Attaining Eternal Bliss

Today reading about H.H. Sacinandana Swami's realisations and retreats I found this nectar that he recently wrote. It talks about passive spirituality and also about how to attain taste for chanting the Holy Names of the Lord. I'm sharing here with you and I hope you get good realisations from it like I did.

A Rare Jewel: Passive Spirituality

I gained this realization at the Govardhana Retreat, and it is simply this: When we hear about Krishna and both lovingly chant His name and offer Him prayers everything becomes possible—but not by our power.

There is a plane where we clearly are no longer acting based on ego, karmic limitations, material nature, etc. How do things take place on that plane? By Krishna’s sweet and potent will. We can call this “leaf spirituality.” A leaf does not act of its own volition. Rather, it is picked up by a mighty and benevolent wind and carried effortlessly, dancingly, jubilantly, and powerfully to its next destination. We could also call this “passive spirituality.”

I saw this phenomenon with a female sannyasi from an impersonal yoga tradition who somehow wandered into our retreat. She has been living in Himalayan caves, drinking water from the Ganga’s streams, and eating whatever forest roots she could gather along with anything she was able to humbly beg from the homes of the kindhearted. This woman was accustomed to practicing hours of silent meditation at a stretch. Dressed in saffron robes, the tiny bag over her shoulder held all her possessions. Our sannyasi attended the first session of the retreat and spontaneously decided to participate in all the sessions that followed, including japa and kirtana, lila-katha, and discussions with the devotees.

What influence was at work here?

Giriraja’s sweet mercy storm lifted this yogini up and made her dance in the devotional current of His mercy—a leaf in the wind of grace.

At the end of the retreat she came forward excitedly—maybe even a little afraid of her newfound courage—and said to me, “Forty years of deep meditation on the Brahman have left an open wound in my heart—a wound that expands every day. It is the wound of discontent. Here in Vraja I have discovered the medicinal balm that can cure my pain—and she called this balm “the mind-attracting sweetness of Sri Krishna.”

How nicely put. Her words confirmed my deep conviction about “passive spirituality.” Most of us have been taught to be achievers, to actively work to make things happen. This is actually the school of anxiety.

Real spiritual life means to be in “receiver’s mind”—the state in which we receive divine grace. That is the school of overwhelming bliss. In this school the highest attainment, the priceless jewel, is bhakti—divine love, which is always a gift from above.

As we begin to taste Krishna consciousness, we should water our taste with the nectar of hearing about Krishna and chanting His holy names in the good company of steady devotees. Be assured that if you do these two things, your taste will grow.

And when taste grows, quite often the unexpected fruit of divine love will drop into your heart and you will find yourself crying tears of ecstasy.

Sometimes, a beginner is given a preliminary sip of that nectar—like yesterday, when this Himalayan yogini cried beautiful, soft tears during kirtana, tears that washed away any remaining resistance to the Lord’s arrangements for her.

All glories to Sri Krishna’s powerful mercy, which can enable all souls to obtain the Lord’s loving sidelong glance and one day, His direct darshan.

Hare Krsna.

your servant,

Aruna dd