Alitos e Chriseos: Christ Is Risen

Xpistos Anesti ek Nekron, thanato thanaton patisas, ke tous en tois nimasis, zoiv garisamenos
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death by death and bestowing life to those in the tombs

Christ, Krishna and the Holy Trinity: Reflection

Good Friday

When the masters return to earth, they often have to endure great suffering. Christ was crucified, Krishna went to war and more modern masters endure deep suffering of slander and gossip.

Do not lament at the behaviour of fellow humans toward these Masters. We should focus rather and learn from the response of the Masters in their time of great suffering and adversity.

There are many lessons to be learnd from the Passion, which took place today, over two thousand years ago.

On the path to Calvary, Jesus did not wipe his brow of the blood and sweat from his wounds. In all humility He allowed those who loved him to do so for Him. Despite being cripled by pain, He continued to carry His cross until He was physically no longer able to do so.

And Just before the hour of his death He cried out "Father forgive them for they know not what they do"

Never once did He let the cup of suffering pass Him by. He Accepted: and in so doing, changed the life of the world forever

Christ, Krishna and the Holy Trinity: Meditation

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the world was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him: and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life: and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness: and the darkness comprehended it not

St John 1: 1-5

Meditate on this, in conjunction with Monday's blog which may reveal further insight into the "Word"

Christ, Krishna & The Holy Trinity : Introduction

The following extract from "The Essence of Self Realization" will explain Christ, The Holy Trinity and then link the underlying concepts to the philosophy of Hinduism.

Of such Glory and Magnificence is this insight offered by Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, that i have decided to share it in the start to this, Passion Week, the Holiest Week in the Christian Calendar. As we prepare for Christ’s upcoming Death and Resurrection, I feel it necessary to share this with you. If you do not understand it at first, do not throw it away. Keep it until you do.

May the Glory of Magnificence of Christ forever shine in our lives:


"Once the mind is interiorized, “Paramhansa Yogananda said “ and withdrawn from its identification with the world and with the body, the inner light comes into clear and steady focus. The inner sounds become all- absorbing. Aum fills the brain: its vibration moves down the spine, bursting open the door of the heart’s feeling, and then flowing out into the body. The whole brain vibrates with the sounds of Aum.

“Gradually, with ever deeper meditation, the consciousness expands with that sound. Moving beyond the confines of the body, it embraces the vastness of infinite vibration. You realize your oneness with all existence as Aum, the Cosmic Vibration.

“This state is known as Aum Samadhi or union with God as Cosmic Sound. Aum is that aspect of the Christian Trinity which is known as the Holy Ghost, or Word of God

“By still deeper meditation, one perceives in the physical body, underlying the Aum vibration, the vibrationless calm of the Christ Consciousness, the reflection in creation of the unmoving Spirit beyond creation

“In ancient spiritual tradition, the Christ Consciousness is spoken of as the Son. For just as, among human beings, the son if a reflection of the Father, so in cosmic consciousness the Christ – in Sanskrit call Krishna, or Kutastha Chaitanya – reflects in all things the consciousness of God, the Father, beyond creation.

“By deeper meditation still, on goes beyond creation and unites his consciousness with that of the Father, Satchidananda, the vast ocean of Spirit.

“In these progressive stages of realization are discovered, in reverse order, the three aspects of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

“Jesus was called the Christ. Many people are not aware that Christ wasn’t the name given him at birth. It was a title signifying ‘the anointed of God’ or ‘chosen by God’ (see Luke 23:55).

“In the same way, Krishna in India was really Jadava the Krishna – or Christna, as it is sometimes written to show the meaning is the same.

“Jesus was a master. He had attained the Christ Consciousness. Anyone who attains that state of consciousness may be justifiably also be called the Christ, for he has dissolved his ego into the infinite consciousness.

“Aum, the Holy Ghost, is also referred to in ancient traditions as the Mother, for it represents the feminine aspect of God.

“The Roman Catholic Church teaches that one must go through the Mother to reach Christ. To them (us) of course, the Mother signifies Mary, the Mother of Jesus. For all that, the truth is there, though far deeper than the generally accepted understanding of it.

“For, to reach Christ Consciousness, you must first unite your consciousness with Aum, the Cosmic Vibration.

“Self- realization means the realization that your true Self is not ego, but God, the vast ocean of Spirit which manifested for a time the little wave of awareness that you now see as yourself.”

The folly of materialism: Reflection

They say that Time heals all things! In this case, Time dries out all things!! I am pleased to say that with time, I have received some dried- out- clarity into this situation.

The lessons tie into the teachings of my most beloved Guru, Sri Sri Swami Vishwananda, who told me when I took the vows of Brahmacharia (monkhood) that I should give up my worldly possessions as these would one day be taken from me, even if it would be by death itself.

He went on to say that the longer i held onto the material possessions, the more difficult it would be one day to give them up. He concluded with a cheerful smile and said that of course nobody would ever be able to take these worldly goods with them to the next world, so rather give them up whilst it remained a matter of personal choice.

The flood that tore through our home has resulted in us having to give up our some “prized” material possessions. And when meditating on this, now after a little time has passed, I am experiencing the lesson that Guruji had taught me.

Since that conversation with Guruji, I have left the order of Brahmacharia and returned to live in the outside world. As a result I have changed my perception of that beautiful insightful offered to me some 4 years ago.

As people who part take in the outside world, (including you and me) it may not be as easy to simply give up our material possessions as we may need them in order to satisfy the ego part of our personality and also to survive in the outside world.

