Sadhana for Navatrati, and beyond

[Guest guest]

Namaste

I am sorry if the comments about Swami's sadhana frightened you. That

was not my intention. I wished to express that each devotee expresses

their sincerity and love for Mother / Father God in a way that suits

their temperment and their level of consciousness. As you know, it

takes discipline, sacrifice, and devotion to reach one's goal. Whether

one wants to play professional sports, become a heart surgeon, or a

Saint.

In this tradition, as well as many others, there are spiritual

practices which take one out of one's comfort zone, and force one to

confront one's limitations, and ultimately surrender them in order

that a higher level of consciousness is achieved.

A simple example from my life: every day of the 9 days of Navaratri,

Maa wants the devotees at the Temple every morning at 4:30 am. Now,

this is a big stretch for me. I love to sleep, and I feel it is

important to be rested. But, I know in my heart and mind, that

" stretching " is necessary. Why stretch you ask? Well, the answer is

simple: I trust Maa and Swami. I have seen by their example that one

has to " stretch oneself " , in order to discipline the mind and body.

Only when one is disciplined, can one hope to attain to a steady and

full relationship with the Divine. The subtle energies are so

powerful, one has to be ready and able, mentally, emotionally, and

physically, to receive them.

So, I get up 4am, and drive 15 minutes to the Temple, and pray with

the others. The benefit: feeling closer to Maa and Her subtle loving,

healing energy, and, feeling good that I was able to discipline myself .

This " stretching " is not limited to our tradition.

As I have explored the lives of saints and sages of all faiths over

the past 35 years, I have read numerous accounts of devotees of all

faiths performing acts of devotion which would be seen as severe by

any " sane " person. Fasting, pilgramages to dangerous mountain temples,

subjecting oneself to hot or cold for long periods of time: all these

types of exotic spiritual disciplines for the sake of gaining mastery

over the body and mind and purifying the vessel, so that it could be

filled with the Divine.

Now it is true that some do this in order to gain " name and Fame " , and

they shout their accomplishments out loud, but Maa and Swami cannot be

included in that group. They have demonstrated over and over that the

ego no longer holds sway in their lives and that their every action is

dedicated to the upliftment of all mankind.

Their lives are living examples that this path is true.

When Shree Maa was young, She left home and lived for years on

sandalwood paste and water in the jungle and mountains, alone, in deep

meditation. She traveled alone, and gave Herself over to God's will.

Swami performed many long fasts and chanted the Chandi alone 3

different times for 3 successive years.

Both of them performed the sadhana which their Guru's taught them, in

order to realize God, not for " name and fame " . In fact, each fled

from society in order that they eliminate all distractions,

attachments, and confusion. They sought to simplify their lives in

order that they could focus on attaining their heartfelt desire: Self

Realization.

Their personal sadhana is discussed in their biographies, not to build

up their egos, but to demonstrate the validity of the ancient texts.

As Swami has said numerous times: we follow the guidance of our

Gurus's, who followed their Gurus's guidance, back thru the

generations, and because they realized the Truth, we know if we

practice the same sadhana in the same way, we too will attain the goal.

In conclusion, Maa or Swami never force anyone to perform any sadhana

which will harm them. They observe each devotee closely and offer

advice and help when asked. And, if they see someone out of balance,

they will immediately talk with them and offer sound sage practical

advice.

I hope these comments remove your concern and lighten your heart.

 

Jai Maa Jai Swami

 

vishweshwar

 

 

 

 

T

, " sal. " <salpaulsen wrote:

>

> Peace to you, Vish,

>

> We are all grateful for your reminders and postings as to how we can

> further our devotion, as you do yours, to Shree Maa and Swami. But

> when I read this one, it truly scared me. I question if this is the

> sentiment that Mother and Swami wish to portray to the faithful.

>

> Your phrase -

> " In order to grow closer to Her and to be granted a boon by Her, take

> extra time to commune with Her. She will give you many blessings. "

>

> I'm confused. Is this self-serving? Doesn't she love us anyway?

> Wouldn't an extra, silent, heart-felt " thank you " suffice? Does

> loving her extra buy us favor?

>

> And then you go on to say - " Swami demonstrates His devotion to Ma

> by fasting for the entire 9 days, and only drinking 1 cup of water

> per day. "

>

> Does it benefit Swamiji greater that the world knows how he

> personally demonstrates his love for Mother? What does he gain by

> having this advertised? Swami is a realized master. If any of the

> rest of us were to even attempt something like this or gently nudge

> our loved ones to express devotion in this way, thinking our Mother

> will love us more, is ill-advised and dangerous. I know you're only

> trying to offer an example, but this is really extreme.

