The Wave and the Ocean
It is an overcast and cooler day, so there was virtually no one down by the beach this morning. I literally had it all to myself. Such a contrast from yesterday morning!
I sat on a rock and marveled at how the shoreline has looked totally different these last three days - almost as if I were coming to a different beach every day. I did some meditations and prayers, offering them up for a friend on her birthday today.
As I sat in the chilly breeze, surveying the breathtaking landscape and listening to the incoming waves, I thought of how Yogananda often compares the individual soul to a wave in the ocean.
As I took in the broad expanse of the ocean, I understood why it is such a wonderful metaphor for God. It is huge - boundless - without limit - and endless. It encompasses everything and it has no peer.
Yogananda often urges his devotees to repeat this beautiful affirmation during meditation:
It occurred to me, that this is the equivalent to repeating "Tat Tvam Asi" - "I am That" - or, in other words - "I and the Father are one." By instructing Westerners to repeat this simple prayer, the wise guru and teacher showed the way to obtaining union with God. The more we repeat this prayer - the more we grow into the awareness, belief, and acceptance, that God is always near and dear to us.
The wave cannot exist without the ocean. It is the ocean that animates the wave. Each one of us represents a unique wave of the ocean - and of course, the ultimate realization is that we are the ocean.
Such a simple lesson, but such a hard one to realize and embody! As I sat by the ocean this morning, I had a much deeper insight into the importance of this lesson.
I sat on a rock and marveled at how the shoreline has looked totally different these last three days - almost as if I were coming to a different beach every day. I did some meditations and prayers, offering them up for a friend on her birthday today.
As I sat in the chilly breeze, surveying the breathtaking landscape and listening to the incoming waves, I thought of how Yogananda often compares the individual soul to a wave in the ocean.
As I took in the broad expanse of the ocean, I understood why it is such a wonderful metaphor for God. It is huge - boundless - without limit - and endless. It encompasses everything and it has no peer.
Yogananda often urges his devotees to repeat this beautiful affirmation during meditation:
"I and the Father are one."
It occurred to me, that this is the equivalent to repeating "Tat Tvam Asi" - "I am That" - or, in other words - "I and the Father are one." By instructing Westerners to repeat this simple prayer, the wise guru and teacher showed the way to obtaining union with God. The more we repeat this prayer - the more we grow into the awareness, belief, and acceptance, that God is always near and dear to us.
The wave cannot exist without the ocean. It is the ocean that animates the wave. Each one of us represents a unique wave of the ocean - and of course, the ultimate realization is that we are the ocean.
Such a simple lesson, but such a hard one to realize and embody! As I sat by the ocean this morning, I had a much deeper insight into the importance of this lesson.
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