The Inner Sound

Yogacharya David

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I sit next to a rushing river, freshly melted snows feeding the frenzy of snow white rapids as the water rolls and thunders to an unseen end. As I take in this scene of nature that repeats itself yearly, I also listen to the inner sound of Aum/Amen. There are some distinct parallels between the two sounds, one I hear auricularly with the physical ears, the second comes from a hidden source and is heard with a more subtle receptor.

Both sounds have multiple tones and frequencies. The river initially comes as a roar, then I pick out many high and low tones; like a symphonic orchestra when the sound of all the instruments play at once making for a loud crescendo, but with practice one can selectively pick out the sounds of individual instruments even when all are playing at once. The inner sound comes as a high pitched sound, and has every other sound embedded in it; highs, lows, tiny variations and wide ranges.

The first sound comes from the river, a physical source. The second sound, the Aum/Amen has quite a different source. The Aum emanates from the creative principle from which all manifestation comes. The Amen originates from the Divine Consciousness, the Source of all that is. Listening to the Aum takes the mind back to its Source when deeply meditated upon. This Aum/Amen is the Word, the Name of God. It is said that the Name of God and God are one. That is, by meditating upon this Name/Word, this inner sound, the mind dissolves and merges into the Divine Consciousness. Thus, it is worthy to meditate upon the Word of Aum/Amen, the Name of God.

Note: When I was physically weakened with anemia, then in recovery from an operation God continued to flow through this form, however the overwhelming power of His Word was gracefully reduced during this time. Since my physical recovery He has poured the Name once again through this form. The way that He works through this form is that He fills me to overflowing and He directs the uplifting power out to all creation, or to certain people or situations; He definitely directs my mind as to what it should be focused on. If I think on something He is not willing, He makes it impossible to go further with it. He demands complete and total surrender for this Work—the surrender which I gave to Him long ago. In this way, many times I cannot be with you physically in the way I would like to be, for He has me working for Him in this inner fashion. Know always, I am with you in Spirit. Concentrate on the heart center or the ajna, and we may commune in that beatific Spirit.

Inner Prayag

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Pilgrim making an offering at the Allahabad Prayag

Pilgrimage spots are wonderful for traveling to and becoming immersed in the uplifting vibrations to be found there; such as where sacred rivers join together. However, in truth everything we need to have the highest God-experience is to be found within.

The mountain of uplifted consciousness can be known through mystical experience; the ocean of expansive, unending Spirit you may have in deepened meditation; the purity of the clean desert vibration already exists for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear; and the prayag of two rivers becoming one happens right within you.

Allahabad India is where there is a confluence of two rivers, the Ganga and the Yamuna, along with the mythical river Saraswati. This confluence (Sangam), since ancient times has been called Prayag (a place of offerings). There is an exact correspondence of these physical features found right within your subtle body which reveals the inner kingdom of heaven.

Yoga tradition posits that on either side of the spinal column there are two intertwining currents of life-energy. These currents start at the base of the spinal column, the tail bone area, and travels up to the base of the skull, from there it runs through the brain and ends at the point between your eyebrows, at the ajna or third eye point.

The two channels of energy represents the pairs of opposites, heat and cool, positive and negative, etc. A third current is singular and runs up the middle of the spinal column and is called the sushumna. In Kriya Yoga we work with these two energies to bring them into total balance and raise the kundalini or vital spiritual power through the central channel from the base of the spine to the third eye point.

These three currents, the ida, pingala and the sushumna correspond to their physical counterparts as the Ganga, Yamuna and the Sarasvati rivers. When these three currents merge at the third eye point your full attention is riveted to the ajna, just then you see a brilliant shining Light. The power of this confluence makes one sail through the triumvirate colors of the third eye and individual consciousness merges with the Infinite.

Prayag means place of offering, it is the place at the ajna where you offer yourself and all that you call your own at the feet of God. In this complete surrender you qualify to become one with pure Divinity. It is here that your entire spiritual practice and pilgrimage in life finds fulfillment, by repeatedly subsuming all that you are into the oceanic bliss of God you are purified of every limitation. It is God Himself who takes you by the hand and makes you a fit offering for this rite of total transformation.

