by Gurani Anjali
Many changes are occurring and we don’t see them, understand them or recognize them. Yet they are occurring all the time. They are moving to become. Every thought we have creates our existence. If you have a positive thought, there will be a positive creation. If you have a negative thought, there will be a negative creation.
A thing in itself does not exist. There is the one in the many and the many in the one. How does that one become the many and how does that many reside in the one. We live in a beautiful world in which all living beings are part of this great universe, and every living being is responsible to do its duty, to live up to the honor of this divine creation. The one in the many and the many in the one. Consciousness is conscious of the one in the many and the many in the one. These are very few words but these words have very deep philosophical roots. Just a few words: “consciousness is conscious of the one in the many and the many in the one.” This we must experience through our senses, through our understanding, through our meditation. Be still and know, be still and know. Be quiet and observe the one in the many and the many in the one. This is a fantastic life, a marvelous experience. A joy when understood becomes ecstasy. Yes. There is no fear for the one who comes to great realizations. That element of fear is totally wiped away, yes, totally gone. May you, through your own actions know all that you have a right to know and that you must know. Seek that ultimate reality which takes all fear away, all anxiety away, and leaves you in a state of perfect peace so that you may at last worship with your body and mind the spirit that dwells within all.
That which you cannot see is the Self. There will come a time when you will realize the Self in the silence of your life. You will need no other because you will then have become all others.
Living in this physical condition, many physical changes occur. Don’t be afraid of the changes. Some changes in your body may be quite painful. If you begin to become the observer of all afflictions, you will see that there is a part of you which is your purusha (conscious) nature, which experiences no pain, and which observes all from within its temple of silence. Your body goes through pains. You may have backache, you may have nervousness in your stomach, you may have mental fatigue, many, many physical pains. They are very good. They give you a space in your life to sit quietly. They take you away from all unnecessary activities and put you in that place where you have to see the body. You have to experience the body, the physical manifestation. It’s very sacred, this body. So from time to time when you get the pains and aches purusha is calling you back and saying, “See, you didn’t listen when you were feeling good, now I have to give you that pain so you will come back to me.” And once you come back you recognize the pain, you come back and you sit quietly. In a few days, or in a few months or in a few seconds that pain changes.
As soon as you tune inward you recognize that supreme presence within you, purusha, the God that resides within you, the God without which nothing is. Mahapurusha is ever present, constant and never lets us out for a long time. It draws us right back and says, “Uh, uh you’ve gone too far. See how you got slapped, see how you got abused, see how you got ridiculed. See all that? Why did you leave me? Why did you leave me? Now you’re going to get this pain so you will sit still.” Isn’t that nice? How loved we are. We are so loved. We are loved. We are already possessed by the infinite, the omnipresent, the omnipotent. Already. We already have someone in our lives, but we want that body in front of us, that some thing. It’s a beautiful experience. And that one thing that stands before us captures us, captures our attention. So what do we do with that? We try to possess it and we eventually destroy what we possess. It is important in our lives to look upon and cultivate a thankful heart. Then we can use our eyes to focus on what stands before us, so that we can focus more clearly and enter within, into that which is without a second.
Live your life and set yourself free. We always live with much expectation and anticipation. Living with ideas of rights and wrongs, one never lives one’s life. Yet one does not know otherwise. So it becomes necessary to go to the wise and mighty sages, read those golden pages and from time to time sit quietly in yourself. We live in circumstance, in society, with many rules and regulations to follow in upholding the order of society. This is a necessary part of human existence. Yet through it all we walk alone and from time to time we see that. See that you are walking alone with many living beings around.
“Who can understand your mind, who can tell you where to go? Who can tell you how to be?”1 Each day we wake up in the morning only to continue yesterday. Samskara has a great hold on everyone. Everyone in this world feels so damaged, damaged through living in this world. “Torn apart and put asunder, avidya (ignorance) erasing vidya (knowledge).”2 Every single person is damaged. So the kleshas (afflictions) must be attenuated. Meditation is necessary to see how and when and why all this that has happened. It is necessary to see that. It is wonderful to sit opposite someone and have a cup of tea, eat a fruit, have a conversation. But in these rapidly changing days one does not have the pleasure of conversation. One has, of course, the opportunity always for interrogation. Where did you go? What did you do? Who said what and why? Interrogation is the rule of today’s interaction. No one is conversing. Conversation is a beautiful activity but most of the time in today’s lifestyle there is interrogation. Everyone is facing everyone in a warring spirit. Everyone is on guard. Now whenever there are two people that are on guard, you have war. For one to have conversation one must be very calm, with no expectations. Investigation and interrogation are constantly occurring today. Everyone feels there is something missing. Yes, there is something missing. The art of conversation must be brought back. And as long as there is war, one cannot speak of the beauty that comes from the heart. One is warring. There is war, everywhere. Let us do Yoga everyday so that we may converse with each other, not to get information from each other, but so that we may talk to bring out the beauty of life, the quietness, the subtleties, the pleasantries.
