Once when Swami Kriyananda was a young monk, he was sitting quietly at the feet of his guru, Paramhansa Yoganandaji. Filled with devotion for his master, Swamiji silently prayed, “Teach me to love you as you love me.”
Later, as Yoganandaji stood up to leave the room, he looked deeply at Swamiji and said in response to his unspoken prayer, “How can the little cup hold the whole ocean?”
His meaning was clear: The ocean of God’s love is infinite, but until we’ve expanded our heart, we’re only able to give and receive a tiny portion of that love.
Recently we had the blessing of visiting Yoganandaji’s boyhood home in Kolkata. In a little attic room there, Master used to spend hours in deep meditation and communion with God. In fact, on a photo of this room that was taken later, he wrote, “My attic room where I found God.”
As we were meditating there, I felt Master’s presence very strongly calling to me to open my heart more fully to receive his blessings. Aching to do this, yet realizing that I didn’t know how, I began praying, “Show me how to increase the size of my heart’s cup that you may fill it with your love.”
These are some thoughts that have come to me in response to my prayer. First, invite God to share with you every experience in your life—the pleasant and the painful. Think of Him as being very near throughout the day, and let Him know that you are grateful for everything that happens, because it comes from Him, whom you love and trust.
Next, feel God’s love flowing through you to everyone you meet. Swami Kriyananda was such a remarkable example of this. To him, all he met were divine friends, and no one was a stranger.
Currently Jyotish, Dhyana and I are spending a few days at a beautiful hotel in Delhi, the Leela Palace, as the gift of some friends. Swami Kriyananda also stayed here for a few days in 2011 and 2012. During our stay, members of the staff have been coming up to us asking about Swamiji, remembering the table where he sat, and how kind he was. Though he was here only briefly two and three years ago, Swamiji left a deep impression on the staff because of his ability to channel God’s love to everyone.
Finally, and most important, to expand your heart’s capacity to love, call on the guru for his help. Recently I came upon this passage in Autobiography of a Yogi, in which Master is speaking of his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar: “We looked into each other’s eyes, where tears were shining. A blissful wave engulfed me; I was conscious that the Lord, in the form of my guru, was expanding the small ardors of my heart into the incompressible reaches of cosmic love.”
This is the ultimate gift of God and Guru—to open our heart to hold the whole ocean of Divine Love.
With blessings in God and Guru,
Nayaswami Devi
18 Comments
SO BEAUTIFUL, DEVI!
Beautiful. Thank you for telling us how to understand and fulfill that our cup runneth over and goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.
Blessings and Master’s love to all.
Pat Wolff
Very inspiring and beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Prayer is such a beautiful instrument and state.
This reminded me of one insight – we are all searching for love – its like fish in the water searching for water – when fish open its eyes, there is water, inside the fish there is water, when fish closes the eye, there is water – similar to this..all body-mind instruments are moving inside the god – when we open our eyes – there is god everywhere – when we close eyes – we can see god – God is outside of what our eyes perceive as inside and outside – still god is so close, so profound, so deep, so silent, so happy. May be this sounds confusing – I’m not that a good writer. The letters from Jyotish and Devi also teaching me in some way how to express and share experiences and thoughts in writing.
Dear Santosh,
Thank you for sharing your beautiful thoughts.
I know both of you when you was in Rome with Swamij in the middle of 80′ in the house of Renata Arlini. You are doing a wanderful service to kriya yoga. Please my pronams to Dyana: she was in my town, Civitavecchia, for many times helping our little Sangha for going on and instructing us in the holy path of kriya. JOY GURU!
Dear Aldo,
What wonderful memories we have of the times spent with Renata Arlini in Rome. We will give your regards to Dhyana. May Master’s blessings be with you always.
Dearest Devi,
Thank you so much for sharing of your experiences in India! Thank you especially for this post and for this small picture of this little Holy place. I am not sure when I will be able to take a personal pilgrimage there, but sitting in front of this little picture, meditating and visualizing myself meditating there next to you and Jyotish, visualizing that moment of Master finding God, there, brought so much joy, light and love to my heart. Opening my eyes, I felt I was just there with you, in that little picture. Thank you for sharing it, I will cherish it forever, while hope that some day I will be there in body too! Much love to you and Jyotish, in Aum, Luba.
Dear Luba,
How wonderful to hear from you. We are so happy to hear that our time in India is also your time. You and your family are forever part of the Ananda spiritual family and always have a place in our hearts.
Dear Nayaswami Devi,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful article. So lovely reading it. It should have been a divine experience at the room where master used to meditate.
We pray to God & Guru to help us to open our heart to fill with their love
Aum
God Bless You Devi,
Thank you for this inspiring reminder to open our (tiny cup) heart, that it may be filled with the Ocean (Divine Love) of Bliss.
Thank you for the reminder also of keeping God & Master present in everything I do.
Recently requested in Purification for something very similar to the above, and Master’s reply was within moments.
The closer I keep him, the nearer he is! Too cool!
~~~Peace, Josette
Dear Devi,
Thank you so much for this beautiful article. It really touches my heart!
Master bless you!
Thank you Devi. This brings to mind the verse from Jeremiah, “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a good hope…”
Beautiful and inspiring as always,Devi. Miss you!
Beautiful, Deviji! Thanks so much! Love, mayadevi and helmut
Dear Mayadevi & Helmut,
So nice to hear from you. Please give our love to our Assisi family.
Thank you, Devi. A beautiful reminder. Very timely. too, as I have just returned from the pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy. So much love was there. It is my limited capacity that is causing indigestion of this Divine Love in me. I saw and felt why Master called St. Frances of Assisi our patron saint. His heart was ever so wide open to God!
Dear Devi,
Thank You So Much For This Message. It seems impossible To express God’s Love In Words;Only to Be Felt. Yet, The Sharing Of Your Path Brings Us Closer To That Love.
Thanks To our Most Generous And Inclusive Sangha, A Recent Meditation In SwamJi’s Dome Reminds Me Of YoganandaJi’s Meditation Room In The Photograph You Share. Being In That Vibration Allows Meditations To Be Deeper Still.
Thank You For Keeping “In Touch” With Us All. This Inclusiveness Keeps Us In Touch With Swami, Our Masters And Close To God.
Blessings!
Dearest Devi,
To me you have always shown your hearts love! Unconditionally! When you give talks and you speak from your heart, those Blessings of Love flow out to the entire audience! Many times after a Sunday Service or other Satsang in which you have shared people remark on the devotion and love they feel from you! The wonderful message in this is that we can always expand further…..to Infinity! It tickles me when I think of a time when Saint Lynn had written to Master about a Samadhi he experienced and Master said ” Remember you can always go deeper”!
When I had the profound honor of being in Masters Meditation Attic, as well as Tulsi’s I found that there could never be enough time to absorb the Bliss that was Vibrating there…..it was sooooo much!
Thank you Deviji, for all you are! Love, in our Beloved, brindey