Your life is no longer your own as God expresses Himself through you. For the true devotee there is nothing else he or she wants in life but to be God’s, and God’s alone. Every moment of your life you feel His power, bliss and intelligence flowing through every part of your Being. The river of individual consciousness originates from the Source of everything that is, and is ever running to the sea of All-consciousness! Such is the mystery when man is in God, and God is in man. Achieving this Goal of goals is the result of the confluence and the merging prayag within you.

 

Prayag

Yogacharya David
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Picture: At the Snake and Columbia Rivers Prayag

Prayag is a term from India that means “place of offerings.” It most often denotes the confluence of rivers (a Sangam), such as Allabad where the Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati rivers come together.

On our Pilgrimage trip back to the NorthWest we stopped at a North American prayag, where the Snake River meets the Columbia River. So many times we ascribe great meaning to sacred places that are in distant locations. It is not that such places do not deserve our reverence, but we can overlook those sacred spots that are close by.

A favorite pilgrimage spot for me in India is  Rudra Prayag, as the Ganga makes it way down from the Himalayas. There is  a sweet temple at the point of confluence at Rudra Prayag, and we had a powerful spiritual feeling on its banks. We had a similar, powerful experience at the confluence of the Snake and Columbia.

A wonderful peace and powerful spiritual vibrancy fills the air. A beautiful park by the name of Sacajawea has the shade of trees, cool green grass and a small but wonderful museum that exalts the superior character of Sacajawea who acted as guide for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Truly she had exceptional traits and was a harbinger of peace as the explorers made their way across the continent.

The park was quiet when we were there and we felt refreshed after some long hours/days of travel just by spending some time there. Part of the purpose in embarking on this North American Pilgrimage is to discover sacred places, both of Nature and man-made.

You may have places close by that are healing, regenerating and very uplifting that you may or may not have recognized or to which you may not have paid recent homage. Do yourself a favor and seek out those sacred places and receive their blessings, as well as adding your blessings to them from in your uplifted state of mind. Some places in Nature are simply spiritually charged, there may be spots where saints and those of high consciousness embued them with vibrational power, and then there are those spots that have become pilgrimage spots where over many years pilgrims have added their consciousness to an already powerful place.

May you be blessed in seeking out those places where you are spiritually quickened and find peace and healing simply by being open to their beneficent and hamonious vibrations.

Aum, Peace, Bliss, Amen.

Mother’s Day

Yogacharya David
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Durga Ma

We honor mothers everywhere for all that they do to make life itself possible, for their special brand of love that acts as a balm for the hurts and disappointments of life, and as they give in selfless service so that all may have happiness.

Our mothers are expressions of the Divine Mother. Here in the West we are not so prone to think of God as Divine Mother due to Jesus special emphasis on his Abba, his heavenly Father. But Jesus also spoke of the Holy Ghost, and in Aramaic (the language of Jesus) She is feminine. Jesus spoke of the Comforter of the Holy Ghost bringing truth, but also as the name implies She also comforts the soul. Even though the emphasis down through time has not been on the Divine Mother, still the basis is there in the original teachings of Jesus.

In the East the Divine Mother plays a much more prominent role. Many of the images in India of the Divine Mother are fierce, such as Durga riding upon a tiger and holding a sword, and Kali is forbidding with skulls and a bloody tongue. Symbology is rich here, but in the end devotees such a Ramakrishna testify that when you bravely enter into the mystery of the Divine Mother, behind the fierceness the Mother is beautiful beyond compare–and is so loving.

We can draw a lesson from this transformation from the fierce to a loving expression of the Divine Mother. This world is an expression of Divine Mother (Mother Nature). Oftentimes this world is a fierce place to live: there are hardships and pain, challenges and lack of harmony. When the nature of this world is bravely faced we see behind the mask of duality the loving expression of Divine Mother that ever seeks to comfort us and assures us of Her love.

Master wrote of the extreme pain he felt at the passing of his mother when he was yet just a boy. Through the power of his devotion and the grace of Master Mahasaya Divine Mother appeared to him and in Her eyes he saw his own mother’s eyes of love and compassion. Divine Mother told young Makunda that it was She who loved him through his earthly mother, and always would She love him.

