Thoughts..

January 8, 2003

Namaste Everyone,

I have to admit I am a little discuraged about meditatiing ...not that I will

quit by any means...I've been doing it for so long...but I recently read that it

is almost impossible to become enlightened without a guru....I know that when

your ready for a guru they will come to you ...but I feel I will never meet a

guru here...I don't know of any in the US....except of course Amma but she comes

and goes and from what I know a guru is someone who teaches you all the

time..... maybe it will happen later in life and I have to be patient ....I am

just really serious about my path and would like to get into meditating as much

as possible....I know we all want to become enlightened...but the yearning for

me is becoming stonger for me year by year..... and I also Know that I have such

a long way to go.....if I didnt have any attachments I would seriously think of

moving to India to find a guru (or let them find me).... I do hope someday to

meet Amma.... I would love to experience the bliss.... just thoughts of mine....

-Robin

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti...

Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now

January 8, 2003

Ammachi, Robin Wilson <lilymoonjewel>

wrote:

>

> Namaste Everyone,

>

> I have to admit I am a little discuraged about meditatiing ...not

that I will quit by any means...I've been doing it for so long...but

I recently read that it is almost impossible to become enlightened

without a guru....I know that when your ready for a guru they will

come to you ...but I feel I will never meet a guru here...I don't

know of any in the US....except of course Amma but she comes and goes

and from what I know a guru is someone who teaches you all the

time..... maybe it will happen later in life and I have to be

patient ....I am just really serious about my path and would like to

get into meditating as much as possible....I know we all want to

become enlightened...but the yearning for me is becoming stonger for

me year by year..... and I also Know that I have such a long way to

go.....if I didnt have any attachments I would seriously think of

moving to India to find a guru (or let them find me).... I do hope

someday to meet Amma.... I would love to experience the bliss....

just thoughts of mine.... -Robin

>

> Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti...

>

Dear Robin,

If I may ask, what kind of meditation are you doing now? You

mentioned that you meditate and also that you are serious about

you're path. Have you ever had a spiritual teacher or guide in the

past? I would highly recommend meeting Amma when she comes this

summer. You're in Missouri, yes? So probably Chicago or Iowa might

work for you. I know you're having financial problems, but if you can

meet her, do! She is a very special being and her darshan would be

very beneficial for you. But you must meet her also to see if she is

right for you. Also, if you can't meet a guru at this time

physically, you could try this: Is there any being that you feel an

affinity for? Say, Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna, Yogananda,

Anandamayi Ma, Jesus, Buddha, etc. If so, set up an alter and place

their picture there. Meditate on them and follow one or more of their

teachings whole-heartedly. Remember that the true guru is the inner

Self, so you can meditate on effulgent being in the space of your own

heart. This can only lead you to your true guru and inner Self in

time. Why don't you try it.

Warmest regards, Lisa

January 8, 2003

(snip)I don't know of any in the US....except of course Amma but

she comes and goes and from what I know a guru is someone who teaches

you all the time...(snip)

You're confusing the good ole' days (long ago) with modern

spirituality. Spiritual life in this age isn't like the stories

told, where the guru is there and gives advice on everything and you

never do anything without asking your guru, etc. In my experience,

the few instances here in the US where that occurs, the guru is far

from Realized, however humble they may seem. A guru is there to

guide you, to encourage you to use discrimination, not to

discriminate for you or to make you choices for you (oh how much

simpler and easier that would be).

tom

January 9, 2003

--- "Tom <tomgull" <tomgull wrote:

> (snip)I don't know of any in the US....except of

> course Amma but

> she comes and goes and from what I know a guru is

> someone who teaches

> you all the time...(snip)

>

> You're confusing the good ole' days (long ago) with

> modern

> spirituality. Spiritual life in this age isn't

> like the stories

> told, where the guru is there and gives advice on

> everything and you

> never do anything without asking your guru, etc.

> In my experience,

> the few instances here in the US where that occurs,

> the guru is far

> from Realized, however humble they may seem. A

> guru is there to

> guide you, to encourage you to use discrimination,

> not to

> discriminate for you or to make you choices for you

> (oh how much

> simpler and easier that would be).

