I must say that the spiritual benefits of comparing ideas have been reciprocal, I have my own biases at times and it is good to have reasoned feedback that stimulates the brain to see other scenarios.
After reading this I thought of you and some of the choices you’ve made in life in comparison to my choices.
“Our spiritual search must begin with selfless service to the world. People will be disappointed if they meditate, expecting a third eye to open after closing the other two. This is not going to happen. We cannot close our eyes to the world in the name of spirituality and expect to evolve. To behold oneness while seeing the world through open eyes is spiritual fulfillment “ Amma And thought of you. Because I have often spent long hours in meditation in the past. Nothing like some of the saints we read about in the Autobiography, yet I often wonder about Amma’s quote. She did seem to have a very extraordinary degree of understanding and awareness and was actually able to transfer her love and bliss to others and myself. She helped me ‘see’ the lights of some of the chakras. It is more challenging for me to spend for instance 5 or 6 hours on Sunday sitting with other devotees at the Lake Shrine and 3 hours every Friday night at the Hollywood temple when these places are so far away from where I am today. I often wonder if I will be able to have that opportunity and experience again this life. Spending many years off and on with Amma I saw a different path then the path Paramahansa Yogananda laid down for us. Yet the spiritual life I was exposed to in the presence of Amma, I found equally important. I went with other SRFers to see her and saw Master’s devotees at her retreats. For me it was a tremendous blessing to be in her presence. It reminded me of some of the experiences Paramahansa Yogananda had with other spiritual giants in the Autobiography of a Yogi.
I know you have spent much of your life in selfless service to the world. That is why I included this quote here. I have challenges just meditating twice a day and practicing all the Self Realization Fellowship meditation techniques. Although at times i practice the IAM technique that Amma gave us. It is quite a blessing also. Her mission in service to the world, as divine Mother, is quite remarkable and different in some ways than what Paramahansa Yogananda brought us. More of a karma yogi then a Kriya yogi. Yet she continues to be a presence and part of my every day experience. I still remember her answering me about my path with Paramahansa Yogananda she replied; “All the same. All the same.”. Everytime I asked her anything I had such wonderful encouragement on the spiritual journey.
Even though we are alone with God on our spiritual journey, at times people come in our life that have their own lives and separate perspectives, giving us something special to look at, encouraging us in a direction we may have not recognized and realized how important it is in our own journey.
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