Words to Heal and Bless

The whole universe is brought into being through the transformations of consciousness alone. It is only through the transformations of consciousness that the universe becomes manifest… All that is conscious in the universe is actually [a reflection] of absolute Consciousness. This universe is absolute Consciousness only. You are Consciousness. I am Consciousness. Meditate on the world as Consciousness.   –Varāha Upanishad 2.45-47 [1]

Great emphasis is placed on meditation for those who practice Kriya Yoga. As a daily practice, meditation supports spiritually conscious, healthy, balanced living. It is essential for quieting the restless mind, but meditation proficiency is not the end goal.

The goal is Self- and God-realization and the ultimate freedom that accompanies that awakening. That freedom allows us to skillfully participate in the world, align our will with divine will, cooperate with the Infinite, and participate in the evolutionary unfolding of planetary consciousness.

We purify the mind, clarify our thoughts, open our heart to deeper knowing, and then actualize that knowledge by bringing it forth. As Sri Yukteswar, the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, told him, "Self-realization is not selfish realization." We are here to offer the peace of the soul to the world—to connect heaven and earth.

Here is one way that thought is expressed by Howard Brinton, a Quaker teacher, and author:

The Quaker way is so to order the inner life that outer pressures can be adequately met and dealt with. This is not the method of the ascetic who conquer his sensual desires by violence toward himself, nor of the hermit who avoids his fellow men, nor of the stoic who makes himself independent and indifferent to the world around him. It is rather an ordering of the inner life, so that there will be a proper balance of inner and outer, inner holding first place. In one sense we become independent of outer tumults and conflicts, but in another sense, we are not independent because we must seek to reproduce in the world around us the inner peace created within ourselves. If we do not seek to reproduce our inner peace it will become lifeless and static. [2]

Ordering the inner life is accomplished through prayer and meditation that quiets the mind and allows us to be receptive to divine guidance and vision.

Divine sight or "in-sight" arises in the peace-pervaded mental field. We see what cannot be seen with the physical eyes through our divinely inspired faculty of imagination. We perceive that which is beyond sensory ability but is intuitively known by the heart. This is the skill of a visionary.

To get a sense of the ongoing tug of war between Spirit and matter, heaven and earth, head and heart, sensory perception, and imagination, look up the word visionary. For example, when I looked at my online dictionary, this is what I found:

• The first set of words defining visionary are: "unrealistic, impractical, quixotic, fanciful, unworkable, or idealistic."
• The second meanings are: far-sighted, imaginative, creative, inventive, or prophetic.

It's no wonder that we have not fully developed our visionary capacity and tend to give it short shrift. Being a visionary seems like something we might go to a workshop to do in today's world, but not so much a way to live.

Yet, being a visionary is the way for us to live and live fully—as rishis, seers, or sages.

As a visionary, we can see beyond circumstances to solutions; we can see through obstacles to breakthroughs. We know healing is possible because even in the midst of brokenness, we recognize wholeness. We discern the invisible connections between things, people, thoughts, and conditions. We see God's omnipresence with the wisdom eye of divine sight.

My guru, Roy Eugene Davis, shared how his beloved guru Paramahansa Yogananda was visionary, a seer. When they were walking together in the desert, Paramahansaji directed his attention to a mountain in the distance and said, "When most people look at a mountain, they see only earth—dirt and stones. When I look, I see God."

He didn't just see it; he said it. He witnessed it, and he lived it. He lived his visionary capacity. He actualized it as a life of service—making that divine vision accessible to all by teaching everyone how to see and know God. He spoke up about it.

We all have that capacity. It simply needs to be noticed, nurtured, realized, and actualized.

The power of manifesting our creative imagination rests on the cosmic Word—the creative energy of Consciousness that manifests as the world. That divine power within us starts as a thought, then takes form through our speech.

Like a chariot that rides from the heavens and traverses the earth, our truthful words light up life and bring healing to a broken world.

We are all the time, speaking our vision of life into being. So it's helpful to ask ourselves (and pay attention):

What are we saying?

What are our words, imbued with our beliefs, bringing forth?

Are my words consistent with truth?

Are they in alignment with Rta?

A Formula To Heal and Bless

Man's word is Spirit in man. Spoken words are sounds occasioned by the vibrations of thoughts; thoughts are vibrations sent forth [either] by the ego or by the soul. Every word you utter should be potent with soul vibration. Words saturated with sincerity, conviction, faith, and intuition are like highly explosive vibration bombs, which, when set off, shatter the rocks of difficulties, and create the change desired.  —Paramahansa Yogananda [3]

• See what is true,
• Envision the highest possibility,
• Think clearly, and
• Speak words in harmony with the Infinite and imbued with divine power.

That is our formula for healing and blessing. That is the way to live and share a blessed life.

When our ministers don their vestments to teach or participate in a service, we speak (or sing) a version of a prayer from the Aitareya Upanishad associated with the Rig Veda. It's a beautiful prayer to conclude this lesson and take it with us now.

May my speech be one with my mind
And my mind be one with my speech
Oh thou Self-luminous Brahman
Remove the veil of ignorance from before me
That I may behold Thy light
May I behold Thy light
Do Thou reveal to me
The spirit of the scriptures
May the truth of the scriptures be ever-present to me
May I seek day and night to realize what I learn from the sages
May I speak the truth of the Brahman
May it protect me
May it protect my teacher
May it protect all beings.
Om Peace, peace, peace.

Commenting on this prayer, author and scholar William Mahoney wrote:

For Vedic seers, Rta was to be discerned and
uttered forth, like "the wide splendors of the dawns reveal
sparkling treasures covered in darkness."
Here is his translation of that prayer:
My word is firmly established in my mind!
My mind is firmly established in my word!
O manifest one, be manifest to me!
Be for me the foundation of sacred, visionary knowledge;
Do not let my sacred learning desert me.
Thus meditating on what has been studied, I join nights and days.
I will speak of Rta; I will speak of the true.
May that protect me.
May that protect the speaker; may that protect the speaker.
Peace, peace, peace.  [4]

 

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[1] Varāha Upanishad 2.45-47, translated by William H. Mahoney, quoted in The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination (New York: SUNY Press, 1998) 209.

[2] Howard H. Brinton, The Quaker Doctrine of Inward Peace (Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill Publications, 1948, 2014) Kindle, loc. 81 of 450.

[3] Paramahansa Yogananda, Scientific Healing Affirmations (Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1958,1990) p. 3-4.

[4] William K. Mahoney, Ibid. 71.

 

 

MORE DETAILS

 

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Four Goals for Spiritually Conscious Living

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