Have you ever been awestruck by a great work of art or a scene of natural beauty? The power of Michelangelo’s “David”; the mystery of Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa”; the perfection in architecture of the Taj Mahal; or the cosmic grandeur of the Aurora Borealis: I’ve looked at all of these, and felt deeply uplifted.
Aurora Borealis. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Joshua Strang.)
Yet when I try to understand them with my mind alone, when I search for facts to explain their impact, I fall far short. I can learn, for example, who made them, how they were created, or why they occur. But these facts have nothing to do with the power they have—this emanates from their essence, from the truth of what they are.
It’s the same for each of us. We can define ourselves by the facts of our life—our physical appearance, our education, our religious background—but these have little to do with the truth of our being.
A friend of ours from Mumbai shared a beautiful story about his first meeting with Swami Kriyananda. When our friend (let’s call him Ramdas) was introduced to him, Swamiji didn’t know anything about him.
Yet, Ramdas told us with tears in his eyes, “He looked at me as though he had always known me. I’ve never felt so completely loved or accepted in my whole life.” Swamiji was not responding to any facts about Ramdas, but to the truth of his being.
What is this “truth”? We have a body and personality, but we are the soul. Our souls are sparks of the divine and are inherently filled with God’s joy and love. The truth of our being is this eternal, blissful Self.
In one of the most lyrical, inspiring passages of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says to Arjuna:
He who is calm and even minded, never ruffled during pain and pleasure: he alone gains consciousness of his eternal existence. . . .
This Self is not born, not does it perish. Self-existent, it continues its existence forever. It is birthless, eternal, changeless, and ever the same. . . .
The soul cannot even be pondered by the reasoning mind. . . . Realize this truth, and rise above all sorrow.
Swami Kriyananda would often say in his lectures, “My goal is to show you who and what you really are.”
So who are we? This truth is revealed through meditation and interiorizing the mind. When we move beyond facts and outer self-definitions to experience our own Self, then we know that we are all no more than reflections of God’s unchanging joy, love, and peace.
Your friend in God,
Nayaswami Devi
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13 Comments
Pranam Ji
Thanks for the beautiful Experience narrated about Swami Ji, People like me longing for true guidance to feel the God thing felt blessed by Swamiji’s Works.
The authentic Proof was ,a Sacred one to relish Experienced at the time of Initiation into Discipleship by Anandha Chennai Acharys.
With Gratitude
R Sundararajan
Dear Nayaswami Devi Ji,
Thank you for such a loveyl blog :) . How assuring it is to hear from Swamiji “My goal is to show you who and what you really are.”
Aum…
Prem
Dear Jyotish and Devi ji
thank you for such inspiring posts full of eternal romance ……both of you are God sent angels sent to this planet for world peace and harmony….Thank you God ..
Lovely and inspired thoughts – thank you. Will meditate today on your saying that “The soul cannot even be pondered by the reasoning mind … Realize this truth, and rise above all sorrow.”
Les Bonham
Deviji, thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom. May your beautiful reminder to stop thinking and just ‘be’ fill my day with opportunity to practice. Many blessings to you both for all you do for Master’s work.
In Master’s Love,
Eloisa
Thank you Jyotish and Devi every time I read your stories I am so very grateful to be part of Ananda and to have the good fortune
to live here. Yesterday I had a person who I thought was a friend call and tell me all my faults and was very angry because I was her AA
Sponser and I am not perfect. Well I could feel sorry for myself or just try harder to love God and be the person God and Guru want
me to be. The last time Swami was here in the community and was leaving to g0 back to India I believe. He was very ill. When we
all gathered around him to say good by I was standing right in front of him and he looked me right in the eyes with such love and
just said ” Hello there” That happened to me twice . The first time I met him and the last time I saw him. Those two times were so
uplifting because I had been on a search my whole life to know God.
Devi, I was thinking along the same lines, and last week sent the following to several non-Ananda relatives and friends: WHO AM I?
My name is Jon Clark, and I was born in New Jersey. My Mother’s parents immigrated to America from Italy in about 1900, settled in New York, and established a lumber business. My Dad’s grandfather came here from Ireland in 1851, settled in Massachusetts, and was a decorated veteran of the Union army. So I guess I am an American, with Italian and Irish roots.
I went to college in Philadelphia, served in the Marine Corps, and graduated from law school in 1977. I have practiced law in Seattle since 1978. So, I guess I am a veteran and a lawyer.
I am a single, heterosexual male, and have a decent income. I did not vote for Donald Trump, but my political views are center-right and I prefer Republican governance. I believe in limited government, and I am skeptical of the “climate-change theory”. Many on the political left would say I am a privileged, white male; don’t care about the environment, and reject scientific truths.
I was raised Catholic, and consider myself to be both spiritual and religious. In 1989, I drifted into the teachings of Yoga and Meditation. I guess I then became a Yogi.
Before proceeding further in defining myself, let me briefly discuss the subject of Yoga. For most people, the term “Yoga” refers to the physical postures, which is more correctly termed as “Hatha Yoga”. But Yoga writ large is much more than that. Yoga is a system encompassing body, mind & soul. It is a product of India, and its teachings are ancient. Yoga’s essential purpose is to assist us in answering the question of who we are. So, again, who am I?
I guess I am a human being, but what does that mean? A Star Trek episode said that an essential quality of a human is to be sentient; conscious, self-aware. The 17th Century French philosopher, Rene Descartes, said that “I think, therefore I am”. Thus, he seems to say that when we can think we are a human being. But what if Rene was dyslexic and got it backwards; what if he instead meant to say that “I am, therefore I think”? What if existence precedes thought? Sorry about this paragraph, but Meditation has led me to posit these types of questions.
The well known author, Wayne Dyer, wrote several self-help books in the 1970’s & 80’s. But later in life he became very deeply spiritual and offered this thought, “We think we are human beings having a spiritual experience, but we are actually spiritual beings a having a human experience.
So, what am I? Am I an American? Am I a lawyer? Am I a man? Yoga would tell us that while I appear to all of these things; ultimately, I am none of them. It would tell me that I am an immutable, eternal Soul.
So, what are you?
In deepest gratitude. Namaste
Thank you for this beautiful post, Devi! Wars will end if we all see one another for who we really are!
Thank you.
Thank you for the well written post.This is the most important,as it goes right to the heart of the matter of our existence.Or it may also be said that it goes right to the heart of what is the matter with our existence;all of the unrest,troubles,greed,selfishness,violence,etc. Here is an idea that could bring much needed help:Starting schools that teach children & adults that although we are,or appear to be human beings with our,”bundles of self-definitions,”what we really are is the eternal soul,or spirit beings.Every scripture & even some scientific studies into the workings of clairvoyance & other powers beyond the senses & the brain(which we now know that much is unused,or uncharted,mystery territory),plus the large amount of people who have had true & documented experiences such as the many near death episodes,hypnotic regressions,out of body astral journeys,etc.,allude to the fact we are more than what we know.And without exception,it is what every true seer,prophet,saint & master have always declared:we are actually immortal souls & our real duty is to seek,experience & know that truth,which is the real goal of life & our true destiny,uniting our souls with God.So,it would be wonderful & great service to all humanity to have,”Schools of Soul Realization.”
Oh Deviji,
So beautifully written and expressed.
Your soul shines through your words and brings us light!
Thank You!!!
~~~Peace, Josette
aum guru aum