

The method employed by Paramhansa Yogananda, Sri Aurobindo and my gurudev was a dual process requiring an effort on part of the Sadhaka and also a partial awakening of the inner core. This awakening was started in the sukshma sharir or subtle body. Every time, Gurudev pressed the Nadi of the Sadhaka, the sadhaka would go into a trance. With every trance, there was significant strengthening of the inner core. A strong inner core is then able to exert an influence on the external mind, emotions or ego.

No matter how the Shakti is awakened, it is of paramount importance that the Sadhaka make the effort of relinquishing the desire and patterns of the sanskara. The sadhaka CANNOT purify the mind or emotions. The only thing he has is a choice. He can choose to live with the desires and sansakra or choose the help of the divine to purify and release him of the desires.

This process is very difficult. In the normal day to day life, the sadhaka is aware of his desires and he continues to live with it. When he tries to walk on the spiritual path, he gets the notion of relinquishing desires. It is at this time, he begins to understand that he is very attached to his desires and wholly unwilling to give up desires. This is the only step for which a Sadhaka has a choice. He has to make the conscious willing choice of wanting to give up the desires.

The unveiling of the inner core, as stated earlier, requires that one becomes more conscious of ones inner self and less and less conscious of the external. When ones consciousness changes from the external and is more in the internal or inner core, then it is called Dhyana or concentration. At that time, the whole world appears differently. Normally, what people call as meditation is merely something in which the external mind is trying to focus on something. Since, the mind (99% of the time) can only focus on the external, it is merely a game in which the external mind is concentrating on something external.

So, how does one change from the external consciousness to the internal consciousness. The help of a Guru is a must. There are 4 steps that are essential in the process.

First, is concentration at some point on the body. It can be either on the apex of the head or the Agna chakra or the Anahata chakra.

Secondly, this has to be accompanied by total surrender. Nothing should matter except God at that time and one should allow Shakti to do as she sees fit.

Third, one must relinquish all attachment to desire and merely observe without interacting or engaging with any thought or desire or feeling of eg.

At this point, a hidden desire may emerge or the mind may start some sort of song, bhajan or kirtana. It is the mechanical mind, the last resort the mind has.

Fourthly, the only way to overcome this mechanical mind or the desire pattern is to strongly and positively want God. It is at this step, that one can actually demand God help because the soul is nothing but the child of the divine. This demand is independent of the activities of the mind, desire or even ego. It is not associated with any thought that one is better than the next individual but just that I am thy child and I want to be with you.

Abhayasa is the practice and implementation of these steps. Pranayama is helpful in making the mind more stable. Kevala Kumbhaka or Kevali pranayama is the best but very difficult to achieve. Bhastrika pranayam is helpful in achieving this. Again, true pranayama DOES NOT involve holding the breath although the breath is automatically held in the process. In kumbhaka, the movement of the prana is very slow or stops automatically. This slow movement of the prana can occur independent of the breath and that is what should be achieved. The slower the movement shushumna is spontaneously opened and the prana can then begin to ascend.

When one starts making progress, the sadhaka begins understand the complexity of the different facets covering the soul. As stated previously, we have the intellect or buddhi, the emotions or vital covering, the physical body and the ego. They are each separate entities and they are called different tattvas. They have their independent existence and each part has to surrender completely and unconditionally to God. When the Sadhaka starts to have knowledge of the tattvas and the purification of the tattvas starts the Shakti is said to be awakened in the phase of Kalavati. (There are four stages – Kriyavati, Kalavati, Varnamayi and Vedhmayee).

In the Vedas, there is a detailed description of Panchikarana. It is a description of the different tattvas mixing up with the other tattvas and forming a total of 25 other tattvas. Eg, The earth element is divided into four parts which mingle with the other 4 tattvas and one part remains as such. This whole panchikarana table can be found in any of the traditional Vedas.

The result of such a panchikarana is evident in the different tattvas we described above. The buddhi or intellect does do the function of thinking but it has its own ego, emotions and physical aspect. Moreover, it has its own limited consciousness. The same thing occurs with the emotions or vital, the physical body and the ego. This why although the intellect may surrender and accept God, but the emotional aspect fights and refuses to surrender. Again, this emotional and intellectual discrepancy is what causes the greatest anguish. Many examples of this can be sited. Most Sadhakas understand the necessity of giving up attachment to the pleasures in life, the necessity of not being spiteful and to love everyone. However, when it comes to practice most of the fail This is because although there maybe some surrender at the intellectual level, the vital or emotional aspect fights the surrender, fights the relinquishment of desire tooth and nail. This is why, even for those who do not do abhyasa still have problems of their own – eg the alcoholic, the addict etc – may understand the necessity of giving up the vice but cannot give it up.

This transformation of the different elements or tattvas has to be achieved before one can make decisive progress and get the Siddhis and liberation. It is a long and slow process and takes several births. The process can be hastened if the Sadhaka can simply understand that all he or she has to do is silently observe Shakti doing what is necessary. No ego (that he or she is special or the vanity that his Shakti is awakened or the ego that he understands the process), No emotional reaction in the vital (no feelings of happiness, thrill or even satisfaction), No intellectual processing (of this is what is happening and this will happen next etc) – just observe without any reaction. Once, this is fully accomplished, Shakti can do what is necessary unhampered. This is what is described as calmly observing or some call it patience. Without this, no progress can ever be achieved.

Once this is achieved, the Sadhaka can experience Shakti working in many ways. It can work and deliver joy or the force can start working to hasten the cleaning process or give knowledge or by giving peace. However, in the early stages, the Sadhaka may have glimpses of joy or knowledge or peace but it gets so mixed up with the ego principle and the vital – emotional aspect and intellect that the true effect is not recognized. His own ego is ever so ready to get mixed with it that the result is lost and the effects are only felt intermittently. When Shakti works and delivers its force, the Sadhaka often feels he is strong enough to do miracles, crush a stone or overthrow anything or anyone. This is just a manifestation of the vital or emotional aspect displaying its own ego and wanting to use the force for its own selfish reasons.

