Hold Him Tight - Ananda India

My eyes gazing into His, and as if, holding His hand in a tight grip, I fervently kept praying to my Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, for wading me out of the tormenting turbulence. Unbelievably, a slight sore throat and mild fever over three days were actually the signs of COVID-19 infection and this had, for a moment, shaken me!

The positive test, however, opened many vistas for living the teachings of Yoganandaji. Though the satanic power of the deadly virus could be felt, there was a greater power of an unseen hand that kicked this formidable foe out of my body in just a few days bringing me back to the center of well-being, just as a plastic punching play toy stands tall after a hard blow! The presence of this power, though silent but strong, that runs through the fabric of all life was felt to be the redeemer in such a testing time.

Equally compelling was the dawn of the stark reality of body’s impermanence, an experience that surely gave a crushing blow to the egoic self.

God the Doer
This mild, first-hand encounter with the notorious virus indeed brought many learnings. A seclusion in the midst of a busy household is unthinkable. But I experienced it for two long weeks! More so, how unimaginable it is to think about the machinery of life orchestrating without us. But nothing really stops as everything goes on with some hiccups here and there. Don’t we unnecessarily give ourselves the undeserving self-importance, erring that we are indispensable?

Yoganandaji has said, “God is the only reality. Behind all appearances is the consciousness of God.” He takes charge of our lives the moment we hand ourselves to Him, believing that He loves us and is taking care of our needs.

While recovering, the expression of God’s love could be felt from the healing prayers of Gurubhais coming like a flood of Light from Ananda centres across the world; His love came to me unceasingly from Acharyas and Nayaswamis who shared inspirations and blessings through several Ananda online community programs; His love touched my heart as it flowed from the hearts of many well-wishing friends and relatives; His love came gushing through the caring family members: the delicious dinners and fresh juice served by my husband was simply an expression of His love! That God serves us in multitudinous ways, through many faces, struck my consciousness like never before.

Our Faith Shields
That faith in God which cannot be shaken by the greatest of storms has the inherent power to wade us to safe shores. “Always know that the inexhaustible Parmatman can heal anyone,” said the great God-tuned Lahiri Mahasaya, who had glorified God through several miraculous healings. To thwart a disease from taking root in our being, Swami Sri Yukteshwarji emphasized on consciously lifting ourselves from disease consciousness when he said, “Imagination is the door through which disease as well as healing enters. Disbelieve in the reality of sickness even when you are ill; an unrecognized visitor will flee!”

He said further, “Wisdom is the greatest cleanser.” Thus, in the wake of disease, a firm faith in God’s healing power helps to attune to His ever-flowing grace while, concomitantly, it is important to heed to necessary medical advice.

The Light Heals
How does Divine will healing work? Yoganandaji said, “A man of strong will, by his highly vibrating mind, can shake out disease, failure and ignorance but the will vibration must be stronger than the vibration of disease.” A disease-causing germ actually has a very low vibration, which is why it can be shaken out of the body if our body cells are vibrating with higher levels of energy. This only means that we must fight, like a spiritual warrior, to overcome all darkness in our life whether it comes in the form of disease, fear or any ignorance borne out of delusive consciousness. But if we submit to disease consciousness, we are ignorantly giving the germs an upper hand to take root in us.

The effort that we need to make is to mentally transform our body into a channel of God’s Light to flow within us. It is important to deeply visualize the cosmic Light entering the base of our brain, the medulla oblongata, and seeing this Light filling our brain and all the nerve channels, all our body systems, organs, tissues and cells. The very feeling of being charged with God’s Light, as it inundates the whole body, is the activating point for the unseen power of God to heal us in every way.

The healing prayer given by Yoganandaji is: “Divine Mother, Thou Art Omnipresent,
Thou Art in all Thy children, Manifest Thy healing presence in all bodies, in all minds and in all souls.” Rubbing our arms and hands vigorously we now project this healing Light into the whole world by chanting Aum three times, visualizing the protective vibration of Aum, emanating from our raised hands, expanding infinitely in all directions.

As Yoganandaji said, “The channel is blessed by that what flows through it,” this healing Light blesses and heals us first and then flows out into the world to touch the hearts of all our brothers and sisters, in fact healing the whole creation. A daily practice of this healing technique can do wonders for us and others whom we are consciously praying for.

Affirmations Change Us
Yoganandaji has given us many affirmations that help in changing our consciousness. For shaking out the vibration of disease, I often practiced this affirmation: “Thy cosmic current flows in me, flows in me; Through my medulla, flows in me, flows in me; I think and will the current to flow; In all my body the current to flow; In all my body the current to flow; I am charged, I am cured; I am charged, I am cured; Lightning flash goes through me; I am cured , I am cured.”

Sadhna as Saviour
When we are sick our daily meditation practice is affected as during such times we need prana to restore the body’s equilibrium. However, rather than skipping this daily routine, I found that even a short meditation, sitting on the bed, is greatly helpful. As Kriya is a pranayama technique that involves diaphragmmatic breathing, a few kriyas done daily play a phenomenal role in bringing the body to its healthful state.

The mind agitated with many thoughts gets calmer as we practice the Hong Sau technique, even for a few minutes. We can also do a few energization exercises on the bed, without straining ourselves, just to maintain our practice and more importantly, staying constantly in the flow of grace.

The Key is Surrender
Letting ourselves surrender at the Guru’s feet, holding Him tight like a child, accepting whatever that has come to us as Divine will and patiently waiting for His response brings many pleasant surprises. Although our individual karmas play an important role for overcoming a darkness in our life, being in tune with His benevolence in our toughest moments, with an attitude of surrender, is the key.

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Gunnika

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