Greetings to all after 5 years!

[Guest guest]

Greetings to all of you, old and new members of this group! I

have only recently returned to the Devi Mandir and to the Chat Group,

after having been in India for the past five years. When I left to do

sadhana in India in January, 2004, the group at that time was fairly

new.

Just now I read most of the posts over the last month or so, and

I'm very excited and impressed to see not only the interest and depth

of all your questions, but also the degree of sincerity and learning

that is going on. I had many opportunities to observe worship and

yagnyas in so many different kinds of temples from the Himalayas of

the north to the southern tip of India, and I can say unequivocally,

that there is no temple quite like the Devi Mandir! The architecture

of India's temples is inspiring and ancient, but all of the Deities on

the altar of the Devi Mandir (in Napa, California) are in technicolor,

vibrating their shakti (divine energy) and light and peace everywhere.

All of the seven forms or systems of worship found in the ancient

Hindu tradition are being performed daily in the Devi Mandir, and are

being shared and taught thoroughly and freely with the highest regard

to devotees by Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda. So many Indian

brothers and sisters we met recently in November who participated in

worship with Maa and Swamiji said that they were discovering just what

rare, inspirational, and knowledgeable teachers they are. So we

invite all of you in this new year coming to make some goals for going

forward to learn and live the Dharma.

In this regard, I have a challenge facing me of how to integrate

my spiritual practices (which I was able to do almost full-time while

in India) into a schedule that must now also balance seva or service

in the world. How do you all make the transition from the space

" inside " to go back and forth outside? How do you manage your time,

energy, sadhana, family duties, etc. Does anyone have any advice for

me how to approach this? How do you know, or how can you tell if you

have the right balance between your personal sadhana and other

necessary activities. All suggestions and advice is welcome.

Sincerely,

Kamala Nanda

[Guest guest]

i find that if my sadhana is going to be 2 or 3 hours incorporating

some lets just say " non traditional viddhis " into the practice. such as

adding picking up a friend from the train station, or shopping for food

(for god). or any worldly activities ect. then come home and continue

my sitting and chanting. if i know i havent done all of the intended

practice of that day it keeps me closer. making it part of my puja

helps me stay aligned and in the bhava as well as allows me to keep

expanding what puja is. for me i want my whole day and my whole life to

be sadhana no matter what actions i am to perform. welcome back =) jai

ma jai swamiji!

 

 

 

 

kamalaji_india <kamalaji_india

 

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 3:49 am

[www.ShreeMaa.org] Greetings to all after 5 years!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings to all of you, old and new members of this group! I

have only recently returned to the Devi Mandir and to the Chat Group,

after having been in India for the past five years. When I left to do

sadhana in India in January, 2004, the group at that time was fairly

new.

Just now I read most of the posts over the last month or so, and

I'm very excited and impressed to see not only the interest and depth

of all your questions, but also the degree of sincerity and learning

that is going on. I had many opportunities to observe worship and

yagnyas in so many different kinds of temples from the Himalayas of

the north to the southern tip of India, and I can say unequivocally,

that there is no temple quite like the Devi Mandir! The architecture

of India's temples is inspiring and ancient, but all of the Deities on

the altar of the Devi Mandir (in Napa, California) are in technicolor,

vibrating their shakti (divine energy) and light and peace everywhere.

All of the seven forms or systems of worship found in the ancient

Hindu tradition are being performed daily in the Devi Mandir, and are

being shared and taught thoroughly and freely with the highest regard

to devotees by Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda. So many Indian

brothers and sisters we met recently in November who participated in

worship with Maa and Swamiji said that they were discovering just what

rare, inspirational, and knowledgeable teachers they are. So we

invite all of you in this new year coming to make some goals for going

forward to learn and live the Dharma.

In this regard, I have a challenge facing me of how to integrate

my spiritual practices (which I was able to do almost full-time while

in India) into a schedule that must now also balance seva or service

in the world. How do you all make the transition from the space

" inside " to go back and forth outside? How do you manage your time,

energy, sadhana, family duties, etc. Does anyone have any advice for

me how to approach this? How do you know, or how can you tell if you

have the right balance between your personal sadhana and other

necessary activities. All suggestions and advice is welcome.