The complete awakening of the Shakti is means all that the inner core or inner consciousness is completely liberated from all 4 aspects of the external consciousness. These four things are the intellect, the vital or emotional aspects, the physical consciousness and the ego principle. Once liberated from the external consciousness, the Sadhaka walks around with the sense of freedom. Once a Sadhaka is in this state, meditation becomes effortless. He begins to have glimpses of the various forces that interact in this play. The 2 forces are the divine forces and the forces of prakriti. The Sadhaka begins to realize that his perception is no longer restricted to the 5 senses. He can feel or perceive things in a different way, through the inner consciousness. This perception is far more accurate and reliable than the gross methods which rely on the senses, intellect and emotions. True yoga begins from the complete awakening of Shakti i.e. from this stage. Liberation is still far away but the true process has begun. His decision making tree is very simple. No thoughts, no emotions, just look within and follow the unerring guidance of Shakti. Mistakes occur from not being firmly anchored within. A person is said to be awake when he reaches this stage. He is calm and the correct terminology in Gujarati is Swastha – meaning established in oneself. He is called Dwija – meaning dwi – second ja meaning birth. The Christians call this born again

La paura viene dal cuore. Se mai doveste sentirvi sopraffare dal terrore di qualche malattia o incidente, inalate ed esalate profondamente, lentamente e ritmicamente varie volte, rilassandovi dopo ogni esalazione. Questo aiuta la circolazione a ridiventare normale. Se il vostro cuore è veramente tranquillo, non potrete sentire alcuna paura.

Le ansietà vengono risvegliate nel cuore dalla coscienza della sofferenza: la paura, perciò, dipende da qualche esperienza precedente. Può darsi che una volta siate caduti e vi siate rotti una gamba, e avete così imparato a temere il ripetersi di quella esperienza. Se vi soffermate su tali apprensioni, la vostra volontà si paralizza, e così i vostri nervi; allora potrete effettivamente cadere di nuovo e rompervi una gamba. Inoltre, quando il vostro cuore viene paralizzato dalla paura, il basso livello della vostra vitalità dà occasione ai germi patogeni di invadere il vostro corpo. Siate cauti, ma non paurosi!

P. Yogananda

¡Hola Grandes Almas!

Este post es el inicio de una serie de videos que vamos a ir publicando.

Se trata de los videos que Swami Kriyananda ha grabado este verano en los que comenta varios de los pasajes del gran libro “Bhagavad Gita”, el libro más importante de la cultura hindú y en el que se basa todas las enseñanzas del Yoga, transmitidas entre otros por  Paramhansa Yogananda y Swami Kriyananda.

¡Que la Dicha os acompañe en cada momento de vuestra vida!

Pulsing energy.  I am a pulsing wave of energy, undulating and flowing , warm and constant.  In my meditation last night, I could feel my energy pulsing throughout my entire body.  I’ve felt it before in my hands, I’ve been a Reiki practitioner for years.  This was different, and more expansive.  I sat with it and enjoyed the feeling of knowing that I am more than flesh.  My mind has always known it, but to feel it is completely different.  Comforting, even.

I could see Yogananda and then, I could see when he collapsed and entered Mahasamadhi and  he said, “You know what this was like for me.”  I didn’t understand, and I said…Why?  You know when I collapsed what this was like, you felt it.”  So, I tried to understand why, but he wouldn’t tell  me.  I didn’t get how I could know what that was like for him.  He was insistent on not telling me.  But that I would figure it out and learn how I knew. Know how that felt for him.

Well, I still don’t get it, but I hope over time, this will be revealed to me.  Any ideas or is this for me to figure out?

Namaste.

As we go deeper into the age of Dwapara Yuga (the age of energy) we will see science advance in many ways.  In so doing, mankind may begin to feel “all-powerful.” But, for the perceptive mind, there will always remain the journey of the soul. This will remain essentially the same – though outer circumstances will change – such as technology around birth and death and much more. And the laws of karma always remain, i.e.,  what you put out  – you get back. It may be on time delay – but it will happen.

Anyway – my thoughts ran in this direction after reading this article yesterday:

No men OR women needed: Scientists create sperm and eggs from stem cells

Human eggs and sperm have been grown in the laboratory in research which could change the face of parenthood.

It paves the way for a cure for infertility and could help those left sterile by cancer treatment to have children who are biologically their own.

But it raises a number of moral and ethical concerns. These include the possibility of children being born through entirely artificial means, and men and women being sidelined from the process of making babies.

I was relieved to know that the author thought there might be ethical concerns.   At this point the researchers think they have created preliminary sperm cells and egg cells – which is pretty amazing.  My hat is off to them on a purely scientific level, even if I have misgivings about the direction of the whole deal.

The sperm had heads and short tails and are thought to have been mature enough to fertilise an egg.

The eggs were at a much earlier stage but were still much more developed than any created so far by other scientists…

…The American team used stem cells taken from embryos in the first days of life but
hope to repeat the process with slivers of skin…

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1223617/No-men-OR-women-needed-artificial-sperm-eggs-created-time.html#ixzz0VMRYBHPV

However, there are many ways that the greed aspect of human nature could exploit this science.  At this point, my gut reaction is that some things are better left alone.  However, that is unlikely. Science will continue to evolve. What is needed is for “spiritual  science” to evolve right along with it,  or even more ideally, ahead of it.

In any age – the spiritual truth remains, “Love they neighbor as thyself” and, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This can help in most ethical questions – especially if you also consider the soul nature of all those involved.

In the article “When does the soul enter the body?” I present the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda on the entering at conception.

When the sperm and ovum unite, at the moment of conception, there is a flash of light in the astral world. Souls there that are ready to be reborn, if their vibration matches that of the flash of light, rush to get in…Paramhansa Yogananda

Spiritual Stem Cell Research In his lessons on healing, Yogananda also teaches how a deeply skilled meditator can transform his own stubborn body cells back to the more pliable stem cell state, and then command them to recreate a limb! I have read of a few cases in which this has worked.  I offer it here as an example of “spiritual science” being way ahead of the medical science at this point – not in the normal population certainly – but rather in a few extraordinary human beings.

However, from the teachings of Yogananda, an avatar for this age,  we can at least take some hints toward medical ethics.  For instance, in his above instructions, a person is using his own body cells and spiritually transforming them back to the stem cell state. So, of course – no life is taken in the process. No embryonic cells are needed to create the stems cells.  The material plane corollary is the ever-developing science of converting skin cells into stems cells.

