Archives for July 2014

The Royal Path, and the consistent practice of it, will turn into the Open Path.

The Open Path is when we begin to see Divinity. We begin to see Namaste…I bow to the Divine Light within you. We begin to experience and see God or Satyam everywhere.

The difference between practicing the Royal Path and practicing the Open Path is that the Royal Path takes consistency and discipline in doing our practices. The Open Path is when we want to have the experience of Om Satyam above all else. We become in love with Love. Our Beloved is the Divine Satyam. Before, there were obstacles in our way, and although some may still be there, they are now seen as mysteries, delights, and our Beloved that we are spending time with.

The main indication of being on the Open Path is when our lower ego no longer demands our time and attention. It is still there, but it is transformed. We find our joy, happiness, and love in studying and appreciating life. We realize that the very nature of God is Om Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram, and the very nature of our self is Om Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram, and the nature of everything between our self and God is Om Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram. We no longer have any interest in pursuing self-centered desires or activities. We have learned they are limited, and that the little bit of pleasure attained from the self-centered desires may be pleasurable to begin with, but by the end they bring suffering. It is like the sin of gluttony; you take the pleasurable activity of eating and then overindulge to the point of being sick. Anything within the lower ego will bring us a little bit of pleasure, and then the suffering. Once we have learned this, we will begin giving our time and attention to the universal or higher ego. We do for others, we feel compassion for others, we do what will be beneficial for others, we meditate and share uplifting vibrations for others. We are now taking care of our larger Self, which includes the rest of humanity and life. Whether we are on the inward journey, trying to experience God the absolute without form, or on the outward journey trying to provide for food, clothing, and shelter, there is only God. It is called the Open Path because we have accepted our responsibility to see and appreciate the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature of life.

Mahavira said,

“Those who are ready will learn through understanding;

those who are not will suffer a while longer.”

Learning through understanding means that we pay attention to what helps us experience Om Satyam and continue to do that. We pay attention to the positive feelings, the uplifting, the unlimited. We pay attention and act on how we can keep an open heart. This is learning through understanding.

We can live with an open heart, and when the pain of broken expectations and ideas of exclusiveness come in, we don’t have to close our heart to protect our self. The solution is to change our ideas and beliefs that are preventing us from experiencing Om Satyam. It is a simple question… “How can I always be in Om Satyam?” It won’t always be easy to go beyond the ideas, beliefs and expectations, but it will always be worth the effort that it takes to be in Om Satyam.

The meditation techniques were an immense help to me. They allowed me to take control, at will, to identify with the Sacred vibrations. Before I got the techniques, I had no names or words. I could just feel and experience the vibration, when there were no distractions. I could listen and hear the vibration, but it is difficult to listen when the mind has other interests. Learning the mantras allowed me to harness and channel the mind so I could experience the Divine vibrations at will. I used the mantras to meditate. I used the mantras to chant. I used the mantras to be open and experience Om Satyam. Mostly, I used the mantras to quiet and focus the mind on what I valued the most in life, and what I valued was the experience of Om Satyam, Om Shivam, Om Sundaram, the experience of being in the nature of my Soul.

When I first met Sri Chitrabhanu, I felt the Om Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature while in his presence, and I continued to feel for days afterwards when I was no longer in his presence. Then I knew it was possible to live in this nature day and night. I knew I could have this ecstasy in activity and not just in the quietness of meditation. I knew I could have the experience of my Soul while active, working, and interacting. I considered this an initiation. From that time onward, I took the initiative to learn through understanding. I made the effort to work towards constant remembrance and identification with my Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature. When that was too subtle and my mind would run away with other thoughts, I would repeat mantras. There were times I had to take some time off for a personal retreat to get back to my nature. When just repeating the mantras in my everyday life would not do it for me, I would remove myself from the struggle for a short while, and refocus and re-identify. Then I would come back and try to maintain an open heart and my Satyam nature amidst all my activities.

With the Royal Path, there may be a few times when you have to temporarily withdraw from your external life, for a day or two to re-establish your practices and disciplines. You make the effort to reconnect, to find the kingdom of God within, and then go out and share while doing your activities. This balance of the inner life and the outer life is something that you practice throughout your days and nights, not just up here in Strawberry at a retreat. If you temporarily lose balance, make the time to reconnect. My full time job was to be in Om Satyam, in love with God, with Life, with Love. I was willing to get by without a lot a material things so I could practice my full time job of studying God, life, and Om Satyam. To experience the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature of my Soul was my priority. I put Om Satyam first, how to be in my Om Satyam nature, creating the habits of how to conquer the inner enemies and limitations, so that wherever I go on earth, in the heavens, or in the formless, I will be able to identify with my nature of Om Satyam.

