True happiness lies in renunciation

Renouncing your weakness, find the unspeakable joy flowing within you

AUGHAR VANI, Avadhuta's Wisdom

Aghoreshwar
Baba Bhagwan Ramji

Thus spoke Aghoreshwar on the subject of Mother

• The Mother is found everywhere, and in all living beings.

• The true form of the Divine Mother is Creative Energy, Shakti, which is understood in different ways in different countries and times, but, in reality, there is no difference, it is one Creative Power.

• There is nothing beyond Shakti in this world of action. Every action in the world is accomplished through Shakti.

• A matured intellect should try to know the Divine Mother as Shakti, a single Creative Energy. However, if one cannot yet do that, one should try to see Her, to understand Her in Her various forms. At a minimum, one should strive to know Her in at least one of Her forms. This striving, itself, constitutes one's worship, one's prayers, one's meditation, one's unbreakable faith.

• Those who are dear to us, close to us, who wish us well, are addressed in very few words, for example: "Ma."

• Ma (The Mother) is the presiding deity of all our senses.

Greatness of a Mother

In anticipation of Mother's Day, May 13th, we reprint a talk that Babaji gave during our regular Sunday morning satsang on Mother's Day last year.

Today is a very special day in this country. May this day be a kind of American Navaratri. A Navaratri of only one day, yes, but at least one day is taken out in the name of the Mother.

Today is Mother's Day, the day we honor our earthly mothers. They are as important as the Divine Mother. There are not enough words to sing the glory of our mothers, who are our first friends, who endure so many hardships to give comfort to us. When we are in pain, "Mother!" is the cry that comes from our mouths. No word is more comforting! Our hearts open as we pronounce the word Ma.

The relationship between a mother and her child is very, very sacred. It goes beyond just giving birth. It is a flowering of love that we cannot find with any other person on this planet. Of course, everyone is human, and even mothers have their limitations, but the sacredness of that relationship remains intact, no matter the day-to-day difficulties. A mother may sometimes even judge her child, but her love never gives up. That is why we say there is no such thing as a bad mother.

Here is a story: There was a man who liked to go to prostitutes. He even fell in love with one of them. She said, "If you really love me, bring me the head of your mother. Then I will believe you." So the man went and cut off his mother's head. While carrying the head to his lover, he stumbled. The head fell from his hands. "Are you hurt my son?" the head asked him.

Such is the love of a mother. Her child's happiness is her happiness. She may say hard words in her frustration, but in her heart she wants only her child's happiness. A mother never wants to see her child suffering. I have never seen a mother who does, not here or in India or in any other country. A mother always wants to see her child happy. That is her only agenda. Her love is established. It never changes. That is why in India the mother is given the highest place: Ma, Guru, God these three are revered respectively.

I want to remind you that whether your mother is available in the body or not doesn't matter. Once you have tasted her presence in your life, it is always with you, like a shadow. A fruit never falls far from the tree. In fact, your mother's shadow is the greatest protection you have. The feeling of love you have for your mother is your greatest shield. And if your mother is no longer with you in body, be very grateful still! You have been touched by many mothers! Reach out and acknowledge all mothers.

We are in debt to the mother who gave us nurturing, protection, advice. Today, let us take time to pay back our debt to our mother. It is a day of Shakti puja, a sacred day. Whatever ritual you practice is good. Give her some flowers, take her to lunch. Taking time to appreciate her is puja. This is the purpose of this day.

I bow to all mothers today.

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Foot-Steps of Meditation

During a Satsang in Sept 99 Baba Hariji spoke about various stages of meditation.

I would like to welcome you all on this beautiful morning. It's such a wonderful feeling as we all sit and try to quiet ourselves down. With our inquiry within, searching for that stillness, sometimes it's very easy to fall into it, and sometimes it takes a little more effort than usual. But it doesn't matter really. You cannot label these moments by saying, Today I had a good meditation or I had a bad meditation. There is no such thing. It's all meditation. Good and bad are just labels that we are conditioned to put on things.

Sometimes you find yourself established in that desirable state and sometimes it may not happen, regardless of how hard you are trying. There are moments when you find yourself not really hitting the mark and sometimes with very little effort, you are able to establish yourself again. So without labeling it as either good or bad, accept it. It doesn't matter, as long as you sit and meditate.

