Many voices compete for our attention and try to exert influence on us. This fact is more than a simple observation because the voices we pay attention to literally determine the quality of our lives. With this thought in mind, listen to the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.” Let us put Jesus’ words in a correct context. Christians believe, as did Yogananda, that Jesus is the Logos (Word) of God Become Flesh. Translation: the consciousness of Jesus fully embodied the mind, logic, and wisdom of God. Yogananda referred to this stream of divine wisdom as Christ Consciousness. This very same Consciousness was at work in Moses and personified in Krishna. And most incredibly, you and I also have access to Christ Consciousness, to the very thoughts of God. The possibilities are revolutionary!
But do we want to share our mind and heart with God’s mind and heart? Do we want a flirtatious relationship with the Divine or a marriage? Do we want the voice of Christ to penetrate into our interior depths, into the very fabric of our being? If we answer yes to these questions, then the path is simple, though not always easy. As a starting point, are we willing to listen to the voices of our ancestors, to those who have gone before us? Psychologist Jordan Peterson has relevant wisdom to share with us: “Life is short, and you don’t have time to figure everything out on your own. The wisdom of the past was hard-earned, and your dead ancestors may have something useful to tell you.” Still deeper, are we willing to humble ourselves by sitting at the feet of a spiritual master, such as Jesus, Babaji, Yogananda, or Anandamayi Ma? Are willing to nurture an interior emptiness so as to hear the voice of Christ? Such emptiness is not always comfortable, but it is the necessary precondition for receiving the Spirit’s inspiration. Valentin Tomberg tells us, “Full vessels cannot be filled, only empty ones. Therefore, before inspiration, the soul must go through a stage of painful emptiness.”
The good news is that the empty vessels of our minds and hearts are filled with something more than information; a deep inward connection takes shape between the Guru and ourselves. He or she illumines our minds with light, gives strength to our will, and warms our hearts with the highest love we can imagine. We are never alone because we walk through life unto eternity hand in hand with our chosen Guru. Yogananda tells us, “The relationship between guru and disciple is the greatest expression of love in friendship; it is unconditional divine friendship, based on a shared, singular goal: the desire to love God above all else. The disciple bares his soul to the master, and the master bares his heart to the disciple. There is nothing hidden between them. Even in other noble forms of friendship there is sometimes diplomacy. But the friendship of the guru-disciple relationship is taintless.”
My beloved Guru,
I wish to open my soul to you
So that you will
Open your heart to me.
