Saturday Afternoon Closing Class – Brother Satyananda
Ten years ago at Convocation here at this hotel I looked around and thought,
“Where are all the young disciples? Where is the next generation?” Now ten years later, I looked around this week and they are everywhere!!
…… and they’re taking notes!
(Laughter)
They’re going to classes; there are a record number of them serving; they’re taking Kriya. A new generation of disciples has arrived!
(Applause)
There was one teen SRF member who asked me to help him with his Kriya application, which I am always delighted to do. After determining that his sadhana was in order, I asked him to tell me what the Guru meant to him. He described the Guru as “a Divine Friend guiding me to my home in God.” Then he said, “I knew Paramahansa Yogananda was my Guru when I was twelve years old … but please don’t tell my Mom and Dad.”
(Laughter)
“They’d give blood to know.”
(Laughter)
We have a new website for our young SRF members at www.srfyouthforum.com
There’s nowhere else on the planet where four thousand people get together to mediate and pray and chant. It sends out a very powerful vibration to the world. Now from Brother Anandamoy’s class you have your homework for the next twelve months, and so I would like to end this week of Convocation by telling some stories. These are not just any stories, but classic stories about the life of Krishna and Christ.
The story telling format is something I love, and if this appeals to you also, you will discover that it’s something you can share with your family and friends.
First select a story, perhaps from the life of Krishna. I like to draw from the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavatam, or from a source such as these.
Read the story carefully so that you have a personal emotional response to it - make it come alive for you. Then go to the Gita and find some related words from Krishna that catch the essence of the story, and then dive into the Guru’s commentary on that passage. What you have then is a beautiful formula for finding out through these stories how they apply to your life, and how you can put what you learn to work in your own life.
One of the many stories told about Bhagavan Krishna, who lived millenniums ago in India, occurred just before the war of Kurukshetra. At that time Krishna was king of the city of Dwaraka, which lay on the edge of the peninsula of Gujarat, on the west shore of India at the edge of the Arabian Sea. The time during Krishna’s rule was a period of great internal strife. India was in the process of being divided in a battle of dharma versus adharma (righteousness versus unrighteousness). The divergence was quickly escalating toward war, and the great avatar Krishna had incarnated in order to reinstate dharma to the throne.
There were two prominent royal families in India who were moving toward conflict: the Kurus (representing the bad guys, the aggressors), and opposing them were the Pandavas (the good guys, representatives of righteous dharma).
Krishna was both a king and an avatar. Duryodhana was the dark-minded prince and leader of the Kurus, while Arjuna was the virtuous leader of the Pandava army. Both Arjuna and Duryodhana were handsome young men, and they had known each other from early childhood. They had gone to the same school, received the same training as warriors, and both were very capable in statesmanship, diplomacy, military maneuvers, and warfare. Both were out campaigning for allies - and when war became inevitable, each sought the aid of Krishna in their cause.
You can imagine the scene that takes place: It’s a warm afternoon in India when a chariot pulls up in front of Krishna’s palace. Out steps Duryodhana, dressed in silk and light armor. He removes his weaponry, walks up the palace steps, and announces to the guards that he is seeking an audience with
Krishna. Just then another chariot arrives carrying Arjuna - handsome and slim of build, a master bowman. Arjuna sees Duryodhana, and they both know why they are there – they both know it is for the same reason. Duryodhana, being the aggressor, says to Arjuna, “I’m here first. According to the rules, since I have come first I get to make my request to Krishna first.”
Now, both Arjuna and Duryodhana are well-known figures in India at this time – in fact they are famous - they’re like rock stars.
(Laughter)
They are greeted warmly by the palace attendants, and promptly escorted into the large castle. Each one requests an audience with Krishna, and they are informed that Krishna is having his afternoon nap … a siesta.
(Laughter)
But because Arjuna and Duryodhana are familiar well-known faces, the guards tell them, “You may go to Krishna’s private chambers if you promise not to awaken him.” Quietly they enter Krishna’s bedroom, and after removing their footwear they walk barefooted across the marble floor, beneath the tall arch of the palace ceiling. The large room has been darkened so that Krishna may rest, but a pale light filters in through the windows of traditional Indian Jali-work, and they are able to discern in the middle of the room a large exotic carpet and a couch upon which Krishna is reclining, dressed in robes of golden silk, his long hair flowing loose, resting in omnipresence, as avatars do.
Duryodhana strides across the room and seats himself boldly at the head of the couch, while Arjuna, who is a disciple of Krishna, humbly kneels with folded hands at Krishna’s feet.
Krishna, sensing the change of vibration in his bedchamber wakes up, and as he opens his eyes he is pleased to see Arjuna at his feet. “Ah, my friend, you’ve come to visit.” Then he turns and sees Duryodhana. “Well,
Duryodhana, this is a surprise.”
