Fortunately, the rain stopped mostly, just a little here and there. At 08:00, I was looking into Sathya’s, but breakfast was not ready. So I drove to Tasty Cafe and had a tasty Fruit salad with curd and, of course, a black coffee. Then Satsang with Amma. Around 50 Russians from another event joined today. A Russian woman translated their questions and answers.
It’s the evening satsang on Tuesday and the room is three-quarters full. Outside the clouds have cleared and the weather is warming. Amma enters the room and there is devotion and reverence. For the first half of the Satsang, this silent devotion is constant.
A female devotee sings.
Soon after a male attendee at the back seeks the microphone and refers to the book, The Path of Sri Ramana by Sri Sadhu Om. From this source and others, he asks: Is it correct to say we need more than self-abidance and self-inquiry to reach realization?
Amma responds very gently: Self-abidance and self-inquiry can be enough when there is a thirst for the truth. Some effortless effort is initially required but eventually, a love for the truth will grow and take over. This is grace.
Another devotee seeks clarification from Amma in relation to a message shared in a prior satsang: You had said that the ego is in-between. Can we say that thoughts, perceptions, and feelings also sit between subject and object?
Amma: You could say that.
A few moments later the devotee asks (referring to the point about in-between): Well, how does a jnani see them?
Very quietly Amma replies: I don’t know who is a jnani.
After a brief pause, Amma says: A jnani sees no separation, no division, no subject/object, no duality.
A man sitting in front of Amma shares: A normal mother seeks to soothe a crying baby and put them to sleep. Whereas the Divine Mother wants to awaken the child from its sleep. Following this sharing, he sings (croons) a short song in praise of Amma.
Next, a female devotee shares how her perception of herself has changed over time. She says that being on the spiritual path, there is now more acceptance and love for her character, even when it’s goofy. She asks: Does this sound right?
Amma responds quietly: Yes, yes.
A final question comes from the floor. Can peace and bliss be attained in meditation?
Amma: The only obstacle to the ever-present peace within you is the mind. When the mind, thoughts, and ego subside during the sleeping state, that peace is experienced. When that peace is experienced in the waking state, we say it is a samadhi state.
Amma refers back to the first question on self-inquiry and says: This is the power of grace. The intellect may not understand self-inquiry, but that does not mean you are not being pulled into the center, where the heart and love reside.
Amma says ok and quietly leaves the room.
The water, which was flooding the roads, is more or less gone today, still mud here and there. it was a quiet day for me, I just went for lunch to Sathya’s, learned some Portuguese, and had a nap. In the evening I was driving to the Ashram, sitting in the hall with all the shrines, and listening to the singing.
I decided to have dinner in the Ashram at 19:00. There are not many people these days, it was much more crowded in November. I guess it will be packed again during the Deepam festival. I was sitting at a table, a man was sitting next to me. We started talking a bit. He is living in California, he is an artist, a painter, and also teaching arts. Nice guy, and with some people I feel comfortable immediately. So we were walking after lunch to have a lassi or milkshake. We walked past the store. When I realized it we just walked back, it was not far. We had a banana milkshake. Unfortunately, it is not the season for Mangos.
I asked him if he would like to join Satsang tomorrow. He agreed, so I will pick him up the next morning at the Ashram’s guesthouse, where I stayed before. Having breakfast first in Tasty Cafe is always a good option.
Here is the link for Michael’s website http://www.michaelzieve.com and https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/michael-zieve
No responses yet