When you are sitting down at the beginning of meditation, you are aware of all the restlessness in the body. That awareness is there in the beginning. As you keep repeating your mantra, continuing with your meditation, very quietly you slip into a state of meditation when all the restlessness settles down. A part of you begins to say, "Ahhhh, now it feels good; I'm enjoying the meditation. I'm enjoying the rhythm of my breath; I'm enjoying the rhythm of my heart. I'm enjoying the presence of my body, the ground, the earth; I'm grounded like a rock. I'm enjoying my stillness."

This is the second stage of meditation. You can't stop it. Those feelings just begin to arise from within. As you sit there enjoying your present- ness, very quietly you enter the third stage of meditation, and that is when the enjoyer is not there. There is no separation. These three stages of meditation we all experience even for a fraction of a moment.

And there is a fourth stage of meditation. In that state you return. Remaining established in that stillness, you get involved in daily activity. From outside it may seem very active, very participating, yelling, laughing. It is the world. You are fully in the world; yet remain established in that inner stillness of meditation.

All enlightened beings that we come in contact with, their life is like that. They are established in the Self yet engaging in the world. And this is what we strive for through our practice. First, to find that stillness; to find that joy, to be one with that joy and then to remain established in it.

No matter what we are doing, whether we are sitting down to meditate in a cross-legged position, or we are with our family, in the living room involved in our daily life, or being active in the world, we can make it all meditation with remembrance of that stillness. Without continuity in the remembrance we tend to get entangled with problems of our daily lives. We begin to identify with our aspirations, with our visions, with our running around, all of these things, and we feel trapped. In order to save yourself from this, be ready to take a step back. Disengage yourself a bit from it all. Just pull back your energy. Take a nice deep breath. Go back to that stillness. You will find it's very enriching. We can meditate throughout the day; it's not just now or in the morning or whenever, that we remember to disengage or take a step back.

Take a step back, just like a turtle pulls itself back into its shell. As long as you are running with your aspirations, you almost have so much energy, so much momentum, that you could move a rock. Just pull back for a moment. Something happens when you are engaged with anger, fear, jealousy, greed, hatred and worry. There's a tremendous amount of energy around it, the fire of such emotions is very intense. It's so intense that we keep burning in it. Disengage, take a step back, take a nice deep breath. Touch that quietness, that stillness, that peace. That's truly all there is.

The rest is maya. It's called maha maya, the grand illusion. Even the gods are tricked by it. There will be moments when we are tricked, but then we remember to step back and take that breath. This action is called sadhana, the spiritual practice. Nobody can explain to you what it feels like, what it is. You can read all the books, but you have to taste it in order to truly feel what it is.

Just remember to maintain that peace within, protecting it at all costs, never letting it get out of hand. When it does get out of hand, take a step back, welcome a breath, retain that peace. It's very important. That's the first requirement of sadhana. Otherwise, no matter how much one does this or that, it all goes to waste-the energy flushes out. Constant remembrance: it's like you are walking around carrying a precious thing, protecting it.

I bow to that stillness within you. I bow to the Divine Mother residing within your heart in the form of Shanti, Peace. Please remember...nothing is worth loosing that peace...Nothing.

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Meet the faces at the Ashram

Through this column we salute the special individuals at the Ashram.

Doris Hearn


Doris Hearn first heard about the Ashram from a friend in an art class. In casual conversation, the subject of yoga came up. Doris said she only practiced alone, and the friend suggested that she check out a yoga class taught at the Vintage House by a wonderful yogi named Hariji. Doris went and the rest is history. Hariji would always invite his students to visit the Ashram for a meal, or for some special event. This is how many members of the community have been introduced to the Ashram. Doris enjoyed the people she met there and the spiritual direction Babaji offered. At about this time, her husband passed away, and the Ashram offered her the feeling of family, for which she remains grateful. In the five years that she has been a member of the Ashram community, Doris has been active in many areas. Some, which come to mind, include working with our Friday Ayurvedic health clinic and serving two years as a member of our board of directors. And how can we forget her offerings of Thursday night meals, which she so lovingly provided and prepared for several years? Doris has a passion for the arts. She is a mentor to many children in the school district. Doris thinks of the Ashram as her spiritual home and we all are grateful to have her as part of our family.