Letter from the Field: Priority One

Dear Fred,

I am sorry for missing the first twenty minutes of our last Satsang. My mom’s friends were visiting her and I was serving lunch to the elderly couple. They were supposed to be at our  home at 11:00 am, but arrived ten minutes before Satsang. 

As I continue on my journey without distance, I sit in Satsang, awestruck, by the expression of clarity coming through the group.  I’ve heard you say that the  living method is Self-inquiry on steroids. It is what Eastern teachers may call Jnana yoga. I used to think that Jnana yoga is only for the intellectuals and that,  if you are like me, not blessed with a sparkling intellect, it can’t be for you. As far as I can remember, I have always had a devotional heart and thought that Bhakti was the way for me.

After finding this teaching, I realized what teachers meant when they said ” Bhakti Jnana mata,” meaning devotion is the mother of wisdom.  It is the sincerity of your effort that matters and is answered by grace!  Giving first priority to this discovery in life is all that matters, no matter what you call it. Naming the different approaches is also for the mind! That inner calling is answered by God in the form of a guru. As long as you think that you are a person, you feel that you have to meet this other person, who has the knowledge and will share it with you.  But when the guru does his work, you recognize that there is no you nor the guru. It is all just the one thing that we could call God or any name.

The image that comes to me of life now is that of a child, walking with wonder in a garden, discovering colorful, fragrant blooms in every corner. The seeds for those blooms were planted by the One Guru, appearing through many forms. The words of those teachers I have met in person and the many more that I met through their writings are those seeds!

Their pointers were not always easy or comforting but the truth behind those words is undeniable. A willingness to hear them is our ticket to freedom.  One pointer  that comes to mind today is Gangaji saying, “The constant avoidance of the broken heart IS the broken heart.”

What words can I find to express gratitude for the love and service of the teacher?

?♥️
Meera