Shambhavi talks about the three ways that the desire to be saved shows up when we live in Judeo-Christian-Islamic cultures, what Anandamayi Ma has to say about salvation, and how yogis deal with salvation. A podcast from Satsang with Shambhavi.
FIRST WORDS FROM THE PODCAST
Tonight I want to talk about one of the effects that living in a Judeo-Christian-Islamic culture has on a lot of people, not just in the U.S., but lots of different places in the world. I want to specifically talk about the three signs and symptoms that we are really holding onto the idea that we are going to be saved, because either being punished, or being saved, or both is a big part of the atmosphere that we’re living in. There might be an emphasis on punishment, or there might be an emphasis on salvation, but in any case, no matter what spiritual tradition we come from, ninety percent of us, if not more, hold somewhere in us this idea that we are either about to be punished, have been punished, or that we should just hang in there and wait ’til we’re saved. But tonight I’m going to talk about the “saving” aspect.
Ma defined salvation in this way – and when I talk about Ma, I mean Anandamayi Ma, my Satguru. “Yogi means one who is ever in union with the ultimate reality, and salvation is in the perpetual union with ultimate reality.”
You notice she doesn’t say salvation is when God swoops in and saves your butt! It’s something to do with being a yogi. What is being a yogi? It’s doing something. Right? You’re not just waiting to be saved by someone or something. So, you’re making some kind of effort to experience your unity with life, with reality, with the ultimate reality, with essence nature. For salvation, always keep the mind immersed in God. Keep your mind immersed in God. That is the effort. That’s basically the essence, the pith, of the effort of direct realization practice.
