On the Life-long Road

“Any person in our life appears just in time when we mostly need the lesson he/she is carrying”.

 

Beautiful World

On Saturday, we watched a movie “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson in the main part. Americans’ struggle for independence. Many families are ruined, houses are burnt. In the middle of the film, one of the characters asked what they were fighting for and another one answered that when they were free they would get an opportunity to build a new, beautiful, world.

This phrase just did not leave my mind… Americans got freedom. Two hundred years have passed since then. What is their world now? Loss of values, extreme consuming, money-thirstiness, spiritual coldness in families – what can be called beautiful there?

I do not say through hearsay. Having lived one year in the States (I met the millennium there), I also became infected with money making (though, on returning home, thank God, my zeal was cooled down).

Another example. India. The previous century. A struggle for freedom. India got physical independence by many victims. Not much time has passed since then (what are decades for history?) but what is happening in this country now where spirituality have been nurtured for centuries? Spiritual values are being exchanged for cheap aspects of western culture.

As being known everything that we create is the reflection of what we are inside. Only a pure (dharmic) person can create beauty around. As far as the beautiful world is concerned.

***

…Interviewer: The theory that scientists say that man came from a little cell from heaven know where; how did you feel about those?

Shri Mataji: It’s a fact, it’s a fact. He (man) came through a cell, evolved through a cell. How did he evolve? Why did he evolve? What is the purpose of his life? It is not all answered by science. What is the power that males you evolve? Also, that is not answered. So, in Sahaja Yoga you know all that. Not only you evolve but with the same power you go higher.

Interviewer: What is your theory about that then? Why are we here or, why are we so long in the process?

Shri Mataji: You see anything that you create, even human beings for example, you have created things. A beautiful lamp is to give us light, isn’t it, the power. So, that’s how God has created us, to give His power to us that we feel Him and know Him in our awareness and understand and we emit His powers and enjoy it; to say in the words of Christ ‘to enter into the kingdom of God’…

Interviewer: Is it what Self Realization means; that You mean as a Realized Soul?

Shri Mataji: Yes, Self Realization means when the Self, which is talked about in all the scriptures, starts emitting its manifestation in our conscious mind; means that time when we become aware of it. To this extent our central nervous system starts recording the power of our Spirit, of oneself and we start feeling the breeze-like vibrations of the Spirit which is called in the bible as the ‘Cool Breeze of the Holy Spirit’…

Interviewer: Two very interesting thoughts come to my head at this point. One, is it through being Realized that one gets to knowledge of what’s on the other side of death, as it were and two, whether one really through this Realization that one finds a little bit of God inside oneself?

The Sweetest Memory of the Week

What is your sweetest impression of the previous week? This question is simple but I have come across the fact that many people do not remember what they did at the weekend or last week (including the most pleasant moments) – so busy they are. What’s the purpose of our living then if we even do not remember what we do going along life? The psychologist in one American college used to say: “Every evening try to remember ten nice things which have happened to you during the day”. And this recommendation really helped many students overcome stress and homesickness, helped them look at life in a positive way.

So, do you remember?.. Anyway, this is a rhetorical question. I will tell you about my memory of the last week – the situation which is still before my eyes.

Three weeks ago a 10-year old son of our friends was knocked down by a bus when he was running across the road together with some other boys. His head got such a strong blow that the boy lost his consciousness and was in coma for a week. During this week the doctors could not predict how the process would develop.

We sent e-mails to several Sahaja Yogis in different parts of the world asking them to keep their attention at the boy’s physical and spiritual health and make a bandhan for him to recover sooner. These people do not even know Andrei and his parents but they know that we all are a big family, all the people are one, and if someone is suffering all the rest should and are willing to help him. On Friday, we got several nice e-mails from some yogis which were full of love and vibrations. An extract from one of them: “My heart was filled as I made a bandhan for Andrei today. May the Divine Mother establish Her all bliss on him and Shri Ganesha and Shri Hanumana help the boy recover faster than we human can ever anticipate. May Her love and bliss fill the boy to get well soon…” The same Friday Andrei recovered from coma.

