by Gurani Anjali
Om shanti, namaste.
To wait upon the Lord, this is something the seeker after truth does every day. To wait upon the Lord (Isvara) is to listen to that voice that is covered up by the klesas: avidya, asmita, raga, dvesa, abhinivesa (the afflictions: ignorance, I-sense, attachment, repulsion, and clinging). The voice of the Lord is covered up. The seeker after truth must wait and create around him or her a quietness. Not to run away from the noise, but to create within the noise, the hustling and bustling of life, to create within that atmosphere, a quietness. To wait upon the Lord so that one may hear that voice that one is longing to hear. The seeker after truth is always seeking that truth, quietly, with a steady body and steady mind. Gestures are quiet. Movement of the body is also done quietly. A quiet that is not a gross quietness, but a very subtle one. To wait upon the Lord.
It is very hard for the average individual to wait. But to the seeker after truth, waiting is absolutely necessary. When one waits, then one honors. Without that waiting with anticipation, which comes from the yearning of one’s innermost self, one cannot see, one cannot hear the voice of the Lord, Isvara, maha-Isvara. Maha means the great; Isvara means the Lord. To wait upon the Lord without having jitters in the body, without being vulgar in speech. No matter where one is, one is careful, steady, honoring the place they are in, waiting.
What a beautiful thing it is to wait. Take the lives of the great saints, the ones that have gone before us. They did a lot of waiting. Wait upon the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind, with everything. Wait. Wait while doing everything. While taking care of your worldly affairs, the waiting must be there. Wait upon the Lord with all your heart and mind. One wants to be self-realized, one wants to be set free from the bondage of pain. Pain is nothing but the afflictions (klesas). These afflictions must be offered up and given up by the seeker after truth. Now if you are seeking the truth, make sure you are doing a lot of waiting for the Lord. The Lord is revealed to us through waiting, through the senses of looking, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. And you will hear the voice, you will hear the great flute player. It will carry you away into the arms of the Lord. Not as a broken-up child, but you will be embraced with tenderness and love . . . that love that no one can give you, except the Lord. Wait with all your heart and all your mind.
Think of Mother Teresa in Calcutta. She struggled so many years, always with her mind set on the Lord. All the hardships that she went through were nothing, because she was waiting for the Lord and doing for the Lord. Isvara is the Lord. You wait in every situation and in every action that you perform. This worldly life must go on. This world around you must go on for you to be in, so that through this world, you may perform selflessly. To perform for the Lord is to do without wanting any rewards, to do without expectations. To look at each and every face as the face of the Lord. With the body, with the mind, we have to wait. When we live with that frame of mind, then we will seek understanding. And since you are still a seeker, you must seek the truth. The truth is, “Where is my Lord? Where is my Lord? Where is that one I am seeking?” Water and food do not quench or fill the hunger for my Lord. To wait becomes a way of life. And one waits and waits and waits. No matter how long it takes, it doesn’t matter, one waits forever.
One must create within oneself a hunger for truth. And when one hungers and is thirsty, one will surely be filled and one’s thirst will be quenched. Do a lot of waiting. When one is truly waiting, external impressions of that waiting are noticed by all around, but particularly by oneself. All the body tremors begin to subside. All crude behavior ceases to be. Wait and you will surely find. If you feel you are still ignorant, seek understanding. If you feel you are very egotistical, then ask yourself the question, “Who am I?” If you find yourself running after a lot of fantasies and dreams, running after the many attractions around, know the changing nature of all that you see and move on. And when you find yourself holding on to fantasies, dreams and delusions, know and say to yourself, “This, too, must pass away.”
Overcome the klesas, the afflictions of life. Once they are overcome and removed, you will find the Lord. Wait upon the Lord. Do that waiting. Not helplessly, not hopelessly, but with a true desire. Seek the Lord so that you may, at last, be free of the bondage of pain and struggle, so that you may be with the Lord, so that you may worship and embrace. Everything around us is perfect. But because the mind is not filled with true understanding, one is removed and set apart from the beauty of life. So seek understanding. In this world everything is of form and color. There are many objects around us so that we may see, touch, hear, taste and smell. So that we may live this life with honor and tranquility. So that we may worship. So that we may be filled with the joy that is within us. To give of ourselves the greatest gifts we have. Om shanti.
