My Amritapuri Diary, thoughts on surrender and a challenge!

[Guest guest]

Om Namah Shivayah!

 

Niscala, this is wonderful, and such a treat for those

of us who are unable at this time to go to Amritapuri.

I love how at the beginning you prayed that you be put

in situations which would call attention to the

vasanas, and how you were challenged. Something

occurred to me as I was reading, maybe it is wiser to

refer to them as THE vasanas, rather than MY vasanas,

in the same way we try to think of THE body, THE ego.

Perhaps altering the form in which we percieve and

name these illusions will help us to let them go.

 

Thinking about it leads me to remember Dixie's story

about the Sioux hatchet from her father. She placed

tremendous value on a perishable symbol of her

father's love, as well as of her heritage, and then

gave it away immediately without a fight when someone

(Ma? Was that You?) assumed it was a gift. The love

remains, only the symbol is removed. Maybe this is the

trick to removing the ego and our identification with

the body and with physical comfort/pleasure. Dixie's

friend said something like, "I will cherish it

forever." Know that She will cherish forever whatever

we let go for the sake of surrender. I think of this

whenever I remember how I quit smoking. I was terribly

attached to my habit, and was totally identified with

it. And then one day, I sort of heard Amma in my heart

saying, "Oh thank you, I will cherish it forever..."

and "saw" Her holding my pack of cigarettes. I quit

right away! It was so easy. She took it first, (grace)

and then I "played along."

 

Of course, surrendering the ego and all the ego's

trimmings is much more difficult than quitting

smoking. But maybe we can try to listen to the voice

of Truth inside that yearns to be free. Can we give

that Truth the gift of our surrender?

 

Often I too pray to Amma to arrange circumstances so

that I might be made aware of my faults and have the

opportunity to chose differantly. Since I started this

prayer- the prayer for the demise of attachment to

illusion, it has astonished me how quickly She works.

 

To use the Sufi analogy of the spark of Divine Love-

the spark becomes the flame that eventually consumes

the ego and leaves only Love in it's place. I think,

and this is an assumption, not a quote, that each bit

we surrender to the Beloved is thrown onto the fire

and causes it to burn brighter.

 

Hey, I have an idea and a challenge for the children

of this list; in the spirit and grand tradition of

spring cleaning, gather together books, clothes,

videos, knick-knacks, as much as you can and either

donate it to charity, or have a yard sale and sell it,

giving the money to charity. I think the benefits are

obvious. I'm sure we all are guilty of exessive

accumulation to some degree. I know I am.

 

pranams,

 

Brianna

 

 

Kirsten <anandam33 wrote:

> Om Namah Shivaya!

>

> I am currently in the process of transcribing my

> journal (of my experiences at Amritapuri and on the

> North India tour) online. It may take me a while

> before I am able to get it all uploaded - please

> bear

> with me:)

>

> http://niscala.blogspot.com/

>

> In Amma's service,

>

> Niscala

>

>

>

> Tax Center - File online by April 15th

> http://taxes./filing.html

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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