Yoga in Christian Mysticism

  

Bhakti Yoga

Yoga in Christian Mysticism

 
Jesus was a Bhakta of the highest order Extreme closeness t God, whose prominent expression was the life of prayer and absolute submission to His will in all circumstances, blazes forth in Jesus. Mark says that often Jesus prayed alone (Mark 1.35) According to Luke Jesus sometimes prayed all night(iV12)The gospel make out that both his teaching and actions carried the mark fo authority. From where came this authority? From the sense of commission he received from God. When the Pharisees challenged him saying that his testimony was his own and not that of God, Jesus replied ‘My judgment are true, for I am not alone. the father who sent me is with me” (John VII13) Again “Believe me I am in the Father and the father in me(John XIV 11) “As the father hat loved me, so have I loved you, continue ye in my love”

 

The disciples continue in the see strain John in his first Epistle sys “Beloved , let us love one another , for love is God; and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that lvoeth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God towards us. Because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him (I john iv to 9)

 

Of the three fathers of the Catholic church, St Jerome St Augustine and St Ambrose , St Augustine’s Bhakti was exceptional. He reminds of mankkavachagar who prayed; “O lord, you gave yourself to me and you acquired me. Who made the best of this bargain” My body is your temple, my mind . What can I give you . O Lord, which is not yours?”

 

Recount moments you felt joyful and supported

By Pulkit Sharma

 Once again as the calendar year comes to an end, most of us have a faint memory of the list of goals, aspirations, and dreams that we had started with. In some corner of our consciousness, we realise that all those promises of making a fresh start, creating a better self and a better life have long gathered dust. This reflection brings us closer to the painful awareness that life is ephemeral, and time is limited. We register that another year has gone by and we are who we were, nothing much has changed within us and around us despite our fervent activity.

 
This awareness is somewhat unsettling and, therefore, we often try to divert our attention by immersing ourselves in the splendid new year celebrations: gourmet meals, peppy music, zesty dance, colourful fireworks and, of course, the loud cheers as the clock ticks past 12. And then we crash into an uneasy sleep and wake up quite clueless the next morning. We wonder whether we should once again create those lists of changes that we need to make or should we continue the way we are living.

 

 

The morning of the new year holds an immense spiritual significance. It is a rare opportunity to revive our deeper aspiration for an enlightened existence and make a promise to our body, mind, and soul to move in that direction. According to Sri Chinmoy, “When the New Year dawns, we have to make ourselves conscious of the fact that we have to transcend ourselves this year. We have to go beyond our present capacity, beyond our present achievement. God always wants us to move ahead; He does not want us to look back. We know that while a runner is running fast, if he looks back, he will stumble. Similarly, if we are constantly looking behind at the year that we are leaving aside, we will think of our sorrow, misery, frustration, failure and so forth. But if we look forward, we will see hope dawning deep within us.”

 

Therefore, we need to welcome the morning of the new year with a deep concentration and a firm resolve that we will overcome all our negativity, procrastination and melancholy and accomplish what we are capable of. Going further, we need to welcome each day with the same enthusiasm and self-reflection so that the aspiration to realize our authentic self stays in our consciousness all the time like a constant flame. As we repeatedly revisit our aspiration for progress, change and self-growth, our thoughts, feelings, actions, and relationships get guided by it. In other words, the highest ideal within us slowly shapes us into a new being.

 

But as we look forward into the new year, we must also go through the memories of the year which is ending and try to recollect all those moments where we felt joyful, supported, encouraged, enlightened, and loved. Let us thank the Divine for all these big and small blessings. Often in our urgency to move forward, we end up not acknowledging the positive which our past had offered us and feel gloomy. Therefore, let us venerate those moments as we welcome the dawn of the new year, moving forward with a fresh enthusiasm.

 

The writer is a clinical psychologist in Puducherry

 

 IF HE EXIST

 I drive joy there was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting 7 precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

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 Quote from the True Charm and power of Vedanta  

Yoga its various Aspects 

Words are of three kinds 1 those with conventional or traditional meanings, irrespective of their root meanings. They are called Roodha e.g gau (cow) 2 Those with derivational or etymological meanings. They are called Yaugika e.g sukhanada (Pleasure giving 3 Those with etymological meaning  and at the same time confirned to a conventional meaning. They are called Yogaroodha eg pankaja (mudborn lotus) 

the word Yoga has a wide variety of connotations ranging from absorption in the Ultimate Sprit to an Ayurvedic recipe, all retaining the etymological affinity in varying nuances. Thus the word Yoga has a wide orbit in the Yougika group . It has also a yogaroodha connotation. In common parlance, Yoga means the Yoga system of philosophy propounded by Patanjali ,  

Sukhya , Yoga Naya , Vaiseshika Purva Mimamsa, ultra Mimamsa are the  six orthodox systems fo Indian philosophy . of these. Yoga alone has the unique distinction of being accepted as a practical spiritual science while the others are mostly speculative in character. Though Mimamsa has a practical side , its fruits are available only in the next world, while the fruits of Yoga are available here and now. Its technique has been adapted and adopted by most of the philosophic and spiritual traditions of India . Thus the scope of Yoga has widened immensely. At present it ahs crossed the bonds of Hinduism and has been welcomed by other faiths as well, especially by Christianity. Under the inspiration of indigenization adopted by the Catholic Chruch, many India Christian have taken to the Yogic modes of meditation., transcendental meditation has made itself of home aboard so . It may also be added inter alia that in its adventures abroad Yoga has acquired some bad ordure in certain parts fo Europe. 

Nurture humility, key to realising the ultimate

By Arup Mitra 

As we grow anxious, we also become defensive, losing humility which is the basic tenet of spiritualism. As ego shoots up, the capability to absorb declines. New ideas, thoughts and alternatives become strange as seeking ceases. The other name of spiritualism is ‘seeking’ – the enormous thirst to know. Knowing is possible only when there is space to collect. 

To become defensive is a natural tendency of the mind. Even when we are wrong, we want others to say that we are right. But we need to emancipate from this narrow confinement. By casting our idea as a small mole in the backdrop of a huge canvas of the universe, we can realise its limitedness and develop respect for alternatives. Even when the opponent is offensive, the benefit of the doubt principle can work effectively. Through practice, humility becomes a part of existence; even after thousands of provocations, one does not get agitated. 

The path of devotion, as Sri Ramakrishna says, is easiest and convenient, and its essence is humility. Even when someone demolishes our ideas and beliefs, we are not supposed to retort. The best approach is to leave the place instead of entering any altercation. Even polite interjections may not work many times; why to waste energy, then? Being generous in forgiving is the best practice. 

However, it does not mean that you continue to mingle with someone who tries to harm you. Maintaining a safe distance in every respect is the most desirable approach. 

Silence creates the opportunity to communicate with oneself. We acquire depth through such communications and it is this depth that enriches humility; through humility we mature and get closer to our own existence. 

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We have to be extra careful that whatever we do or say does not take us too far from our pursuits. If it does, then returning to the original seeking may get longer as adjustments will be time consuming. 

The path of devotion which recommends complete surrender with humility tries to encompass every action as a part of spiritual pursuits. In this process, the doer does not allow the ego to dominate. And at the same time, full attention is paid to attain perfection, because the action we do in the material world is considered as service to the universal spirit. 

At the mental plane, we can offer ourselves in the form of a lamp, a flower, and water-drops to the super consciousness. We can dedicate the work that we do in the material world in the same vein. This process helps attain higher levels in the path of spiritualism but without being conscious of any sense of achievement. We realise the transitoriness of everything including our body, and at the same time, take the opportunity of our existence and make its best use. 

When the objective is to be creative, it can never be defeated because the universal spirit itself is an epitome of all creativity. As the individual objective converges with the larger and all-encompassing one, there has to be perfection, progress and enlightenment. Therefore, some attributes like humility need to be nurtured as they hold the key to the realisation of the ultimate. 

 IF HE EXIST 

I drive joy there was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting 7 precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.- 

 

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7th heaven moment of the week in fifa world cup  Argentian scored 7 goal in final, Messi got golden ball scoreing 7 goal, Mbappe no 7/10 got golden boot 

 

The practice of Religion

 Quote from the True charm and power of Vedanta

 

The practice of Religion

We read many books and many scriptures; We get various ideas from our childhood and change them every now and then. We understand what is meant by theoretical religion. we think we understand what is meant by practical religion. Now I am going to present to you my idea of practical religion.

            We hear all around us about practical religion and analyzing that, we find that it can be brought down to one conception. – charity to our fellow beings. is that all of the religion? Every day we hear in this country about practical Christianity –that a man has done some good to his fellow beings. Is that all?

What is the goal of life? Is this world the goal of life? Nothing more? Are we to just what we are nothing more?

The highest dream of many religions is the world… The vast majority of people are dreaming of a time when there will be no more disease, sickness, poverty or misery of any kind. They will have a good time all around. Practical religion, therefore, simply means Clean the streets! Make it nice! We see how all enjoy it.

            Is enjoyment the goal of life? Where it so, it would be a tremendous mistake to become a man at all. What man can enjoy a meal with more gusto than the dog or the cat? Got to a menagerie and see the wild animal tearing the flesh from the bone. Go back and become a bird!... What a mistake than to become a man! Vain have been my years –hundreds of years-if struggle only to become the man of sense-enjoyment… curtsey practice of religion

 

Nothing is more difficult than being successful

By The Mother

 

There are innumerable categories of ‘successful’ people; these categories are determined by the greater or lesser breadth, nobility, complexity, purity and luminosity of their ideal. One may ‘succeed’ as a rag-picker or ‘succeed’ as master of the world or even as a perfect ascetic; in all three cases, although on very different levels, it is one’s more or less integral and extensive self-mastery which makes the ‘success’ possible.

 

On the other hand, there is only one way of being a ‘failure’; and that happens to the greatest, to the most sovereign intelligence, as well as to the smallest, the most limited, to all those who are unable to subordinate the sensation of the present moment to the ideal they wish to achieve, but without having the strength to take up the path  that leads to this achievement.

 

At any level, from the most modest to the most transcendent, one rarely finds a perfect balance between the sum of self-control, the power of sacrifice available to the individual who has chosen a goal, and the sum of renunciations of every kind and nature which the goal requires.

 

When the constitution of an individual permits this perfect balance, then his earthly existence yields its utmost possible result.

 

 

As soon as you think that you have succeeded in a certain thing, the adverse forces make it a point to attack and spoil it. Moreover, when you think of success, you relax your aspiration and the slightest relaxation is sufficient to spoil the game. The best thing is not to think of it but to go on doing your duty. But sometimes when you go on thinking of your shortcomings and failures and you get depressed, then you have to put the success before your nose and say,  ‘Look at this’.

 

One must never try for the sake of succeeding.

 

Success depends entirely on the sincerity.

 

To judge from appearances and apparent success is precisely an act of complete ignorance. Even for the most hardened man, for whom everything has apparently been successful, even for him there is always a counterpart. And this kind of hardening of the being which is produced, this veil which is formed between the outer consciousness and the inner truth, becomes one day altogether intolerable. It is usually paid for very dearly — outer success.

 

One must be very great, pure, and have a very high and disinterested spiritual consciousness in order to be successful without being affected by it. Nothing is more difficult than being successful. This, indeed, is the true test of life!  Courtesy: aurosociety.org

 

IF HE EXIST

 I drive joy there was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting 7 precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

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Miles To Go

Quote from the True charm and power of Vedanta

 

 Miles To Go

It is good to be born in a church, but it is bad to dies there “This is what Swami Vivekananda said to people who tend to get stuck at a certain point in the course of their search for God. They start with certain beliefs and they continue to stay with them to the end. This, according to Swami Vivekananda, was like a child beginning his education with a school primer and staying put there for the rest of his life., this surely is no sign of a keen and intelligent learner. This is a sign of someone who is intellectually and spiritually dying if not dead already. A milder and less damaging interpretation given by Aldus Huxley, is that it is as good as idolatry.