Through all the warring between people there is a yearning, a crying out from within, a reaching out. All of us feel that. Everyone wants that. But when you go to reach out there is no hand to hold. There is no one there. Everyone is at war. So when you speak amongst yourselves try not using the words “who, what, where, why, when, and how”. These are words for physicians, teachers, journalists, newspaper reporters, the judge, the law enforcement officers and of course, your teachers. They can ask you when, why, and how. And also another very wonderful word that needs to be abolished is “I.” Put it in a bottle. Put it on the highest shelf where you can’t reach it and you’ll have a wonderful time. Don’t say “I,” don’t even say “we.” Let’s see what you do. Let’s see. Don’t say, “I,” forget about that. Forget about that “I.” It creates a lot of obstacles—mainly you.
At the moment of realization one sings and then shares that song so the moment of realization may be shared with the many. It is always the one in the many and then the many in the one. So when one comes to a realization, one brings out a gift from that realization, a manifestation is born in the form of an offering.
How powerful sound is. How powerful praise is. Through the voice, it is our duty and our honor to speak for these powers. They can not speak because they are too busy, so we must speak for them and glorify them. The voice is so special. The words that come, carried by the sound, are so powerful. It is our right and our honor to sing out and speak out with great courage and confidence. Speak for the mighty forces, the great devas (gods) that silently move everything. We must sing the praises of the sun, as in the Gayatri mantra. We must sing praises of the wind that blows. When you hear the rustling of the leaves on the trees, and when you see the movements around you, know that this great force Vayu (Wind) is at work. So we must speak for this great deva known as Vayu. We must speak on behalf of Agni (Fire), of prithivi (Earth), Jal (Water). When you take your shower every morning look at Jal flowing. Can’t you speak to Jal, to the water that comes out of your faucet flowing on you, purifying your body? Can’t you speak, can’t you sing to it, can’t you love it? And the earth that is so silent, can’t you say something to it? Can’t you bow down and give it a kiss, and say I love you for holding me up? Sing the praises of these great mighty forces. As you sing and sing and sing and give praise and thankfulness, all malice, hatred, prejudices and anger will be removed. All these great beings work silently. Therefore, we have that urgency within us, that drive. We have that feeling to say something. We’re always wanting to say. We want to tell it like it is, so go ahead, do that, in praise, always in praise, always in thankfulness.
How can one cultivate a thankful heart? One has to observe the powers that move everything. Everything is moved. Praise these powers in your voice, in your song and in your dance. When you praise all that give you your existence, then you will find a thankful heart. A thankful heart is cultivated through action, through praise, through singing. That’s why, through the ages, song and dance are vital. Praises to Agni (Fire), praises to Akasha (Space). Constant praising, praising, praising and when we get lost in all these, then who am I and who are you? We are all one and we are all born of these great movements that we call life.
Experience helps you to become firm and confident. When you are firm and you are confident, recognize that, and come to the realization of how that confidence came to you, how it was moved. Cultivate a thankful heart and then make it your duty, your honor, your self respect and high esteem to make it known through your voice. Your voice is vital. Your voice speaks for the silent realms of life. The universe is silent, silently moving. The Rta (the selfless movement of life) is continuous and silent, but we who speak, let us take up our responsibility to sing the praises of these silent worlds we live in and through: earth, water, fire, air, space. We must sing in praise and we must glorify. We must magnify. And we must continually do it, never stopping. The chant must continue. You must chant this. It has to be chanted. It has to be heard. All the chants have been chanted throughout the ages by men and women who have come to great realizations. So once you realize something, keep singing its praises. Don’t just say “Oh, how wonderful it is. Oh, I experienced this. “That is fine to do to some extent but don’t stop there. It has to be done constantly so that the vibrations may be sent out from you into the entire universe. It must be resounded over and over and over again until you’ve done enough. The Rta never stops and neither can you. Om shanti.
1. Excerpt from song “Each Day” by Gurani Anjali↩
2. Excerpt from song “Jivatma Paramatma” by Gurani Anjali↩