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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!
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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
commentator
Vedanta Press 1971
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Upcoming Programs
Anam Cara Foundation, Bedford, NY
Friday, July 3rd - 7:30pm
SPECIAL BENEFIT KIRTAN!
Featuring Shivananda Sharma,
Director
The 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 - 7:30pm
Monthly 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....
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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.
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