And, of course, in his teachings above, regarding life starting at conception, one can infer compassion for the tiny fetus, and even more especially when that soul has been conceived by spiritual parents.  Even if society becomes more and more jaded regarding the presence of life and the soul in tiny baby – it doesn’t mean that we should all so become hardened in that way.  I mention this because the “norms” of society do have some effect on us, especially to younger people. If something is legal – there is a tendency to think it may also be moral or “okay.”

However, most women do seem to feel, in their heart of hearts, that abortion is wrong – once they have experienced it. They may feel that in the less-than-ideal circumstances it was still their best choice – but they may wish they had done more to avoid the predicament.  Sometimes that is easier said than done.  But – since this is primarily a blog about family life – you can discuss this with your sons and daughters to not take this subject lightly in their own lives.  Again – because something is “legal” – it may feel “okay”  – until they are faced with it.  So – hopefully they will make good choices that lead to a happy outcome.

And – in spite of our best efforts as parents – “life happens.” No matter what challenges you face in your family, lead with love.  Consider all that I have written here simply as helpful commentary for discussions that may arise in a home with teens and ‘tweens.

God bless you all.

Mary Kretzmann

PS – Click below for a wonderfully fun and inspiring Thanksgiving letter written by Yogananda in 1934.

November Healing Newsletter  – printable version:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/21773932/Nov-309-Newsletter

]]> http://happyfeet84.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/vita-dopo-vita/ Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:10:16 +0000 diego http://happyfeet84.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/vita-dopo-vita/

E’ divenuto famoso in tutto il mondo il caso autentico che ora racconterò:  è il ricordo di un’ esperienza di vita passata. Una bambina, nata in un piccolo villaggio in India, cominciò inspiegabilmente a struggersi di nostalgia per un villaggio distante, situato in un’altra parte dell’India. Le sue condizioni divennero così gravi, che un medico consigliò di portarla in quel lontano villaggio. Così fecero e, con meraviglia dei suoi compagni di viaggio, dal momento stesso in cui ella giunse alla periferia del villaggio, cominciò a descriverlo in ogni dettaglio. Benché non fosse mai stata lì, riconobbe le persone chiamandole per nome e andò direttamente a una certa casa dove chiamò un uomo per nome, dicendo che nella sua vita precedente era stato suo fratello. Né si fermò qui. Ella spiegò che nella sua incarnazione passata aveva nascosto alcune monete d’oro in un muro di mattoni, lì, nella stessa casa, ma che era morta senza averlo mai detto a nessuno. La bambina andò verso il luogo indicato nel muro, ed ecco! Le monete d’oro erano ancora là. Di fronte a tale evidenza, non abbiamo giustificazioni se dubitiamo della genuinità e dell’importanza della sua esperienza. C’è un altro caso, quello di un Santo in India, che andò in un certo tempio sulla riva di un fiume e disse: “Il mio tempio era qui vicino. Ora è nel fiume”. Dei sommozzatori si tuffarono e trovarono sott’acqua un tempio antichissimo. Quell’ uomo era stato, in una vita precedente, il santo al quale era dedicato il tempio ora sommerso.  

P. Yogananda

I am sending this out early because of this announcement:

Special discount to the Ananda Healing Prayer Ministry to the Vibratory Healing Experience! Just tell them you are a member of the Healing Prayer Council. I will be teaching on Wednesday – and there are some wonderful classes taught by Lila Devi – on flower essences, and by Mangala on affirmations and mantras, and more. Mangala and I have taught together many times in the past in the class called Divine Will Healing.

This event is next week – so this is a last minute discount for anyone who can make it! I understand that might be a little too close for most of you. Joy! Mary K.

Click below for your pretty, printable version of the newsletter:

November Newsletter  – printable version: http://www.scribd.com/doc/21773932/Nov-309-Newsletter

November NEWSLETTER:

Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving in this country (USA). Let’s try to take it deeper each year, and each day, as the 1934 letter from Paramhansa Yogananda reminds us on the following page.  Here in the Ananda Healing Prayer Ministry, we receive many letters, e-mails and phone calls of gratitude. This, in turn, makes me very grateful for each and every one of you, who make this ministry possible.  So this month I will share some of those with you here. Of course, not all prayers result in full physical healing. But everyone who is open and receptive in some way does receive comfort and grace from these healing prayers in their time of need. God bless you all.

Joy to you,

Mary Kretzmann

Ananda Healing Prayer Ministry, Nevada City, CA 95959

Testimonials

Dear Ones,  Ken Loughman was given 2 months to live in Nov & Dec 2008.  Your prayers were answered and he has gone back to work.  Thanks to all. Blessing to All, Sylvia S.  – Lynn, MA

Thank you Mary for the prayers for Martin Magaya my sisters son who was suffering from pneumonia in Zimbabwe he is completely healed and is now a committed Christian. Thank you God bless. – Barbara D., Australia

Mary, I just wanted to give you feedback.  My Dad’s energy has returned and he’s doing well.  My daughter Kristy who you prayed for at the renewal week in your class is doing quite well and shortly after I put her picture in the frame with the photo of Master’s mother she got a full time job in an assisted living facility…

Thank you kindly, Blessings, Lynn W.  Fair Oaks, CA

Dear Mary, I received a phone call last night and was told that George S. is doing extremely well.  They did a test on him and it appears that he is doing so well that he will be going home in two weeks.  They said he will not need to go to rehab and that his sugar levels are normal so he doesn’t need any insulin.  This is truly a miracle.  Many thanks and blessings to all who prayed for him.  Joy to you, Kaye – Florida

Dear Mary, Thank You for your Healing Prayers for our son on Thursday night at the center in York, ME. I want to share with you that we have seen healing taking place in minute ways since then. We are very grateful… It was wonderful to see you and your family.

Blessings! A devotee in NH

“Thank you for praying for me when I broke my arms so severely. It was a serious break, especially for someone in her 80’s! The doctors are astonished that I am healing so well, and with so little pain. Thank you very much. I would like to come visit Ananda when I am completely well. I am doing wonderfully.