R. will read now from the Chandogya Upanisad, Seventh Prapathaka, First Khanda.
1. Om! ‘Teach me, sir!’—with these words Narada came to Sanatkumara.
To him, he then said: ‘Come to me with what you know. Then I will tell you still further.’
2. Then he said to him: ‘Sir, I know the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Atharva-Veda as the fourth, Legend and Ancient Lore as the fifth, the Veda of the Vedas, Propitiation of the Manes, Mathematics, Augury, Chronology, Logic, Polity, the Science of the Gods, the Science of Sacred Knowledge, Demonology, the Science of Rulership, Astrology, the Science of Snake-charming, and the Fine Arts. This, sir, I know.’
3. ‘Such a one am I, sir, knowing the sacred sayings, but not knowing the Soul (Atman). It has been heard by me from those who are like you, sir, that he who knows the Soul (Atman) crosses over sorrow. Such a sorrowing one am I, sir. Do you, sir, cause me, who am such a one, to cross over to the other side of sorrow.’
To him he then said: ‘Verily, whatever you have here learned, verily, that is mere name.’
4. ‘Verily, a name are the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Artharva-Veda as the fourth, Legend and Ancient Lore as the fifth, the Veda of the Vedas, Propitiation of the Manes, Mathematics, Augury, Chronology, Logic, Polity, the Science of the Gods, the Science of Sacred Knowledge, Demonology, the Science of Rulership, Astrology, the Science of Snake-charming, and the Fine Arts. This is mere Name. Reverence Name.’
5. ‘He who reverences Name as Brahma—as far as Name goes, so far he has unlimited freedom, he who reverences Name as Brahma.’
‘Is there, sir, more than Name?’
‘There is, assuredly, more than Name.’
‘Do you, sir, tell me it.’1
Om shanti, shanti, shanti.
Gurani: R., what is name?
R.: Name is speech.
Gurani: B., what is name?
B.: Name is just an idea, a designation for something.
Gurani: A., what is name?
A.: Name is a word given to something to try to fix it.
Gurani: L., what is name?
L.: A name is something that we give to something to make it known.
Gurani: N., what is name?
N.: A sacred sound or syllable that describes the Self.
Gurani: Name is very powerful, like the name “philosophy,” like the name “water.” Name is an honor designated to a particular power, on a particular being in time. Like the name “fire,” when you hear the name “fire”: a lot goes with it. Fire purifies and destroys. Water blends and cleanses and moves. What’s in a name? Plenty! Every time you hear a name, think of what that name is all about. For example, the word “earth” is a name. We live through it, we step on it, we survive through it. It has become us. The “Earth” has become this apple. But there is more to this apple. This is an apple, a name. But what is it? A being in time. To the seeker after truth, everything is significant, even the particle of dust on the floor. It is so difficult for us to live without names. We use names to communicate, to bring to mind all there is to know about the sacredness of life. There are all kinds of names. And all names are given. The name that you have was given to you. It was given to you because you were important. You are to be recognized. You are to be uplifted, upheld, personified. What is in a name? Plenty. Who has the name? How did that name get there? Who gave it? All these the seeker after truth must understand in order to pay reverence, in order to acknowledge. In order to say “I see,” “I hear,” “I smell,” “I taste,” “I touch.”
