Travel Note: We have migrated north of Boston at a wooded campground near Concord, where British troops had march in April of 1775 to take a stash of guns from the colonists. The colonial militia here were known as Minutemen (the militia could be ready for action in one minute). The malitia resisted the British troops, and it was the first shot of what became a revolutionary war, the shot that was heard round the world. We had not planned to come to Concord, but Ram herded us here quite unexpectedly. And I might say, we are delighted to be here. for not only is this an historical revolutionary site, but it also the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson (a fully realized sage), another transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau (Walden Pond is nearby), Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott and Louisa May Alcott. Concord was originally known as Musketaquid, an Algonquian name for grassy plain, a prayag where the Sudbury and Assabet rivers join. Ram is ever kind in his direction for His pilgrims as they wander without any fast plans; only by His direction.
The World Is God is the title of one of Swami Ramdas’ books, a description of his travel around the world and finding his beloved Ram wherever he went, in whomever he met; including his first meeting with Mother Hamilton in Seattle. For Papa, Swami Ramdas, during his sadhana days the world had taken on a wonderful transformation in which he came to see that the world truly is God. He describes his awakening to this great Reality in this way:
In this cave he lived for nearly a month in deep meditation of Ram [God]. This was the first time he was taken by Ram into solitude for His Bhajan. Now, he felt most blissful sensations since he could here hold undisturbed communion with Ram. He was actually rolling in a sea of indescribable happiness. To fix the mind on that fountain of bliss – Ram, means to experience pure joy!
Once, during the day, when he was lost in the madness of Ram’s meditation, he came out of the cave and found a man standing a little away from the mouth of the cave. Unconsciously, he ran up to him and locked him up in a fast embrace. This action on the part of Ramdas thoroughly frightened the friend who thought that it was a mad man who was behaving in this manner and so was afraid of harm from him. It was true, he was mad – yes, he was mad of Ram, but it was a harmless madness which fact the visitor realised later. The irresistible attraction felt by him towards this friend was due to the perception of Ram in him. “O Ram, Thou art come, Thou art come!” – with this thought Ramdas had run up to him. At times, he would feel driven to clasp in his arms the very trees and plants growing in the vicinity of the cave. Ram was attracting him from all directions. Oh, the mad and loving attraction of Ram! O Ram, Thou art Love, Light and Bliss. Thus passed his days in that cave. (In Quest of God; Chapter X: This and a number of Ashram books are now available for download at no cost at: www.anandashram.org)
Such a transformation of experiencing God as pure joy and seeing Him in all creation is not unique to Papa, or just a favored few, but to all who would strive for this universal vision.
We read in the Bible that we are all made up of God-stuff! Genesis 1:26: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Our Soul is in inseparable union with God as His likeness–this union is pure bliss, unalloyed joy, conscious realization of our oneness with the infinite, eternal Reality. We do spiritual practice in order to re-member, bring back together that which is seemingly separate. The ultimate truth is that humankind is, and ever has been, an expression of God, we are made in His image. However, we have a veil of ignorance, drawn like a curtain, that makes us believe we are forever separate.
Union, yoga, with God is our natural state, and our spiritual practice brings to conscious awareness this pre-existent fact. During my sadhana I was taken through a state of awakening in which such divine love flowed through my heart; this,combined with the experience of being immersed in an ocean of love that permeated all the world. Divinity was in the plants, trees, the air I breathed and in the ground upon which I stood.
As I write this the thin bubble of individuality dissolves and consciousness spreads out in all directions, the sound of Aum reverberates throughout, creation trembles with the power of the Holy Ghost and nature’s blueprints stand revealed as thought-creations of an infinitely wise and loving Creator. Beyond this creation is pure Spirit, unadorned, unchangeable–ever as it has been–beautiful beyond words, perfect, pure and pristine. These three aspects of God, creation, thought-forms of the Creator, and changeless Spirit beyond duality is the trinity–One as three and three in One–Father, Son and Holy Ghost. For, the same perfection permeates all three, making them one, whole and complete. God loves to express Himself, and thus gives rise to the idea of seeming separateness, but only so that pure Spirit may enjoy the play, the lila–and for no other reason. But enough talk! I am dissolving once again into that chamber of the infinite and eternal–let us plunge together into the sea of Pure Being, Consciousness, and Bliss–it is what an aspirant must do, so why wait another moment!