>

> Your post so startlingly moved me, I went to look up a passage from

> another of my beloved masters, Jesus, from his Sermon on the Mount.

> Believe it or not, I picked up a book and immediately opened to this

> very page...(thank you Mother for finding this for me so quickly and

> effortlessly...)

>

> " Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them,

> otherwise ye have no reward of your Father (insert Mother) which is

> in Heaven. Therefore when thou dost thine alms, do not sound a

> trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in

> the streets, that they may have the glory of men. Verily, I say unto

> you, they have their reward...That thine alms may be in secret: and

> thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

> And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for

> they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of

> the street, that they may be seen of men...But thou, when thou

> prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray

> to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in

> secret shall reward ye openly. But when ye pray, use not vain

> repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be

> heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them:

> for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask

> him. " (Matthew VI)

>

> respectfully,

> sal.

>

> , " inspectionconnection108 "

> <inspectionconnection108@> wrote:

> >

> > Namaste: Sunday is day one of Summer Navatri. We will be meeting

> in

> > the Temple every morning for songs and prayers at 4:30 AM. This is

> > the best time to focus on Maa. The 9 days of Navaratri, are a time

> of

> > extra focus on Divine Mother. Maa and Swami suggest extra prayer,

> > meditation, puja, etc., to Mother, to express our love and devotion

> > during this special time.

> > In each season there are 9 days set aside for deeper worship of

> > Mother. In order to grow closer to Her and to be granted a boon by

> > Her, take extra time to commune with Her. She will give you many

> > blessings. Swami demonstrates His devotion to Ma by fasting for the

> > entire 9 days, and only drinking 1 cup of water per day. Each

> devotee

> > can choose some special way to demonstrate their love for Divine

> Mother.

> > Happy Navaratri

> >

> > Jai Maa Jai Swami

> > vishweshwar

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Sal, Vish and Family:

Namaste,

I love the quote you shared, Sal, from Jesus and as a child took to

heart the message to do one's sadhana in a closet. This past spring,

for the first time after 30 years of study and practice, I accepted an

invitation to speak with a class about yoga and health. I am

passionate about Dharma, and love dialogue and debate, but am very

very cautious about setting myself up as an example. I know my weaknesses.

 

Last summer I had the opportunity to travel to Florida to take a class

with Dr. Shastri at HUA on Vak Yoga. One of the things that came out

in a lecture that I really appreciated was a lengthy discussion about

how some are acharyas, how some become self realized beings or saints

but do not return, and how some reach this level of realization but

then choose to return to us, to show us the way.

 

Doing one's sadhana publicly offers a razors edge, I think. For a

person still firmly grounded in the ego, there is great risk and no

doubt great distraction, as too much and too little are still very

active. I think for a Saint or a Master there is also risk, they must

operate by the laws of this world and we all know of many masters

brought down by fame.

 

I have worked with recovering addicts for years and there is a similar

concern there, the wisdom is that a person in recovery never goes to

try to drag a person in active addiction out alone because what is

most likely is that the person in recovery will relapse. So people go

in pairs or groups, that way the voice of addiction will be

overwhelmed by the voice of recovery and any one who is tempted will

have the support they need to stay on track.

 

Maa and Ramakrishna both say that Satsang is essential, and I believe

that it serves much the same purpose as a recovery group...

inspiration, encouragement, protection from our ego and fear

distractions. Maa and Swamiji commune with the Divine daily and

constantly and they commune with each other. They do not do it alone.

 

It is an incredible gift that they choose to allow us to watch their

sadhana. And, I suspect it is a great burden to them. They do this as

service, to show us the way. The motivation here is altruistic, not

self-serving. When we choose to make sacrifice, do tapasya (whatever

is meaningful for us), the Divine Mother knows. I agree with you that

there is no need and in fact we would be well advised not to do this

publicly. The only exception I see for most of us, is in the context

of satsang, where we gain support to meet our goals. Competition has

no place in this.

 

Also some years ago, I took Bodhisattva vows with the Dalai Lama. The

weight of this has been revisiting me as my understanding of this

deepens. I believe that each time an enlightened being such as Shree

Maa chooses to return to us to show us the path, they risk creating

more karma and getting entangled. There is no way they cannot know

this, but they risk it to help us. There is a big difference between

an enlightened person giving us inspiration through example and the

rest of us saying oh, look at me. Then again, Mother loves us all,

even her kids puffed up with pride, yes?

 

Maa sent me a note once saying that with no faith and no goal the mind

goes hither and fo. She then advised that if I cared to with faith to

do a very simple daily practice. It was a gentle and loving practice.

