'Heart' Is Thy Name,O' Lord!

Tuesday, March 02, 2021

The Day I Met "God"

It was the summer of 1977, when I was 19 and reading eastern philosophy books like "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramahansa Yogananda, "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass (Richard Alpert) and listening to the George Harrison album, Dark Horse. At home, with my parents gone for the weekend, as evening approached I took some LSD with a friend. Sitting in the back yard, near the calm waters of the canal behind my house in Long Island, we waited impatiently for the drug to take effect. Nothing seemed to be "happening". Was the stuff still good? On edge, I said something to my companion that really irked him. I can't remember what I had said but he was pissed. I was startled. I didn't understand why my words had gotten him so upset... so I put myself in his place - I mentally repeated what I had said to him as though I was saying it to myself. I immediately realized that if I had spoken the words to myself ...I would have gotten angry too! In just the same way he had. And then it happened. At the precise moment that I had "sync'd" with my friend's mind-space, I had realized that the reason that I had experienced the same emotion as he was because "I" was "him"! On the most basic and purest level "we" were literally the same "being". The illusion of separateness that we both had clung to all of our lives had, simutaneously, in an instant...vanished within our minds. I had come to realize that my heart was not only united with my friend but.... with all of humanity. Past and present. It didn't stop there. When I looked up into the sky I realized that I was also the moon. Looking around I understood that what I had been calling "Cliff" was the shared essence of everything. At the moment of my epifany, I experienced an invisible flower-like mechanism, like a multi-petaled "lotus blossom" unfold on top of my head- like a crown. The joy of my "self-realization" made me weep- from joy. Tears of joy were literally streaming down my face.Pouring. As though something that had been blocked for a thousand years was finally released. It was indescribable. My friend and I both experienced this simultaneously. Our countenance changed too. Our faces apeared wise. Lit up with the wisdom of the ages. Our eyes physically looked different. We had these all-knowing "enlightened" eyes.The eyes found on the radiant faces of holy men. We were just American teenagers. The photo of the Indian mystic, Paramahansa Yogananda, shown on the cover of my copy of the classic "Autobiography of a Yogi" appeared to me that evening as the photo of an ordinary Joe. The "holy" man was just another "guy" to me. It was as though someone took a picture of some random guy on a subway and slapped his photo on the cover of a book. I understood Buddha. I got Jesus. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" because... the other guy... is you! The truth that was revealed that evening was so simple. In fact it was "too" simple. It is elusive because it is so simple and obvious. Too obvious. Something too obvious becomes... hidden. That evening I couldn't understand why LSD was illegal. I couldn't understand why it wasn't mandatory. I understand why now. LSD is not for everybody. The truth can freak you out man. Many people don't have wonderful "mystical" experiences. Even those that do sometimes have trouble re-adjusting to the delusionary world of separateness. A world that likes to eat mystics for breakfast. I was lucky. As were thousands of "hippies" in the sixties. By the way, I now understand why "hippies" were called "hippies". They were "hip" or "clued" in to the experience of love and peace mentioned above. Update 2/18/2010:Any experience, regardless of how wonderful it may be is still an experience.Experiences come and go. The Experiencer, however IS permanent.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

How Do I Find a True Guru?

Question

I need a guru but alas I am a 19 year old with no money. I want to know God. That is slowly becoming my only desire. I want to just find a self-realized guru and learn under him/her for years at an ashram. Can anyone give me advice on how to find a true guru? And do gurus take students free of charge?

—Cody Massey, USA

Answer

Dear Friend and Fellow Chess club member,

Perhaps you have heard the old “saw,” “When the disciple is ready, the guru appears!” At age 25 I sold everything and went to India for the same purpose, but, like Dorothy and Toto in the Wizard of Oz, I, too, came up empty handed, only to find my guru upon my return.

In my case, Paramhansa Yogananda had long left this earth (1952) but I met Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple. He wouldn’t accept the role of guru, but he is a wise spiritual teacher and a true, divine friend.

So, I suggest to you that you seek a spiritual path and spiritual teacher. Let the concept of “guru” work itself out. For, after all, if you find someone, how will you know he or she is a true guru and not just a spiritual teacher who is magnetic and intelligent but still subject to human emotions etc.?

Begin with books, then to classes, and then to a spiritual family. Bit by bit as you refine your intentions and deepen your commitment by self-effort, being always open to divine grace and guidance, your true guru will appear: whether in human form or through the disciples of a true guru.

Steady, steady, soon done! Meditate daily, read true spiritual teachings, find others of like-mind, think and act with right attitude and right action. The magnetism you develop through devotion, wisdom and spiritually-centered action will draw to you the grace you need each step of the way to final freedom.

As to the subject of money, see money as energy. It takes great energy to become God-realized and free. Spiritual teachings only cost money owing to the practicality of what it takes to attract and share them with those who are sincerely interested. But for the devotee’s part, we must understand that it is we who must sacrifice all for the pearl of great price. So don’t judge spiritual teachings by whether they are “free.” Nothing worth having is truly free in the highest and best sense. No guru is going to zap you with cosmic consciousness for the mere asking, in other words. We have to earn spiritual freedom just as we have to earn our livelihood to take care of ourselves and render grateful service to humanity.

Sincerely,

Source: https://www.ananda.org/ask/how-do-i-find-a-true-guru/