Decisions Decisions Decisions

Yogacharya David

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Decision making is a fascinating field of study. How we make decisions both large and small determines the kind and quality of life we live. Do you have one more bite to eat or push the plate away? Do you seek out new opportunities in life or do you stay in hiding? Do you strive for Self-realization or are you unconsciously and blindly stumbling through your days?

I have been in a transitional time in these past few weeks. My recovery from a small intestine resection that removed three tumors has gone extremely well. As of today I have no cancerous tumors as has been confirmed by a recent MRI of the brain and full body CAT and PET scans; very happy news.

Now I am faced with decisions about after-care; according to medical doctors it is a very high likelihood that new tumors will grow. There are several allopathic drugs that may be partially or fully successful in keeping cancer from recurring, each with their unwanted side effects; I am also looking into a leading Naturopathic physician for supportive care as well as the ongoing treatment my marvelous chiropractic/neuro-link doctor provides. Each doctor gives his educated guess as to what the right course of action should be, plus I have had input from many of you on standard and alternative care as well.

How do I go about deciding what to do next? The first thing I do is I go inside and commune with God. I still the mind, turn the whole matter over to Him. I feel peace and quiet in the inner Presence; that is my starting point. I know with a certainty that God is in charge of this whole play. There is a mighty purpose behind all that He does, and I am content to play my role as He so chooses.

Being connected, I then gather information. What this and that doctor and care provider are saying, what friends and research tell me, assimilating all I can from external resources. I then take this accumulated knowledge and seek wisdom by mindfully surrendering all at the feet of God. “Oh Lord, here is the situation as You well know. What is the right thing for me to do at this time?” Then I open myself to His prompting. What do I feel right about doing in connection with Him? What thoughts come to me in that Light and with clarity? What brings me peace and a sense of ‘right action’?

Sometimes the message is to simply rest in Him. When the time is right some thought, a sense of direction comes out of the peaceful silence that makes me know what to do next. Over the years this process of decision making has never failed me. I can directly compare it to times when I have not used this process; it correlates closely with making bad decisions when I ignored God.

It is amazing at the amount of energy we expend in taking false steps and burn up in anxious energy, all to no avail. A favorite image comes from the blacksmith. He heats the metal to the right temperature before he shapes and bends the metal to good effect. The blacksmith knows he can pound away forever if the metal is not hot enough and he will get nowhere. When the metal is ready, a few well-placed blows may be all that is needed.

Even so God may have us in the fires of purification; we desperately would like to jump out of those flames! However, by staying still and centered throughout it all we take His cue as to when the hammer blows should come in order to bring it about correctly. This all-important timing is critical to fulfilling His will.

If, in your silence, you have no answer, that is a red light. You may get a yellow light to proceed with caution, or the green light comes for an all-out go! This knowingness requires your trust and your willingness to be still before you act. Decision making like this becomes clear from practice and patience. When you get the knack of it, it will be very obvious to you when it is divine will that is operating through you and when you are being governed by the dictator-ego.

As you can easily apprehend decision making is a fascinating field of study, and when you take the time and make the effort to go deeper it brings you into harmony with your true Self and with God. In this way the world you live in is a great teacher, and the large and small challenges you face provide the very means to achieve the greatest goal in life, your oneness with God.

Health Note: As mentioned above, I have completed a series of tests: an MRI of the brain, and CAT and PET scans of the rest of the body. There are no signs of any tumors in this body. Blood tests and all other metrics have come back positive. This is all great news! Now, the focus is on keeping this body in perfect health. There are several options on the table and it will be interesting to see what God decides. All is in His keeping. Jai Gurus, Victory to God!

 

The Simple Peace and Joy In Finding God

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Krishna as a cowherd boy; by Gargi (Lakshmi of Anandashram)

One of the remarkable things about our spiritual path is that the benefit of its practice is not just for an imagined future, but it is realized in the here and now.

Many who follow religious ideals think that the rewards for leading a spiritual life will not be known until arriving at a much anticipated after-life. This deferred gratification can take many forms, but it justifies withholding from doing things you would really like to do now, so that God and heaven may reward you later.

The spiritual “rewards” I have known have come embedded in my practice itself. Communing with God brings tremendous peace and bliss; being His instrument of service in the world gives me real joy and fulfillment; and living in complete surrender to Divine Will makes me know what right action truly is. I would not trade this life for any other.

The vows Mother had me take at Kriya have the same benefits. Not drinking alcohol or using recreational drugs was not easy in the beginning. But now it is not only easy, it makes me feel ill to even imagine going down that road. Not smoking cigarettes, how stupid would it be to take up that habit? And no sex without marriage–how much trouble, confusion, sorrow and pain that saves me, and I would never know the more profound pleasures there are to be found in a committed, long-term marriage.

If I enact a thought experiment and imagine that there was no reward in an afterlife for living a life of truthfulness and spiritual discipline, would I regret having lived my life in this way? Absolutely not. The life I live here brings me the greatest happiness, and I would not change a single part of it.