Thanks again! Pauline E. – Florida

Thanksgiving Letter to Friends and Students

BY PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA (Inner Culture Magazine, November 1934)

Every day should be a day of Thanksgiving for all the gifts of Life–for sunshine, water, and the luscious fruits and greens which we receive as indirect gifts from the Great Giver. He makes us work so that we may consciously and thankfully deserve to receive His Gifts. The All-Sufficient One does not need the benefit of our thankful hearts, but when we are grateful to the Fountain of all gifts, our attention is concentrated, for our own highest benefit, upon the only Great Source of all supply, which alone can unfailingly, undeceivingly bestow upon us the lasting gifts of wisdom, abundance, and Spiritual treasures without the confinement of any mundane measure.

There are millions of people today who are drunk with egotism, who think that they keep themselves alive because they feed themselves with their self-earned magic gold of delusion. They never stop to think that man can neither make a grain of wheat, nor a leaf of green, nor the illusory, glittering, yellow gold, nor the paper and ink of which greenbacks are made; neither can he create first life independently of God–the life that gives power to the precious green papers. For these people, Thanksgiving Day, although soiled with the blood of unthankful turkeys, is a great day of awakening and of thinking of the most important and the most forgotten Molder of our Destiny.

People, drunk with delusions, eat meat almost every day, and at the same time forget the Savior who saves them from all sorrows. It doesn’t matter how many turkeys are sacrificed in order to offer thanks to the Giver of all Life, if only meat eaters may have their meat and think of the Most Adorable One at the same time. However, it is better to eat meat and think of God, rather than add to meat-eating the highest sin–God-oblivion. But many of you could thank God in meditation more consciously and better while munching on the meat of peace, than while dipping your lips in the gravy and the flavor-camouflaged flesh of a turkey, where once sensitiveness guarded the throne of Life.

Millions of people who eat turkey forget to thank God at all, and think more of the turkey than of God. A few people thank Him for the taste of savory turkey. If you eat turkey, be sure to stuff it with the best Bliss-spiced dressing of thankful remembrance of God for all His highest gifts of wisdom, peace, power to accomplish, and also for His other inconsequent gifts of turkey dinner, and so forth. Be sure to thank God for forgiving you for compelling the quickening of the turkey’s evolution against its own will. And also thank God that you are not the turkey, to be used for the festivity of Thanksgiving.

I am glad for you if you can find Heaven just by not forgetting God while partaking of your august turkey dinner, and I shall have to be happy for the turkeys, that they have found Heaven, and freedom from the misery of daily gobbling and the fear of waiting their doom through all of you, even though they were unwilling that it should happen.

Anyway, don’t mind my sympathy for the turkey, for I am more sympathetic toward you, who are superior to the turkey, lest you bring greater trials upon yourselves by forgetting God. He is waiting to hear your unceasing knock of devotion and to open the Gates of Omnipresence to receive you. Whether you eat turkey or not does not matter if you will only knock hard with devotion on the doors of your heart. He will open the Gates of Omnipresence to receive you.

Make every day a day of Thanksgiving (without regular feasts) and continuous contentment will sparkle in your body, mind, and Soul. If you eat turkey, be sure to search for the all-freeing God from then on until you find Him on the brink of unceasing seeking.

Dear Ones,

I couldn’t resist sending you this Thanksgiving letter from 1934…It rings with inspiration, humor and compassion for all (including the turkeys!).  I do know many of you will have a vegetarian Thanksgiving, which was almost unheard of in 1934, but some of you will be at family gatherings… God bless you all.
Mary Kretzmann

God bless you all.

Joy to you,

Mary Kretzmann

Ananda Healing Prayer Ministry

This is for those who would appreciate an update on this situation.

I haven’t posted anything about Rifqa Bary for some time. I figured that people could keep up on it on their own.  However, on a personal level I felt very bad for her when it was announced on multiple news sources that she would be sent back to Ohio.  It was a certain fact.  No one thought it might be reversed. The judge had made his decision.

That night I prayed deeply to the Masters – asking their grace on Rifqa – that she could have the inner and outer strength to deal with whatever she might encounter.

Interestingly, the times I’ve prayed this way for Rifqa, asking the Masters special protective grace for her…something wonderful seems to happen.  Something like a miracle – totally unexpected grace and good fortune. I’m not saying that to take credit – but to give Them the credit in my heart. It certainly keeps me in the game praying for her, that’s’ for sure.  This time, I felt the grace for her, and wondered if it would only be an inner blessing for her strength, and then I was overwhelmed to see the outward manifestation…Thank you God, Christ, Guru.

Well the very next day – I was stunned to see that the judge had reversed his ruling! He said certain things had just come to his attention that made him very reluctant to give up jurisdiction on this case! Talk about the 11th hour!

That was a couple of weeks ago. And just yesterday – more came out strongly in Rifqa’s favor – verifying her story.  This was all very good to see – because I went out on a limb in the beginning – I believed her story, and felt very compelled by it,  and thus put her on this prayer list. But  I had no way to prove it – we had to wait and see.  Intuition is like that – you must act  – but also be ready to adjust in the future.  But in this case – even when things were going against her – I still believed her story…and only yesterday did it come out in full.

Suffice it to say that Rifqa has had a difficult life – but she has a strong spirit.

It has been interesting to feel the Masters’ special grace in this situation. Is it simply a case of “ask and ye shall receive”?  – or does she have some hidden karmic link with this spiritual path?  I do not know, of course.  But I do know that Paramhansa Yogananda taught us to ” Learn to pray for others the way a mother would pray for her sick child.”

Please keep Rifqa in your prayers – for protection and grace. I know some of you were uncomfortable with the religious issues in her case.  But it is now very clear that she has lived a painful human drama, and one could pray for her simply in that way, as a child of God.  She is a young girl who needs protection and right action now.

God bless you all,

Mary Kretzmann

Healing with Divine Energy Blog, and prayer team

Ananda Healing Prayer Ministry

Here are some quotes from Yogananda’s guru.  Obviously I am still reading “Autobiography of a Yogi.”

“Tender inner weaknesses, revolting at mild touches of censure, are like diseased parts of the body, recoiling before even delicate handling.”

The following is a response to someone at the hermitage who was quoting religious texts.

“Quotations there have been in superabundance.” … “But what original commentary can you supply, from the uniqueness of your particular life?  What holy text have you absorbed and made your own?  In what ways have these timeless truths renovated your nature?  Are you content to be a hollow victrola, mechanically repeating the words of other men?”

