# 15 from India

During this time at Amritapuri Ashram I have become something of a "bear of very little brain," to quote Pooh.  First I have been away from the internet and news media, so I have not had the information overload from the culture around me.  Second I took no books with me, only the Bible and prayer book.  I have read only the Bhagavad Gita and some material about Amma.  Third in such an international setting and with the British impact upon India everyone knows at least a little English.  That has meant that just about all conversation had to involve being very conscious about vocabulary and use of colloquialisms in order to communicate clearly.  The simpler and more straight forward the vocabulary the better. 

So that left a lot of time with no intellectual agenda, time just to be observant, to pray the Prayer of the Lamb or the mantra Amma had given me.  That was combined with yoga in which the mind is engaged in being attentively aware of the body.  There is no theology to consider when attention is simply with the body and movement and breath, no words necessary, just acute wakefulness.  Much of the day became an active form of meditation.

Now the thought of returning home and re-entering the Western culture come with a sense of regret if not dread.  Fortunately I have a 2 week silent meditation retreat to look forward to.  This part of the sabbatical here in India has deeply fed the inner need for purging the excess stimuli of our "information NOW" society.

The thoughts slowed down and were no longer hyperactive and scattered.  The mind rested.  The most complex task was interacting with others, and immersed in an atmosphere of love and compassion the interaction seemed most like a creative interchange, a giving and receiving characterized by joy.  A gift from my time with Amma...

Keep meditating.

Beverly

# 14 from India

Stepping out of one culture -  Western - into another - the ashram and Amma's Presence - is a way to be able to see more clearly the characteristics of the culture we come from and what we were formed by in contrast with such a different way of life.  What was missed in awareness because of close familiarity emerges more clearly for what it is - artificial, biased, confined in limited vision and poor in value.  We settle for so little in terms of our spirituality generally and the measure of our values. 

I came to Amma in India and in her own home.  The ashram reflects a life style that is different from the India of the cities and Bollywood and newspapers.  The ashram is a giant crucible or mixing bowl or vortex for those whose spirit5ual awareness has already surpassed what we usually encounter in church on Sunday.  No one can claim spiritual stature here at the ashram, or claim greater spiritual advancement - whatever that is - over others, no status.  Everyone has an incredibly alive story of encounter with the Divine, of grace, forgiveness, healing, transcendence happening in their lives.  And those who are serious about their spiritual practice are many.  Each has a wisdom to speak.  And often with that is also the humility of openness to correction and learning and a willingness to undergo hardships that most Westerners would immediately reject.  You couldn't get most church-goers to even consider these austerities, not even just for Lent.

And beyond the intention and will and enjoyment in spiritual practice, there is Amma, the spirit5ual master and as authentic of a true guru as could possibly be.  She is the Mother who loves, embraces, comforts, gives grace, and also at the same time can pierce you with a glance, knows what you are thinking, the truth of your intentions and motivations, who for your own good will not let you get away with anything, who will put you into just the situations you need to grow - and it will hurt.  Don't resist.  You will only have to face the lesson again.

These are just some of my thoughts as I come close to the end of my time in India.  From them I am gathering some delicious ideas for Lent and for sharing with the meditation community.  More to come...

Keep meditating!

Beverly

New Year's Message from India

A lesson from India about Spiritual Practice - Spiritual practice takes various forms and is different for each person.  Yet it is essential that each of us can identify what is our intentional spiritual practice and that we engage in this daily.  This is at the heart of what is meant by spiritual formation.  We need to create an environment of spiritual support for faith in light of the fact that most of what we encounter each day drains our energy away from devotion to Jesus, obscures our awareness and confuses our motivations and intentions.

