Sunday, May 27, 2012

Spiritual Practice - Surrender to God


There is a Power that will light
your way to health, happiness,
peace, and success, if you will
but turn toward that Light.
-SRI SRI PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA-


"Let us pray to Almighty to illuminate our intellect towards the righteous path so that we can serve our mother earth in a better way."
"Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions" - Rigveda.
"Be so drunk with the love of God that you will know nothing but God; and give that love to all"
-Yogananda
“Surrender is the first word of my Yoga and that is the last.” (Sri Aurobindo)
You may be the biggest sinner; but the boat of divine Knowledge can take you across the ocean of sins.          
-Bhagwat Gita 
We have many demands from the divine. But the divine demands only one thing from us “Give all your burden to me.”
Pray with a sincere heart:
1.      God, let me remember you constantly throughout the day. Be with me in every moment.
2.      Let my every thought, word and deed bring me closer to You.
3.      Let me not hurt anyone in thought, word or deed.
4.      Lord, my hands and feet are working for you. You have given me a certain part to play in this world and everything I am doing in this world is for You. 
Surrender to God 
(Yogananda Paramhansa)
1.      The greatest of all duties is to remember God. The first thing to do in the morning is to meditate on him and think how you can give your life to his service, so that all day long you will be filled with his joy.
2.      Dear father, whatever conditions confront me, I know that they represent the next step in my unfoldment. I will welcome all tests because I know that within me is the intelligence to understand and the power to overcome.
3.      There is no way to find God's love other than to surrender to him. Master your mind so that you may offer it to him.
4.      The Lord knows the course of our thoughts. He does not reveal himself to us until we have surrendered to him our last worldly desire, until each of us says "Father, guide and possess me."
5.      Surrender yourself to God and you will find that your life has become a beautiful melody.
If you try to do everything in the consciousness of God, you will see with joy that every day. He is choosing certain duties for you to perform.
6.      You cannot make steel until you have made the iron white hot in fire. It is not meant for harm. Trouble and disease have a lesson for us. Our painful experiences are not meant to destroy us, but to burn out our dross, to hurry us back home. No one is more anxious for our release than God.
7.      Do not say: "Tomorrow I will meditate longer." You will suddenly find that a year has passed without fulfillment of your good intentions. Instead say:
 "This can wait and that can wait, but my search for God cannot wait."
Why does the Lord demand that we should surrender to him? Because we do not understand in what lies our well being; which path, which direction will help us attain the aim of life, that is to unite with the divine and manifest Him in the life. Once we Surrender to him, he prepares us to according to his way and brings us the highest fulfillment in life.
To belong totally to the Lord means to be the center of his force in the world. Only the surrendered person is chosen by Him to be His instrument.
"God chooses those who choose Him"
Sri Aurobindo laid great emphasis on three things for leading a peaceful and spiritual life. These are aspirations, rejection and surrender. One should aspire for the divine all the time, accompanied by unceasing effort to open oneself to divine grace. One must reject the desire of his lower animal nature like desires, demands, cravings, sensations, passions, pride, arrogance, lust, greed, jealousy, envy, etc. The third requirement for the harmonious and peaceful life, according to Sri Aurobindo, is complete surrender to the divine. Thus, even in modern times, it has been emphasized by spiritual teachers that without faith in God and without the spirit of sacrifice, it is not possible for a person to enjoy peace of mind and harmony in life.
Inspirational Quotes:
Watch your thoughts, they become words;
Watch your words, they become actions;
Watch your actions, they become habits;
Watch your habits, they become character;
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Peace of Mind/Peace of World
When there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character;
When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home;
When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation;
When there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.

Rains of God's mercy cannot gather on mountain top of pride, but they flow easily into the valley of humility.
Today I forgive all those who have ever offended me. I give my love to all thirsty hearts, both to those who love me and to those who do not love me.
May I be a lighthouse for those who are tossed on the sea of sorrow. The king of the universe is my Father.
I will not be a beggar, asking limited mortal prosperity, health, and knowledge. I am Thy child, and as such I demand, without limitations, a divine son’s share of Thine illimitable riches.
O Lord of Law, since all affairs are directly or indirectly guided by Thy will, I will bring Thy presence consciously into my mind through meditation, in order to solve the problems life has sent me.
Train me not to be proud. I will conquer pride by humility, wrath by love, excitement by calmness, selfishness by unselfishness, evil by good, ignorance by knowledge, and restlessness by the ineffable peace acquired in the stillness of inner silence.
Attaining Freedom
Why tie the infinite soul to a bony post of flesh? Let go! Cut the cords of flesh consciousness, attachments to the body, hunger, pleasure, pain, and bodily and mental involvements. Relax, Loosen, the soul from the grip of the body. Let not the heaving breath remind you of physical bars. Sit still in breathless silence, expecting every minute to make the dash for freedom into the infinite. Love not your earthly prison.
Highest Achievement
Love is the inherent dynamic force which sustains the life of a person and makes it enjoyable. Human life becomes dreary and deserted in the absence of love. Love of the Lord is the highest achievement for any person. It is not very difficult for anyone to establish a fervent relationship of love with the Lord provided he or she has a will to do it. In order to achieve this goal an aspirant has to concentrate himself either on the charming personality of the human form of the Lord or on the glory and attributes of Him who is the Almighty, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Benevolent, full of compassion, and defender of the helpless. If a person concentrates genuinely and regularly through anyone of the above methods coupled with selfless service in the name of the Lord, he shall gradually establish an ardent relationship of love with Him, which shall provide him providential support and abiding bliss in due course of time. Such a stage shall be reached when he surrenders himself completely to the will of the Lord and merges his identity with Him. Then he shall be in a position to say:
“jkth gS ge mlh esa ftlesa rsjh jtk gS!”
Thy will shall prevail.
The more we surrender our personal will, the more we know the Divine will.

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