Satyam can be experienced in all its diversity: First chakra: appreciation of the creation; Second chakra: dynamics of the male/female and family unit, the creativity, the balancing of the ida and pingala; Third chakra: serving the large family, enjoying and appreciating God in the creation; Fourth chakra: living in unconditional Satyam, looking for it and experiencing it day and night, in the day, in the heavens, having as my priority my love affair with Love. Seek first the kingdom of God–Love, Satyam (the permanent), and the appreciation of the all else (Shivam and Sundaram) will be added. When we have Satyam, the fears, doubts, insecurities, and suffering all fall away. When you are learning, studying and growing, there will be an ever-new joy, because you will be going beyond the small ego, the small self.

The Om, the Word, is the Divine impulse. The Soul calling out for more is an aspect of the impulse of God or the Divine will, and becomes our dharma. Our nature is Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram. How much of that we want to experience in any given moment, day, or lifetime is our choice, because we have free will. It isn’t something we have to create, work years to get, or buy. It is our very nature. We just have to be willing to go beyond the limited ideas, beliefs and attachments that keep us from the experience of the Om Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature. When we are willing to go beyond, we begin to experience the kingdom of God, both within and without. We begin to touch and perfect the inner life and touch and perfect the outer life.

An Open Heart

What makes life exciting and ever-new is having an open heart, because the Satyam Consciousness is ever-new. With an open heart you simply overlook the limitations of others to see their Soul. Do not confuse the diversity amongst humanity with the Soul of the human being. We make the effort to look for the face of God, the Om Satyam in every human being. Every human being is created in the image of God. There are self-centered people in the world, but still they are created in the image of God. Their Soul is still Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram.

To study life, we don’t have to be away from people, or be single, or living in a monastery in order to see the beauty of God. We just need to be willing to look with an open heart and open mind. We must be willing to go beyond our beliefs, ideas and samskaras. A samskara is our belief of what we deem to be truth or reality. Samskaras are our mindsets. Some think that is natural for a male and female to get together and have children. It is an aspect of the human nature to do so, but it is not the only natural thing to do. Some people will find it natural to serve the large family (society), and others will find it natural to serve the small family (marriage and children). Some will find it natural to spend a lifetime studying God. One is not more natural than others.

We learn to approach life with dynamics in our interactions. We accept that what we give to life, life will give us back more generously. If we are selfish and just want to take from life, we will find that all around us, life wants to take from us. If we are generous and kind with our thoughts and actions, and have compassion in thought, word, and deed, we will find that life is giving that back to us. What we give to life, life will show us more of. This is what Christ meant when he said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all else will be added.” The kingdom of God is our nature, the nature of God, the oneness of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram.

Once we have the experience of the kingdom of God, we can appreciate, enjoy and see Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram everywhere. Once we can see, feel, and experience Satyam (Love), within our self, and see it everywhere, there will be no more insecurity or loneliness. There will be no more fear. There is no longer a feeling of not being connected. It removes the pain and suffering from our life. Once we can see and experience Shivam (Thy will is done on earth as it is in heaven), it removes attachment, and the fear of losing something we are attached to. Once we realize or experience the kingdom of God, all else has been added, our appreciation of the Divine harmony. We become Adam and Eve. We are the caretakers of the earth. It belongs to all of us, not to fight over, but to enjoy and delight in.

I do not have to own property on the ocean to go and enjoy the ocean. I don’t have to own property in the mountains to enjoy going to the mountains. I can travel, enjoy, and appreciate wherever I go. I have a desire to explore my whole kingdom…oceans, deserts, winters, summers, the four seasons. I want to be and enjoy being a caretaker, to delight in life. The only thing I can truly take with me wherever I go is Om Satyam. I can feel Om Satyam on the earth, in the heavens, in the Christ/Krishna Consciousness, in the God Consciousness without form. Om Satyam will be there. This is the priority I have found worth committing my life towards having. This consciousness of my nature and the nature of God, at every moment, is what is worth owning. I don’t want to spend a moment without awareness of my Om Satyam nature. That is true suffering.