Sunday, June 21, 2009
Seduced by the Mountains and by Love
Dear Friends,
In my most recent post I explained that I would be taking a trip to Colorado. Once again, I was seduced by the mountains, and the result was that I am moving there at the end of this month. I will also have a new e-mail address after July 1 at dorothywalters72@yahoo.com Please use this address until further notice.
I am delighted with my choice--I have found a perfect apartment with a glorious view of the mountains in the distance. I had thought about what I would like in an apartment, and this one has all the features I had hoped for. I look forward to a wonderful and peaceful existence there--frankly, for all the attractions of San Francisco, I will be happy to relocate to a different location where nature is more integrated into the life of the city.
And I hope to begin more regular postings on this site after I get there and a bit more settled. In the meantime, I found this beautiful posting on the e-mail for Anam Cara (from Lawrence Edwards.) It expresses perfectly what is in my heart at this time. Because of time limitations, I am not going to try to go through and correct the piece as it stands--the result may be several asterisks and other "funny" marks throughout (due to uncorrected punctuation that will ot come through properly), but I hope you will overlook this imperfection and resonate with the entry.
from Lawrence Edwards:
June 21, 2009 Anam Cara Foundation Perennial Wisdom For The Soul's Journey
Narada Bhakti Sutra
Greetings and Namaste!
I remember my teacher, Muktananda Swami, who took mahasamadhi in 1982, saying, "All sadhanas without love are nothing but hard labor." Love is the juice, the life-blood that sweetens all we do. Love shows herself in many ways, gracing our lives and practices with devotion, ecstasy, enthusiasm, dedication, and more. Love is the universal solvent for dissolving all boundaries separating us from our one Infinite source.Devotion, both as a gift of grace and as a practice for cultivating the ground in which the divine blossoms within, is prized in every spiritual tradition. Devotion to God, devotion to Truth, devotion to Guru or lama or priest or rabbi, devotion to dharma, devotion to community, devotion to practices and devotional practices which clear the contractions which limit the flow of Love through all the arteries of our lives. The great saint Sri Ramakrishna said, "The best path to union with God is to follow the way of divine love as taught by Narada." Narada's path of divine love, revealed through the Bhakti Sutras he wrote thousands of years ago, is sublime reading for all spiritual seekers. On the path of Love, lover and beloved merge in absolute surrender. The ego-mind is transformed into a selfless servant of the Divine and only the Divine. This is the path of holy bliss!
Narada Bhakti Sutras The Way of Divine Love (Sutras 1-10 and 81 of 84) 1) Now, therefore, we shall teach bhakti, or the religion of divine love.2) Bhakti is intense love for God.3) The intrinsic nature of this divine love is immortal bliss.4) By attaining It, a man becomes perfect, immortal and satisfied forever.5) On attaning That a man does not desire anything else; he grieves no more, is free from hatred or jealousy; he does not take pleasure in the vanities of life; and he loses all eagerness to gain anything for himself.6) The devotee may first become intoxicated with bliss. Then, having realized That, he becomes inert and silent and takes his delight in the Atman.7) Bhakti cannot be used to fulfill any desire, being itself the check to all desire.8) Renunciation means dedication of all activities, secular as well as sacred, to God.9) A bhakta's renunciation means that his whole soul goes toward God, and whatever militates against love for God he rejects.10) Whole-souled devotion means giving up every other refuge and taking refuge in God.81) To love the eternal Truth - this indeed is the greatest Love.Swami Prabhavananda, translator and commentatorVedanta Press 1971
Upcoming Programs Anam Cara Foundation, Bedford, NY
Friday, July 3rd - 7:30pm SPECIAL BENEFIT KIRTAN! Featuring Shivananda Sharma, DirectorThe Ma Chetan Jyoti School of Music, Rishikesh, India. Shivananda is a master violinist and tabla player who will be performing and leading kirtans along with many visiting kirtan sevites, musicians and chanters. All proceeds will go to support the free musical education the school provides to poor children in Rishikesh. Please come and support this worthy cause while enjoying an ecstatic evening of music and chants from the bhakti yoga tradition. Everyone is welcome! Please contact Lawrence if you would like to make a donation but aren't able to attend.Thurs. June 25th, Thurs. July 23rd - 7:30pmMonthly Kirtan Night! With Satya, Ma and Kalidas. Join us in this ancient and ecstatic practice of chanting the names of the Divine. Everyone is welcome!Meditation Group Every Tuesday Evening: Starts promptly at 7:30pm at our center at the Anam Cara Foundation in Bedford, NY. All are welcome! Directions are on the Anam Cara website. If you wonder whether the group is being held on a particular Tuesday evening there will always be a message stating if it is cancelled on that night on 914-234-4800.
Click here for info on The Anam Cara Foundation programs....
Thank you all for your notes of appreciation for our newsletter. Everyone has the heart to be a true friend of the soul, an Anam Cara. By embodying that ideal ourselves we may serve to help another to find love and compassion within themselves. Our highest nature is always manifest in relationship - to all other beings, to the environment, in relation to our own body and mind. Becoming mindful of the quality of our relationships allows us to learn where the light shines and where it needs to shine more. The ideal of Anam Cara is to continuously endeaver to expand the depth and the inclusiveness of the loving kindness we bring into every relationship, every moment, every breath. If you have any suggestions, comments or sharings, for our newsletter please don't hesitate to e-mail me and I'll do my best to respond.The Anam Cara Foundation is a 501 (C) 3, non-profit educational organization dedicated to teaching meditative practices. Our non- denominational programs are open to all. There are free meditation instructions and downloadable audio files of guided meditations on our website. Thank you for the many ways you have shown support for The Anam Cara Foundation. Because of your gifts we can offer free programs and instruction to thousands of people. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation please send it to address listed below.I look forward to welcoming you in person to our programs. With all my appreciation and love, I thank you all.
May all beings realize complete freedom from suffering and may all our actions reflect only wisdom, compassion, patience and loving kindness.
Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D. Founder and DirectorThe Anam Cara Foundation
email: le@anamcara-ny.org
phone: 914-234-4800
web: http://www.anamcara-ny.org
The Anam Cara Foundation P.O. Box 215 Bedford Hills NY 10507
(Follow this sutra and you will need nothing else--it says it all--Dorothy)
Blessings to everyone. Stay well and enjoy the love in your heart. that joins you all humanity and everything that is.
Dorothy