He did come to his senses exactly in 7 days after the accident had happened. I visited the boy and his mother in the hospital on the third day after Andrei had recovered consciousness. I brought fruits and some other tasty things. At one point when I was there Andrei asked for a peach and his father started cutting slices from the peach I had brought and gave them to his son. The boy ate two or three slices and said, “Tasty!” When the father gave him one more slice, Andrei asked, “Treat mum to it”. The boys’ mother took the piece. Then, when his father cut a fifth slice, the boy asked him,

True Love

 

photo by the author of the blog

Pure love, which enlightens us all, is the real quality of the Heart Chakra. In the unrealized state we rarely love for love’s sake. Because of our conditionings we confuse feelings of love with those of possession, sex and selfishness. Pure love is detached, it gives without interest. Like the tree which gives shade to one and all, it is without prejudice and motive. True love is the quality that emanates from the Spirit and not from the body or mind. When we talk of loving someone, we should understand the direction in which this love is flowing. Bodily attraction is physical. It can arise out of sex appeal or the conditioned response to a dream image of a prince charming or even from an artist’s or ad-man’s projection. There are even those who exercise seductive arts to ensnare a good “catch”.

We can see this in whose who indulge in excessively trendy fashions. These people are especially at risk in their relationships because they relate not as two Spirits, but as two fashionable physical forms. This kind of physical attraction is not true love because it comes from the mind, and mind does not love – it merely wants. When the want of the mind is attained, then the novelty wears off. For instance a child is excited and attached to a new toy, but after a few days as the novelty wears away, the excitement dies. The same occurs with relationships which are based simply on physical attraction. That which is illusory cannot love or be loved; it is a fancy of the eyes which Shakespeare aptly described:

The True Path

 

When we are following Our Path, the supreme power is supporting us. “It is called a Benevolent Beginning, – remembered he the words of the old man. – Beginners are lucky. As life wants the man to follow his Path” (“Alchemic” by Paulo Koello). Under the words “One’s Own Path” Koello, according to “Alchemic”, means “one’s own destination in life”.

Perhaps, I love life so much because everything I am doing is a pleasure for me. (Confucius: “Start doing what you like and you will have to work not a day in your life”). And if it so, does not it mean that the path which I am going along is true (for me)? (And, consequently, if there is no joy and content, then, obviously, the true destination is still lying somewhere waiting until it is found). As I see it now, the idea that life should be joy, that one should live but not merely exist settled in my mind already in my teen years. From there, photography, translation, painting, knitting, teaching, etc. have taken their roots… and it seems to be just the beginning :).

Koello continues saying that every person is constantly given signs showing him the true (for him) path (in the same way “luck” in one’s deeds also testifies to the right way), “You will find the way there following the sings which God marks everyone’s path with. You should only be able to read what is written for you”.

I remember when I read “Alchemic” for the first time most part of it was an amazing discovery for me (though only some theory based on somebody else’s life and not mine). And today I can prove the author’s idea of the signs with the examples from my own life (I think because I have become more observant :)).

Some 5 years ago it was very difficult for me to make the choice – the choice of the future path in life (two opposite ways were lying in front of me). I really tried to prolong the situation watching how it was becoming worse. Once in the evening, when I was reading a book (“The Fifth Mountain”, again by Koello) and unexpectedly for myself read in one of its paragraphs of how important it was for the main character to make the choice and of how he finally made it, I found the solution to my problem. And now, after 5 years, I am so happy that I made that very choice.

This autumn, life again put me in front of the necessity to choose my way (one thing is to choose apples at the market and absolutely another one is to choose one’s path in life). I was offered interesting work (for 3-4 months) the interview for which I had passed at the beginning of 2006. The money offered was good but the work was some 1000 km away from the native city and, consequently, from my husband and all the other things I was busy with here. First, like 5 years before, I tried to solve the question logically having drawn a table with two columns: pros and cons.