>

> tom

>

Namaste ,

I understand Guru is supposed to be self realized

as Amma is , however Guru does not need to be present

in physical form with the student all the time ,

that why Amma stresses the importance of following

the heart , that where Guru's true voice can be heard,

it is once intuition the silent voice . Even before

meeting Amma I could feel Her presence while

meditating ( meaning just thinking of Amma , reading

Her books ) , It is possible to develop internal

connection non physical with the guru , I think it

is a learning process to find that divinity eventually

in every living being , thus over time Amma might

appear in the form of flower , ocean , sky

ect.... . In gnostic scriptures Jeshua ( Jezus )

once sad , break a stone in half and I will be there

!, He knew that his physical forms come and go ,

eventually student will have to learn to follow the

Guru blind folded so to speak , following once heart !

Maybe that the reason why so many of us right now ,

dont have to opportunity to live in the physical form

with the Guru ( sometimes i think we have done it

once already ) now it is the time to find that Guru

in once heart ! of course with the help of Amma who

comes to cheer us up )) .

regards, Joanna P

>

Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.

http://mailplus.

January 9, 2003

om amritesvaryai namah

Amma says that the attachment to the Guru's form is healthy and will hasten

the falling away of all other attachments....but She also says not to get so

attached to the outer form as to lose sight of the Supreme Consciousness

behind it...and that Supreme Consciousness is within us, which is why Amma

says to stop listening to the mind, look within your heart, and you will

find Amma there.

but, She further states that true Satsang, meaning the company of

Self-realised beings, should very much be sought...She says the very

presence of a real master will fill you with bliss and weaken your vasanas.

this Satsang will give one a taste of what is to be sought within, and when

that is found, one enjoys the bliss of a permanent Darshan, and is

thereafter guided flawlessly through all the ups and downs of life...

just be patient, pray intensely to Amma, and go see Her this summer...you

will surely be given all that you need. have that faith.

In Amma,

~sucetas mon~

om lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu

_______________

MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*.

http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

January 9, 2003

--- "lbrachlin <lalita120"

<lalita120 wrote:

> Ammachi, Robin Wilson

> <lilymoonjewel>

> wrote:

> >

> > Namaste Everyone,

> >

> > I have to admit I am a little discuraged about

> meditatiing ...not

> that I will quit by any means...I've been doing it

> for so long...but

> I recently read that it is almost impossible to

> become enlightened

> without a guru....I know that when your ready for a

> guru they will

> come to you ...but I feel I will never meet a guru

> here...I don't

> know of any in the US....except of course Amma but

> she comes and goes

> and from what I know a guru is someone who teaches

> you all the

> time..... maybe it will happen later in life and I

> have to be

> patient ....I am just really serious about my path

> and would like to

> get into meditating as much as possible....I know we

> all want to

> become enlightened...but the yearning for me is

> becoming stonger for

> me year by year..... and I also Know that I have

> such a long way to

> go.....if I didnt have any attachments I would

> seriously think of

> moving to India to find a guru (or let them find

> me).... I do hope

> someday to meet Amma.... I would love to experience

> the bliss....

> just thoughts of mine.... -Robin

> >

> > Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti...

> >

>

> Dear Robin,

>

> If I may ask, what kind of meditation are you doing

> now? You

> mentioned that you meditate and also that you are

> serious about

> you're path. Have you ever had a spiritual teacher

> or guide in the

> past? I would highly recommend meeting Amma when she

> comes this

> summer. You're in Missouri, yes? So probably Chicago

> or Iowa might

> work for you. I know you're having financial

> problems, but if you can

> meet her, do! She is a very special being and her

> darshan would be

> very beneficial for you. But you must meet her also

> to see if she is

> right for you. Also, if you can't meet a guru at

> this time

> physically, you could try this: Is there any being

> that you feel an

> affinity for? Say, Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna,

> Yogananda,

> Anandamayi Ma, Jesus, Buddha, etc. If so, set up an

> alter and place

> their picture there. Meditate on them and follow one

> or more of their

> teachings whole-heartedly. Remember that the true

> guru is the inner

> Self, so you can meditate on effulgent being in the

> space of your own

> heart. This can only lead you to your true guru and

> inner Self in

> time. Why don't you try it.

>

> Warmest regards, Lisa

Dear Lisa, I am really glad to read your message. True

guru is none other than our Self(atman). 'Sat'sang

means "union with truth". This is only possible once

we are united with our inner Self which is nothing but

'Sat'-chit-ananda.

This is my personal experience that we can only change

once we start following our inner Self, not by

following once thoughts( which arise from ego), not by

reading moral books. Our elders may insist us many

times to letgo our negative habits, but it is so

difficult to change our habits(vasanas again from

ego), what I observed is that inspite of all these

externel pressures to change ourselves, we will never

change unless we start lisetning to our inner Self.