Now Duryodhana steps in to take charge. “Both of us come seeking alliance with you in the impending war, but I was the first to arrive. I came first, and according to the laws of Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra I get your first
consideration.”
“It is indeed true that you have come to me first,” Krishna answers, “but when I opened my eyes I saw Arjuna first, and so it is really Arjuna who was the first
to arrive in my eyes, and therefore he is given first choice. Since you have both come here, I shall lend my assistance to both causes. One of you gets my massive and well-trained army; the other gets me - but I will not fight.”
Krishna then turns to Arjuna. “Arjuna, it’s your choice.” Without hesitation Arjuna says, “O Lord, I want only you. What do I care who fights for whom? I only want you by my side!” The greedy Duryodhana rejoices. “You fool!! I get the army.” He laughs, turns on his heels, and walks out.
Now comes what I think is the most beautiful and intimate scene of the Mahabharata. Krishna puts his feet on the floor, and Arjuna kneels down in front of him to touch his feet - and it’s just the Guru and disciple, alone together. It is then that Krishna unexpectedly teases his disciple.
“O Arjuna, that was foolish of you. Why did you choose me over my powerful army?”
“O Lord,” Arjuna answers, “With you comes righteous dharma and power over all the armies of the world. Your counsel is more valuable to me than an entire army. It is with you I wish to be forever and forever.”
Now we go to a corresponding passage near the end of the Gita, in Chapter XVIII, Verse 62, when Krishna says: “O Arjuna, take shelter in the Lord with all the eagerness of thy heart. By His grace thou shalt obtain the uttermost peace and the Eternal Shelter.”
Master’s Gita commentary on this verse: “The significance of Bhagavan Krishna’s advice to Arjuna is that man can receive the liberating grace of God by properly using his free choice to put God first in his life. …The Lord
therefore exhorts the devotee to meditate on truth and to take up dutifully those actions that bring intuitive enlightenment and that are in accord with the divine wisdom secreted in the God-united soul.”
When Master said, “Man can receive the liberating grace of God by properly using his free choice to put God first in his life” – this, to me, is the theme that speaks to me in this story. Life is so complex, and so often we find ourselves in an arena of conflicting choices to be made. The right path often seems
unclear, and the outcome uncertain. So often nothing seems to work out perfectly … have you noticed?
(Laughter)
But what does the Gita say? There is only one safe choice, so let your choice be to take shelter in the Lord first. Take shelter in God. This is one choice we can always make. It’s so simple, but we need to make it first. We have to say,
“I need you, Lord. I want You, Lord. I want You over all the armies in the world.” The message of the avatars is that making this choice first sets the stage for all other choices in life.
We can apply this in our meditations. Meditate, and then after practice of the techniques - after pranayama - we can sit quietly and feel in the vibrations of pranayama the presence of the Lord. We can feel we are alone with the Lord - we can use that solitude gained in meditation to be alone with God. It’s what I call “esoteric intimacy”. This is what we are all seeking. The disciple does not have to be in some exalted superconscious state, but in the silence of
meditation has only to say with the sincere eagerness of his heart, “I choose You, Lord. I simply want You, Lord.” This is true darshan. We can do this in our meditations, and we can also do this in activity. Even when all kinds of issues are raging outside, still we can stop and invoke God’s presence. There’s no need to review scenarios. Just say, “I don’t care who wins or loses. I only want You.” You will find that if you make this invocation sincerely, this sets the stage for what comes next.
Now, doing God’s will doesn’t mean that everything will be smooth – it doesn’t guarantee that all will go well. It’s a fantasy to think that all will be happy and easy in life. Life is full of conflicts. Look at Arjuna’s situation: there he was, in the middle of an intense conflict - there was a lot at stake, a lot of intense pressure, and the outcome of the war of Kurukshetra was uncertain. There was a lot at stake when he made his choice, but still he had the karma that enabled him to make the choice instantaneously. Why was this so important?
For one reason: choosing God first produces a powerful inner victory – and in God’s eyes, this inner victory supersedes all outer results.
The mystical Persian poet, Rumi, had a guru by the name of Shamsuddin.
There is a story of a time when they were together in Baghdad, engaged in a game of chess. After some clever chess moves by his master, Rumi realized he was trapped – there was no way he could win the game, and in one or two more moves he knew he would lose the game. Leaning back, he threw up his arms, and cried in mock despair, “Oh, I have lost!!” His guru nodded, but he also saw his disciple’s divine detachment and told him, “No, you’ve won.” He was appreciating the inner victory of his disciple’s realization that divine detachment was more important than the outcome of chess pieces on a board.
