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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