“Wisdom is not assimilated with the eyes, but with the atoms.”…”When your conviction of a truth is not merely in your brain but in your being, you may diffidently vouch for its meaning.”

MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS OF THE MODERN AGE:

A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases and the Cure of Advanced Cancer. – Max Gerson. M.D.
Audition. - Michael Shurtleff.
Autobiography of a Yogi. – Paramhansa Yogananda.
Cosmic Voyage. – Courtney Brown. Ph.D.
Hands of Light: A Guide To Healing Through The Human Energy Field. – Barbara Ann Brennan.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika: Light on Hatha Yoga. - Swami Satyananda Saraswati.
Hero With A Thousand Faces. – Joseph Campbell.
Man’s Search For Meaning. - Viktor E. Frankl.
Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance. – Abraham Maslow.
Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing. – Jed McKenna.
Stranger in a Strange Land. – Robert A. Heinlein.
Tantric Quest. – Daniel Odier.
The Bible Code. - Michael Drosnin.
The Holographic Universe. – Michael Talbot.
The Lost Teachings of Atlantis. – Jon Peniel.
The Only Planet of Choice: Essential Briefings from Deep Space. - Phyllis V. Schlemmer.
The Starseed Transmissions. – Ken Carey.
Who Am I. – Ramana Maharishi.

SOME FAVOURITES (An introduction to the Author):

A Man For All Seasons (A Play) - Robert Bolt.
Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown.
Duino Elegies – Rainer Maria Rilke.
I Am Jackie Chan - Jackie Chan.
Illusions – Richard Bach.
Life of Pi – Yann Martel.
Lion of Macedon & Dark Prince - David Gemmell.
Microcosmic God – Theodore Sturgeon.
Perfume – Patrick Suskind.
Rainmaker – John Grisham.
Red Dwarf & Better Than Life – Grant Naylor.
Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie.
Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts.
Siva – Ramesh Menon.
Switch Bitch – Roald Dahl.
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho.
The Bourne Identity – Robert Ludlum.
The Celestine Prophecies – James Redfield.
The Doomsday Conspiracy – Sidney Sheldon.
The Godfather – Mario Puzo.
The Lost World – Michael Crichton.
The Sirens of Titan – Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Thief of Time - Terry Pratchett.
Twelve Angry Men (A Play) - Reginald Rose.

You may think of Tolkien when you read the title, but this story isn’t fantasy. It’s true.

In August my husband and I traveled to Houston, Texas, were we were initiated in a type of yoga called Kriya Laya. It’s not as mysterious as it sounds. It’s really a more gentile or forgiving form of the popular Kriya Yoga brought to the West by Paramahansa Yogananda. Many have read “Autobiography of a Yogi.”

Our teacher, Swami Vidyadhishananda, a Himalayan Monk, is in fact in the lineage of Yogananda. His teacher was Paramahamsa Hariharananda and his teacher was Sri Yukteswar who was also Yogananda’s teacher.

The day before my birthday Chris and I took initiation. The ceremony was more special than we thought since husbands and wives got to do it together. Swami said it was like a re-marriage, and it was. Over the course of the days after our initiation we practiced our yoga/meditation and on the night we left we celebrated in the home of one of the devotees the birthday party of Lord Krishna. There were music and dance performances. Our teacher spoke. There was a vegetarian feast afterward. Some were fasting and broke their fast at midnight.

An altar of fruit and flowers was prepared for Lord Krishna. We all sat huddled together cross-legged on the floor. The altar was just inches to my left. I hadn’t brought fruit or flowers. But I started thinking of how pivotal this was in my life and wanted to put something on the altar. I thought about our re-marriage, about my birthday being in August, and about Lord Krishna’s birthday being in August. I slid off my birthstone ring, a peridot heart, which I wear as an engagement ring. Hearts have always been the symbol for Chris and I. It all seemed to fit. With a rush of love I anonymously laid it down on a tray beside some fruit. I really didn’t know if this was proper or not. I don’t profess to know much about Hinduism. For me, seeking and learning about God, in whatever form God or love is presented, is the ultimate religion and above any dogmas. I’m really just at the kindergarten level in all of this.

Now, don’t think I’m so totally unselfish. If I were a truly giving person perhaps I would have laid my wedding band down as well, but I didn’t. I’m not writing this to be glorified in any way. It’s the glory of the miracle that happened I’m writing about. I didn’t think much about the loss of the ring, except for when I would out of habit occasionally push my thumb over to absent-mindedly move it back in place, as I often would do since it was always a little loose on me. I thought the ring would merely get thrown out. Monetarily it had very little value if any at all. The only value the ring had was its significance in our relationship.

A couple of months passed. The phone rang. The call was from Geeta in West Virginia. The cleaning people had found the ring in the home in Texas and given it to the owner who was trying to trace the owner. No one who had been at the party from Texas had claimed it, so they the only place left to ask was in West Virginia. There were two women from West Virginia who went and myself from Kentucky. I was the last one they called. I felt so bad that they went through this trouble. When Geeta asked if it were my ring I stuttered and say well yes and no. It was mine, but I gave it as an offering, at the same time thinking maybe how stupid this might have been. She put me on speakerphone and told me to repeat the story. I think someone had tears at the other end.

I really didn’t feel that the ring was mine anymore, and I didn’t know what to do in this instant, but then she asked if I wanted Swami to bless the ring. Now, I was dropping a tear. I said, “Wow, yes, that would be great,” or something to that effect.

A week or so later Geeta let me know she had the “blessed ring.” I actually tried fasting a few days before getting the ring, thinking this might purify me a little. Along with it was some precious ash which I’m stingily using just a speck of at a time. When I first put the ring on I felt a vibration I can’t explain – something really light. I wear it intermittently on both my finger and on a change where it touches my heart.

Right before we left for Lord Krishna's Party.