My tendency has been the extremes. As Vish says, she watches and

advises us as we need. One size does not fit all. It is also my

personal opinion, and there is evidence in the sacred texts, that for

most women the sadhana needs are different than that for men. This is

another consideration when watching Swamiji and reading the inspired

opinion of others. Each of us is limited by our own experience and

vision. It is good that we can push each other beyond complacency via

satsang, but in the end only the Guru within knows what is best for

each of us. Does intuition say yes or no? Once size does not fit all.

Isn't that beautiful?

 

Recently Maa said in an email that she could see I am blossoming. I

have not been in Maa's physical presence for a year and we only

occasionally have correspondence....yet she sees....and I feel as

close as if I am there daily. Om

 

Jai Maa

Sending love,

Sadhu Maa

[Guest guest]

Many, many blessings to you Sadhu Maa, what a lovely reply! I am

grateful for your kindness and wisdom - thank you for your

understanding.

 

I can just see you as a bright, cheerful daisy in Mother's garden!

What a joy to see!

 

much love to you!

sal.

 

 

, " Sadhu Maa " <sadumaa wrote:

>

> Sal, Vish and Family:

> Namaste,

> I love the quote you shared, Sal, from Jesus and as a child took to

> heart the message to do one's sadhana in a closet. This past spring,

> for the first time after 30 years of study and practice, I accepted

an

> invitation to speak with a class about yoga and health. I am

> passionate about Dharma, and love dialogue and debate, but am very

> very cautious about setting myself up as an example. I know my

weaknesses.

>

> Last summer I had the opportunity to travel to Florida to take a

class

> with Dr. Shastri at HUA on Vak Yoga. One of the things that came out

> in a lecture that I really appreciated was a lengthy discussion

about

> how some are acharyas, how some become self realized beings or

saints

> but do not return, and how some reach this level of realization but

> then choose to return to us, to show us the way.

>

> Doing one's sadhana publicly offers a razors edge, I think. For a

> person still firmly grounded in the ego, there is great risk and no

> doubt great distraction, as too much and too little are still very

> active. I think for a Saint or a Master there is also risk, they

must

> operate by the laws of this world and we all know of many masters

> brought down by fame.

>

> I have worked with recovering addicts for years and there is a

similar

> concern there, the wisdom is that a person in recovery never goes to

> try to drag a person in active addiction out alone because what is

> most likely is that the person in recovery will relapse. So people

go

> in pairs or groups, that way the voice of addiction will be

> overwhelmed by the voice of recovery and any one who is tempted will

> have the support they need to stay on track.

>

> Maa and Ramakrishna both say that Satsang is essential, and I

believe

> that it serves much the same purpose as a recovery group...

> inspiration, encouragement, protection from our ego and fear

> distractions. Maa and Swamiji commune with the Divine daily and

> constantly and they commune with each other. They do not do it

alone.

>

> It is an incredible gift that they choose to allow us to watch their

> sadhana. And, I suspect it is a great burden to them. They do this

as

> service, to show us the way. The motivation here is altruistic, not

> self-serving. When we choose to make sacrifice, do tapasya (whatever

> is meaningful for us), the Divine Mother knows. I agree with you

that

> there is no need and in fact we would be well advised not to do this

> publicly. The only exception I see for most of us, is in the context

> of satsang, where we gain support to meet our goals. Competition has

> no place in this.

>

> Also some years ago, I took Bodhisattva vows with the Dalai Lama.

The

> weight of this has been revisiting me as my understanding of this

> deepens. I believe that each time an enlightened being such as Shree

> Maa chooses to return to us to show us the path, they risk creating

> more karma and getting entangled. There is no way they cannot know

> this, but they risk it to help us. There is a big difference between

> an enlightened person giving us inspiration through example and the

> rest of us saying oh, look at me. Then again, Mother loves us all,

> even her kids puffed up with pride, yes?

>

> Maa sent me a note once saying that with no faith and no goal the

mind

> goes hither and fo. She then advised that if I cared to with faith

to

> do a very simple daily practice. It was a gentle and loving

practice.

> My tendency has been the extremes. As Vish says, she watches and

> advises us as we need. One size does not fit all. It is also my

> personal opinion, and there is evidence in the sacred texts, that

for

> most women the sadhana needs are different than that for men. This

is

> another consideration when watching Swamiji and reading the inspired

> opinion of others. Each of us is limited by our own experience and

> vision. It is good that we can push each other beyond complacency

via

> satsang, but in the end only the Guru within knows what is best for

> each of us. Does intuition say yes or no? Once size does not fit

all.

> Isn't that beautiful?

>

> Recently Maa said in an email that she could see I am blossoming. I

> have not been in Maa's physical presence for a year and we only

> occasionally have correspondence....yet she sees....and I feel as

> close as if I am there daily. Om

>

> Jai Maa

> Sending love,

> Sadhu Maa

>