The Guru is in You
Today, devout Hindus celebrate "Janmashtami" - the birthday of Lord Krishna, a most beloved deity, who gave us the gift of yoga and its enlightening practices...
I thought of this, as I carried Grace, my kayak, down to the river this morning. It was breezy, and the beginning of a busy day for me. The waters were very choppy and I paddled vigorously upstream until I reached the point of the first island. This is an area I have not revisited for almost a year and half. I saw a number of noble blue herons, and one actually "waited" for me at the boat launch, when I was coming out of the water, and then flew upstream, where I had been.
While I was out on the water, I reflected on the writings of Yogani, which can be found on the Advanced Yoga Practices website. This wonderful teacher has chosen to disseminate many esoteric yogic and meditation teachings - that were previously passed on from teacher to student - in order to make them more accessible to the general population. This teacher and practitioner very much believes that we stand at a critical juncture in our development and we must share spiritual teachings with one another, passing on useful practices and knowledge to others who may need them. This is possible because ultimately we are all teachers and students to one another.
Yogani ends all of "his" or "her" lessons with the simple statement - "The guru is in you." To me, this simply means and implies, that the essence of the Divine is within all of us, and accessible to us, if we trust our intuition.
However, we must do the necessary spiritual practices and commit ourselves to a life of meditation if we are to experience this communion with the Divine. Only then, can we trust that this "Voice" within our hearts will lead the way...
Paramahansa Yogananda has beautifully spoken of the path of meditation in his Spiritual Diary the last few days. I share some excerpts here:
"By meditation we connect the little joy of the soul with the vast joy of the Spirit. Meditation should not be confused with ordinary concentration... Meditation is that special form of concentration in which the attention has been liberated from restlessness and is focused on God. Meditation, therefore, is concentration used to know God...
Remember that the longer you practice meditation with intensity, the nearer you will be to joyous contact with the silent God. Intensity consists in making every today's meditation deeper than yesterday's and every tomorrow's meditation deeper than today's...
Do not say: 'Tomorrow I will meditate longer.' You will suddenly find that a year has passed without fulfillment of your good intentions. Instead say: 'This can wait, and that can wait, but my search for God cannot wait.'"
The guru is in you...
You are the very embodiment of the Guru - but your relationship to the Divine must permeate and color every aspect of your life. Only then, will your teachings and knowledge, and love flow from that Everlasting Source - a fountain that will satisfy your every need.
Delve deeper into your communion with the Divine. And share everything from that place in your heart.
I thought of this, as I carried Grace, my kayak, down to the river this morning. It was breezy, and the beginning of a busy day for me. The waters were very choppy and I paddled vigorously upstream until I reached the point of the first island. This is an area I have not revisited for almost a year and half. I saw a number of noble blue herons, and one actually "waited" for me at the boat launch, when I was coming out of the water, and then flew upstream, where I had been.
While I was out on the water, I reflected on the writings of Yogani, which can be found on the Advanced Yoga Practices website. This wonderful teacher has chosen to disseminate many esoteric yogic and meditation teachings - that were previously passed on from teacher to student - in order to make them more accessible to the general population. This teacher and practitioner very much believes that we stand at a critical juncture in our development and we must share spiritual teachings with one another, passing on useful practices and knowledge to others who may need them. This is possible because ultimately we are all teachers and students to one another.
Yogani ends all of "his" or "her" lessons with the simple statement - "The guru is in you." To me, this simply means and implies, that the essence of the Divine is within all of us, and accessible to us, if we trust our intuition.
However, we must do the necessary spiritual practices and commit ourselves to a life of meditation if we are to experience this communion with the Divine. Only then, can we trust that this "Voice" within our hearts will lead the way...
Paramahansa Yogananda has beautifully spoken of the path of meditation in his Spiritual Diary the last few days. I share some excerpts here:
"By meditation we connect the little joy of the soul with the vast joy of the Spirit. Meditation should not be confused with ordinary concentration... Meditation is that special form of concentration in which the attention has been liberated from restlessness and is focused on God. Meditation, therefore, is concentration used to know God...
Remember that the longer you practice meditation with intensity, the nearer you will be to joyous contact with the silent God. Intensity consists in making every today's meditation deeper than yesterday's and every tomorrow's meditation deeper than today's...
Do not say: 'Tomorrow I will meditate longer.' You will suddenly find that a year has passed without fulfillment of your good intentions. Instead say: 'This can wait, and that can wait, but my search for God cannot wait.'"
The guru is in you...
You are the very embodiment of the Guru - but your relationship to the Divine must permeate and color every aspect of your life. Only then, will your teachings and knowledge, and love flow from that Everlasting Source - a fountain that will satisfy your every need.
Delve deeper into your communion with the Divine. And share everything from that place in your heart.
Comments