Yoga of Play

by Chinmaya

As the sun set slowly on western bank of the Ganges, tiny waves of the river sparkled in its crimson rays. The crisp air was filled with dense chirps of countless birds, excited to fly homewards. On the eastern bank, sounds of bells and musical instruments in preparation for the evening vespers permeated the temple grounds of Dakshineshwar Kali. In a small room by the temple courtyard was seated Sri Ramakrishna, surrounded by a group of eager listeners, both young and old. The group was immersed in an intense discussion on the unique signs of an Avatar. Hardly were they aware of the events in the outer world. As Sri Ramakrishna spoke, a sublime smile flashed through his face illuminating the entire room. Silence interspersing the talks charged the room with ecstatic vibrations, filling the hearts of the listeners… which also included a young boy named Chinmaya. While talking, as the benign gaze of Ramakrishna fell upon Chinmaya, he felt a thrill of intense joy! And gradually his whole being merged in oneness with Sri Ramakrishna’s Divine Being.

Chinmaya experiences this bliss every evening, when after a long day’s work as a hi-tech professional, he sits for meditation in his small apartment room in the bustling city of New York. As he closes his eyes the entire scene gets vividly enacted, breaking through the limits of time and place . . . and the deep joy of that spiritual experience stays with him all the time. This practice of meditation is often called “Leela Dhyana” – meditation on the actions or ‘leela’ of a divine incarnation and imagining oneself in that divine company.

PRAYER & Its Power

by Chinmaya

Climbing a flight of 200 stairs, as Surya reached the Shiva Temple at the peak of Mt. Bhupati, he reverentially stepped inside the shrine, kneeled down and with folded hands started chanting various prayer hymns to Lord Shiva. While chanting though, his mind felt ruffled; thoughts of his ailing mother at home and his ensuing Law exam kept him worried. Finishing the hymns, he started conversing with Lord Shiva, quite spontaneously and naturally, as if talking to an intimate acquaintance. He spoke about his mother’s illness and his exam, asking for Lord’s help. Very soon a deep sense of peace and assurance filled him… and he wondered – were those conversations indeed his prayers?

What is a prayer? Our inner concerns, feelings, desires when directed towards God usually gets called as prayers. Often this act of prayer is accompanied by gifts of flowers, fruits, wealth etc.

What makes us pray? Firstly, a firm conviction in God’s capacity to resolve our problems or satiate our desires plus a belief that God would “listen”.  Often this trust comes from “love” but could also be due to fear or influenced by social norms.

Fortunately No God Around

By Seeker

In his Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class (12/16/2014, Tuesday) class, Swamiji emphatically said, "We are more fortunate than the people around Sri Ramakrishna." I cannot fathom the import of that statement. With great difficulty I imagine the form of Sri Ramakrishna in meditation. Many times this imagination may not be stable and attempts have to be made repeatedly to focus well so that the act of "seeing" Him becomes natural and uninterrupted. I wonder sometimes, when will this imagination be alive (i.e., the deity meditated upon responds to you continuously as any other person around you would do in your daily activity)? When will it happen? Some of you may imagine of His being alive much more concretely than I could do (as some of my fellow class-students revealed to me), nevertheless it is only a stronger imagination (although commendable).

In the midst of these struggles, if someone told me, all I have to do is to open my eyes and I will see Him, what more could I ask for? And the more wonderful surprise if I am told that I can not only see Him, but also talk to Him and even listen to Him! And furthermore, I am told that I can actually even serve Him by offering food or other essentials (if He accepts them)! After you have been told all that, you are also then told curtly, "You know what? You are actually more fortunate now by imagining Him. So forget this notion of actually seeing, listening to, talking to, serving Him." How would that go with you?

In defense of Dr. Sarkar

by Seeker

According to the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Girish Ghosh declares that even the feces of Sri Ramakrishna, whom he considered an incarnation, were very pure. To this, Dr. Sarkar replies that he is never bothered by the human feces and it is same to him whatever be its source. With his expertise in medicine, he could truly see it as just a material. We often categorize the objects into "pure" and "impure" and steadfastly hold on to this fictitious dichotomy. We ought to be aware of this demarcation as far as their utility is concerned, but without forgetting the substratum underlying this duality. Sometimes this compartmentalization takes a morbid turn of respecting a reverential person at the cost of hurting an ordinary person. It is also not uncommon amongst devotees to treat someone, who has not followed their own methods of devotion or does not cherish their ideals, as someone who needs to redeemed although this person may be more spiritually elevated than themselves due to his/her having followed a "secular" path sincerely. It could be argued that Dr. Sarkar, through his dedication in material research, had come to some state of equanimity that was perhaps absent in many other devotees, nevertheless he was and will be treated as a "kid" amongst the "adults" for having taken the unconventional path of science to reach that state. An illustration in Sri Ramakrishna's life:

Tasting Which Nothing Else Tastes Better

By Moomookshoo

The inspiration for this poem comes from  the meeting between Swami Vivekananda and Robert G. Ingersoll described on page 186 of the second volume of Complete Works. However, this poem is not a historical account of that meeting. Instead, it describes an imaginary journey of a man from the "orange" world view to the "mango" world view. The title is based on Gita 6.22.

Tasting Which Nothing Else Tastes Better

Once in the olden times,

Somewhere in the Western climes,

There was a very good and learned man,

A very intelligent and "rational" man.

He worshiped "reason" in every season,

Any deviation from reason, for him, was treason!

He was very happy and content with his "world",

Which he thought was very "rational" and "bold".

He thought his world was complete and whole,

Unfortunately,  he left out his very own soul!

A Working Hypothesis from Retreat on Patanjali's Way

by Charlie

I learned an important lesson from Pravrajika Gitaprana's retreat on Patanjali's Way. Up until now I have felt that I needed to have proof of such things as Thakur being an Avatara or meditation leading to God-realization. I have felt that without proof, I could not accept these things. I have never felt comfortable with the idea of faith, or belief without proof.

The Third Twin

By a Wanderer

 

(A story with fictional characters in real setting) 

 

We are twin sisters. She loves roaming, and I love eating. Recently, we attended a retreat by a Swami in Rochester. I was promised that the food will be awesome and evening dessert will be the best. We both sisters were attending the classes. However, my mind was always dreaming of the next meal. One evening I couldn't resist the delicious desert and ate more than I should. Next morning, my stomach was bothering. Just to divert my attention from stomach pain, I attended the class. Swami: “We perceive the world with our senses and mind. Senses have limited strength, and the mind is clouded by desires and wants. As I change, the world view changes. Our awareness governs our behavior. Limitations of senses need to be felt penetratingly. Senses cannot take us any further. Following the senses will lead to suffering. God cannot be perceived by senses. God cannot be subject of physical science.”