A Problem or a Motivation to Act? Part 2.

I was trying to remember some example from my life to illustrate the idea raised in “A Problem or a Motivation to Act?” It turned out to be quite a hard task for me as what was a problem for me in the past stopped being it in the present.

When we bought our village house 2 years ago, all the weekends, from morning till night, were devoted to its cleaning and repairing. For example, we spent three weekends repairing the borehole and trying to fit the electric pump there. And finally, by the end of Sunday, everything had been done! There was so much joy when we saw water pouring from the hose without any breaks! We send water off into the air enjoying the rainbow, splashed, watered blackcurrant bushes growing near the house. In a word, we poured water from the bottom of our hearts…
And suddenly something strange happened. The bricks with which the wall of the 2-meter pit (for the borehole and pump) was faced started first slowly and then quicker to go down into the bottom of the pit. In a word, it was a catastrophe! The water, which we had been pouring near the house, went into the ground and the swelled ground began to push the bricks carefully laid by the previous owners of the house out into the pit. Then the soil followed after the bricks. Naturally, we stopped the stream of the water. And it seemed that the process of brick-falling also stopped. But it started raining…

So, what do you think about this problem which happened to us at the end of Sunday after two previous days filled with work? No way could we leave everything as it was as it meant that there was a wide hole leading into our house from outside. We collected all our will and not thinking about the difficulty of the situation and supported by the “second breath” we started digging the ground in the place it collapsed (i.e. outside, near the house). On the depth of 0,5 meter we put metal sheets which we had found in the house and some soil above them. We also made major repairs in the pit. The next weekend my husband made a canopy starting right from the roof for the rain water to fall down at some distance from the house.

Already in a few days we appreciated the true value of the situation we had faced. Heavy rains started then and they could lead to the same situation. And as we were not in the village on the working days, nobody knows what it could have ended up with. And besides, due to the idea to make a canopy, we can make shishkebab when it is raining now. Moreover, my husband and I were so proud of each other for the shown patience, hardiness and determination when repairing the wall of the pit.

So, there is always a ray of light in any situation, isn’t it?

Thought of the idea: “Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today. Don’t make the other do what you can do yourself” (Thomas Jefferson).

photo by the author

A Problem or a Motivation to Act?

Today, while talking with my comrade on the phone about everyday life, I drew her attention to the fact that joy should be within, that shopping, discos, trips to other cities and countries elevate our mood but not for a long time. To my statement she reacted with a question, “What does it mean “joy within”?” I replied that it is the ability of a person to see joy. If one needs something extraordinary (sky diving or mountaineering) to go beyond despondency at least for some time, another can see joy at his every step whether it is the first snow or a letter written to a friend. Almost having agreed with me, my comrade made one more question, “And what about problems? How one can be happy when he is almost sunk in problems?”

Obviously, the saying “Everything done is for the better” has existed since long ago not for nothing. Of course, one can realize it with his mind and go on about it at every “negative” event – may be such self-inspiration will work out. But one can also look at his life from aside like a viewer when he watches an interesting movie and, I am sure, it is possible to see a happy ending in every twist of life. Thus, all the problems are for our benefit, for our correction. We try not to repeat previous mistakes, not to turn out in foolish situations and in such a way we are growing. And if we do understand it, life is joy for us. Everything that makes us upset is just a myth, an illusion. And if we ourselves have this joy, cheerfulness of the Spirit, it is passing itself on to the people surrounding us. And we become… – the centre of attraction for all positive.

