Ananda Healing Prayer Ministry Newsletter

See Divine Mother blessing us all in Her Love.

September 312 Dwapara Dear Ones, I attempted composing a deep letter with many wonderful stories from devotee friends across the country regarding Tims soul blessing them since his passing. But my heart is not quite ready for that sensitive project yetAt some later date I may share these things. The soulful lesson in the stories regards seeing the beautiful fruit of this life in God. People ask me how I am doing It is a journey of both grief and Grace. This quote touches my spirit now: One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.~Bhagavad gita 5.24 Sometimes the devotee may feel that, in the name of eternal Joy, grief must be banished quickly. So, I was comforted, in both heart and mind, to read again these words of my Guru, and to see how even though he knew his Guru was in a better place his heart grieved to not have him here on this plane where he could visit him easily. Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda Last Days with my Guru My days were filled with lectures, classes, interviews, and reunions with old friends. Beneath a hollow smile and a life of ceaseless activity, a stream of black brooding polluted the inner river of bliss which for so many years had meandered under the sands of all my perceptions. Where has that divine sage gone? I cried silently from the depths of a tormented spirit. No answer came. It is best that Master has completed his union with the Cosmic Beloved, my mind assured me. He is eternally glowing in the dominion of deathlessness. Never again may you see him in the old Serampore mansion, my heart lamented. No longer may you bring your friends to meet him, or proudly say: Behold, there sits Indias Jnanavatar! Mr. Wright made arrangements for our party to sail from Bombay for the West in early June. After a fortnight in May of farewell banquets and speeches at Calcutta, Miss Bletch, Mr. Wright and myself left in the Ford for Bombay. On our arrival, the ship authorities asked us to cancel our passage, as no room could be found for the Ford, which we would need again in Europe. Never mind, I said gloomily to Mr. Wright. I want to return once more to Puri. I silently added, Let my tears once again water the grave of my guru.

It was also comforting to read these words from Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda Chapter 43, The Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar. As I read these things, thinking of Tims fresh wonder and enjoyment, I could at least be happy for him, even as I was sorry for my own deep loss. But being happy even for one of us is a form of love, and does help me scale the wall toward moments of peace and acceptance The Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar "There are many astral planets, teeming with astral beings," Master began. "The inhabitants use astral planes, or masses of light, to travel from one planet to another, faster than electricity and radioactive energies. "The astral universe, made of various subtle vibrations of light and color, is hundreds of times larger than the material cosmos. The entire physical creation hangs like a little solid basket under the huge luminous balloon of the astral sphere. Just as many physical suns and stars roam in space, so there are also countless astral solar and stellar systems. Their planets have astral suns and moons, more beautiful than the physical ones. The astral luminaries resemble the aurora borealis-the sunny astral aurora being more dazzling than the mild-rayed moon-aurora. The astral day and night are longer than those of earth. "The astral world is infinitely beautiful, clean, pure, and orderly. There are no dead planets or barren lands. The terrestrial blemishes-weeds, bacteria, insects, snakes-are absent. Unlike the variable climates and seasons of the earth, the astral planets maintain the even temperature of an eternal spring, with occasional luminous white snow and rain of many-colored lights. Astral planets abound in opal lakes and bright seas and rainbow rivers

I also found it helpful to review the special prayers in the book, Karma and Reincarnation by Paramhansa Yogananda. I had read these things years before, in the original teachings, but it was nice to have them all compiled in one format. It was comforting to read his words on contacting good souls who have passed on, and sending them our loveand to see that I was already proceeding in that journey in a good way. The brush-up was helpful on how to make it deeper. Not everyone will feel called to this after experiencing deep loss, but I want to pass on this resource for those who do feel this way. (Note, for souls who have died in a more troubled manner, such as overdose or suicide, etc., I would strongly suggest the form of prayer I wrote about a couple of years ago in an online article, The Saddest Prayers) The articles included in this book are taken from several sources: the lessons he wrote in the 1920s and 1930s; articles of his that appeared in Inner Culture and East West magazines, published before 1943; the 1946 edition of Autobiography of a Yogi; Yoganandas original interpretation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, edited by Swami Kriyananda; and notes taken by Swami Kriyananda during the years he lived with Yogananda as a close disciple. Thank you for your service in prayerGod bless you all. Joy to you, Mary Kretzmann

Ananda Healing Prayer Ministry