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.