Sincerely,

Kamala Nanda

[Guest guest]

Namaste Kamala Ma

 

This is a very difficult question. In my humble experience, there is no one

answer because

I find that from day to day the ease with which I can manage everything varies

greatly.

 

Of course, the most obvious answer is that there is no real transition from the

" inside " to

" outside " because they are the same, and therefore should be approached in the

same

way. Now, if this were easy to do, or even easy to remember, we wouldn't be in

the

situation we are in -- that is, discussing this very subject!!

 

To answer your question more specifically -- I have good days and not so good

days. I

try to wake up early every morning so that I can get most of my sadhana done

before

everyone else wakes up. But some mornings I am so tired that the 5 more minutes

of

`snooze time' turns into an hour of sleep without me even realizing it.

 

And so I try to turn my day into my sadhana. For example, I wake up my son in

the

morning with a " Jai Maa " and get him off to school with a recitation of the

kavach. (In

order to finish before his bus arrives, sometimes I have to say it so quickly

that I can

barely get the words out.) I say blessings over the food I serve my family. I

clean my

house as if Maa and Swamiji were coming to visit (I don't always succeed on this

one!!)

And I have decided, for better or for worse, right or wrong, that on the days

that I don't

get ALL my chanting, etc., done, if I have taken care of my family, taught my

students,

practiced my music, shopped for groceries, did the laundry, etc., etc., with the

remembrance that everything I do is in service to God, then I feel as if the day

was

successful (so to speak). And on the days I don't do as well, I ask for

forgiveness -- that

gives me the strength to move on to the next day without carrying a burden of

guilt that I

failed in some way.

 

I read your answer to Vish's story, and I have a similar one, which I think

applies to both

posts. Life at home has been a little difficult since returning from India. I

have had to deal

with all kinds of " stuff " regarding my son and my husband. It has been quite

consuming

and has distracted me from many things. In addition, I find myself missing the

closeness

of my Devi Mandir family, which I quickly grew accustomed to having around all

the time

during my three weeks in India. I find myself feeling very alone out here on the

east

coast. Suddenly the phone rings -- it is Shree Maa on the other end. Now, get

this -- I

was so lost in the land of asuras that I didn't even recognize Her voice at

first (can you

imagine?! - who else could it have been??!!). Towards the end of our

conversation Maa

asked me if I was happy, and I told Her a little about what was going on (and

just like you

Kamala, as soon as She asked the question, it was all I could do to not burst

into tears).

We discussed learning lessons and then Maa said that I had to give my life to

God.

In the end, after all the words and plans and practices and thoughts and ideas

and

conversations and everything else we do, as always, Shree Maa says it all in the

simplest

form -- give your life to God.

 

If we remember to do that, in whatever way we can, whether we are sitting and

chanting,

or sitting in traffic, I believe we will see that there is no " transition from

the space inside

to the space outside; " that there is always the " right balance between personal

sadhana

and other necessary activities. "

 

The life of a sadhu is challenging (as you have just experienced these past 5

years). Now

you have the blessing to learn that the life of a householder devotee is also

challenging. I

know you learned many skills in India -- here is your chance to utilize all you

have

learned! And then you can come back here and tell US the answer to your

question!!!

 

Jai Maa!

Jai Swamiji!

 

lovelovelove to you dear sister,

ambika

 

 

, " kamalaji_india " <kamalaji_india wrote:

>

>

> In this regard, I have a challenge facing me of how to integrate

> my spiritual practices (which I was able to do almost full-time while

> in India) into a schedule that must now also balance seva or service

> in the world. How do you all make the transition from the space

> " inside " to go back and forth outside? How do you manage your time,

> energy, sadhana, family duties, etc. Does anyone have any advice for

> me how to approach this? How do you know, or how can you tell if you

> have the right balance between your personal sadhana and other

> necessary activities. All suggestions and advice is welcome.

> Sincerely,

> Kamala Nanda

>