As you have heard me say often in the past few years, we are living in very challenging times which are not going to end anytime in the near future. This is not the time to be tepid in our spiritual practices. Alcoholics Anonymous teaches, “Half measures will avail us nothing.” We must be willing to love God, the Divine Mother, and guru with foolishly beautiful abandonment. We find an example of this abandon in another post-resurrection appearance when Jesus revealed himself to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias:
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him no, so he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.
I find this story so sweet. Jesus refers to his disciples as “children.” Then there’s Peter, who impulsively jumps into the deep water to swim and be near his beloved guru. In the presence of Yogananda and Jesus, I am ever a child. Every time I meditate, I see myself as a child sitting at the feet of the gurus and the Divine Mother. In every other aspect of my life, I am an adult who shoulders many responsibilities, and I do so gladly and lovingly. But in the presence of God, I am a mere babe — what a relief! If we really want to progress in the spiritual life, we have to be willing to be a bit foolish, not irresponsibly, but lovingly. The world will refer to us as fools, but heaven will rejoice in the truth that we are children of God.
Divine Mother,
Beloved Guru,
Always and forever,
I will be your child,
At times, your foolish child.
