Finding frame. . .

[Guest guest]

Awhile back was walking in remote tall grass prairie and on the path

appeared an animal. At first glance thought it was a coyote, but then

the mind began to be engaged in deductive analysis. It did not have a

tail like a coyote, it did not have ears like a coyote, it did not walk

like a coyote---then the mind found frame and there was realization,

what stood less than thirty feet before was not a coyote but a mountain

lion.

 

Sometimes being a Westerner trying to bridge the expressions of Eastern

spirituality have felt the same slow to grasp what i am taking in.

 

When i first went to a Hindu Temple it took a few times to identify the

expression of devotion. Devotion was not an energetic expression i had

experienced or observed in churches of Christianity, so with the

experience there was a delay in finding the word that could frame it.

 

This week had another one of those ah-ha. I have noticed a beauty and

quality in the gaze of Amma's senior swamis as they look at Amma.

Something was there i could not name. My soul was drawn deep, to that

expression but was lost for frame. Engaged in deductive analysis and the

frame was not coming until this week and then it clicked and realized

what i was actually seeing.

 

I was seeing the expression of purity on the faces of the Swamis as they

gazed at Amma in so many of the photos that come forth. With this

awareness felt both happiness for it's recognition and also sadness it

took so long to recognize purity.

 

Did a brief search on spiritual purity and below is a bit of what was

found. This is a bit long but thought i would post it anyway. Would

love to hear other people's or Amma thoughts or words on spiritual

purity?

 

From the Bible the Beatitudes as spoken by Jesus:

 

" Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. " Moses (Exodus

33:20), John (1:18), and Paul (1Timothy 6:16) all say that no one can

see God here on earth! But Jesus says the pure of heart shall see God!

To be pure of heart means to be free of all selfish intentions and

self-seeking desires. What a beautiful goal! How many times have any of

us performed an act perfectly free of any personal gain? Such an act is

pure love. An act of pure and selfless giving brings happiness to all.

 

( I like this one: Blessed are the Pure of Heart for they shall see God.

When the Swami's gaze at Amma, they are seeing God. How cool is that!)

 

 

Purity In The Eyes Of God

By Shri Ashutosh Ji Maharaj

 

Purity finds mention in all revered scriptures of the world. All

incarnations, saints and sages have declared purity to be of immense

value in the evolutionary process. Movement up the cosmic order is

well-nigh impossible if adequate care is not taken.

 

The moot question is - What is purity?

 

Is it only of the body and mind, or there is more to it? Majority of the

people consider purity as being limited to the physical, or at best, the

mental level. Spiritual purity, or say purity of the soul, is either

ignored or just not paid the attention it deserves. Not only this, a

large number of people are not even aware of the essence of this purity.

 

It is interesting to understand how the three are inter-related.

 

First: purity of the body.

 

It includes diet, hygiene, physical fitness and action. The health of

the body is contingent upon what we eat, our exercise regimen, the type

of actions we perform, etc. It is through the body that we perform

various deeds. These actions either protect the body or injure it. With

respect to diet, vegetarian food is the best for a sound and healthy

body. Brisk walks, jogging, martial arts, physical yoga, and sports, for

example, keep a person in good shape. Intoxicants invariably adversely

affect the body and make it feeble and prone to diseases.

 

Second: purity of the mind.

 

Our mind is bombarded by an incessant flow of thoughts. In reality, the

mind itself is a bundle of thoughts which we are constantly trying to

sort through. In the midst of negativity, for instance, we may try to

rummage through our thoughts and produce positive ones. Positive

thoughts have a definite calming impact on the mind. And in efforts to

counter-act vices such as self-centeredness, many take up good deeds of

charity. We do so to mentally purify ourselves. By doing good deeds, we

can definitely attain a reasonable level of purity of mind.

 

However, is this all? No, there is more to purity. We can draw

inspiration from the following words of Sankara in the Vivekchudamani,

" Work leads to purification of the mind, not to perception of the

Reality. The realization of Truth is brought about by discrimination and

not in the least by ten millions of acts " (Verse 11). This implies that

God desires that man should strive to have a mind that is purged of

duality and sense-attachment through the sharpening of the power of

discrimination. God has no desire for all the actions performed if ego

(which dulls discrimination) is still very much active in our life. But

in order to de-activate the ego, what we need is spiritual purity.

 

The type of purity that God looks for in you is purity of the soul -

spiritual purity. It is the highest and the most valuable trait God

ponders over to assess his children. A plethora of other humanistic

virtues flow out of the sublime virtue of spiritual purity. However,

spiritual purity cannot be inculcated through half-baked therapies;

rather it has to be through the time-tested mechanism of eternal

knowledge. There is a veil of karma on the soul. Eternal knowledge can

help remove this veil.

 

Satan, residing within us in the form of passion, anger, attachment,

greed and ego, has a complete hold over the soul due to which it gets

entangled into the wheel of karmas - losing its true identity and form.

To help one regain his lost identity, a perfect spiritual master imparts

the eternal knowledge by opening the divine eye of an aspirant, lifting

the veil. The spiritual journey of purity for that soul thus begins.

When such an aspirant assiduously adheres to the path shown by his guru,

he passes through different stages of evolution. The seeds of karma

start turning into ash; and gradually, the sway of Satan subsides. The

soul starts progressing towards nirvana. It now sparkles in its own

light. This emerging of the soul in its true form of bliss is

appreciated by God in a seeker.

 

Soul is the entity that controls both the body and mind. When man learns

to connect to the soul that lies within, he can attain ultimate purity

of the body and mind. Our body and mind are like the water that falls

from the clouds. The two have a natural tendency to go downward. Just as

through the heat of the sun, water is turned into vapor and is able to

rise upward, even so, the body and mind are drawn upward and become pure

when spiritual purity is attained. The elevated state is obtained

through the constant practice of eternal meditation taught by the guru.

 

In the eyes of God, purity constitutes the sanctified heart and

trans-sensuous soul. When a man is unaffected by different

manifestations of maya and constantly longs for the company of God in

his thoughts and actions, he is planting his feet on the stage of

spiritual purity. This is the state when the human soul feels one with

God. Caressing a child and holding it close to the heart generates in

the individual a sense of serenity and simplicity. This is the type of

love and oneness a human being should have for God. Once we are able to

establish the pristine connection to the soul, true purity can be

achieved; an ever-lasting purity can be experienced.

 

Establishing this sublime connection with the Higher Power requires

unraveling of the sovereign secret of soul. Soul, the Self is already

within all beings. We need to build a rapport with it. For this, we need

a spiritual teacher who can demystify the secret of soul. After it is

revealed through the divine eye by a true preceptor, we become aware of

the mechanism to unite our being with cosmic consciousness. When such a

person meditates on the divine light of soul, he begins to imbibe divine

attributes. In course of time, he demonstrates every facet of spiritual

humanism with a spirit-centric global view running through every pore of

his body. This is not something that happened only in the remote past.

It is possible even today provided one has the urge to be blessed with

eternal knowledge - the Ancient Yoga.

 

In sum, the physical body is the case in which resides the soul, the

true Self of man. Body is the vehicle in which God, the true divine Self

of man, can be realized. Thus, purity of body is necessary. A cleansed

mind can become a better recipient for the message of God. Thus, purity

of mind is necessary. But in order to enter into the realms of Reality

and Truth, a higher form of purity is required. This is a purity that

does not contradict bodily or mental purity but fortifies them. By

attaining spiritual purity only, we can make our life truly beautiful.

 

Let us also pray to God like Socrates, the Greek philosopher - " I pray

thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within. "

 

And i too join in this prayer.

 

marci