Spirit & Nature

07/12/2022

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05/25/2022

HOW TO HAVE ENOUGH DEVOTION ~ Bro. Bhumananda

excerpts
A question in satsanga: We are told to meditate with devotion. How does one know when we have enough devotion? What are the signs?

BRO. BHUMANANDA: Gyanamata, a great disciple of our Guru, once wrote to him:
"For all you are that I know you to be, and for all you are that I cannot know, I offer you reverence, gratitude, devotion and love--but not enough, not enough, it can never be enough."
Master said Gyanamata was a great saint. He used to compare her to St. Francis. And she felt her devotion to God and to Guru was never enough. It could always be more. . . .

Master said, "The searcher of hearts wants only your sincere love. He is like a little child. Someone may offer him his whole wealth and he doesn't want it. And another cries to him, 'Oh Lord, I love you.' And into that devotee's heart he comes running." . . .

The Examples of St. Maximillian Kolbe and Brother Lawrence
Father Kolbe a saint, and during World War II he was interred in one of the concentration camps. And one of this brother monks wrote of their stay in that camp, "He was totally enamored of God. When in the camp he suffered hunger, cold and when we slept on the ground, and when it was already a snowy and icey November, and when we had no water to drink, and when we hadn't changed our underwear in three months, and while the insects and filth tormented us, Father bore it all with joy. It was a way, he felt, he could show his love for God." . . .

In a letter Gyanamata quotes a poem that expresses that thought in a very beautiful way, and it's meant a lot to me though the years so I'd like to close this afternoon by sharing it:
Lord it is my chief complaint
That my love is weak and faint
Yet I love Thee and adore
Oh for grace to love Thee more!

(CONTINUED)

05/19/2022

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05/04/2022

Ready for summer at Song of the Morning-

04/28/2022

So’ham is sometimes called the natural mantra, or the mantra of the breath, because its sound is like the natural susurra that the breath makes as it flows in and out of the nostrils. So’ham (the “a” in ham is pronounced like the “u” in “cup”) means “That am I.” “That” refers to the pure Awareness at the heart of reality. So the mantra So’ham reminds you that your true self is identical with pure Consciousness. It expresses the realization of enlightened beings. When you coordinate it with your breathing, you can begin to feel that your own breath is reminding you of the deepest truth of who you are. However, if breath practices are uncomfortable for you, feel free to simply think the mantra in a relaxed rhythm, letting it become part of the stream of your consciousness, and gradually allowing So’ham to become your dominant thought.

Find out more in 'Meditation for the Love of It' (https://www.sallykempton.com/books-and-audio/)
**ra

03/29/2022

03/28/2022

“Once the yogi has stilled the waves of thought, he begins to look beneath the lake of calmness and finds there a positive state of peace—the ever-new joy of the soul.”

- Paramahansa Yogananda

When the world seems a bit hectic, take a break at Lake Shrine. The natural beauty will help your mind and body relax and tune into the slower rhythms of nature.

- Paramahansa Yogananda