I know it is quite easy to build theories like I am doing. Then, it is high time for examples! I have recently read a story told by one Sahaja Yogi from Arab Emirates. “When I came to Dubai I did not have work, went to various interviews and tried to find a job in some big company. I was upset as many companies offered me very low salary and such offers were not interesting for me. One of those days I came to an interview to a leading tourist company. They told me that they would contact me but I did not get any answer during a long time. Meanwhile I got an offer to fill the position of a sales manager in another company and I agreed. I had completely forgotten about the tourist company thinking that the work of a sales manager had been prepared for me by life. During that time I got a chance to book airplane tickets for a Sahaja collective from Dubai for them to go to the international festival. I wished more opportunities would appear for me to help my relatives, friends and acquaintances! Believe it or not, once the top secretary of that tourist company called me and said that the president of the company would like to meet me. I was taken aback and could not guess the reasons for that. I went there, met with him and he told me that he had heard about me from some airplane companies and then he offered me the position of the director’s assistant in one of their branch offices. It was like a dream for me. And I immediately accepted the offer”.

For the examples from my life, please, go to “A Problem or a Motivation to Act? Part 2”.

Thought for the day: “The person who starts living for the soul is like a person who brings light into a dark house. The darkness immediately disperses. Be persistent in such life and complete enlightenment will take place in you” (Buddhist wisdom).

photo by the author

The Battle inside Us

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

photo by the author of the blog

Why not make wonders everyday reality?

Two weeks ago, I got two letters from different people with different content. But the topic of both of them was the same: faith can move mountains.

Faith into what? Christians, Muslims, Jews have faith but not all of them manage to do something that goes beyond the standard limits of existence (for example, recovery from cancer). However, there those among them who have cured themselves and others, who changed life circumstances when it seemed that it was impossible. So, what is the trick?

A Sunday in May

Heat. Some neighbor has said that it is thirty degrees above zero. It seems Central Russia is the hottest area in Europe now. It is so bewitching to lie on the bedding made of mowed grey-haired dandelions and to look into the blue cloudless sky. High above there are swifts flying and seagulls soaring. What are seagulls doing in such heights? It seems they are just enjoying. Enjoying as they do not need to flap their wings but they can only float on the air streams. Verily, Richard Bach chose the right image for Jonathan seeking the truth.

In the wooden house it is not so hot but the warm air is already crawling here, too. Should I go to weed?.. The sun is burning my hands and warming up my head. “Warmth is great, it is pleasant for the body but still… can it be a bit cooler?”

As it is said, pure desire… (and, I suppose, not only mine). At about six in the evening wind arises. It is heard to bow the trees behind the window. “Something will happen!” When you go to have at look at the nature, you can see a rich dark-blue cloud rising from above the close horizon of the nearest village. The wind is bending birches so strongly that their leaves are turning inside out and because of it the chevelure of the birch-trees turn from light emerald into pale green. And around you there are great numbers of little dandelion parachutes whirling in circles.

The cloud has almost approached us. “Fine, I will not have to water the plants today!”

In five minutes the cloud was driven to the right. The wind calmed down. The sun begins to warm up the Earth and everything on it again. I am taking the watering-can (a small one and that is why I have to go to the beds many times) with a thought: “If one does not water radishes much, they will not become sweet”… I have finished – everything is watered!

And at that moment it starts lightening seriously and properly: a lightning on the right, a lightening on the left, two lightening in front. Wow! It was thundering for five minutes without a break. The clouds gathered from all the directions. Except for the wind and thunder, there are no sounds – the nature stands still. There is a clear feeling that something will happen now not only outside but inside as well.

The downpour looked like a wall. The wind brought coolness – the soul was rejoicing!

***

Though it rejoiced only until the water started pouring from behind the roof into the house. It was not in the main room, just in the backyard but from all the chinks unknown to us till this moment. The decision is taken immediately: we are staying in the village house for the night to patch the roof early in the morning.

It was the right decision… At five in the morning, when you are going with your feet bare along the glade towards the rising sun, the blades covered with dew are caressing your feet, like small brushes, so tenderly.

photos by the author