 

If you are an aren’t seeker of God , you will certainly begin somewhere and with something to reach God, but you are not going to rest content if you find the methods you have adopted are not taking you forward as fast as you wanted. You will then start looking for other methods. You do not want to waste time. This does not mean that you are a restless person switching your methods every so often giving them no chance to prove their merits this only means that you are in a hurry and you are a determined person who is not going to be satisfied with anything short of what he wants. This kind of impatience and this kind of instance on having what he wants are conditions a seeker must fulfill in order to achieve the highest and best. If the cannot fulfill these conditions, he has to be content with less then what he wants. What he will get may even be less than what he deserves. There is not substitute for hard work. if you want to succeed, you have to pay its price in terms of hard work never did anyone succeed in a venture by a fluke only. You may have talents, but that will not assure success unless you work hard. You work hard not by fits and starts, but continuously always in the same manner, until success is fully in your grasp.

 

You can’t attain God by scripture study alone

John Hierl

The Hindu scriptures provide the means for Self-realisation and moksh. The earlier in life we study them, the better we will understand the transient and unreal nature of this world. True happiness lies in experiencing the Atman directly as the only constant at all times. Never affected or changed by maya, the Silent Witness remains always as undifferentiated Consciousness. Atman is Brahmn everywhere. This is the Truth expounded in all Hindu scriptures, which we can only realise by leaving them behind.

 

One of the few Hindu texts which warns of attachment to scriptural study is the Shruti Gita. In the Bhagavata Purana’s Skandha 10, the Vedas are given power of speech and address the Supreme with praise and adoration.

 

However, the Vedas themselves also admit how difficult it is to reach Oneness through cognition: “The shrutis find their ultimate fruit in you. But their conclusion is indirect, negating every assertion about you.”

 

All the world’s holy texts glorify God, but they cannot help one realise it. In the light of Truth, even words refute themselves. This quote is reminiscent of the Upanishadic teaching of ‘neti-neti’, which means that one simply cannot fathom the Infinite Truth in words – we can only negate what we think it could be. Brahmn is transcendent of any mental concept and can only be realised in divine experience.

 

 

We should never become dependent on scriptures because, as per verse 27, “…those who turn away from you are bound down by your words, like animals. Indeed, only those who are devoted to you are purified.” We must understand and reflect on the teachings of scriptures, but remember that they only represent an illusive reminder of Brahmn. If on the other hand, we turn them into our gods and gurus, we could end up blindly following their injunctions without questioning and understanding their purport.

 

Which spiritual pathway should be followed then? As per the Bhakti tradition of the Bhagavat Purana, our devotion is the highest sadhana we can practise. When we dedicate our lives to God and are willing to sacrifice our ego for it, we will attain moksh. But, this does not mean that Karma Yog and Jnana Yog are lesser means of spiritual practice. They all lead to God and should, therefore, all be followed.

 

The Shruti Gita affirms an intellectual appreciation of Brahmn through the Vedas, but in helping us to realise God, even scriptures are powerless: “Though you are equally present in all your manifestations, those who profess to know you do not know. You are beyond knowledge and that view is itself defective,” states verse 30. Here we have it in writing: the Oneness of all cannot be realised through words. Even if we think we have reached God, it will still elude us. We must transcend our minds and come to experience the Self within. By reflecting on the Universal Truth, we will realise it everywhere and at all times.

 

Being human means to be perplexed at times. Of course, we may always turn to sacred texts for guidance on how to develop spiritually and live a meaningful life. But scriptures such as the Shruti Gita stand as a reminder that we cannot and should not stay attached to them — we may otherwise miss the mark of single-pointedly being Brahmn in life and becoming liberated.

 

IF HE EXIST

 I drive joy there was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting 7 precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

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