by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, June 13, 2012 | Favorites, Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Deep inside, you already know everything. Yet, it is shrouded by your conditioning.
You are conditioned, programmed, to believe a certain way and in certain things. Those conditioned impressions are called Samskaras. Though samskaras overshadow the Divine depth of your being, they do not entirely block your connection with it. You still sense it. When you hear truth, it resonates with that depth. Yet however erroneous, the surface (the samskaras) are what you habitually return to, and cling to, for a belief system, safety, familiarity, and comfort. Samkaras are like that old tattered coat, though aged and worn there is just something about it that keeps you coming back.
Life goes on. Truth, time and again, presents itself, resonates with your depth, is aspired to, and then abandoned once again, in the name of that old tattered coat called samskara. With dedication, through reflection, self-honesty, meditation, and the hard knocks of life… slowly, slowly you move in the direction of truth. Yet the path is seldom a straight line. It winds, turns, curves back on it self, freezes, slips, slides, entices, seduces, distracts, is rejected, doubted, feared, loved… on and on. The Guru is there always. Yet the Guru, as the embodiment of that path, is also loved, resented, aspired to, drawn to, feared, hated, rejected, longed for… on and on.
But you keep going. Just as all water necessarily returns to the ocean, in time you overcome your overshadowing samskaras to rest in the depth of your being to become unshakably established in that. Until that tipping point is reached, your allegiance remains to the surface. Truth is just a faint cry from the distance at first, hidden away in a deep, dark, pathless jungle. Evade as you may, it is undeniable in its steadfast presence and haunting allure. The Guru is there always, holding up the beacon that lights the way. While your samskaras are in control, the Guru can be experienced as an annoyance… a thorn in your side. And the rationalizations then abound. After all… he is just a man, right?
He knows full well that, in time, you will awaken to your Truth… the Universal Truth… the Divine that underlies, birthed, and eternally upholds all of life, no matter where you journey, what you choose to believe, or how you are feeling. Like gravity, the Grace of the Guru is eternally present. And in time, you will find Him at the heart of your own being… within you, as you. For in reality, he does not exist on the surface. He is the embodiment of the depth. The One, Universal, Eternal You, Me, all that is.
You will find that One Truth within yourself, just as surely as every drop of rain, in time, returns to the ocean.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Monday, June 11, 2012 | Personal Growth |
One of the greatest joys of my life is that I do so deeply love my students. When the lives of any of them go astray, it causes me great heartache.
Witnessing this, someone sent an email that they left cupcakes on my front porch in the evening to which I emailed back:
“It’s 3 a.m. I just got the cupcake email. They were still on the porch and fine… much needed and appreciated.
Every plant is medicinal (just as it says in the vedic texts).
Sugar, well timed, is no exception.
Thanks, Dr. Mamas”
… very sweet… Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Saturday, June 9, 2012 | Mount Soma |
My brother-in-law, Simeon, and his wife Shannon, had their wedding ceremony yesterday at Mount Soma. It was beautiful. Of course, many family members and friends attended.
The manner in which the attendees received the Vedic tradition was quite impressive. Their openness, to something that was so clearly foreign to what they have known, was most respectable. That, in and of itself, said a great deal about the good fortune of Simeon and Shannon… to have such noble support and love from family and friends.
Needless to say, my desire was intense to get up and explain the significance of the proceedings in terms of Vedic knowledge, which is not only a great art but also a highly technical science. However, I managed to control myself and allow the festivities to proceed in a joyous and light-hearted manner.
Admittedly, I did corner my nephew, whom I am proud to say will be attending Clemson next year to pursue a degree in engineering. I gave him a short course in the Veda and am thankful to him for listening.
The day was a great deal of fun for everyone!
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, June 6, 2012 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
The following quote, when misunderstood, can lead to a common misbelief:
“The deeper sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” – Kahlil Gibran
An inexpensive stereo system does not reproduce the high and low frequencies well. If you look at a graphic reproduction of the sound pattern, you would see the highs and lows ‘flat line’ or cut off at some point. This can have quite an undesirable effect on the listener.
As you evolve, your ability to feel the full range, the highs and lows, of human emotions expands. You feel more deeply. You do not ‘flat line.’ Flat lining is an intense experience: the lows feel like fingernails scratching a chalkboard… very painful. The highs too are as if unmanageable or intolerable. Though those feelings are intense, they are limited. You have no doubt seen people flat line. Words like intolerable hysteria come to mind. It is as if the psyche crumbles or buckles over.
In contrast, the ability to feel the full range of emotions is a more highly evolved state. The ability to feel deep sorrow does not enable one to feel deep joy. The capacity to feel both develops simultaneously as one evolves. Expansion occurs in all directions simultaneously.
Now at first glance, this may sound undesirable. Who wants to be able to feel more sorrow? However, it is not like that. As you evolve, the cosmic cushion of the depth of your being is more and more fully experienced. That is to say that you awaken to a place deep within your being that remains untouched by sorrow or joy. It is like the tail of a kite that enables you to soar higher without tumbling.
On the other hand, flat lining is an overwhelming experience. The Self is overshadowed. Integration breaks down. Irrationality consumes ones being. Be it due to great sorrow or joy, flat lining is an undesirable and limiting state.
It is valuable to note that even Lord Rama, fully established in the Self, fell to his knees and sobbed when he learned his beloved wife, Sita, was kidnapped. The equanimity of the enlightened is not a zombie-like state. Great emotions are felt. Yet the Self, the tail of the kite, is not lost. The emotions soar higher. They do not flat line.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Sunday, June 3, 2012 | Spirituality |
As you evolve, your sense of Self grows to include all that is. As that occurs, you become overtaken by the Cosmic Flow… the Unified Motion of the Divine, which permeates and includes all that is… an “unbounded ocean of consciousness in motion”.
It is not a Selfless state as some claim. It is in fact the opposite.
The following quote alludes to this state, though is only a mere echo of it. This is beautiful in that it speaks of the inner sense within all humanity that points in the direction of the Divine – the destiny of all to awaken to who and what they truly are… one with God.
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