There are many people who live lives they know are not in sync with their own highest good, yet they continue to do so without any serious thought to changing their habits. This lack of harmony with their inner knowing causes them great suffering. However, when your life comes into balance and you have congruity between Spirit, thought, word and action, then you have a credible claim on peace today.

It can seem that others are zooming by you by taking short cuts and living out of harmony with nature and Spirit’s lawful principles. But believe me, they will never know the simple peace and joy you experience in finding God.

Whether your dharma has you living in a cave or a mansion, whether you are in the humblest or most visible vocation, if it is right for you then you need not envy anyone in this whole world; for you are exactly where your loving Creator has placed you. At times it may be a great struggle to get there, but living in your true Self fulfills all of your heart’s desires today, from moment to moment.

 

Truth Makes You Free

Yogacharya David

 

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Picture: Beloved Swami Ramdas

 

The great Teachers of the world have given us the same truths.  Buddha taught us to purify ourselves and have compassion for all creatures.  Jesus Christ asked us to love all beings as we love ourselves.  Krishna taught us to see the Divine in each and everyone in the world.  Mohammed taught us to submit to the will of God and be His instruments.  If we but follow the teachings of these great Masters, we have no reason to quarrel among ourselves on any account.

— Swami Ramdas

 

There are those who like to point out the faults of religion as proof that there is no God. But it is an interesting thought experiment to think of this world without religion, no great religious leaders down through time who called struggling mankind to a higher life. Would this world really be better off?

 

For any honest appraisal you would have to know that the world is vastly improved for having Rama, Krishna, Loa Tzu, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus and Mohamad to name a few. The fact we can find examples of hypocrites and abusers of faith has to be held in balance with the billions of souls who have striven for a better life because of their faith and spiritual practice.

 

All religious impulse ultimately leads to the singular goal of Self-realization. To see all mankind in a march toward realization gives new meaning to world events. Through the struggle of sorting through the violence, ignorance, and darkness of collective consciousness, individual souls are inspired to rise above the tumultuous noise of this world to at last find transcendent Truth.

 

Realizing this Truth will alone free the soul from the thralldom of Maya, universal ignorance. This world is rough play. However, when souls love one another, serve one another, seek the Light within and in one another, this world consciousness is lifted higher, changed for the better and this holds the promise of transforming this world into a peaceful garden; where the lion will lie down with the lamb.

 

Therefore you should not be discouraged or doubt when faced with the oppositional force you see in the world, and sometimes right within your own self. Rather, you should use these painful events as reminders that you are called to a higher life and heed the call of those great God-men and God-women who have gone before you.

 

To realize this great Goal of mankind you must submit to the will of God and be His instrument, see the Divine in all creation and its creatures, and feel love and compassion for all. These practices purify your mind and will lead you to the blissful universal vision in which faith and practice is supplanted by actual realized experience. You then know the Truth, and that Truth sets you free.

 

Health Update: I continue to grow stronger each day. I have greater endurance and am in need of less rest. On Wednesday I had an MRI of the brain and there was no sign of cancer. The surgeon called me his “star,” and noted my recovery was very, very good—thanks to your many prayers and the miraculous power of the body to heal.

 

I am currently off all medication. I am taking food grade dietary supplements of vitamins and minerals, and I have started a pro-biotic and pre-biotic regimen to reconstitute the intestinal health after the antibiotics (that destroys good bacteria as well as the bad) and surgical assaults on the body.

 

I will see the oncologist on Monday and find out what he recommends for the immunotherapy. There is the chance there are cancerous cells left in the stomach after the tumors have been removed. Since my immune system was more than capable of eliminating the melanoma on the skin—even without my notice—now it is a matter of alerting the immune system to fighting in the stomach as well. Thank you again for all your loving prayers, my rapid recovery is a clear demonstration of the power of prayer.

Work Is Love Made Visible

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Krishna and Arjuna racing off to serve all humanity

Activity is the natural outcome of static Spirit. Like the enormous lake feeds the waterfall, that makes for the river that moves to the sea, so does transcendent Spirit, still and without end, naturally express itself as all creation and its creatures, including mankind.

Mankind is capable of highest consciousness, however as we see signs daily it often times responds to its lowest nature. When we, as humans, put our minds upon attaining supreme God-consciousness, then the battle between lowest and highest natures ensues. Lowest nature is selfish, greedy, fearful, and it can be vicious. Highest nature is loving, kind and full of service.

To attune ourselves to action based on the highest nature requires, we must be mindful of our thoughts, words and actions. We know the difference when we are acting out of our highest nature and when we are responding to the demons within. All sincere aspirants will immediately self-correct when temporarily taken over by the seductive devilish nature and re-align with angelic purity and Light.