Um dia, quando me encontrava sentado acompanhado de um grupo de estudantes em minha escola em Ranchi, vi que alguém se aproximava, por trás dos rapazes. Me perguntei quem seria, porém logo pude perceber que se tratava de Jesus; seus pés não tocavam a terra enquanto andava.
Chegou muito perto de nós, e logo se desvaneceu.
Poucos anos mais tarde, em Boston, vi novamente Jesus. Encontrava-me meditando e orando profundamente a Deus, porque sentia que durante três dias me havia esquecido Dele, deixando-me absorver excessivamente pelas responsabilidades que Ele me havia dado. Disse ao Senhor:”Vou abandonar esta obra”. A atitude correta consiste em amar a Deus e amar a sua obra por amor a Ele. Os que servem como missionários porém não fazem o esforço por meditar e comungar com Deus, jamais encontrarão ao Senhor. Porque eu sentia que as atividades de meu ministério me haviam afastado de Deus, orei: “Senhor, irei embora daqui. Não permanecerei na América nem levarei a cabo esta obra tua, a menos que saiba que te encontras comigo”. Uma voz atravessou o éter, como um raio de luz: “Pede o que desejares, porém não podes ir embora”. Muitas vezes em minha vida Deus me tem impedido de fugir de meus deveres junto a esta causa, para permanecer a sós com Ele. Respondi à divina voz: ” Deixa-me contemplar a Krishna e a Jesus, com seus discípulos, em um mar dourado.” Ainda não tinha terminado de formular este pedido interno, quando vi aqueles divinos seres acercando-se de mim. “Isto é uma alucinação, pensei”. “Se a pessoa que se encontra meditando comigo também perceber o mesmo, crerei”. Instantaneamente, meu companheiro exclamou em alta voz: “Oh! vejo Cristo e Krishna!”
Minha razão disse então: “Isto é mera transferência de pensamento.”
Em meio a dúvidas, orei a Deus pedindo-lhe que me ajudasse em minha falta de fé, e a voz disse: “Quando me for, o aroma de loto preencherá este aposento e quem quer que aqui entre o perceberá.”
Ao desvanecer-se a visão, a sala inteira foi inundada pela maravilhosa fragrância de loto e os que entraram nela, mesmo horas mais tarde, notaram o aroma. Não pude, pois, continuar duvidando.
Mahavatar Babaji me ordenou vir à América com o objetivo de interpretar os ensinamentos de Cristo e demonstrar seu paralelismo com o yoga ensinado por Krishna na Índia. Nas verdades imortais expressadas por estes avatares estão as respostas às necessidades de todas as épocas. É por isso que Babaji, que se encontra em divina comunhão com Cristo, me designou a missão especial de trazer esta mensagem ao Ocidente.

Paramahansa Yogananda

Ho letto ieri sull’Ansa la notizia riportata di seguito. Poichè di “fake baba”, falsi santoni, che si rivolgono soprattutto agli occidentali ne ho incontrato e scritto parecchio, ho chiesto all’amico Tuttoquà di utilizzare il suo caustico linguaggio per scrivere della cosa. Il post lo riposto di seguito e può essere letto sul suo blog qui. Ovviamente, non tutti i santoni sono fake, qualcuno di veramente mistico c’è, ma le esperienza di moltissimi purtroppo offuscano la realtà di pochi. Ricordo quelli che violentano le straniere con la scusa del tantra, quelli che girano in Rolls Royce, i milionari. A volte mi chiedo: ma ci ricordiamo che nella nostra tradizione occidentale e in quella mediorentale, ci sono numerosi santoni, eremiti, asceti, maestri spirituali, che hanno insegnato la meditazione, la rinuncia, l’alienazione. Uno di questi mi pare nacque in una grotta. Ma forse è troppo banale. Meglio seguire gli insegnamenti di questi maestri, senza avere neanche lo stimolo a fare una ricerca su internet per verificare il curriculum di questi signori.

Ali’ Bába, e i quaranta ladroni (POST sull’India)

Su segnalazione del buon Nello, ricevo e volentieri pubblico e commento.

Il 9 Ottobre, l’ANSA ha pubblicato la seguente agenzia:

ROMA, 9 OTT – Pilot Baba, uno dei più famosi “Maha yogi” dell’India, sarà domenica a Roma per una conferenza dedicata al “potenziamento del Sé interiore”. La sua storia di missionario dell’autorealizzazione è cominciata molti anni fa durante il conflitto tra India e Pakistan: sopravvissuto miracolosamente allo schianto dell’aereo da lui stesso pilotato, Pilot Baba abbandonò tutto e si trasferì nell’Himalaya, approfondendo per sette anni le tecniche della meditazione profonda. In questo periodo sperimentò personalmente il “samadhi”, uno stato – spiega la tradizione indiana – di semisospensione delle funzioni vitali, nel quale il battito cardiaco viene ridotto al minimo e si permette all’anima di fuoriuscire dal corpo. Pilot Baba si è fatto seppellire in passato per sei giorni e ha passato tre giorni sotto l’acqua, sospendendo le funzioni fisiologiche e abbassando il ritmo del respiro, per dimostrare pubblicamente il potere immenso, e sconosciuto, contenuto nel corpo umano. Attualmente Pilot Baba insegna queste tecniche di evoluzione interiore in America e in Giappone, oltre che in India. Domenica 11 ottobre sarà possibile seguire la sua conferenza alla Sala San Leone Magno, in via Bolzano 38 a Roma, dalle 17 alle 20. Ma nei giorni successivi, dal 12 al 18 ottobre, ci si potrà anche iscrivere ai suoi seminari che parleranno di come usare il potere della mente, come cambiare il destino modificando il proprio “karma”, come usare le tecniche per rilassare le tensioni e affermare l’Essere. Per informazioni si può contattare il Centro ayurvedico Devata (tel. 06/35347810) o l’Accademia Yoga (tel. 06/4742427).

Un Maha Yogi e’, se non mi sbaglio, un esperto di meditazione e di Yoga, i cui benefici sulla salute e sulla psiche sono difficilmente discutibili, o almeno cosi’ dicono gli esperti. In India, di questi personaggi se ne possono trovare a pacchi, piu’ o meno celebri e piu’ o meno imbroglioni. Il problema, dal mio punto di vista, e’ che costoro, spesso e volentieri, trascendono il loro ruolo di “insegnanti di educazioni fisica” (e’ riduttivo, ma serve a rendere l’idea), per assumere il ruolo di veri e propri santoni. Si ritrovano ad essere corteggiati da stuoli di seguaci accaniti e da milioni di incantati adoratori, persone (benestanti prima di tutto), disposte ad andare ovunque per vederli, ma non tanto per poter trarre insegnamento dalle loro lezioni, ma piuttosto per conoscerli, salutarli, inchinarsi davanti a loro, toccargli la veste e, soprattutto, riceverne la benedizione. Si, avete capito bene, la benedizione, nonostante questi non siano sacerdoti di alcun genere. E’ come se io, vestito da cardinale, mi mettessi a benedire la gente che passeggia sotto i portici di Bologna al sabato sera! Ma cose da pazzi!

Non parlo per sentito dire, ma per esperienza personale: un bel giorno, nel giardino pubblico di fronte casa, un drappello di “engineers” inizia a montare un gigantesco gazebo, mentre la Demo House (la bellissima villetta a schiera utilizzata per attirare e truffare gli ignari conduttori), viene letteralmente addobbata a festa, con striscioni, luci, piante, tappeti rossi, tende da circo, templi d’oro, mucche, cani cavalli, ricchi premi e cotillons. Un paio di giorni dopo arriva uno di questi santoni, (mi pare si chiamasse Baba Ramdi…), che prende possesso della villetta e inizia a ricevere, a ciclo continuo, lunghissime file di adoratori (per la gioia del sottoscritto, che si ritrova lo spazio antistante casa invaso da ogni genere di mezzo di trasporto, al punto quasi da non riuscire piu’ nemmeno a uscire di casa). Inutile dire, che al termine del soggiorno del Lord, il verde e la strada erano ridotti in condizioni ancora piu’ pietose di quanto non fossero normalmente tenuti dalla proprieta’. Le mie coronarie ancora ringraziano sentitamente.

Ma torniamo ai Guru. Questi signori, approfittando della celebrita’, non solo diventano straricchi, ma divengono anche potentissimi, e capaci di influenzare uomini politici, ministri e capitani d’industria. E, ovviamente, lo fanno senza troppo ritengno, allo scopo di elargire favori personali, di guadagnare ancora piu’ soldi e prestigio e, anche, di rafforzare il loro ruolo e la loro immagine. Sono macchine da business, perche’ oltre alle sedute pubbliche, frequentate da migliaia di persone, vendono anche libri, CD, DVD, diete speciali, gadget e tutto il resto. E’ evidente che mischiare il sacro e il profano in India sia divenuto lo sport preferito di un sacco di gente (che s’adda da pe’ campa’): infatti, il sacro attira le masse, ma in barba al sacro il profano fa crescere i quattrini a palate sui rami degli alberi. Chiarisco: non faccio il moralista, anche perche’ questa cosa avviene ovunque, anche da noi, ma noi non urliamo al Mondo di essere il Paese dell’esperienza mistica, dell’accoglienza, del sorriso, degli sguardi profondi, dell’amicizia e di tante altre virtu’, e poi inchiappettiamo il primo che passa. Noi inchiappettiamo e basta, mi pare piu’ coerente.

E allora? Su, coraggio, ditemi “che te ne frega?”, chiedetemi se sono invidioso a tal punto da scriverci su un POST. No, in teoria non me ne importerebbe una cippa, se non fosse che Nello ha scovato poi anche questo articolo.

Qui si scopre che il nostro Pilot Baba e’ uno che, grazie ai suoi poteri mistici, ricicla enormi quantita’ di danaro sporco, per conto di industriali e politici, indiani e non. E guadagna cifre da capogiro, arrivando perfino a chiedere il 50% della cifra come commissione, perche’, come avrete letto nell’articolo, “perche’ rischiare per un misero 10%?”. Bisogna comprenderlo il pover’uomo. Uno che se ne fa, ad esempio, del 10% di 50 Crore Rupees (circa 10 milioni di dollari)?? In India poi, che potere d’acquisto si puo’ mai attribuire a un milione di dollari americani???

Si, e’ proprio un Guru, con una capacita’ speciale: quella di far rivoltare Yogananda nella tomba, grazie alla sola imposizione delle mani su un grasso pacco di banconote!

Che mariuolo!

Su segnalazione del buon Nello, ricevo e volentieri pubblico e commento.

Il 9 Ottobre, l’ANSA ha pubblicato la seguente agenzia:

ROMA, 9 OTT – Pilot Baba, uno dei più famosi “Maha yogi” dell’India, sarà domenica a Roma per una conferenza dedicata al “potenziamento del Sé interiore”. La sua storia di missionario dell’autorealizzazione è cominciata molti anni fa durante il conflitto tra India e Pakistan: sopravvissuto miracolosamente allo schianto dell’aereo da lui stesso pilotato, Pilot Baba abbandonò tutto e si trasferì nell’Himalaya, approfondendo per sette anni le tecniche della meditazione profonda. In questo periodo sperimentò personalmente il “samadhi”, uno stato – spiega la tradizione indiana – di semisospensione delle funzioni vitali, nel quale il battito cardiaco viene ridotto al minimo e si permette all’anima di fuoriuscire dal corpo. Pilot Baba si è fatto seppellire in passato per sei giorni e ha passato tre giorni sotto l’acqua, sospendendo le funzioni fisiologiche e abbassando il ritmo del respiro, per dimostrare pubblicamente il potere immenso, e sconosciuto, contenuto nel corpo umano. Attualmente Pilot Baba insegna queste tecniche di evoluzione interiore in America e in Giappone, oltre che in India. Domenica 11 ottobre sarà possibile seguire la sua conferenza alla Sala San Leone Magno, in via Bolzano 38 a Roma, dalle 17 alle 20. Ma nei giorni successivi, dal 12 al 18 ottobre, ci si potrà anche iscrivere ai suoi seminari che parleranno di come usare il potere della mente, come cambiare il destino modificando il proprio “karma”, come usare le tecniche per rilassare le tensioni e affermare l’Essere. Per informazioni si può contattare il Centro ayurvedico Devata (tel. 06/35347810) o l’Accademia Yoga (tel. 06/4742427).