For example, I have some of my freinds and relatives

who meet Ammachi every year, but they changed very

little bit. I assume that they dont pay any attention

towards their inner Self, which is abode of truth, our

aim, our goal.

Ammachi herself said many times that she is not the

body, rather Self. Off course evrybody is Self but we

are not Self-Realised like her.

Infact Swami Vivekananda said, Each and every Human

being is potentially divine and our goal is to realize

that. As a matter fact Bagvad Gita literally means

"Song of the Self". Most of scriptres from Advaita

tradition like Avadhuta Gita, Ribhu Gita, Ashtavakara

Samhita(uncompromising Nonduality), Vivekachudamani,

Various Upanishads, offcourse all time calssical

Yoga-Vasista glorify nature, potential, beauty of our

inner Self(atman).

>

Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.

http://mailplus.

January 10, 2003

Hi Robin,

You're right, the scriptures say it is almost impossible to attain

enlightenment without the help of the Guru, but it's not impossible

for the Guru to guide you no matter how far away or even if you've

never met the Guru.

Here's a story out of the book by Savitri L. Bliss, "The Path of the

Mother," that might help to reassure you that it doesn't matter how

far you are physically from the Guru because the Guru is beyond the

restrictions of time and space. Just remember these 3 attributes of

the Guru when you're in doubt - Guru is omnipotent, omnipresent, and

omniscient. The Guru will find you when you're ready, no matter where

you are, and it sounds to me like Amma has found you!

In Amma's Love

Jon

Om Amriteswaryai Namah

-

Savatri tells the story of Swami Amritatmananda, one of Amma's first

disciples. He came from a well-to-do family who were against him

enering spiritual life. When he tried to move to the ashram his

parents tried to have him arrested and hospitalized for mental

instability. To protect Her disciple, Amma sent him to the Himalayas

to hide.

One day he happened upon a spiritual festival being held and there,

for some unknown reason, he was drawn to one of the spiritual seekers

in the crowd. The 2 ate dinner together and talked for awhile, then

the stranger invited Swamiji to his home, a cave on the banks of the

the Ganges.

Keep in mind that Swamji never told the stranger about Amma, he never

even brought up Her name. So Swamiji asked the stranger who his Guru

was? The Stranger replied that he did know who his Guru was. Swamji

found this answer to be very strange because the stranger was doing

very good spiritual practices. He wondered how it was possible that

he didn't have a Guru. The stranger then said that he does have a

Guru but doesn't know who that Guru is. Swamiji then asked him to

explain what he meant, how could he have a Guru but know who that

Guru is??

The stranger then explained that he had left his home at an early

age , wandering in the Himalayas searching for a Guru, but never

finding one. After coming upon an empty cave, he settled there. DAily

he practiced meditating on light, something he had learned from

books. One early mornning while meditating he saw an enormous light,

like 10,000 suns. Slowly the light reduced in size, finally taking

the shape of a human being. Slowly the light turned into a form

covered in a white sari. After sometime a figure emerged-a black lady

draped in a white sari. With a beaming smile She walked toward him.

Then opening Her arms in greeting, She said, "Son, I am your Guru. I

am your Guru. I came here to initiate you."

The stranger was crying as he told the story, after awhile he

said, "In that moment She gave me a mantra. But I don't know who that

lady was."

Swamiji got very excited, certain the lady must be Ammachi. He pulled

a small picture of Amma out of his bag; held the picture in front of

the stranger. Swamiji said "Do you know this lady? She is my Guru."

As soon as the stranger saw the picture he snatched it from swamiji,

went into a state of ecstasy and began dancing. He said, "This is the

same woman who came to me in my meditation!"

After awhile Swamiji left the cave and continued wadering about until

finally Amma sent word that it was safe to come back to the ashram.

Swamiji was so amazed at the incident in the cave that he related the

story to Amma and asked if She were this man's Guru?

Mother became very serious. She closed Her eyes. Her body became like

fire. Swamiji got a little scared, he felt as if he were in the

presence of something very powerful, some cosmic energy, like the

fire of the universe.

Then Ammachi spoke: "Do you think you 5 or 6 boys are my only

disciples? No. A lot of seekers and holy men wandering the Himalayas

are meditating upon me, doing their practices for the good of the

world. Some in other parts of the globe as well. They are all my

disciples. I initiated them."

------------------------------