The great Khalil Gibran declared that, “Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work…And what is it to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit…”

To be in tune with loving activity we first acknowledge that God is the Source of all movement, from the subatomic electrons to vast galaxies, and everything in-between. Let us not allow a mundane mindset to seep into our lives. Each moment is a unique expression of Spirit, there can be no such thing as “time to kill,” for all time is filled with inexpressible Divine Feeling if we but have the eyes to see and the ears to hear.

First, make daily contact with God within through your deepened communion with the Infinite Spirit. Then mindfully enter into this world of activity by expressing joy, peace and bliss; letting these qualities saturate your thoughts and words and guide your activities. All time and space is filled with sacred vibration, so live life fully and be an instrument of Spirit at all times and in all places.

Master’s Birthday

Yogacharya David

1940s PY Pronams

 

Today we celebrate Master’s (Paramhansa Yogananda’s) birthday. What an absolute difference this great spiritual Master has made in my life, and in the lives of so many, many people. Certainly the Autobiography of a Yogi continues to be a best seller and is a spiritual classic that has moved new generations to spiritual depths of feeling and perception that would have otherwise remained hidden.

It is difficult to measure the attainment of another, however we can contrast Master’s life and work to many who write books and more books and give public talks and never come close to being qualified to tying the latches of Master’s shoes. Truly Master stands heads above so many others, with very few peers.

When Master drew Mother to him he set into motion a spiritually uplifting current that is transmitted to all of us. A disciple of Master’s once told me that for any other person to be a guru after Master would “block his light.” I had never heard such a load of ignorance in all my life (this would only be true if that one claiming to be a guru was filled with ego). I can tell you, and you do not need me to say it for you know it yourself, Mother’s Light only added to Master’s Light, making for tremendous illumination for all.

There are many who are currently re-reading the Autobiography of A Yogi, and others who are studying his lessons, and still others who are reading the books published in his name (although many of his books have been heavily edited and in some cases the “voice” of the author nearly disappears, still many of these sayings and writings are our only access to them and the Master’s Spirit will still inspire us in spite of the filters of heavy handed editing). Master sought to make yoga and religion well-reasoned and understandable, demonstrable and experiential by every man, woman and child. Since seeking out happiness is a universal need, he showed that only by realizing God will you know lasting bliss and happiness. Therefore the path to Self-realization is needed by everyone walking the globe.

My prayer is that with the marking of Master’s birthday you will be inspired to delve deeper into his writings, and as the Master said, for every hour of reading, meditate two hours. Your going deeper into God-consciousness is the greatest way to please the Master, then broadcast that Light of God you discover within yourself to the entire world. Just think of a world in which all people, everywhere, are striving to know the truth of God and express His loving will in this world. This spiritual transformation is what the Master came to bring about, and each of us can do our part by following in his footsteps.

Master—Happy Birthday—and thank you for being born and bringing this universal message of liberation and freedom to one and to all!

 

Give Love

Yogacharya David

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I have been keenly aware of how much I have missed our coming together during these past months; when we were traveling and then with the current medical procedures.

One thing about love, it constantly wants to express itself. As I have often said, love is both a noun and a verb. First, it is like the sea, a state of Being content within its expansive Self. And second, love is like a flowing river, always moving and expressing itself. In realizing God you simultaneously and easily have both aspects of love.

I remember the charming and instructive story of Papa; he had a cold and Mataji kept him wrapped up and gave instructions he was not to meet with devotees. Papa was pacing back and forth and finally said, “Sometimes Ramdas must do what he must do!” And he went out to talk with the devotees who sincerely desired to see him.

When I was going to meet with you all for our Christmas/New Years’ Service I too was lovingly warned not to do it, it was too soon after the operation. However, God within would not be denied. I started out the Service with a hoarse voice, but then later I was told that it grew to full strength as the talk proceeded. When God gives to you through this form, He also gives to me. I feel the river of love effortlessly flowing through me, and I too receive, even as it is given.

This is the great secret of love, the more we give, the more we receive. If out of fear and resentment we do not give, then we do not receive. This is never truer than our relationships with husbands, wives, children, parents or past best friends. It is true we can have our expectations dashed to the ground by others, especially those close to us. But, to choose cutting off the flow of love because of pain and disappointment we have had means that we sentence ourselves to a barren existence that dries up the very love we seek.

Courage means that we give love, even when it is not returned; that we even give love for hate, to love our enemy. This does not make us a “doormat” that can be stepped upon and be used by others, for this does neither them nor us any good. But, inwardly we do not close off our hearts even to those who have abused and betrayed our trust; for who needs love more than those who have closed hearts.

So let us pray for and love all of this world, just as it is. We see those who are filled with anger, hurt and fear that seek to hurt others in retaliation. However, as an author said of Mahatma Gandhi’s ahimsa philosophy, An eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth would lead to a world of the blind and toothless. All healing begins with love and wisdom, and healing ends with an immersion into love and wisdom. We may protect ourselves, but let us always be guided first by love, and not retaliate with anger for anger that perpetuates an endless cycle. Rather, wisely give love for anger for the resolution of yours and the world’s ills.

 

 

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