Are The Animals Forgotten?

Thin, thin, thin, skin in very poor condition, hind legs hobbled by some cloth wrapping--hoping Help In Suffering can help.  Two days now I have seen the dog, but it is evident the dog has been in this condition for some time.  Are there so many disturbances in India that the animals are forgotten?

The naked man was walking down the street today.  I have not seen him for over a year.

Of course, heart opening, animal test, pain, human test, heart opening...the particle of sand in the waves....

Not A Poet

Quiet and Stillness In The Ashram

Birthday rose--the subtle elegance of white and the shadows

What a treat to meditate with quiet and stillness in the ashram.  I don't understand most of it, but sometimes the body assist programs sets in so I can meditate for an hour or two without moving and my body parts come out of being folded up without any kinks.  This is an amazing feature and my lint screen felt so clean and transparent too.  As I pranammed in gratitude, Gurudev was dozing in his chair--what a sweet sight to lovingly observe this remarkable being in a state of rest.  He works so hard on many levels.

Spiritual Flow Chart Completed

Working thought waves from street rules/spiritual deepening, two concrete paths down to how these two aspects manifest as truths in the self as an energetic form.  How to get the physical half to merge with the energetic half, so all is energetic--the self as a complete spiritual being?  Starting with the circle with the line down the middle (the circle as self), I had the "physical" half following the truth path and the "energetic" half following the love path.  As the self takes on the truth path, I had it crossing the line into the purely energetic half to join the already energetic path of love.  Gurudev nodded, but suggested I move the merging point back to the middle, since pure spirit beings can be viewed as insane unless one is a saint or something along those lines.  Ok, these are the points I would obviously never have insight to, so cool.  The spiritual flow chart is "completed,"--at least for now.

The Sand Particle

A section of the morning was spent sitting in the quiet presence of the Divine Genealogy at the ashram as I asked how a sand particle (hard, compact, and austere) could ever become part of the Ocean (flexible, expansive, and energetic.)  A rough version of a poem arose from the inner silence of the Voice about sand and ocean. Sue has no more ideas how to merge more deeply into this ocean of love that continues to lap over me as the sand particle.  Surrender was all I could offer--a blank surrender.  The pain in my heart felt like a very long, thin needle needed to penetrate to find some relief.  The fracturing needed to come from inside instead of being pulverized from the outside.  The monkey stick wasn't going to be enough.

Gurudev looked at me and asked if he could frame the birthday card that I had created for him.  How inventive and how else could I be touched so deeply.  Several people had already come up and had tears over what a beautiful choice of poetry and photos.  How does one respond to such a request?  The flood of tears again.  I had truly learned something as he looked upon it as a composite of what he and I had discussed over the almost 2 years of direct contact.  The tears were for the acknowledgement, but also for the stir it created in his devotees.  Something had spoken to the universality of Absolute Truth and Love shared by disciples in India who have lived and breathed in his presence for years, grew up with spirituality as second nature/language of the their culture, and their individuated paths that have brought them to the feet of this Master's.  The white, woman walking/wondering had touched this religion-less, cultural-less, person-less place as an outpouring of gratitude to Gurudev (and Pahari Baba.)

To be so deeply accepted and loved by his devotees as well as himself--fracturing 101.  Always feeling as the outsider to myself as well as the world, thank you for this lesson.  He spoke of when the continuous rain of love comes, the well near or far to the ocean will fill and find its way to a stream or a river that will inevitably head to the ocean.

That wasn't enough fracturing.  I was then told that when they were deciding on the design for the rangoli, Gurudev gave them one of my lotus pictures from his earlier birthday celebration to be used as the model in the artwork.

The photos and birthday card came from the same place as the daily blogs, words in riding lessons, and moments of inspiration.  Today came as a deeply penetrable Divine "fact check." The sand particle was clearly opened.

(Thank you Cathy and Bhavani for your continued support while my time in India continues to unfold.)

Birthday Centerpiece

Unusual to see so much stuff around his normally tidy area

Such beauty in the Being

Guru, Fire, and Pandits

(short video clip below)

Puja to the left and paparazzi to the right...

Lights and More Lights

Rangoli

Evening lighting--even more stunning!

Happy Birthday Gurudev and Thank You

Birthday Celebration Begins

Celebration Begins, Adornments Galore!!!

Rangoli of Krishna

Unbelievable details!!  Complete with jewels

What A Beautiful Story

Gurudev was telling me about the Gopis and Krishna last night, so I decided to Google them... They are part of the celebration October 29th.  Three points of celebration today:  Gurudev's Birthday (astrologically with the full moon), Bengali's celebration of the Goddess of Wealth, and Krishna/Gopis celebrating at midnight.

Lord Shri Krishna and Bhakti - Radha Krishna Spiritual Portal ...

Gopis and Lord Krishna: The divine plays of Lord Sri Krishna are known to this world as ‘Rasa’.

