Aum Special Healing Meditation (Swami Kriyananda)
Ramanuja shouted the sacred mantra, “AUM namo Narayana!” from the roof of a temple it would lack an essential ingredient of success. In all Indian tradition, initiation into the spiritual “mysteries” by a true guru is considered more important than the teachings themselves. Ramanuja’s love and compassion for mankind notwithstanding, his guru had been right when he enjoined secrecy on him.
Excerpted from The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Kriyanada
Prayer at Dawn
With the opening of the earliest dawn and the lotus‐buds, my soul softly opens in prayer to receive Thy light. Bathe each petal of my mind with Thy radiant rays! I saturate myself with the perfume of Thy presence, and I wait to waft with the breeze the aroma of Thy message of love to all. Bless me, that with the spreading dawn I may spread Thy love everywhere. Bless me, that with the awakening dawn I may awaken all souls with my own and bring them to Thee.
~ Paramhansa Yogananda
O Divine Mother, I long to know You.
Fade away, O world of maya.
Divine Mother, I long to know You.
Away, I’m bound away into the deep sushumna.
O Divine Mother, I long to see You.
Fade away, O gaudy maya.
Divine Mother, I long to see You.
Away, I’m bound away through the bright Kutastha.
O Divine Mother, I long to hear You.
Fade away, O noise of maya. Divine Mother, I long to hear You.
Away, I’m bound away to merge into the bliss of AUM.
Witten by Nayaswami Jyotish
The Currents of the Ganges
The early morning light cast shimmering shades of turquoise and crystalline blue on the rushing river and floating mists. Even at the usually quiet time of dawn, you could hear the pulsating, all-pervasive roar of AUM as the water’s ceaseless energy moved past us. The Ganges north of Rishikesh is one of the most spectacular and spiritually powerful sights we’ve ever seen. As we watched it, the river seemed to be telling us many things: of the constant change that is part of life; of the joy that comes when we enter into its flow; of the eternal consciousness that pervades everything. Within the roaring sound of AUM, I began to hear one of Swami Kriyananda’s songs form in my mind:
Life flows on like a river That homes to the sea: One hour bounding through mountain vales, One hour winding through a lea.
The river’s currents were quite varied, like the different times of our lives. Some rushed forward joyfully, tossing white foam into the air. Others looked treacherous as they moved past with unstoppable power and indifference to anything in their way. Then there were the slower currents near the banks that seemed discouraged that they couldn’t escape from the rocks, eddies, and debris blocking them. But all of the currents, each in its own way, were moving forward towards the great ocean of Spirit.
Then this stanza of the song came into my mind:
None may linger on the way:
None may coax time to stay!
Fleeting scenes move by us like a dream.
Cling not: none will be your own.
As I gazed at the river, joyful memories of loving friendships, achievements, and fulfillments passed before my eyes, as well as disappointments, losses, and regrets. Onward they all flowed, insubstantial in themselves, dissolving in the eternal current of consciousness beneath all of life’s experiences.
Finally the last stanza echoed above the river’s roar:
Never grieve to be alone.
Go within you: There’s your home.
One particular spot on the Ganges drew our attention. Amidst the turbulent rush of the river, there was an oval pool of calm water in the middle, untouched by the currents surrounding it. Like our mind when calmed in meditation, the pool remained unruffled no matter what was happening around it. “Go within,” Swami seemed to be saying to us. “There lies your home of peace amidst life’s constant ups and downs.”
“Go within,” Swami seemed to be saying to us.
Which was more powerful: the Ganges’ restless currents or its calm pool? For each of us, the stillness of our soul, untouched by outward events, is the most powerful force of peace, and of guidance for navigating the ceaseless challenges and changes of life. When you read this, we’ll have already left India and ended our travels here for the year. But some things are beyond time and space, and these I’ll carry away within me: the quiet depth of the Ganges’ oval pool, and the breadth of divine love that shines beneath the surface of everyone and everything we experience.
With joy in the great river of life,
NAYASWAMI DEVI
Excerpted from The book Touch Of Peace: Living The Teachings Of Paramhansa Yogananda by Nayaswamis Jyotish & Devi
But, O elevating Aum, when Thou dost vibrate within me, oh, what exultant joy and lightness I feel. I soar above the body. I am drawn toward Spirit. O great Aum, rolling ocean of Aum, vibrate long within me so that I may remain awake to Thine infinite presence, broadened into identity with the Universal Spirit. Oh, this is the Voice of Heaven. This is the Voice of Spirit. Aum, Thou art the source of all life, of all expressions of creation in the universe. So let me feel Thee, O great Mother Vibration, rolling within me as a part of Thy Cosmic Self. Receive me; make me one with Thee. Never leave me; be always rolling within me like a mighty spiritual ocean, calling to me and revealing Thine oceanic presence. O Mighty Vibration, O Mighty Truth that percolates through every atom of my flesh, peace and harmony eternal, bliss and wisdom eternal, come with Thy presence, with Thy universal resonance! Oh, these tiny joys, these tiny tonics of sensual vibrations, I wish to forsake. Enfold me in Thy vibration and carry me along with Thy rolling sound. Let me be free from the bondage of flesh; let me roll on with Thine infinite vibratory ripples of omniscient joy, O great Aum. Be with me, possess me, absolve me in Thee.”
Excerpted from The Second Coming Of Christ by Paramhansa Yogananda.
Prayer at Eventide
The day is done. Refreshed and sanctified with the sunshine of the day I pass through the portals of evening, dimly adorned with faint stars, to enter into the temple of silence and worship Thee. I worship Thy Spirit of approaching calmness. What prayers can I offer? For I have no words to offer Thee. I shall light a little fire of devotion on the altar of my soul. Will that light suffice to bring Thee into my dark temple—my dimly lighted temple, dark with my ignorance? Come! I crave, I yearn for Thee!
~ Paramhansa Yogananda
Music: Aum Namo Narayana, Aum Guru, Life Flows On Like a River & Aum by Swami Kriyananda