In India one can sit in the main hall at the ashram along with a few thousand others watching Amma give loving darshan to each person in turn, while all around some are singing bhajans, some are at the sides eating dinner and washing dishes, some are doing tasks like preparing the prasad that Amma gives with each hug, some are talking with each other, children are running around or crying or sleeping, the ashram dog is running by, crows are flying through the hall.  One can sit and withdraw the senses and in the midst of swirling activity be at the still point of meditation where there is a profound deep joy of being that expresses in the Love that does not discriminate between beloved and lover, the Love that is all.

A quotations from Amma about worship - Amma often says that the sun does not need the light of a candle to shine, in the same way God and Guru do not need us to worship them, it is for our benefit that we worship, as this process purifies our mind and brings us ever closer to our own true nature.  Actions that bring out love and reverence for the Guru and the Truth in which the Guru is established are purifying and create a deep bond.
In the Shelter of Her Arms, Kusuma, page 203.

Love and prayers for you all.  Join me in praying for the Mercy that the Lamb of God makes available for the hurting world.

And keep meditating.

Beverly

Christmas Message from India

I am in a part of India that has a strong Christian presence, a faith community that has been there since the beginning, when the Apostle Thomas came to India to share the good news about Jesus.

So here at the ashram one can find Christmas decorations, even in the Kalari Temple where the pujas are performed.  A beautiful creche stands by the entrance to the dining hall.

Last night we had a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration.  The son and daughter of Karuna Poole, one of the persons who spoke to the adult education Sunday morning class at Emmanuel, had created a play after the fashion of the Black Nativity.  A large cast sang and danced and acted out biblical stories of the Exodus and Jesus teaching and healing.  This was followed by Amma's Christmas message and all 3,000 or so of us joining Amma in a prolonged bhagan singing, clapping hands, and dancing for almost 30 minutes straight.  Very high energy!  Then Amma served us all cake.  

Christmas is the Feast of the Incarnation, God taking human form, the Divine in human being.  My message for this Christmas is for us all to let the awareness of Christ in us come to birth.  God-with-us in the reality that has not yet fully been birthed in our awareness.  If it had, then we would realize that the potential of all of Jesus' life, ministry, teaching, serving, dying and resurrection is in us also to be manifested.  We have the same power to forgive, to heal, to love that Jesus had, and that is the Christmas miracle.  We have the power of Love.  But since this realization has not yet been fully birthed into our own awareness and lives, let us practice what that would look like until it becomes truly full in us.  How are we to do this?  Forgive, release judgment, love, serve, have compassion.  These are all ways of taking up the cross, giving up the egoic enterprise and following Jesus.  May the awareness of Christ in us be born today.

A Christmas prayer

Eternal God, in the stillness of the night you sent your almighty Word to pierce the world's darkness with the light of salvation: Give to the earth the peace that we long for and fill our hearts with the joy of heaven through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.  

(Common Worship, Church of England)
 

Emmanuel's gift for Amma

Hi, Hunt

Well, I finally got to go for darshan and present the check.  Because there are so many here the policy is that with Amma's return from China first the permanent residents got darshan, then the two public darshans on Saturday and Sunday were for Indians and so the next darshan opportunity that was for us internationals was on Wednesday, 12/12/12.  After a long sweaty day, I got changed into my best ashram clothes, and got in line for darshan.  I practiced my three sentence speech and had it written out for the translator to use.  When I got to Amma I held out the check in the envelope with your letter and started my speech.  Amma swept me up in her arms before I could get very far and she gave me a long and very loving embrace, whispering with great emphasis in my ear, "My daughter, my daughter, my daughter" much longer than usual.  She spoke to the translator, who then told me that Amma was very grateful for the gift and that it would be put to good use, and her greetings to all the members of the church.  Then I was told to sit next to Amma, right next to her, where I stayed for the next hour and a half.  It was a tremendous honor, and such a wonderful gift to me.  I prayed for you all.

Meanwhile, I probably won't post much for awhile as I continue this Amrita Yoga study.  I am learning some great things that I will be able to apply to my own teaching of meditation.

My love to you all.

Beverly