Un Maha Yogi e’, se non mi sbaglio, un esperto di meditazione e di Yoga, i cui benefici sulla salute e sulla psiche sono difficilmente discutibili, o almeno cosi’ dicono gli esperti. In India, di questi personaggi se ne possono trovare a pacchi, piu’ o meno celebri e piu’ o meno imbroglioni. Il problema, dal mio punto di vista, e’ che costoro, spesso e volentieri, trascendono il loro ruolo di “insegnanti di educazioni fisica” (e’ riduttivo, ma serve a rendere l’idea), per assumere il ruolo di veri e propri santoni. Si ritrovano ad essere corteggiati da stuoli di seguaci accaniti e da milioni di incantati adoratori, persone (benestanti prima di tutto), disposte ad andare ovunque per vederli, ma non tanto per poter trarre insegnamento dalle loro lezioni, ma piuttosto per conoscerli, salutarli, inchinarsi davanti a loro, toccargli la veste e, soprattutto, riceverne la benedizione. Si, avete capito bene, la benedizione, nonostante questi non siano sacerdoti di alcun genere. E’ come se io, vestito da cardinale, mi mettessi a benedire la gente che passeggia sotto i portici di Bologna al sabato sera! Ma cose da pazzi!

Non parlo per sentito dire, ma per esperienza personale: un bel giorno, nel giardino pubblico di fronte casa, un drappello di “engineers” inizia a montare un gigantesco gazebo, mentre la Demo House (la bellissima villetta a schiera utilizzata per attirare e truffare gli ignari conduttori), viene letteralmente addobbata a festa, con striscioni, luci, piante, tappeti rossi, tende da circo, templi d’oro, mucche, cani cavalli, ricchi premi e cotillons. Un paio di giorni dopo arriva uno di questi santoni, (mi pare si chiamasse Baba Ramdi…), che prende possesso della villetta e inizia a ricevere, a ciclo continuo, lunghissime file di adoratori (per la gioia del sottoscritto, che si ritrova lo spazio antistante casa invaso da ogni genere di mezzo di trasporto, al punto quasi da non riuscire piu’ nemmeno a uscire di casa). Inutile dire, che al termine del soggiorno del Lord, il verde e la strada erano ridotti in condizioni ancora piu’ pietose di quanto non fossero normalmente tenuti dalla proprieta’. Le mie coronarie ancora ringraziano sentitamente.

Ma torniamo ai Guru. Questi signori, approfittando della celebrita’, non solo diventano straricchi, ma divengono anche potentissimi, e capaci di influenzare uomini politici, ministri e capitani d’industria. E, ovviamente, lo fanno senza troppo ritegno, allo scopo di elargire favori personali, di guadagnare ancora piu’ soldi e prestigio e, anche, di rafforzare il loro ruolo e la loro immagine. Sono macchine da business, perche’ oltre alle sedute pubbliche, frequentate da migliaia di persone, vendono anche libri, CD, DVD, diete speciali, gadget e tutto il resto. E’ evidente che mischiare il sacro e il profano in India sia divenuto lo sport preferito di un sacco di gente (che s’adda da pe’ campa’): infatti, il sacro attira le masse, ma in barba al sacro il profano fa crescere i quattrini a palate sui rami degli alberi. Chiarisco: non faccio il moralista, anche perche’ questa cosa avviene ovunque, anche da noi, ma noi non urliamo al Mondo di essere il Paese dell’esperienza mistica, dell’accoglienza, del sorriso, degli sguardi profondi, dell’amicizia e di tante altre virtu’, e poi inchiappettiamo il primo che passa. Noi inchiappettiamo e basta, mi pare piu’ coerente.

E allora? Su, coraggio, ditemi “che te ne frega?”, chiedetemi se sono invidioso a tal punto da scriverci su un POST. No, in teoria non me ne importerebbe una cippa, se non fosse che Nello ha scovato poi anche questo articolo.

Qui si scopre che il nostro Pilot Baba e’ uno che, grazie ai suoi poteri mistici, ricicla enormi quantita’ di danaro sporco, per conto di industriali e politici, indiani e non. E guadagna cifre da capogiro, arrivando perfino a chiedere il 50% della cifra come commissione, perche’, come avrete letto nell’articolo, “perche’ rischiare per un misero 10%?”. Bisogna comprenderlo il pover’uomo. Uno che se ne fa, ad esempio, del 10% di 50 Crore Rupees (circa 10 milioni di dollari)?? In India poi, che potere d’acquisto si puo’ mai attribuire a un milione di dollari americani???

Si, e’ proprio un Guru, con una capacita’ speciale: quella di far rivoltare Yogananda nella tomba, grazie alla sola imposizione delle mani su un grasso pacco di banconote!

Che mariuolo!

I was just leading a friend around my website, and I realized that I did not yet have a direct link to this article by Paramhansa Yoganananda. It is offered here in i-paper format.  It provides some wonderful insights into the balance of helping your child develop free will as well as self-discipline and other good charater traits.

(I also put a link to this at the bottom of my page called “Family Book”)

Do’s and Dont’s of Good Parenting, By Paramhansa Yogananda

We had a beautiful weekend in Los Angeles for the book launch of The New Path, By Swami Kriyananda.  Sunday morning at the Chapel is wonderfully described here by Barbara Bingham. I recommend that you check out those links for a more complete reference.

Swamiji told many stories and answered many questions. Free Videos and audio are available at this link.  I thought to highlight one special personal insight here, that may also be of help to others, also because it augments the many references I have made to the teachings of Christ on this website.

Swamiji related the story of a monk in SRF, and the turning point that moved him to dedicate his life toward seeking God alone.  This man, before becoming a monk, had been in a boating accident which had turned nearly tragic. He was about to drown, and he saw his life pass before his eyes.  In that moment, he realized that the things which he had thought were important in his life, now seemed very trivial. And some seemingly small events he now realized were very important on a soul level. As Swamiji spoke, I was struck with a very deep, prayerful concern of, “I need to know now what is very important at the moment of death! I don’t want to find out when it is too late! I don’t want to find out at my life review as my life pass before my eyes.”

I can only describe this as a deep call for reassurance, because I had read of these things in books regarding near death experiences. I already “knew” what was important…but this was a soul call for clarity. I continued to pray intensely  as Swamiji spoke…and then I felt an inner grace and strength. Clear as a bell the words came to me, in deep calmness and peace:

“…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12: 30-1

These brief yet powerful words, encapsulate everything we need to live in accordance with what is divinely important in life and in death.

Swami Kriyananda, at Forest Lawn Chapel (photo by B. Bingham)

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