Papa Ramdas also had a powerful relationship with Divine Mother. As he wandered across India penniless and exposed to the elements he thought of his Ram as Divine Mother who would look to his every need and be a comfort to him in his bold travels. He drew strength from thinking of God as Mother, and She was a solace to him in every need.

So, today I honor my own mother for her steadfast loving care she demonstrated in life. My heart melts when I think of so many expressions of Divine Mother I see loving and caring for the children of new generations; and for those ladies who have not had children, yet are great expressions of Divine Mother in love and compassion for so many. I bow at the feet of my own Gurudev, who is the true emobiment of Divine Mother. And, thinking on the Divine Mother I am instantly filled with Her loving, blissful nature. In truth there is no difference between Divine Mother in her universal form and her expressions through Her human forms; for through Her touch all transform into Her very Self.

These are my early morning thoughts as I contemplate in love and gratitude the Divine Mother in Her universal expression, and Her human loving kindness. The Infinite’s blessings to them all.

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Roses for the Divine Mother in you

Micro-moments of Joy

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Lake Mead bike ride–a micro=moment of joy!

As we make our way back to the Northwest we have found the journey to be smooth and delightful. After some busy days before leaving, then flying down here and preparing the motorhome for travel–retrieving it from its dusty storage–we made our way back to a place we enjoyed before near Wickenburg AZ. The quiet of the desert is much preferred to staying at an R.V. park where units are stacked like cordwood.

The next day we motored north to another familiar campground on the shores of Lake Mead, near Hoover Dam in Nevada. We have taken a day from travel to make a bike ride along a railroad line that has been converted into a trail, complete with tunnels under mountains and vistas of Lake Mead. We do have a schedule to keep in order to make it back in time for more doctor appointments. These appointments will point the way to another surgery and a probable course of treatment for the new tumor that was found on the liver.

In spite of a looming future and a schedule of travel to be mindful of, we have found joy in the journey. I have no real thoughts for these future events other than making calls and texting doctors and caregivers that need occasional promptings. Although I have been impressed with the speed and care of treatment, still it has required a sometimes steady stream of promptings to busy providers to keep things moving along properly.

So, while future events may provide plenty of reasons to be distracted, be in a mood, or spend time worried, I have found none of this to be my experience. Rather, there are innumerable sparks of joy, too many to count. Packed within each day discreet situations bring fulfillment, happiness, and connection with God. I have thought of these as micro-moments of joy.

These micro-moments of joy do not need to be extraordinary in any way. It can be simply driving down the road, feeling the warmth in the air, seeing a hummingbird tasting the nectar of a flower, or a vista of lovely desert mountains. If I were obsessed with the future or stressed by a schedule to keep, or any number of reasons to be distracted from the here and now I would surely miss these micro-moments of joy.

These micro-moments are available to all, but all too often our eyes do not see, our ears do not hear. Life is full of joyful moments, but how impoverished is the man who cannot enjoy them. It makes life dull and meaningless when there is no joy; or that joy is always deferred to a hoped for better future. God is joy, and unless we are actively participating in it then we are starving our souls of the very nourishment it absolutely needs.

No matter your situation you have available to you these micro-moments of joy. Do not let moods, concerns, fears or unbridled desires make you deaf and blind to everyday joy. Your meditation is designed to bring out that joy, God remembrance is joy itself, and such joy is not dependent upon wealth, health or situation–for God is transcendent to all such considerations. Jesus even proclaimed, blessed is he who mourns, for he shall be comforted. Comforted by who? Comforted by God who is to be found in the hearts of all, and God who comes to you in various forms He may choose to send.

Do not rob yourself of the present by banking all of your hopes upon an uncertain future or holding today under a microscope of what you think it should look like. You are a creature of joy, designed to live in bliss. Look for those moments today, now. Find micro-moments of joy all through the day, string these moments together and make a beautiful pearl necklace of God-joy. As the great Meher Baba exhorted us to do, “Don’t worry, be happy!”

 

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