Instead of simply giving up the worldly possessions, we should closely look at our relationship with them. By way of detachment we my still obtain freedom from these worldly possessions whilst simultaneously remaining their “custodians”.  Nothing ever truly belongs to us.

For me Detachment is about being able to to live peacefully with or without the things which surround me. The ultimate test in detachment is this:  If my house, my car or even my jobs gets taken away from me in a split second, will I be okay?

Detachment is about standing back and watching life go by, as a river flows past a person standing on its banks. We may still have the worldly goods in our lives, but we should remaining ever conscious that they are not who we are and that they do not define us. We are so much more!

I know these words to be true. I am grateful to God and Guru as I have a deep sense that many of my worldly possessions were washed away, and yet I lost nothing.

Amen

The folly of materialism: Meditation:

Possession of material riches, without inner peace, is like dying of thirst while bathing in a lake. If material poverty is to be avoided, spiritual poverty is to be abhorred!
It is spiritual poverty, not material lack, that lies at the core of all human suffering.
 - Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda

The folly of materialism: Introduction

My car has recently been written off due to water damage to the electrics after the flood that washed through our house two weeks ago today.

I have been most fortunate to have borrowed a 14 year old car from a dear and special friend to help me get by. I have throroughly enjoyed driving around in the little white 1.6 honda luxline, as it it my friend and it has taught me many lessons.

Stepping out of my life after the flood and looking back in, I see how utterly easy it is in our modern, western society to define ourselves by the house and suburb we live in, the car we drive and our jobs. I know from my own personal experience that the cost of this image which we present to the world, is often greater than the actual rands and cents spent, the cost is that this set up actually keeps us stuck in a great and clever illusion.

Yogananda said " I once saw a cartoon drawing of a dog hitched to a small, but well -laden cart. The dog's owner found an ingenious method of getting it to pull the cart for him. A long pole, tied to the cart, extended forward over the dog's head. At the end of the pole there dangled a sausage, temptingly. The dog, straining in vain to reach that sausage, hardly noticed the heavy cart he was dragging along behind him.
"How many business people are like that! They keep thinking 'If I can make just a little more money, I'll find happiness at last'. Somehow, their 'sausages of happiness' keeps receding from their grasp. As they strain to reach it, however, just see what a cart load of troubles and worries they drag along behind them"

Lets not miss the point: My Vision for this log

It is wonderful to have a blog. It is a wonderful opportunity to express my own life experiences in a way that gives everything meaning. I have had such lovely feedback from friends and family and this keeps me inspired and motivated. Thank you!

I have decided that i will blog three times a week: on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I have also decided to focus on one theme each week, thus giving me the opportunity to write one something dear to me and then to intergrate it and / or expand on it if necessary over the following days.

My vision for this blog is simply to use this as a tool to keep my heart open. As we all know, with an open heart, ALL things are possible. And open heart gives life meaning and fills it with love and joy! Keeping an open heart is also the reason for our partaking in various spiritual practices!

Combined, all these things assist us in keeping our mind's pure and our heart's open.  We are thus able to love.

And for Love:
Love is patient and kind;
love is not jealous, or conceited, or proud;
love is not ill-mannered, or selfish or irritable;
love does not keep a record of wrongs;
love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth.
Love never gives up: its faith, hope and patience never fail
Love is eternal......
There are faith, hope and love,
these three
but the greatest of these is love
1 Corinthians 13

On friendship

To our friends, we should be non attached, yet loving and ever faithful.

"When i dont see my friends, i dont miss them. But when i see them, i never tire of them"
- Parahamsa Yogananda

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God

A little while ago I pictured, in my minds-eye, my own life as a Christmas-Tree. I did not fully understand symbolism of it at the time, but as the days have since unfolded, so I have obtained some clarity on the gift that was then presented to me.

I have recently been given an icon of Jesus and His 12 Disciples by my beloved Guru, Sri Swami Vishwananda. Christ is at the centre of the icon and all the Disciples are linked to him by a Tree: The Tree of Life.

By further reflection I have considered the possibility that a Christmas Tree, which we routinely place in our homes at the time of the Lords birth, could very well represent The Tree of Life- through- Christ: A Christmas Tree. Ultimately this could denote our Spiritual Life- through- Christ.

All the different aspects of my life such as my home, my relationship, my friends and family, my work, and my studies could then represented by the majestic little Christmas decorations placed over the tree.

When we put the Christmas Tree up, we work hard to ensure that decorations are carefully placed so that the tree will look neat and tidy and remain well balanced. There should never be too many decorations as a crowded tree would lose its effect. And so it is the same with the different aspects of our daily lives: our lives should be well balanced and not over-crowded with clutter; otherwise it would lose its effect.

Just as the branches of the Christmas Tree support the decorations, so too should our spirituality support all different aspects of our daily lives. By allowing our spirituality to be the Tree on which we hang all aspects of our lives, all these aspects would ultimately benefit.

Jesus said “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you” - Matthew 6:33

Correction: The Serinity Prayer

In my Acceptance blog of 24 March, I incorrectly said that the Serenity prayer was written by St Fransis of Assissi. It was in fact not, and for this I humbly apologise.

The Serenity Prayer was written in the 1930’s by an American preacher called Reinhold Niebuhr and was then adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and various 12-Step programs following the success of AA.

Serenity Prayer:
Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change,
The courage to change the things i can,
And the wisdom to know the difference


The Prayer of St Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen

Reflection

If you do not go within
You will go without