Brother’s prayer affirmation
Permeate me with Thy Peace
Permeate me with Thy Purity
Permeate me with Thy Love
Brother told a story about Brother (Swami) Shyamananda. Brother S. was from India and was very highly advanced spiritually. After Master left India in 1936, YSS eventually became quite rundown. Then when Daya Mata made her trip to India in the late 1950’s and saw to what state it had fallen she vowed that in her lifetime she would never allow that to happen again to any of Master’s ashrams. Brother Shyamananda was very instrumental in helping Ma restore YSS, helping to put it back on firm footing, and Ma could always trust and count on him.
See also~ SWAMI SHYAMANANDA GIRI, Rajarsi’s Indian counterpart ~ Daya Mataji
So highly did she regard Brother S., that when he was here in America, during his last illness Daya Ma insisted on giving up her own room for him. When some of the other devotees tried to dissuade her, Ma’s reply was that Master would always give up his own room to Rajarsi when he came to Encinitas to visit, and she wanted to do the same for Brother S. Ma also insisted on taking care of Brother S. all by herself, 24 hours a day. Finally though, she became worn out from trying to do it all herself, and the monks finally convinced Ma to let them do four-hour shifts at night to give her some relief. Brother Ramananda was one of those privileged to help take care of Brother Shyamananda.
Though Brother S. was bed-ridden with his illness, he had wonderful conversations with Brother R. during those 4 hour shifts, and told him many things:
Brother S. told him to always be loyal to the guru and support SRF. One night Brother S. was in a very elevated state and kept repeating ecstatically to Brother R., “Oh, what the techniques will do for you!! Oh, what they will do for you!!”
Another night Brother S. handed his chuddar (shawl) to Brother R. and asked him to put it away in the drawer. Brother R. folded the chuddar and stuffed it into a drawer, but Brother S. noticed the hastiness of his actions and asked him to refold it more neatly. So Brother R. took the chuddar from the drawer and folded it more neatly and started to put it back in the drawer, but Brother S. stopped him again and told him just how he wanted it folded; with the ends exactly matching together and the folds matching the existing creases. Then Brother R. understood the lesson being given: If something is worth doing, then do it well.
Brother Ramananda on Hermitage Lawn
Brother S. gave some advice to Brother R: Don’t be jealous or do anything to make others jealous. (a few weeks later I read Master’s words from ‘Journey to Self-Realization’, pg 161, “When possible, try to avoid giving anyone cause for jealousy. Go out of your way, if necessary, to create understanding.”) This advice helped Brother R. to perceive the subtle feelings of envy he had of another monk on whom Daya Ma always doted and gave extra attention. But that monk later left the ashram, left the path, and Brother R. came to realize that Ma was intuitively giving that monk as much as she could during the time he would be there.
Likewise, Brother R. also sensed that there were other monastics who were perhaps envious of him because he had comparatively more contact with Daya Ma than they did. So he played it down, spoke less about it, in order to follow the advice Brother S. had given him.
***
Brother R. said that the Worldwide Prayer Circle was very important to Master; he considered it to be one of the most important things he did.
A Worldwide Network of Healing Prayer – SRF Link
Worldwide Prayer Circle – SRF Link
***
Brother said to keep Master always in your environment, like a bubble surrounding you. When you stay attuned with the Guru then even if you stray away a little bit this way or that way, your attunement acts like radar, and brings you back.
“Hold to the hem of Master’s robe,” Brother said.
Imagine a man who has lost his sense of smell. If a skunk were to sit next to the man, even though he wouldn’t realize it, the man would become permeated with the skunk’s scent.
It’s the same with us and Master. Master permeates us always, whether we know it or not. There was a little town in France and nearly all the townspeople worked in the rose perfume factory in town. As they worked their clothes would become permeated with the scent of roses, and when at the end of the day they all walked home together, the whole town and all the streets would become permeated with the intoxicating scent of roses.
So stay attuned with Master, that you and your whole environment become permeated with his Love.
Satsanga with Brother Ramananda, Encinitas chapel, 2003, devotee notes
BACK TO SRF MONASTIC TALKS
Yogananda Site 