Cultivate a real yearning for God
Master told us to cultivate the relationship with God, but we forget that aspect. We think it should happen on its own. This relationship and what we get out of it is incredible. Cultivate actions that create in us a real yearning for God.
Master said to make each day’s meditation deeper than the previous day. Hold onto that thought. Call to Divine Mother with all of the anguish and yearning of your soul.
There is no excuse for not crying inwardly for the Divine life. It is like a bubble that bursts and sinks back into the stream again.
But it is good to contemplate on the insecurity of this fleshly form when meditating, to realize that this is the only reality-God! Meditate on that reality, that you are not a mortal being but an immortal part of the Divine Beloved.
See also~ An Intimate, Personal Relationship With God ~ Bro. Anandamoy
Work toward an inner state of stillness
In meditation, peace is the first sign of God’s presence. Work toward an inner state of stillness. When one milks the cow and fills the pail to the brim, and then carries it to the house carelessly, there was no point of milking the cow at all. After achieving that stillness, it is important to carry that pail of peace with us for the whole day.
That is the whole purpose for which Guruji put us here. This is a world of endless trials and very few joys. This is the world of delusion, but he also gave us a means of escape–the stillness all of us have in us. But this is something very few know anything about. Very few have made the time to experience Master. This path will take the devotee as far as he wants to go. To the degree that you yearn for God, to that degree He constantly responds to you.
When each of you entered the spiritual path, some yearning was there. It is up to each devotee to feed that yearning. Don’t let it dry out and evaporate.
See also~ You Can Realize God in This Life ~ Bro. Anandamoy
We must learn to blend activity and inactivity in our life
God is both activity and inactivity, and man is made in His image. Master said that the west is too involved in activity. The east is too involved in inactivity. The purpose of the various nationalities is to bring out that balance among all of the children of all nations. Become free from nationality and realize that we are the universal children of God.
We are here to strive for balance in life. Our Guru’s mission was worldwide. Sri Yukteswar said that we should take the best of the west and hold onto it, and only the best of India. Hold on to one thing: those ideals of God that He has instilled in all of His children. When we die, we won’t know our nationality. We will only know that we are children of God. We are not Americans. We are not Indians. We are His child, and the world is our brother. Master came to the west to help the west to understand that balance, and the same is true in India.
We must learn to blend activity and inactivity in our life. This comes in our daily meditation when we milk the awareness of God in that temple of meditation. Foolish is that devotee who wastes that milk as he carries out the activities each day.
See also~ Finding Spiritual Balance in your Life ~ Sister Priya
Practice the presence all of the time
Master told us to live within; to practice the presence all of the time. There is no excuse for not practicing the presence. There is no activity that can take us from God. The fault lies in our making excuses for not making time for God. The fault lies with us. The greatest joy is to be involved in His activity.
The whole path of doing everything in life out of love for God is karma yoga. There is tremendous joy here, like the mother with child in doing for her or him feels joy. How dare we not find that same joy when serving our Divine Beloved?
So, when we are working for God, picking up a straw in the kitchen is as great as meditation, because all activities are done with the thought of God. That’s what he wants. It becomes one. If each of us does not arrive at that state, blame not His ocean, because it is filled with the pearls of His wisdom. It is filled with the pearls of His love and bliss.
See also~ Practicing the Presence of God ~ Bro. Bhaktananda
“And don’t forget to meditate.”
Master told Ma, when he gave her many, many duties, “And don’t forget to meditate.” She asked him, “But how can I do it with all of these many duties? She expected a miraculous flow of wisdom from his lips. He said, “Yes, I understand. I said the same thing when my Master said it to me.”
When I first came to America, I was so busy, I told Divine Mother, “I am so busy that I can’t meditate. “Ma said, “If you still have the hankering to meditate, is it not true that the hankering is with you? That you are with God.” Ma added, “But don’t use this as an excuse not to meditate.” But we constantly try to rationalize our behavior. Master told us to critically analyze ourselves. If we do this, we come more honest. We don’t make excuses by placing fault on some other person or circumstances.
See also~ Deepening Meditation and Overcoming Negativity in the News ~ Bro. Satyananda
The endless moments that you could spend with God
Know yourself. Begin to see yourself as God and Guru see you. Look at your life and the endless moments that you could spend with God. This is even true even during recreation. Master made sure of this. He was often taking disciples onto the tennis court. That was our training. When it was time for recreation, we had to go.
Without self discipline, we cannot know the peace and happiness of God. The purpose is to overcome the ego. The vessel of ourselves may be totally filled with the waters of the Guru’s wisdom; His love, His bliss.
Set aside a day a week for longer periods of meditation. One day a week. I ask all of you to do so. By that practice, you’ll gain greater strength and find a renewed enthusiasm with which to flourish on the path.
Daya Mata said, I do my duties practicing the presence of God, and I ask all of you to make an effort to do so.
See also~ Practicing the Presence and Introspection ~ Brahmachari David
Constantly immerse ourselves in His love, bliss, understanding, and wisdom
The world is trying to do all of these things to draw the mind down to gossip: negation; anger; sensitivity. All of those things keep us involved in discontent. Meditation reverses the searchlight to put our attention on God and Guru alone. It gives us an expansion of our consciousness so that we see that we are not this small, selfish, ungenerous human, but made in the image of God. We must constantly immerse ourselves in His love, bliss, understanding, and wisdom. That’s what Master worked for, and what all of us in the ashrams are working for.
See also~ The 26 Qualities That Make Man Godlike (Bhagavad Gita) ~ Paramahansaji and Sister Priya
Because of Master’s Divinity there is such a Spirit in this ashram; because His vibrations are there. You are adding to that by your own efforts in meditation. So you can begin to include others in your thoughts of helpfulness and kindness.
No matter what happens in the world, keep your mind fixed on God
No matter what happens in the world, keep your mind fixed on God. Make Him the pole star of your life. But you must nourish that activity by practicing the presence of God, telling God you Love Him. Even when the heart feels dry at times during trials, then find at the end of that trial that that Divine Beloved is there waiting for you. Each day can be a day of courage, cheerfulness, and strength if you keep talking to God in the language for your heart. Keep the milk pail filled with God consciousness, and then mentally send out that peace and love to the world.
See also~ Inspiration for the NEW YEAR ~ Sri Daya Mata
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