As some of you may have noticed, I’ve not been posting
lately. Things became so busy, writing
for the weblog fell far down the list of things to do and once one stops, it’s
hard to start up again. That said, I’m
going to try something different. Here
in India, we are trying to improve our website (www.anandaindia.org) and I have begun to
write short, inspirational pieces for it.
My thought is to also post those here and when inspired to do so, add a
few comments that won’t appear on the Ananda India site. Below is my first effort.
The following piece was inspired by my observation that
people often come onto the spiritual path with great enthusiasm but have a
difficult time keeping their inspiration high enough to counteract the
continual pull of the world. In time,
inspiration fades and people are drawn to other pursuits in their quest to find
happiness or fulfillment. I
see this everywhere and certainly not least in India. Good intentions are plentiful but
follow-through is often lacking.
It's not unique to India but it is common here for students to mistake intellectual knowledge of a subject for actual understanding of it and of the need to put our idealism into practice, day after day. To hear a good discourse, read an inspiring book, visit a temple or even to have darshan with a saint is not enough. As Yoganandaji said to an Indian disciple who complained about his lack of progress, "God's blessings are there. My blessings are there. It is your blessings that are lacking."
This tendency toward casual effort is counterbalanced here by the fact that most people actually do want God in their lives, a sentiment not so readily found in the West. The divine hunger seems stronger in India and for that, I'm grateful. The mountain is high but at least some are willing to climb.
It Takes Good Karma
Brother Norman, one of Swami Kriyananda’s fellow monks at
SRF, was going through a difficult period and lamented to Paramhansa Yogananda,
“I must not have very good karma, sir.”
His guru replied strongly, “Remember, it takes very, Very, VERY good
karma even to want to know God!”
To seek God, to find a true path or to have a God-realized
guru is a rare blessing. Compared with
these, whatever obstacles we face are trivial.
If you love God and truly seek His blessing, be reassured you are
blessed already. God guides and protects
His devotees.
A corollary to the story about Norman is less remembered. Swamiji explained, when asked why some
devotees left the ashram and their guru’s guidance, “Only a very few come into
this life with enough good karma to keep them on the spiritual path for a
lifetime.” Good karma from the past
reawakens our desire for God but we mustn’t become complacent. If we allow it to expire or grow stale, other
karma comes to pull us elsewhere.
It’s a mistake to imagine our longing for God will last
without additional support. We may
think, “My love for God is so strong. I’ll always feel this way.” Beware! Like
a fire burning brightly, unless additional fuel is added, it slowly dwindles to
embers to await a future lifetime to flare again.
For the spiritual seeker, it’s vital to keep one’s
inspiration replenished. Remember and hang onto those blissful feelings and
enthusiasm you experienced when you first came to the spiritual path in this
life. Reawakened “sleeping soldiers of
spiritual qualities from past lives” came to your aid to spur you forward. Once aroused through meditation and devotion,
our “army” needs nourishment to carry us forward.
“Make hay while the sun shines,” is good advice for both
farmers and devotees. I find those periods when I feel even a little
spark of inspiration to be the best times to exert extra effort in my
meditation. When I’ve allowed those moments to pass unattended, they seem to have
come less often. Pay attention and when grace knocks at your door, invite it in
before it passes and goes elsewhere. And
what if you feel no grace or inspiration?
Hold on to God like a sailor lashes
himself to a mast during a storm. The sun will eventually come out again and
when it does, be ready to set your sails of devotion. Pray as God’s child until you receive His
answer.
Oh Father, I hold my
heart in my folded hands. Teach me to saturate my prayers with Thy love. Give
me the simple, sincere devotion toward Thee of a child. Teach me to realize Thee just behind the
voice of my prayer. – Whispers from Eternity
