Outside of Helping Hands, the little health clinic that serves the homeless in Gainesville, Florida, I was reading the 5 stanzas on the guru's sandals, Shri Gurupaduka Panchakam. Salutations to the Supreme Guru and his Supreme Sandals it said. I naturally translated it to her sandals as the Guru is a woman now. I thought about how supreme the Guru is. I hadn't much. I hadn't. I usually sort of went about chanting automatically as I think you must when it is your goal to chant a text or some work. I learn the way words are pronounced and so forth, the melody of the chant. I don't put too much into the meaning. Maybe for this reason I get off into different philosophies such as the dualist Krishna ideas and so forth. Maybe I just already had that previous understanding, as many have from Christian backgrounds, thinking they know exactly who God is and what a spiritual master is.
I need to continue to think of the Supreme Guru and Her Supreme Sandals but I am sure I will be pushed off into thinking supremacy like the Nazis race supremacy, our favorite in modern media and thought. Nothing is supreme we say apparently thinking everything is like race. Maybe we just don't have the love in our heart to call anything supreme or maybe we would just like to lie about it instead.
I was reading a quote from Yogananda about our complaining to God about how hard things are when in reality we put money high above our devotion to him. I don't know how many times I have been counseled not to do anything Godwards because of money concerns. Those to whom I listened were not believers, just accountant like people. They only cared about the money. Although outwardly claiming to believe in some God they would declare their God is not my God and then calling themselves my friend would counsel me not to spend money on some nice beads or a cup with Om inscribed upon it, not to take intensives or go on retreats effectively discouraging all my Godward yearning in the name of a good budget. Somehow they didn't seem to care about my other expenditures, too much, my satellite TV, the big plasma screen I bought. Wonder why I bought them being discouraged from Godly buying? No. That was the whole point, to turn me toward materialism and worldly enjoyment and away from the One that lived inside of me, that Being, Consciousness and Bliss which was not any American or Western world philosophy as surrounded them and surrounds me.
Yogananda made a good point. We cannot put a whole day of prayer in to God. We cannot worship him for a little while and then we complain about hardships that come our way.
I need to continue to think of the Supreme Guru and Her Supreme Sandals but I am sure I will be pushed off into thinking supremacy like the Nazis race supremacy, our favorite in modern media and thought. Nothing is supreme we say apparently thinking everything is like race. Maybe we just don't have the love in our heart to call anything supreme or maybe we would just like to lie about it instead.
I was reading a quote from Yogananda about our complaining to God about how hard things are when in reality we put money high above our devotion to him. I don't know how many times I have been counseled not to do anything Godwards because of money concerns. Those to whom I listened were not believers, just accountant like people. They only cared about the money. Although outwardly claiming to believe in some God they would declare their God is not my God and then calling themselves my friend would counsel me not to spend money on some nice beads or a cup with Om inscribed upon it, not to take intensives or go on retreats effectively discouraging all my Godward yearning in the name of a good budget. Somehow they didn't seem to care about my other expenditures, too much, my satellite TV, the big plasma screen I bought. Wonder why I bought them being discouraged from Godly buying? No. That was the whole point, to turn me toward materialism and worldly enjoyment and away from the One that lived inside of me, that Being, Consciousness and Bliss which was not any American or Western world philosophy as surrounded them and surrounds me.
Yogananda made a good point. We cannot put a whole day of prayer in to God. We cannot worship him for a little while and then we complain about hardships that come our way.
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