The Inner Kingdom
Mercy Entails Empathy
Reading and Affirmation for May
From the book The Beatitudes: Their Inner Meaning by Swami Kriyananda
The Inner Kingdom
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.
Most people imagine that the “inner kingdom,” as Jesus described it, lacks the fascination they attribute to sense life: the bright lights, the diverse attractions, the joys and the laughter. Little do they realize what a vast universe exists in their own selves!
There are many passages in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible that describe aspects of this inner kingdom. In the Book of Genesis we read: “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden…. And the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:8,9). This garden was in no earthly place. It exists even now, in the very Self of every human being! The legend of Adam and Eve is allegorical. It describes how the first human beings dissipated their spiritual energy, centered in the spine. The spine is the channel through which flows the river of baptism and of spiritual life.
The Bhagavad Gita tells us, “The wise speak of an eternal ashvatta tree, with its roots above and its branches below.” (15:1) The “tree of life,” spoken of also in Genesis, is the spine. Its roots are above, in the brain’s energy. Its branches are the outward spreading nervous system. When the “sap,” which is to say, the energy, flows downward the consciousness is drawn into delusion. On the other hand, when the energy is drawn upward in deep meditation, the consciousness is drawn toward its eternal source, God, and is at last united with Him.
Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita therefore urges his chief disciple Arjuna to embrace the yoga science, the path of meditation. “The yogi,” he says, “is greater than the ascetic, greater even than the followers of the paths of wisdom [Gyana Yoga] or of action [Karma Yoga]. Be thou, O Arjuna, a yogi!”
For those who would find the divine truth, Krishna gives this description of the yogi:
Steadfast a lamp burns, sheltered from the wind; Steadfastly meditating, solitary, Such is the likeness of the Yogi’s mind
Shut from sense-storms and burning bright to heaven.
Thus, through holy Scripture, God has spoken to mankind.
Whispers From Eternity
207. O Divine Mother, I am Thine, for Thou art eternally mine
I lay garlands of my devotion, strung with many-hued flowers of lofty inspiration, at Thy lotus feet.
I beheld Thee dancing in the twinkling stars. I glimpsed Thy scintillating magic in the aurora borealis. I heard the dance of Thy beating feet in crashing ocean waves as they rushed toward earth’s shores. I marveled at Thy leaps and pirouettes portraying, on the great stage of time, evolution’s fantastic upward sweep. And I thrilled to see, everywhere, excitement and activity in Thy great drama of all life.
Alas, Divine Mother! I have yet to behold Thy bliss-face peeping from behind what I now know to be only veils! The thick clouds of outward appearances are offset by little, teasing hints of Thy smile, reflected in my breeze-rippled, flickering thoughts.
How long I have yearned to behold Thee! My yearning burns with a million tongues of flame. They leap high, and light the vast firmament of my consciousness. The force that holds together the planets binds together also into a heavy ball the burden of my self-recognition, holding me to earth. Yet the twinkling stars of my soul-aspiration spin high overhead, and form a mighty whirlwind which draws me upward. Their light beams down upon me, banishing my shadows of ignorance and dissolving, one by one, all the crusted limitations that cover my soul. Light transforms the gray pebbles of my desires into shining crystals reflecting Thy joy.
By my light of concentrated aspiration, all falseness has been consumed. Ah, but, Divine Mother, where art Thou? A great void around me mocked my very yearning.
“Why?” I asked. And my tears fell — dewdrops of shining light from my firmament above. Then at last Thy sweet voice came, tender with compassion; I heard Thee say: “The very light by which thou seekest Me is, already, Myself! Thou hast sought Me elsewhere than in thyself; yet I am thou! Thou art I! There can never be aught but thine own Self. I come to thee through thyself. Worship Me as separate, if you like, but know who I am: thy very own Self! O eternally beloved child, we are one!”
Mother, how can I thank Thee! I will ever be Thine, for Thou art eternally mine. Still, I love to behold Thee through my window of self-understanding as if dancing outside me also; to see Thee smiling with tantalizing sweetness! Yet I know the dance takes place, in truth, only here in my own heart.
Paramhansa Yogananda
Inspiration from the Rays of One Light
“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden…. And the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:8,9)
We will take these meaningful words into our meditation together for deep reflection and contemplation. But firstly, we will listen to the beautiful Psalm of David, sung by Mary Kretzmann.
Psalm of David
Listen to the Psalm of David
Reflect, Meditate and Listen to Instrumental Music
Reflection from the Rays of the One Light
Peace Sangha
This week, I was inspired by “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden…. And the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:8,9)
Where the words flew through me to create a poem called “The Soul Remembers its First Garden”.
The Soul Remembers its First Garden
God places Adam in the East
In a garden of delight and beauty
Two trees of light waiting
One that can heal
One in the knowledge
Where shadows are real
Setting the cosmic stage
For choice
Only centred in the spine
The river of baptism
A living channel
For unconditional love and obedience
Two ancient symbols
One spine
Mirrors help up
To every human life
The soul remembers its first garden
The divine life
The tree of life
The all sustaining healing power of God
The all unending communion with Him
Aum Christ’s Love Amen
