In Surrender Lies Victory!
Salt and Light
Bible Verse & Affirmation for October
In Surrender Lies Victory!
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.
A case might be made for surrender as a path to victory in worldly conflicts – the way of passive resistance, for example, in preference to armed resistance. But our point here concerns a higher kind of surrender: the surrender of our deluded, egoic will to the wise and almighty will of God.
Human will is, as Paramhansa Yogananda used to say, guided by whims and limited understanding. The divine will is in harmony with every level of reality. Though the divine will sometimes appears to us, at first, to be wrong, it proves always, eventually, to be for our highest good.
Human will is inconsistent; it leads us one day to success, another, to disaster. The divine will, when we surrender to it completely (though it is not always easy to do so!), always brings us deep inner peace and joy in the end.
Jesus Christ demonstrated this perfect surrender to God’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before he was captured and imprisoned, preparatory to his crucifixion. He went apart from the others to pray, and asked them to pray also. But when he returned to them he found them asleep.
Out of his love for them he excused them, saying, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He then urged them again, saying, “Watch and pray.” Their weakness, in those circumstances, was particularly sad, and the disciples themselves must have regretted it bitterly, later on.
We all know the symptoms of human weakness, though we may excuse them in ourselves, saying, “Well, after all, I’m only human.” But what are the signs of true strength? We find in all cases that these are the fruit of a life wholly surrendered to God. The Bhagavad Gita lists these signs in the thirteenth Chapter:
Humbleness, truthfulness, and harmlessness,
Patience and honor, reverence for the wise,
Purity, constancy, control of self,
Contempt for sense-delights, self-sacrifice,
Perception of the certainty of ill
In birth, old age, and frail mortality,
Disease, the ego’s suffering, and sin;
Detachment, lightly holding thoughts of home,
Children, and wife – those ties which bind most men;
An ever-tranquil heart, heedless of good
Or adverse fortune, with the will upraised
To worship Me alone, unceasingly;
Loving deep solitude, and shunning noise
Of foolish crowds; calm focus on the Self
Perceived within and in Infinity:
These qualities reveal true Wisdom, Prince.
All that is otherwise is ignorance!
Thus, through holy Scripture, God has spoken to mankind.
Whispers From Eternity
Watching the Cosmic Motion Picture of Life
Life is a movie in serial form. Each installment is engrossing, new, stirring, and delivered with fantastic complexity. Great minds are stars in the movie production; they command universal attention from the audience. We cannot all be stars, however. Don’t mind if you are not a main player in life’s movie. No motion picture ever consists of only one player or one event. Your role, even though it be short or seemingly insignificant, has its own importance. Without you, the “plot” would be incomplete. In the eyes of the Director, an actor who plays his role well, whatever it be, is, in his own special way, a star, adding luster to the whole production.
Excerpt by Paramhansa Yogananda
Inspiration from the Rays of One Light
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41
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 moved by the words of Matthew 26:41 from Rays of the One Light.
“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
These words inspired me to create a poem called “The Spirit Is Willing”.
The Spirit Is Willing
My spirit longs to follow you
My heart desires to pray
But when my human strength grows weak
I sometimes lose my way
In honour of the Feast of St Francis, which is today
May I walk as a channel of Thy peace
May I seek your presence in every way
With a humble heart and a loving spirit
May I serve you more and more each day
May all animals and creatures be blessed, protected and loved
May we honour all of your creation, in every way
So hold me close Lord When I am tired
Give me your strength
And make me new
Keep me watchful
Keep me near
And let my heart
Always stay true to you
Aum Peace Amen
