Spiritual Quest

Spiritual Life

Spiritual Life takes great strength and complete commitment.

Heroism is nothing compared to the courage of the person who can cast of the temptations of the mind and find satisfaction in himself alone. This takes enormous will-power and comes with an equally enormous danger. As the will-power grows, if the ego is not subdued, then that raw mental force can be used to serve ends other that spiritual growth.

To begin ones spiritual life it is important and a must that one’s moral virtues be perfected. This is absolutely essential and the foundation of spiritual growth. As a many human beings having no moral background and having the ability to push the nuclear button to launch missiles, so is the power that comes from spiritual practices in the body of a person who has not achieved a certain measure of moral growth.

A moral life, when brought down to its essence, is one steeped in the renunciation of the little self for the good of others.

It is necessary for us to rein on our daily brutalities in order to find inner harmony and make spiritual progress. Once you face the brute, the brute turns and runs away. That humble acknowledgement is the seed of true strength.

Humility

"Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige.
It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character."

Humility is an invisible virtue. In spirituality there must be humility. Without this quality there can be no progress in spiritual life. This is because in spiritual life it is necessary to hold to the highest ideal and is experienced more and more deeply as time goes on. As the experience gets larger, the personal gets more and more humble. The more the 'I' of the experiencer shrinks, the more the experience of the infinite - The Almighty. Humility is the virtue that breakdowns the 'I' that has been interposed between the experiencer and the experience, between the 'bhakta' and the Almighty.

"Spiritual life can never be complete with a strong mind, an open heart, and strength of character, and more so impossible without sincere humility."

Religious life

Many come to religious life because one feels a lack – something missing. At some point in our life we have experienced something more noble that our day to day self. Once that experience passes, we are left with an insubstantial memory and a vague feeling of dissatisfaction with a way of life, with which we have been perfectly content. This dissatisfaction motivates us to regain that higher vision, and this leads us onward in spiritual life. We take up spiritual life with the intensity with which we feel the lack.

With turning the chapter and through sincere practice, a small spark of grace comes.

With this grace many become comfortable and therefore run the danger of this comfort overwhelming us and falling into a life-threatening stupor. We begin to relax our spiritual practices. We allow simple present things take precedence; we let go of our evening practice in order to be with friends to see a movie that’s been talked about rather than letting go of the movie and standing firm in our practices.

And so bit by bit we fall asleep! This is a grave spiritual danger. Comfortable we forget to follow and 'Go forward to discover'.

ife is like a field of innocent looking flowers that are really poppies that have been spiked with opium that have the inevitable effect of lulling and taking away ones strength and putting one to sleep. The mind and heart are awake, but have lost their will and are powerless over the opium - 'Maya'.

n this there is one recourse, and that is prayer. As the mind and heart are awake and grace hears their screams - Grace comes; as it must always come when the prayer is sincere.

At the gate

Of course, one cannot just knock casually on the Almighty’s door and expect to be handed the keys! Nobody we know in our day-to-day life has seen the Almighty. Therefore we must trust; must have faith in the foot prints of great soul's and in the testimonies of great men who have come before us that there is indeed an Almighty - though those who have seen and experienced are rare.

We simply cannot waltz up to the door to God and say: 'Hello, I am here, grant me your vision.' We must feel, that all our efforts have been in vain and all future actions must be empty without the vision of the Almighty to light up our hearts; we must feel the despair of the lack of the vision of the Almighty for it is at this time that when one has that absolute authenticity, then the Almighty will appear to you. The Almighty simply cannot resist the sincere prayer of a longing heart. This is Grace, and this is the paradox of Grace.

We struggle and struggle forward in spiritual life, only to reach the unreasoning gatekeeper, the place where all of the arguments of the mind, and the works and days of hands are of no use. Only when the ‘I’ that thinks and acts finally experiences the absolute certainty the futility of the ego in realizing the Almighty will there be space for the Almighty.

Remember that the vision of the Almighty is not attained through works, but through Grace - the Almighty's will, not ours.

"Then Grace comes!"

The GMA Spiritual Quest InnerSelf Programme.

Between 'Hope' and 'Despair' is man oscillating
as a pendulum from its mean point... He is lost!
~ GMA

• Silence

Silence has often been treated as simply a negative phenomenon rather than as a communicative device. Four aspects of silence include: (1) negative silence, which is the experience of silence as having no positive value; (2) primordial silence, the phenomenon out of which utterance arises; (3) silence as a mode of being; and (4) silence as a destination.

An examination of the different roles that silence plays reveals the multidimensional nature of silence's communicative aspects. Close attention to a number of moments in ones life indicates that an understanding of silence is central for comprehension of any communicator's, silence. In fact, it is possible to conceptualize the imagination as, at least in part, the translation of silence into the ones life. We set the stage for the relationship established with nature through silence, asserting that silence is necessary for genuine understanding. The complex, often enigmatic relationship of silence to speech demonstrates the unsaid. Perhaps this faith that the unsaid is not unsayable sustains not only, but also nourishes the desire of one's soul being.

It's the beginning to Spirituality!

"True silence is the rest of the mind;
it is to the spirit, nourishment and refreshment."
~ GMA

The three day programme is to have an idea and practice in the way of Silence – to have the beginnings of the opportunity to touch our 'InnerSelf' and commence on the journey of your Spiritual Quest.

India with her age-old traditions and culture, mystic and enchanting charm has brought through time travelers from around the world to her shores in search for the ultimate truth.

This programme is for the insights to Spirituality. For those who feel that they are at the door and need to get across but may not know how, or even if they are making the right choice!

For those who are really interested and extremely committed to a spiritual growth and practice may inquire at contact@mylifeyoga.org for further information.

OM TAT SAT

"Destiny is what that takes us to places, beyond our control and if that is what it is to you so be it!"