"You are within God. God is within you," Peace Pilgrim

[Guest guest]

Greetings:

 

If you haven't heard about the person by name Peace Pilgrim, I suggest

that you visit the homepage: URL: http://www.peacepilgrim.com. The

book, "Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words" describes her

life and the electronic version is available at the URL:

http://www.peacepilgrim.com/book/index.htm

 

The first chapter of this book is reproduced here to give you a flavor

of the book. When you read this book, you can understand Vedanta on

practical terms. You can understand what is life and how to lead your

life.

 

Regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

CHAPTER 1: Growing Up

 

I HAD A VERY FAVORABLE BEGINNING, although many of you might not think

so. I was born poor on a small farm on the outskirts of a small town,

and I'm thankful for that. I was happy in my childhood. I had a woods to

play in and a creek to swim in and room to grow. I wish that every child

could have growing space because I think children are a little like

plants. If they grow too close together they become thin and sickly and

never obtain maximum growth. We need room to grow. We begin to prepare

for the work that we have to do and customarily we have no idea what we

are preparing for. So as a child I had no idea what I was preparing for.

And yet, of course, I was in many respects preparing. I was preparing

for the pilgrimage when I chose my rule of 'first things first' and

began to set priorities in my life. It led to a very orderly life and it

taught me self discipline - a very valuable lesson, without which I

could never have walked a pilgrimage. I carried it right into my adult

life. I received no formal religious training as a child. (It would be

less that I would have to undo from my mind later on!) My first view

inside a church was when I was twelve years old and I looked through the

doorway of a Catholic church to watch janitors clean the cathedral. When

I was sixteen I entered a church for the first time to attend a

wedding.

 

When I was a senior in high school I began to make my search for God,

but all my efforts were in an outward direction. I went about inquiring,

"What is God? What is God?" I was most inquisitive and I asked many

questions of many people, but I never received any answers! However, I

was not about to give up. Intellectually I could not find God on the

outside, so I tried another approach. I took a long walk with my dog and

pondered deeply upon the question. Then I went to bed and slept over it.

And in the morning I had my answer from the inside, through a still

small voice. Now my high school answer was a very simple answer --

that we human beings just lump together everything in the universe which

is beyond the capacity of all of us, and to all those things together

some of us give the name God. Well, that set me on a search. And the

first thing I did was to look at a tree, and I said, there's one. All of

us working together couldn't create that one tree, and even if it looked

like a tree it wouldn't grow.

 

There is a creative force beyond us. And then I looked at my beloved

stars at night and there's another. There's a sustaining power that

keeps planets in their orbit. I watched all the changes taking place

in the universe. At that time they were trying to keep a lighthouse from

washing into the sea. They finally moved it inland and said they had

saved it. But I noticed all these changes and I said, there's another.

There is something motivating towards constant change in the universe.

When I reached confirmation from within I knew beyond all doubt that I

had touched my highest light. Intellectually I touched God many times

as truth and emotionally I touched God as love. I touched God as

goodness. I touched God as kindness. It came to me that God is a

creative force, a motivating power, an over-all intelligence, an ever-

present, all pervading spirit -- which binds everything in the universe

together and gives life to everything. That brought God close. I could

not be where God is not. You are within God. God is within you.

 

1982, 1991 Friends of Peace Pilgrim: This book is

copyrighted only to prevent its being misused. People working for peace,

spiritual development and the growth of human awareness throughout the

world have our willing permission to reproduce material from this book.