Atmalaya Meditation Program

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On Love

Often in my life I have been asked and I have also asked; why do you love me? One answer was because I took care of her, another answer was because they or I were of good moral character. Sometimes it is because we admire some ones qualities or zest for life, often qualities we feel we are lacking. Then there is the need for some ones charisma or intoxicating energy. But usually love is consistent with a feeling or emotion that involves an external.

Often we say we love someone when we actually see personality traits that we look for and hold dear to us as something “I wont settle for less on”. The problem is that having appreciation or compassion, or admiration should not be confused for love, those feelings are admirable on their own but they are not love. Often we are taught what we should love and cherish, yes perhaps we should cherish these qualities that others tell us to love but they do not stand alone and signify love. To be attracted to, addicted to, taught, guilted, conditioned, or feel we need or are needed is not love. Compassion is compassion, admiration is admiration, desire is desire, appreciation is appreciation, needs are needs, even combined all of these feelings are incredibly powerful yet they are still not love.

Below are some definitions and descriptions of love form various people and spiritual teachers throughout history as well well as my own realization.

In this universe it is love that binds everything together. Love is the very foundation, beauty and fulfillment of life. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

Love is profound interest! ~ Swami Gitananda Giri

Love is to stand before your Beloved, striped naked of all attributes, so that His qualities become your qualities. ~ Al-Haiiaj

Limited Love asks for possession of the beloved, but the unlimited asks only for itself. ~ Kahlil Gibran

I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.
~ Roy Croft

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
~ The Buddha

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. ~ Mother Teresa

He who wants to do good, knocks at the gate; He who loves, finds the door open. ~ Rabindranath Tagore

It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving. ~ Mother Teresa

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ~ Jesus of Nazareth

It is wrong to think that love comes from long companionship and persevering courtship. Love is the offspring of spiritual affinity and unless that affinity is created in a moment, it will not be created for years or even generations. ~ Kahlil Gibran

God and love are identical, and one who has divine love has received God.
~ Meher Baba

'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” ~ Matthew 22:36-40

Try to cultivate love of God. You are born as a human being only to attain divine love.
~ Ramakrishna Paramhansa

Love is that indescribable divine force that attracts us to our divinity and its goal is to merge in divine rapture! ~ Yogacharya Gowrishankarananda

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
~ I John 3:18

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.
~ The Dalai Lama

If you must be mad, be it not for the things of the world. Be mad with the love of God.
~ Ramakrishna Paramahansa

To love is to recognize yourself in another. ~ Ekhart Tolle

While love can lift us up and carry us on intoxicated wings so too can desire. While love can motivate us to do amazing things and perform incredible feats of bravery so to can fear. While love can make us do amazingly selfless acts so to can guilt and addiction. While love is tender and gentle, so to is compassion. Only upon honest introspection when we really know who we are can we feel our connection to ourselves and the world around us. When we are beautiful human beings when we act and can honestly say that our intentions behind those actions are motivated by a pure heart, then we can begin to love ourselves. Unlike appreciating ourselves love is overpowering, we can actually know how amazingly beautiful we really are, then we love our “Selves”. Lets be clear love is not pride; the difference is love exists outside of ego, ego is created, love is eternal non-changing truth, ego is an illusion. When someone really knows how beautiful we are then they love us. That person must really know who we are so honesty is the most important precept to love, someone can’t love us if they do not know us, know the beauty of our true selves. We/they must also be honest with ourselves/themselves, for if we are not then we cannot love ourselves. Are we living in love with ourselves? Do we see our own true beauty? Do we see our divine beauty and our divine connection? Only when we live in honesty and divine beauty can we know the truth which is love.

This honesty that we talk of is the authenticity that comes from knowing who we really are, our “Self”. When one knows that they are a soul and lives from that state of being it is natural for love to flow from you. Love is an inner experience that changes the perception of all other experiences. Love cannot be given, nor can it be received it can only be radiated from within the lover. Love is contagious, the beloved feels the love of the lover and they experience their own love. Love is a state of bliss and beauty that is natural to the experience of being.

Love ultimately creates within us several qualities. If we are ever to question whether we are experiencing love or are wondering if someone else is then we can look for the manifestation of these soul qualities.

When someone feels love they cannot help but to feel compassion and the power of their compassion overflows from them like light from the sun.

One who is in love becomes selfless and they will do anything for the good of theyre beloved. the higher their love the higher their motivation. Divine love creates a selflessness towards everyone.

