ADVENTURES IN ADVAITA VEDANTA...

Adventures in Advaita Vedanta, the philosophy and science of spirit. We are one you and I; are you curious why?..


Supplication

Hari OM
Story-day is for cultural exploration, puraanas and parables and finding out about leading lights in spiritual philosophy.

We are following the text "Beyond Sorrow" in which we explore the nature of suffering and how to manage and move through difficulties.

The book now goes into a section labelled, 'Surrender'. We have seen from the initial essays that there is an essence of acceptance of one's lot in order to move forward through sufferings of all types. Acceptance is a physical shrugging of the shoulders and a deep breath, but there must also be a resolve in the ego to 'accept' and at this level it is called as surrender. Sri Ramakrishna wrote, 'I now realise that without trials and tribulations, one cannot resign oneself to God and depend upon Him absolutely.'

In The Sign of Jonas, Thomas Merton writes;
The chief thing that has struck me today is that I still have my fingers too much in the running of my own life.

Lord, I have not lived like a monk, like a contemplative. The first essential is missing. I only say I trust You; my actions prove that the one I trust is myself, and that I am still afraid of You. Take my life into Your hands, at last, and do whatever You want with it. I give myself to Your Love and mean to keep doing so, rejecting neither the hard things nor the pleasant things You have arranged for me. It is enough for me that You have glory. Everything You have planned is good. It is all Love.

The way You have laid open before me is an easy way, compared with the hard way of my own will, which leads back to Egypt and to bricks without straw. If you allow people to praise me, I shall not worry. If you let them blame me, I shall worry even less, but be glad. If You send me work I shall embrace it with joy and it will be rest to me, because it is Your will. If you send me rest, I will rest in You. Only save me from myself. Save me from my own, private, poisonous urge to change everything, to act without reason, to move for movement's sake, to unsettle everything You have ordained.

Let me rest in Your will and be silent. Then the light of Your joy will warm my life. Its fire will burn in my heart and shine for your glory. This is what I live for. Amen. Amen.