FEBRUARY 25, 2005
PASTOR'S THOUGHTS
VARIETIES OF SADHANAS

 

Since the 16th of February I've been working on a "sadhana" with the Avatar of Bliss, Nityananda. He and my sadhana journal are on the yoga page. It is turning out fruitful and delightful. The Avatar has married me!

I want to explain just a bit about this - as much as I understand. The sadhana is something you do where you concentrate on a saint, who becomes your guru. This attempt - to be one with a saint or guru - may not always work, nor work at all times exactly as you want it to. For instance, at various times, I have spent some time praying to Saint Mary of Agreda, with nothing happening I could discern. Then I prayed to Saint Padre Pio, and got some results, but not as vivid as that with the yoga saints. When I sat before Our Lady of Guadalupe's Tilma a half hour a day, I dreamed of her nightly. But when I simply pray to Mary to a regular statue, rarely does anything happen. I also pray to Jesus daily, for months, and nothing happens. Yet at certain times, like last year before August, I really concentrated on Him and before I knew it, on August 24, we had OUR SECOND MARRIAGE.

The question is what is going on here? What have we summoned? How do these things work? Personally, my questions might be different than yours. I'd like to really know why is it that certain sadhanas have results, and others, you do not see the results, at least in a tangible way.

One answer might be this: After I have had my signal (important) graces from Jesus - and our affair has been consummated by some High Sign, then there isn't anything else to accomplish for a while. There can be more high points, or moments of union, but since we already got married, we can't keep getting married every other day. Each time you marry, it shows a quantum leap in union, kind of like going to the moon.

But each Mahatma (great soul) has something DIFFERENT to give. Yes, they are all one in God and all are great, but they have different gifts to give. It is also true that Jesus has all the gifts Nityananda has, but I have an easier time seeing Nityananda as the Avatar of Bliss, than I can see Jesus that way. I will admit that I see Jesus as the spouse of my sufferings and of my Stigmata. I love Him and Him crucified! It is just hard for me to see his Resurrected state, the state of Glory, as easily as it is for me to see His crucified state. I have labored my whole life to compassionate Jesus with His Passion, to join up to Him on His Cross, that now, that is the Principle way I see Him. I know I should be able to see His other side, but I am a frail creature, and it is difficult for me.

Now Nityananda I have from the very beginning seen as a Blissful Soul, through the eyes of his favorite disciple, Muktananda. As soon as I think of him or see his picture I relate to his bliss. Now that I know him better, and have channeled him, I do understand that his renunciation was of the martyr's level - the deepest there is. But I do not think about his martyr's torments, I think only of the way he was afterwards, in the Ashram, radiating Bliss.

There is nothing wrong with praying to different saints, even of different religions, and doing sadhanas to them. Check out the life of Ramakrishna, on this site and elsewhere. He was famous for becoming an adept at many religions and disciplines and became a saint of each one!

The great news is that not only has my sadhana become a success, but Nityananda has married me! He told me that marriage is the highest union of two souls, and it means he gave all of himself to me - not just his gifts but all of himself. The story is on the yoga page, and it is a continuous story, as the sadhana has just begun!

Marriage is the union of two mature souls. It belongs to souls that can work together for the betterment of mankind. I have been through this before in my betrothal to Jesus in 1978, then marriage to God in 1982, and married to Jesus again in 2004. There is no other soul that I am aware that I got married to except Jesus - but now this. I am reeling from wonder and shock and trying to understand what this means. I now channel Nityananda:

"It means that you were ready to receive me totally and completely. You had been trying for many years to attain a great yoga status, to be not only a Christian saint, but a yoga saint. That was not easy for you as your culture is different and you did not have the gurus nor the materials on which to base your discipline. But luckily, you knew about me. You had a head start with Ramakrishna and Muktananda and other things you had studied over the years, the best being your union with Muktananda. When you sat down to honor me and worship my image and meditated but a few minutes, I came down from Heaven to join you. Within a day I had married you, and you saw it unfold in your dreams.....Lest people think this could happen to them instantly, think again. It resulted from your lifetime of sacrifice and commitment. You had been preparing for, say, forty years.

"What this means now is that I have permeated you with my grace, my presence, my bliss, my gifts, and all the Divine Radiance of my being. I left nothing back and was able to give you all of this because of your mortification. If a soul is not mortified, they can only get these things piecemeal, certainly not the whole package. If they are attached to the world, to people, to things, to sex, addicted to bad habits, etc., they could not receive this.

Let them know that God and saints would bless them at any given time, but they are not ready. If they made themselves ready, they would receive.

"You are puzzled, Rasa. Think of Ramakrishna. It is like that. You wanted to be a yoga saint, but could not become one until you were anointed. God told you that the sadhana with Muktananda did not turn you into a yoga saint, and you were depressed about that. It wasn't possible at the time, because you soon underwent crucifying traumas and could not stay in meditation. But now, it was time. Congratulations."

I thank Nityananda with every fiber of my being and now ask you to check the story on the yoga page.

 

 

Rasa Von Werder February 25, 2005

 

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