Love through selflessnes manifests as ego disolution and visibly appears as humility.

The highest experience of love can be seen in the person who maintains equanimity in all things for they have realized love at all times regardless of circumstances.

When we know love to be a part of us and the essence of our being we become aligned with truth to the highest degree. We are true to ourselves and to others. Divine love has such a purifying effect on us we cannot help but to speak the truth and act truthfully.

Ultimately when we become merged with our divine nature we become an agent of love and we are ever in service to others. we can see this in the lives of various saints who are so utterly selfless they tirelessly serve everyone.

Love is unconditional. if it is conditional then it is not love.

The experience of true love also dissolves fear, attachment,& hatered.

Often when we To cultivate love is to cultivate our divinity and to cultivate our divinity is to cultivate love. When we are sincerely devoted to God we seek him everywhere. When we realize God we see her in everything.

On Seva

The Following article is an excerpt from the upcoming Book "The Mystical Aspects of Seva Shakti" by Yogacharya Gowrishankarananda.

Seva, begins where the concept of volunteerism in its most basic form evolves. At this beginning stage we help other human beings and find a way to make the world a better place. Often times as you may have seen or personally experienced, sometimes volunteerism develops a “I’m great because I volunteer ego”. Of course anything that develops the ego is not part of the spiritualized path classical Yoga aims to facilitate. This being said volunteerism still does great things for our world and thus has its place. Once Seva evolves past mere volunteerism we begin the very beautiful path of Karma Yoga.

Karma Yoga involves several concepts interwoven to help integrate our emotional natures with our higher spiritual natures. It is important to understand that Karma Yoga is often suggested as a separate or individual path or “type” of Yoga. Up until around 100 years ago Yoga was Yoga. We didn’t have sally sue yoga or Johnny “look at me” yoga; nor for that matter did we have Yogic concepts with Sanskrit words marketed as a complete path distinctive of and independent of all other paths. Let us be clear, for those of us who are interested in the spiritual aspects of yoga, all aspects of yoga are valuable for all of us. Yes, it is true that some of us are more in our minds so to speak in which case those individuals should pursue Jnana Yoga & meditational practices a bit more than other practices. Then there are those of us who are more emotional (most humans alive these days) who should spend more time focusing on Karma Yoga and Seva. Remember this is not to say that an emotional person should not practice meditation nor is it saying an intellectual should not practice Karma Yoga. In fact, everyone should practice all aspects of Yoga for different reasons; and of course at the right time, in the right way.

The main concepts involved in Karma Yoga are to develop good Karma, eliminate negative Karmas, cultivate awareness while performing our actions, and offering the fruits of our actions to our Ishta Devata (personal deity). Please understand that this is a very general description and in fact Karma Yoga is so expansive that it is an entire sub-science within Yoga that should never be left out of the teachings of Yoga otherwise it begins to fall apart and no longer resemble classical spiritually charged yoga at all. Often times Karma Yoga is offered in Yoga studios as a replacement for paying some or all of the fees. Similarly, Ashrams and many studios will require it as part of their daily program. While at one level this could loosely be called Karma Yoga it is often a free labour concept that benefits the facility rather than the student. In Karma Yoga specific attitudes must be cultivated and a spiritual experience is the goal. When we are trading time for money then there is no selfless component to it. Likewise, when we “have to” do our “gardening” duty because that is part of the program this too can be often left devoid of the appropriate mental/emotional attitude.

I have been to many different Yoga schools and a few ashrams, some don’t offer a Karma Yoga Program at all while some really are masters of facilitating the spiritual experience; most however offer Karma Yoga programs and leave/trust the spiritual experience up to the student. Before going any further let me explain that classically only the most deserving of us were ever accepted into discipleship and therefore Adhikarans, or the very best of students already had the right attitude anyways. So historically speaking in the classical context of a true Guru and a true devotee relationship, the teacher didn’t have to try and cultivate a devotional attitude within semi interested students.

In Seva we reach the highest level of Karma Yoga true selfless service. Seva happens when Bhakti (devotional) Yoga meets Karma Yoga. It is within the path of Seva that we can experience the highest spiritual experience. Yes, that is correct, through our Seva we can reach Moksha (spiritual liberation). In fact the path of Seva is the easiest path within Yoga and gives the most satisfaction along the way. Through Seva it is the person who is acting with true selflessness that is spiritually benefiting. In Seva we become so selfless in the performance of our service that we become merged with our highest Selves. Experiencing inwardly and manifesting outwardly our own divine Spiritual natures.