• Gopis and Lord Krishna:

• The divine plays of Lord Sri Krishna are known to this world as ‘Rasa’. They were the replica of the truth of that when one soul reaches the bliss of divinity the divine blesses it by merging it within himself.

  Gopis are known to be the women of Vrindavan who soaked their souls in the ocean of devotion, physically, verbally and through meditation. The whole trinity bows to their feet, for they achieved the selfless love and company of holy divine himself.

• Who are Gopis?

• These Gopis are believe to be the incarnations of the roots of Vedas, the saints and sages who soaked themselves in ‘tapsya’ to achieve divine blessings in his holy feet.
  People define them as women but it is wrong they just see the gender of their physical appearance; only those who soaks themselves in devotion can see the divinity of the Gopis’ souls which outcast all barriers of existence.
  If one debates why they incarnated in form of women and not anything else; one can see a hidden bitter truth in this factor too:

  The divine plays of Lord Sri Krishna are known to this world as ‘Rasa’. They were the replica of the truth of that when one soul reaches the bliss of divinity the divine blesses it by merging it within himself. Gopis are known to be the women of Vrindavan who soaked their souls in the ocean of devotion, physically, verbally and through meditation. The whole trinity bows to their feet, for they achieved the selfless love and company of holy divine himself. These Gopis are believe to be the incarnations of the roots of Vedas, the saints and sages who soaked themselves in ‘tapsya’ to achieve divine blessings in his holy feet. People define them as women but it is wrong they just see the gender of their physical appearance; only those who soaks themselves in devotion can see the divinity of the Gopis’ souls which outcast all barriers of existence. If one debates why they incarnated in form of women and not anything else; one can see a hidden bitter truth in this factor too: If they incarnated as Brahmans it was easy for all to say that they are learned, hence possessed holy powers to achieve the divine. If they incarnated as a man it was easy for the society to accept, as it doesn't bars a man to commit himself to God in such manner. If they incarnated as a child all would apparently say that they are innocent and hence God loves them the most. To show the height of devotion, thus they incarnated in form of women who were not learned; simple villagers, bounded by the norms of society, filled with responsibilities of family and barred from freedom. As a human body, who is so bounded and yet sets its soul free from boundaries of world and entrusts it soul to the divine is the true warrior who wins the battle and shines the brightest. The ‘Rasa’ is exactly the celebration of the moment, when divine merged holy souls within him by performing His divine playful selfless endeavors-‘RaasLeelas’. Hence there can’t be any vulgarity or Kama associated with it, because Lord Sri Krishna was just eight years old- a prodigy of innocence when He performed ‘RaasLeelas’ with the Gopis.
  
  

  Krishna and Gopis perform MahaRaas Lila
  

What Drives The Movement Towards Self?

Preparing for the celebration

As the peephole to the self as a physical reality retreats, what is the force, the call, the process behind this movement?  Is the rebirth process as "concrete" as the actual birth?  It there a timing?  Is this destiny?  I was told that 1% of the world's population is actively partaking in this process.  Of course, we are all partaking, but the difference is the layer of consciousness, awareness, and "letting go."  Within this small percentage, the path is still varied. One can become attached within exploring the expansiveness/"the void." Divine breadcrumbs all the way to the end?  Until every cell has gone through transformation?

At the moment, my heart is becoming the new first responder and "intelligence."  My mind and intellect are following if needed.  The vibrational influence of the living guru is still staggering.  A small point of contact can leave me disoriented in the physical form.  It is only noticeable when I need to take action, otherwise the outward seeping of the inward field would go unrecognized.  Does a drunkard know they are drunk until they need to stand, walk, or drive?  Jai Guru!

Different Paths For Understanding The Divine

(short video clip below)

As I make the transition from meditating to walking, I realized that my shift is only visual and not inward.  For me, I have been observing and digesting all of the variations of God's manifestations. Even with the challenges and fascinations of what the street scene provides, most observations come from a place in my heart--as if my heart has eyes.  Watching the young girl on the tightrope is not so different than watching the young boys showing magic tricks, the young boys sweeping the streets daily, or the young girl performing cartwheels between the busy lanes of traffic. Their ages?  I would guess 10 or under?  My heart is the place of reaction--the pain can be exquisite beauty or exquisite pain. Both create a vitality and aliveness that is deeply internal--a life of its own.  Those appear to be the moments of sensing True Nature.

All of it is the illusion or the reality depending on your moment of perception.  An additional young girl attends to the live wire act's music production with a car battery attached to a megaphone, all while attending a small baby asleep in a large metal pan.

Baby in a pan in the shade

There are three wires with performers--all remarkable young girls who after performing hop down and pursue the crowd with a bowl for rupees.  The "magic" boys are the same as tour bus after tour bus pull up along the curb--they know how to work, perform, assess the crowd while many children are attending school, playing after school sports, attending a music lesson, or just hanging out with friends.

As I continue my walk through the Divine's Playground, I observe creative road repair and road blocks--ingenuity over and over.  Why not use your bicycle for transportation and a road cone?

Saves taxpayer dollars and it works!