I am with You
I happened to listen to a talk on the topic “I am with You” – a famous Mantra of The Mother, by Dr Alok Pandey of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, on the Samadhi Day of The Mother, 20th November, at Sri Aurobindo Sadhana Kendra, Vallabh Vidya Nagar, Gujarat.
To be in the constant presence of Mother’s Grace in our daily life is the aim of all Sadhaks who are learners on the path to practice Sri Aurobindo’s integral Yoga.
Reflecting on the experiences during his spiritual journey in the Ashram shared by Alok da, I found resonance with the concept of living in contact with the “Inner consciousness of Truth”. Living the social life at surface consciousness level when interacting and responding with our colleagues, there is a tendency to get influenced by external factors in perceptual world and we tend to lose our contact with the Inner consciousness, leading to a lack of peace and harmony.
Exploring the inner realms of consciousness by having a look on the subliminal self (that holds the past impressions and images we carry with us) during our waking hours has had a positive effect on my interactions with family members and friends. SMARAN (remembrance) of the Mother’s presence at a subtle level of consciousness serves as the Master Key to feel positive vibrations, making us do our daily tasks and roles as professionals with compassion and harmony – making lasting bonds with all the members of society.
A few practices of Darshan days and group meditations in the Samadhi area and near the place of Relics in various Sadhana Kendras / Society offices across the world, devoted to Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, have enabled the global community of seekers who can take advantage of Their presence and live lives as per Their philosophy of Integral Yoga, which aims at triple transformation at Mental, Vital and Physical levels of consciousness.
My visits to different centers across India developed by sadhaks of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother and spending time meditating and listening to talks of accomplished seekers have reinforced the mantra of “I am with You”.
- Pranav Srivastava (India)
Note: Sri Aurobindo Sadhana Kendra is one of the places for me to rejuvenate and feel the vibrant presence of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. This center was established 40 years back in the year 1955 and has relics of Sri Aurobindo brought by Shri Champak Lal, an ardent devotee of Sri Aurobindo. It has “Sri Aurobindo Chair of Integral Studies” as one of the major initiatives which had Dr Maheshwarji as first chairperson succeeded by Dr Devaki Nandan Srivastava.
Thank you for this inspiring reminder of the essence of the integral yoga sadhana.
ReplyDeleteSince in fact we ARE always immersed in Mother's Grace, something I find most helpful is to do as the Mother recommended to the children in many of Her talks:
Each night, putting ourself in contact with the psychic being as much as possible, to review our day (to put it up on a screen, She would often say, as if watching in a detached fashion, a movie of our day). See ourselves going through the day, and identify in particular those actions, thoughts, words which reflect tamasic and rajasic egotism.
But not simply to leave it as a detached watching but to investigate, to shine the "Light" on these actions/attitudes/inner vital/mental activities, and trace them back to the fundamental egoism at their root.
This clear seeing provides the best means for the Divine Light of Transformation to shine on them. We do not ourselves make a personal egoic effort to change them; that is for Her. But She needs us to clear the way, and this nightly review, She has said several times, is so powerful "you won't recognize yourself in six months."
This exercise is recorded in numerous of the collections of Questions and Answers. I believe, in the 1950-51 edition, you can find it around page 50; I'm sorry, I don't have the exact reference here.
Sorry, that opening point was to clear. Here it is again:
DeleteSince in fact we ARE always immersed in Mother's Grace, something I find most helpful is to look at what it is in US that is blocking our receptivity to the Grace.
One of the best ways I know to do this is to do as the Mother recommended to the children in many of Her talks: