Ressurection of Sri Yukteshwar

Today we’re honoring Sri Yukteswar’s resurrection and it is an extraordinary event. It’s an extraordinary thing.

Why Great Ones come
When you think about it, our Guru through the ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ has shared a supernatural experience that no one else has been able to write about; to help us to understand the power and the spiritual greatness of these Masters that have come to free us from our delusions and give us the same oneness with God that they have. Sri Yukteswar came out of compassion, Master came out of compassion. Lahiri Mahasaya, Babaji, Jesus Christ, they came out of compassion for us, for our predicament in this world. They know us.

Relation of Guru and disciple
Sri Yukteswar’s relationship with the Master is the perfect example, the perfect description of what our relationship should be with our Guru. It’s so beautiful. He writes so much about Sri Yukteswar in this book(Autobiography of a Yogi). The whole chapter on cosmic consciousness when he had his first experience of God, the whole chapter on the ‘Years in my Master’s hermitage’. Ten years he was with Sri Yukteswar in that hermitage in Serampore, ten years of discipline, ten years of learning, ten years of accepting his Guru’s wishes. It’s extraordinary that he wrote about it and that we can read about it in this book. This book (Autobiography of a Yogi) is a holy book. And then the resurrection of Sri Yukteswar in chapter 43, it’s extraordinary,you should read it.

This reality is a dream
I’ve been reading it because we were doing this satsang. But I’ve read it numerous times because there’s so much in it about the astral world, causal world, the cosmic dream and all of these things that we have so many questions about. What is it really like in the astral world? But this time was a very special time when I was reading it because what I got out of it this time was that we are caught in this dream and Sri Yukteswar came and resurrected his body to show us that we don’t have to be caught because it’s a dream.

It’s a dream, this reality that we think is so real. We’re so caught up in it. We’re so worried, we’re so wondering how it’s all going to turn out. How are the kids gonna be, how’s the weather, how’s the finances, how’s the future, how’s our security and what about the world? It’s a dream. Think of it, Sri Yukteswar resurrected his body to show us that this is nothing but a dream. When we leave this world, the physical body will be gone.

We are souls, everlasting pure free souls that are spending a very short time in this body, very short time. This is just a vessel, this is just a time where we’re working out karma. Sri Yukteswar came and he showed us through his resurrection that we don’t need to be worried, that we don’t need to ever think that we are alone and that this is all there is. This is a dream. We should meditate on those words ‘this life is a dream’. Sri Yukteswar’s resurrection, the astral world, the causal body, even that’s a dream.

What is our reality
But then what is reality? Reality is when we merge into God, when we become one with God, when we realize our oneness. That’s what self-realization is when we realize ‘Ah I Knew there was more’ and you’re home. You’re resting, you’re resting in God. That love is pouring through you, you become one with that love and you understand that it’s always been there and it will always be. There’s nothing more powerful than love you know.

How should your sadhana be
I was watching a video of Swami recently, it was so sweet and he was at Master’s MahaSamadhi in Los Angeles and there was a ceremony there. Jyotish was with him and he was answering questions from the public. It was quite unique and very powerful and one of the questions was ‘Swamiji what is your sadhana, what do you do for your sadhana?’ and he just thought for a moment and said ‘Well I energize, I meditate and I practice Kriya the way Master taught me’.

Then he paused again and said ‘I give every thought to God, I think of God constantly. I ask God what to do in every situation, I ask God to speak through me. I offer myself to God every moment of the day. That’s my Sadhna’. It is so beautiful, that should be our sadhana because when we are in that light, when we are that close to the Guru and every situation in our life is given over to God; we feel the power that can come through us to make every situation a one of healing.

We could be healers in our life right now, we can feel the Guru coming through. We have to be aware, we have to give our thoughts to God. We can be resurrected in every single moment of our lives. We resurrect our consciousness up into the light and that light comes through us. That light we begin to recognize as ourselves.

Our families deserve it, the people we work with deserve it, this world needs it. They need to know that there’s something other than this dream and we know because the Guru has come into our lives and the Guru has expanded our consciousness. We have that gift, we have been given a gift and a gift is to be shared. It’s a gift of pure love, it’s a gift of the Guru. We have that in us so when we share that in this world our whole world changes.

Bringing Divine Mother in
I was in New York recently and we all know that my daughter was sick and I had to go back for several hospital visits and surgeries and cleaning, cooking, laundry all of these things. I don’t think I’ve been so busy since she was first born because she was incapacitated. But there I was in her little studio in New York and I was getting into the dream. I was forgetting it was a dream. I was so tired and I’d wake up and think “oh my God I have to go call the laundry and I have to go this and that and that”. I was forgetting but then I would meditate every day.

Well one day I just thought “oh my God I can’t, I don’t know how I can do this” and then I had this thought ‘I can do it for you’. It was so sweet, it was just a thought ‘I can do it for you’ and then I remembered ‘I’m not being like Swami, I am not giving every thought to God. I’m not really offering myself into this situation, I’m not bringing Divine Mother into it. I’m just doing it with my ego and my tired little body and my little limited way of thinking’. I was just thinking ‘I have to do this, I have to do this’ but as soon as I changed my thought then peace came into my heart and I knew it was all going to be okay.

And it was okay and then I started to get more energy. That’s what Swami said his sadhna is giving every thought to God. When we think of Sri Yukteswar ‘s resurrection it’s not just this event for Master, it wasn’t just for Master. The very last words that Sri Yukteswar said to Master when he was leaving this beautiful experience, when he was leaving Master in Bombay were ‘tell all’ and that’s why Yogananda has come for each one of us.

Take baby steps
These Gurus, they come to tell us that we too can have those experiences, that we too can feel God’s presence every moment of our lives. We don’t have to wait until we’re finally one with God. We have to take baby steps, we’re not there yet. I realized it when I was in New York. But we do have the Guru, what a blessing and when you put your hand in the hand of the Guru he guides you. He won’t let you down, he will never let you down. He told us he would never give up his job about us. And we need to meditate so that we can breakaway from this reality that we say is reality. This is not reality.

The more you meditate, the more you realize that your consciousness is expanded beyond this body, you begin to feel aware. You begin to become very much aware that your soul is in everything, that your soul is in God and then you can just back off a little bit, take a step back from this reality to ask God to bless you. Give your thoughts to him, give your actions to him. Your life will become illuminated.

I experienced it and that’s why I shared it with you. I was in it and then I remembered it was a dream and that Master would do it for me. It was so simple. It wasn’t like I had to read the scripture, do 108 Kriyas or do anything. All I did was ask ‘I’m losing this, please help me. I want You. I don’t want to lose myself here. Immediately just like that I had that thought and so He’s there, Divine mother’s there every moment. Yes we have our responsibilities, we have our Karma, we have our Dharma.

We can’t run off to the Himalayas, if we all could we’d all be so happy together. I would love that life but we can’t right now. But we can bring the Himalayas here, we can bring the Guru’s here. And that’s our greatest gift, that’s our responsibility.

All we need is the love of God in our heart
Many years ago I was able to visit Sri Yukteswar’s ashram in Serampore and this was before. Now they don’t let you into his room. As the years go on they start putting things behind bars and don’t let you in but I got to go in. It was being taken care of by one of Master’s relatives.

I was just so touched by it because it was here in Serampore that the Master was with Swami(Sri Yukteswar) for ten years. And you walk in the room, you walk up the stairs and here’s this very simple room. Right now it’s decaying because it was more than a hundred years ago but I walked in the room and there’s just these little sandals by the bed, these worn little bamboo sandals, a bed with a little worn cover on it, a picture of Lahiri Mahasaya with the mala and that was all. One chair. And here was this great Guru, you walked in and felt his presence so strongly. He was there emanating the power of God in that little simple room.

So that is for us we’re in our little simple lives but we can bring the power of God into those lives. We don’t need great palaces and huge ashrams and fancy things. All we need is the love of God in our heart. We need open hearts then God can come to us. Simple life that’s how he can come through. We are so complicated. This is a very difficult time right now to calm your mind and open your heart but we should really support one another in this. Because this is the gift we’ve been given and this is the gift we need to share with the world and that’s what satsang is.

Other people are being helped by your sadhana
Believe me I was in New York, there’s like nine millions of people and ‘rushing rushing rushing going going going’ but I would think of Ananda and I would think of our little Center here. The devotion and the love of God in the devoted souls of each one of you and how that is spreading. It was helpful to me to know this was here.

Think of what other people are being helped by your sadhana, your satsang. They’re just thinking they’re there, they’re meditating, they’re all together, they’re my spiritual family, they’re gonna see me through. It’s so reassuring. We need to help one another, we need to pray for one another because it’s not easy. It’s not easy but it can be done because Master came to show us how it can be done.

Don’t criticize each other and judge each other because you know what, everybody’s doing the best they can for who they are. Isn’t it true, aren’t we all doing the best we can for who we are? We can’t do any better and so when you’re getting positive vibes from your Gurubhais and you’re open to that; you can grow a little bit more, you can relax a little bit, you can love more, you can be an instrument for the light. So that’s our job.

Keep trying and love
So it’s not so far away for each one of us to experience the resurrection of our own souls. All we have to do is be sincere,all we have to do is keep on trying. All we have to do is love because it’s all love. Don’t think too much. We’ll never figure it out intellectually, we’ll only figure it out through love. So with an open heart and the energy of a true disciple and a true devotee, let’s join together and find God together in this lifetime. It’s possible. God bless you all.