What state of being comes to you when you think of your mother? It’s the _bhava_ of a mother. What emotion comes to you when you think of the guru — guru as the bhava, the state of being when that is invoked? As the Lord — it’s bhava, it’s very pure emotion yet it’s not an emotion.
Each thing has a different bhava. When you say _guru bhava_, we have respect, reverence and love and devotion. All this together you say this is _guru bhava._ When you say Ishwara, you have that all-pervading one Lord who has all the power in Him — how do you look at that _bhava?_ When you say everything is Atman, everything is Brahman — once you know that everything is Brahman, you look at everything as Brahman. It is _Brahma bhava_, _Atma bhava._
But at the ultimate, there is no _bhava_ at all — _sadbhava. Sadbhava_ is not a _bhava_ because the Self, in its purest sense, is all.
I have coffee now. It is the first thing in the morning, having a coffee. I planned to join Satsang with Ganga Maa this morning. It was still time to read and write; it was early.
I started my scooter and drove the small roads towards Ganga Maa Ashram (Sri Jnana Ganga Mandiram). The last bit I couldn’t drive, it must have been very muddy here before, the dirty road was ripped up. I parked the scooter and walked the rest towards the Ashram. Next time, I would drive another route, reaching from the other side.
All the chairs were already blocked, although it was before 09:00. I saw a German friend sitting there, who indicated to me to sit on the box near the shrine. So I did. Then one chair in front of me got empty. I had a seat there. Alex and Daniela were also here. The room got very full, many people arrived this morning and sat down in the middle of the room, on the floor. Ganga Maa arrived silently at 09:30; she is never late. When she sat down, she crossed her legs while sitting, which she hadn’t done last year. There was silence for a while before somebody asked the first question. She answered the question, and she was talking for quite a long time. I’ve never heard her talk for so long before. In between, I got very tired, and for a moment, my head was down. But I woke up, and I stayed awake until the end.
After Satsang, I drove to the supermarket and bought some bread, butter and cheese. The cheese is handmade at Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Back home, I was eating some of it. I had a nap in the afternoon. At 17:00, I spent some time in Sri Ramanaashramam. The fire on Arunachala was lit at 18:00, and many people were sitting outside, watching the fire on the top of the mountain. Some women were constantly singing; it was a very warm feeling being here.
After the Ashram, I walked over to the Hotel Anand Ramana, which has a good Indian Restaurant. I was eating a Special Dosa, very delicious. A young Indian woman asked if she could sit with me. I agreed, and we had an interesting talk about personality and devotion. Sometimes when I talk with people, I get a new view about myself, and a new piece of the puzzle fits in. You never know who you will meet next.
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