What is in a name? There are so many sacred scriptures of the East, the Yajur Veda, the Rg Veda, the Atharva Veda. There are so many Vedas, sacred books of the East. There are so many sacred books also from the West. All kinds of philosophies —Descartes, Heidegger, Plato, Socrates—these are all names, but these names stand high. And they are known and they are respected. Name is significant, auspicious and beautiful. We must know the name in its entirety. Your name was given to you. Your parents gave you your name to give you a place of belonging. To give you a place to be seen and heard. This place is an ashram (a name). How did that name come to be? Everything is given. You cannot do anything unless it is given to you. Therefore, we have to wait. We have to wait upon the Lord. Everything you have is given. Ultimately, you really have nothing, except everything that was given to you. Honor that! Be thankful that you have a place and you have a name. Honor that name until it changes. As you evolve with consciousness, things will change. And one day, you may be given the name, “Yogi Ananda Something,” another name to put you through, to give you a place to be, to change you, the you that was in the mundane world of cause and effect, to take you one step beyond. What’s in a name? When I open up the Upanisads, I first look at the name. And I honor that name, the Chandogya, the Katha, and there are many others. First we look for the name. The attention goes there first. Then I acknowledge the writer of that particular book. Then I say, “Om shanti,” then I bow, saying, “Thank you for giving me these beautiful words so that I may read.” Without honor, devotion and respect, it is not possible to penetrate.
There are so many names: Alan, Regina, Thelma. Just look around. You will see so many names. And each name has a form; and that form performs for the continuity of existence, knowledge and bliss. We have to perform so that existence will continue to be a vital part of our life. So that through existence, we may have knowledge and understanding. And finally we may be filled with joy which is anandam, which is bliss. What is in a name? Plenty. Without the name given to you, you couldn’t be. So we have to wait. Just like the fruit on the vine waits until it is ready to drop off. Like that we have to wait. And in the waiting, we must ready ourselves to be taken into another realm. Movement is part of life. But we find ourselves, from time to time, wanting to hold on to that which must move. That’s why it is wonderful to have cats in the family. You cannot hold them too long, because they will give you a scratch to tell you to let go. A lesson is learned for the seeker after truth. You buy beautiful plants for the house, and they also teach you a lesson. If you don’t feed or water them, they will die. And in that a lesson is taught.
You cannot hold on to that which must change, you must move on. So we try to hold onto things which must change. And in trying to do that we create a lot of suffering for ourselves and for those around us. Anything that is moving, don’t hold it. Watch its dance, see its performance, enjoy its constantly changing nature and allow it to move on. So today I want to focus on the word “name” and waiting, the power of waiting. As you go from this place today, look closely at every word you use. Every word you use will be a name. “Pass the salt. Give me a glass of water. I am going to bed. I am going to work.” We are wrapped up with words. They are all names and each name wraps us up. We are constantly wrapped up in names: my friend Suzie, my friend James, my this, my that, my wife, my husband, my child—all names. Each name carries with it a reason for its being. So honor that name, and honor the person who has that name.
Some names are very important and very strong and very powerful, like “the President of the United States.” Now his name is very important. The whole world knows about his name and knows him, or Mother Teresa, or Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Buddha, Mohammed, Moses. These are names that are held high in history. These names have been world movers. And in this Ashram, we have the word “ashram.” We have Yogi Ananda Satyam; we have Yogi Ananda Viraj; these are names. But with these names goes a whole lot. Then there is the name, Gurani Anjali, GuruMa to some of you. These are names that have come away from the masses. And so when a name is drawn out and made known to all, it becomes a mighty force because infusion takes place and power is transmitted, just like a connection with electrical wires. Name, what is in a name? Now work on yourself so your name can also be great, so you may also become a powerful being in time, a name that will cause all heads to turn and look, a being that is drawn out of the masses.
From time to time in history, you have the masses and then you have a leader. The masses are of a herd mentality. They go in groups. They cannot help it; they have to because they are not ready to come out. They cannot just come out on their own. They will be killed, trampled on if they try to. Therefore, a name is drawn out of the crowd and transformation takes place. Leaders are born that way, coming out of the masses. But while in the masses, one has to perform. One has to be educated, one has to learn to live within the masses. One has to learn to compromise and know one’s place. But eventually, one is drawn out of the herd and made to lead the masses. Just see what is happening today in the world. Not so nice. But that is what is happening. So wait upon the Lord. Do a lot of waiting. While running, wait. While driving your car, wait. While speaking to someone, wait. Wait so that you may hear the voice of the Lord. Om shanti.
1.Hume, Robert Ernest, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, 2nd Ed., (London, Oxford University Press, 1931) p. 250-1.↩