Intuition Is Simple: The Intellect Is Complex
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Where is the “Blessing” in Persecution 2?
Affirmation for September
by Swami Kriyananda
Rays of One Light: Weekly Commentaries on the Bible and The Bhagavad Gita
Intuition Is Simple: The Intellect Is Complex
Truth is one and eternal. Realize oneness with it in your deathless Self, within. The following commentary is based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda.
In the Gospel of St. Mark, Chapter 10, we read a passage that Yogananda often quoted:
And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
It has often been noted that a critical attitude tends to paralyze creativity. Good critics, for example, seldom produce works of creative genius, though their creations may be intellectually clever. The intellect separates; it analyzes, then puts things together again piece by piece. Intellect lacks intuition’s flow, which descends smoothly, like a river, from the superconscious.
Paramhansa Yogananda described intuition as “the soul’s power of knowing God.” To receive the kingdom of God, Jesus was saying, one must do so with the openness and trust of a little child. Intellectuals may object to this statement, saying, “But there must also be discrimination. You wouldn’t want a person to be so open-minded that his brain falls out!” The truth is, however, that the intellect can be fooled, even when it does its best to discriminate wisely. Only intuition is capable of penetrating to the heart of a matter and knowing truth from falsehood. It was the clear understanding of a child, not the elaborately persuaded intellects of his elders, that enabled the child in Hans Christian Andersen’s story to cry out in surprise, “Why isn’t the Emperor wearing any clothes?”
Therefore it was that Sri Krishna said, in the ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita:
To you, who are free from the carping spirit, I shall now reveal wisdom sublime. Grasping it with your mind, and perceiving it by intuitive realization, you shall escape the evils of delusion.
Thus, through Holy Scripture, God has spoken to mankind.
Whispers From Eternity
33. Demand to travel by the one Highway of Realization
Our One Father, we are traveling by many true paths toward Thy one abode of Light. Show us the one highway of common realization, where all bypaths of theological beliefs meet. Make us feel that the diverse religions are branches of Thy one tree of truth. Bless us, that we enjoy the intuition-tested, ripe, luscious fruits of self-knowledge hanging from the many branches of true scriptural teachings. In Thy one temple of silence we all sing to Thee a chorus of many-voiced religions. Teach us to chant in harmony with Thy love’s manifold expressions, that our chorus of souls rouse Thee to break Thy vow of cosmic silence and lift us onto Thy lap of universal, immortal understanding.
Paramhansa Yogananda
Inspiration from The Beautitudes
Great though your tests appear to you today, they are the price of admission into the company of the saints.
We will take these sacred words into our meditation together for deep reflection and contemplation. But firstly, we will listen to some beautiful music by Paramhansa Yogananda, “What Lightning Flash”.
What Lightning Flash
Listen to What Lightning Flash
Reflect, Meditate and Listen to Instrumental Music
Reflect
Meditate
Refection & Inspiration from The Rays of the One Light
Today, I was inspired by Swami Kriyannada’s sacred words from the Beatitudes.
“Great though your tests appear to you today, they are the price of admission into the company of the saints”.
For the past four years, I have been learning the Prayer of St Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Which, quite surprisingly, has been a long time. More recently, I found myself inspired to read the book “Saints That Moved the World”, delving into the remarkable life and legacy of St Francis to learn more about him.
His journey was marked by numerous tests, trials and hardships, which have shaped the world in many ways. Each challenge he faced served to strengthen, deepen his relationship and love with Christ, demonstrating his unwavering faith. From the book, I was moved to share some words that highlight how St Francis continues to inspire and teach us about the power of spiritual strength.
“So far Francis had given no more thought to the teachings of Christ than other Christians living like him in the world and for the world. Seized by a sudden impulse, he kissed a leper, and this kiss made him a brother of the most miserable outcasts; it made him practice charity toward them and, like the Lazarists, enter the service of Christ.
As the teachings of Christ grew clearer to him through his work at the lazar house, he recognized more and more clearly too that he had been serving Christ, that through his deeds he had been in Christ’s employ, long before he had known about it himself. Feeding and clothing the poor, he had acted in the spirit of the Master who had said, “What you did to these my lesser brethren, you did unto me.” And now he understood also that the voice in his dream at Spoleto had been the Lord’s voice and that he had acted as an obedient servant of the Lord when, against his earlier plans, he had returned to Assisi”.
Prayer
Divine Mother
May you always make us channels of thy peace.
Please attune our hearts and minds to Saint Francis, so that we may have the clarity to see the wisdom and truth that we have been serving Christ all along. Through our faithful, devoted living and acts of obedience to the Lord’s calling and Divine Guidance. May the tests and challenges that we face serve to strengthen our faith and reveal the true and everlasting reward that awaits us alongside the Saints, granting us peace, freedom, light, love and joy in Thee.
Aum Peace Amen