Maya is like a thief, always spoiling our plans. Rumi wrote a poem about it:
The Thief Will Enter No matter what plans you make,
no matter what you acquire,
the thief will enter from the unguarded side.
Be occupied, then, with what you really value, and let the thief take something less.
Nothing turns out perfect in the world - nothing turns out as we plan. But ultimately it is the inner victory that is important - more important than any outer results. When you go home after Convocation you will find all the problems you left behind waiting for you like monkeys in the trees.
But Master said, “Remember, I am always with you, within yourself.” So affirm
to the Guru - say to the Guru: “I want to please only you.” Ask the Guru to help you. “Guide me, bless me, protect me throughout my days. I know things are not perfect. I want only You.” This is the inner victory. Those around you may criticize you – in fact, it’s guaranteed! They may say, “Oh, you lost!” But the inner voice from the Guru will say, “No, you’ve won.”
Choose a story akin to those I’ve given this evening, and then get into the story and enjoy it. Tell it to your family; tell it to your friends and to your children if they’re interested, and tell it in a way so that it’s real for you - in a way that speaks to your heart. And then have a conversation with them. Ask your children what they think and feel about it. Then select a related passage from the Gita and dive into Master’s commentary on it.
A millenium or two later after the time of Krishna, on the Sea of Galilee, we go now to the life of Jesus Christ, and again to a story of the simple intimacy between the guru and his disciples. The scene takes place after Christ’s mission on earth has been completed - Jesus has passed through the terrible ordeal of his trial and crucifixion, and it follows the week of miracles wherein Jesus in his resurrected form has made appearances to many of the disciples - to Mary Magdelene outside the sepelchre, to Paul on the road to Damascus, and to Thomas, who wouldn’t believe. And so these appearances have taken place, and now Jesus has disappeared. The disciples have retreated to
Capernum for refuge and they are just … hanging out.
(Laughter)
The great drama of what happened in Jerusalem with the crucifixion is over, and now they wonder, “What comes next?” They simply don’t know. Well, as we all know, when men hang out together, what do they do? They go fishing.
(Laughter)
So Peter says, “I go a fishing,” to which the rest say, “We also go with thee.”
(Laughter)
St. John tells the story of how they fish all night on the sea of Galilee but don’t catch anything – no fish. It’s now early in the morning and they are bringing in their little boat with their empty nets. They see a stranger on shore who calls out to them, “Children, go back out and cast your nets on the other side of the boat.” So they do, and find they can’t hold all the fish that come into the nets.
John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” as he is described in the Bible,
remembers that just three years earlier Jesus had performed the very same miracle - and he makes the connection and says to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
Upon hearing this, an impetuous Peter throws himself into the water and swims to shore, leaving all the other disciples to haul in the fish.
(Laughter)
The Bible even tells us how many fish were caught – “an hundred and fifty and
three.” You can imagine the scene that follows: It’s early morning, before the sun rises. The sky is pink and blue on the horizon above the hills of Galilee, and there’s a mist rising above the calm waters of the Sea of Galilee.
The disciples have brought the hundred and fifty and three fishes on shore, and are now standing on the beach with their guru. All is quiet. The drama of the trials, the politics - all the controversies of the previous three years are over – all this turmoil is past. Now the disciples are with their Master in
resurrected form in this intimate setting, after having watched him be crucified with their own eyes; after having carried his dead body and laying it down in the sepelcher.
John tells the story of how a fire of coals is built and they grill the fish.
Together they share a meal of fish, and bread, and honeycomb – and you can just imagine how much the disciples appreciate this. Their need for intimacy with their master, their need of being alone with their guru is now being fulfilled.
John 21:1-25 (paraphrased)
Jesus showed himself again to the disciples and he said unto them, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.” They cast their nets, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
John, the disciple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter, “It is the Lord.” Now when Peter heard that it was the Lord, he cast himself into the sea, and the other disciples came after, dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread, and honeycomb. Jesus said unto them, “Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.” Peter drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus said unto them, “Come and dine.”
How could we doubt? The Bible gives all the details – it’s so real! It is at this time that Jesus takes the opportunity to complete some unfinished business with Peter, who had denied him thrice before the crucifixion:
“After they had dined, Jesus said to Peter, “Lovest thou me?” Peter replied,
“Yes, Lord; you know that I love thee.” And Jesus said to him, “Then feedest thou my sheep.” Then Jesus said to Peter again a second time, “Lovest thou me?” And again Peter said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love thee.” And Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” Then he said to him the third time,
“Lovest thou me?” And Peter was grieved because he asked a third time, and he said to him, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.”
For me, the real Last Supper was on the beach at Capernum – the Last
For me, the real Last Supper was on the beach at Capernum – the Last