For Those who Believe, Some Direct Evidence of what Lies Beyond and Within.

Dog Poet Transmitting.......

(I was not going to write a post today. I had intended to write, perhaps only one or two in the next few weeks ...because I am presently concluding the coming book about Practicing the Presence of God and I have found, through experience, that unless I give a project my complete attention for the necessary time span, it can take significantly longer to be finished than is necessary. My last novel took nearly ten years longer to complete than was needed because I kept doing other things. However... today will be an exception to my present intentions because of something that transpired yesterday. I have been reading “The Autobiography of a Yogi” out loud to my friend, when we are driving in the car any distance beyond to the supermarket and back. Yesterday I was reading Chapter 43...”The Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar” which begins on page 456, in case all the other cues fail. Despite even that, I am giving a link in the post to that Chapter, which you can read when you are moved to do so.)

CHAPTER 43- “THE RESURRECTION OF SRI YUKTESWAR”

(it takes a couple of minutes to load, so give it time.)

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Greetings, dear friends. Most come to this site; specifically this site, as apart from the other blogs associated with me because... (though there are exceptions now and again) it deals with God, The Ineffable, The Divine, The Incomprehensible Everlasting, Jesus Christ, Lord Krishna, Lord Ganapati, Amitabha Buddha, The Man on the Beach, Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya and others. I don't include pictures of some mentioned, or the others because I don't have any of them in actuality and versions and variations of them in imagination and illuminated artistic and spiritual renderings (such as the one of Babaji), can be found in multiples, with little difficulty by any interested soul.

I had read “Autobiography of a Yogi” about 50 years ago and I seem to remember having read it a second time also but I can't remember when that was. I am now reading it out loud. This is something I do with books I love, such as “The Lord of the Rings”, “The Once and Future King”, “The Way to the Kingdom”; there are a few others and I give these live readings out as a Christmas or birthday gifts to people I love, provided they can hold still long enough. I'm careful about who I give such a gift to. If I read a book to someone, it must be important to me and and possess a spiritual character.

I have no memory of having read Chapter 43 of Yogananda's book, though I know I must have read it. I remembered reading the chapters about Babaji and many of the others but Chapter 43 appeared like something totally new to me and has left me with such a fever of spiritual affirmation and aspiration that I cannot put it into words.

As I read this chapter, I was transfixed by the tale being told by Sri Yukteswar. I thrilled and marveled at Yogananda's entreaties (and found myself echoing them) that he continue to talk about the nature of the higher realms of being that await every determined soul, with the faith and certitude to keep on keeping on. WOW!!! One of the reasons that the chapter impacted upon me with such force is because there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that it is all true; none at all. For those who may find Yukteswar's ability to materialize and dematerialize his physical form at will; not to mention all the other powers and abilities of a realized yogi, it's not in my job description to convince anyone; the endless reach of existence will take care of that. Whether one wishes to take the direct route, or an interminable meandering course, is a personal affair.

To those without the benefit of supernatural experiences, or who are hampered by doubt, or... as is often the case in times of material darkness, do not believe in a divine being, a celestial hierarchy, eternal life, reincarnation or many another spiritual feature, I feel a deep and keen sorrow. Still, I know that every soul will find themselves in their version of being on The Road to Damascus at some point.

In some cases, this may involve a very, very long time and many, many lives and degrees of suffering that I am incapable of articulating. One of the most ludicrous statements I have ever heard is, “Well, (or 'what the Hell') you only live once.” How is it that they can know this, when they don't know it but find the alternative ridiculous or impossible, when they don't know that either? How is it that they can believe the one but scoff at the other, when they have no real information about either? How is it that some can believe in The Devil, yet not believe in God? I am, by turns, both amused and saddened by what people have convinced themselves is true. Of course, there are many things of which I am ignorant ...but as far as the existence of God goes, in that case, I must color myself informed. I have direct and first hand experience of this and these days, I have experiences of it through each and every day.

I have no desire to argue with anyone about it. I do not care if one thinks me mad or misinformed. I have only, ever, had to convince myself about anything. I KNOW that eventually every soul will be reunited with the everlasting ineffable. God is not complete without all of his parts. In my case, I have accomplished, what is to me, the greatest achievement that there is. I am content with this and care not a wit what anyone thinks about it. As I said, “I have only, ever, had to convince myself.” I will further add that I am rigorous in proving out what is true before I believe to be true. I am an eternal, lives long member of the 'trust but verify' brotherhood. I have been exceedingly fortunate that God went to such great lengths to convince me of his presence. How I could possibly feel more honored... I can't imagine and why he even considered me for this honor, still baffles me.
If you fail to be thrilled and irrevocably moved by what is contained in this chapter, I am sorry for you. What wonders are contained therein! I've had brief glimpses of similar things and places, now and again; all too brief but... what a joy! What a beautiful thought it is to me to know that the day will come when I shall be in a place like Hiranyaloka!!!

Some of you, I am sure, are familiar with Sri Bhaktivedanta's “Easy Journey to Other Planets.” If I remember correctly, it is about how one can travel to the various lokas through a persistent and determined practice of the Maha-mantra. Although I am referencing the Krishna Consciousness organization founded by Sri Bhaktivedanta, I have no affiliation with it and due to tales told to me by members I knew long ago and due to my having read, “Monkey on a Stick”, I've kept my distance. Every experience I have had with 'just about' every ashram, or presumed spiritual organization, with very few exceptions, has resulted in disappointment. This is not to cast any aspersion on Sri Bhaktivedanta (he was the definite article), or the power that can be generated by chanting the Maha Mantra. I am here to say that it is possible to travel to all kinds of places, in this life or afterwards, through the performance of spiritual disciplines and these are to be found in every legitimate tradition. One should choose a path that appeals to and works for them and spend as little time as possible criticizing the alternatives. Doing so is a definite hindrance to spiritual progress and compelling evidence of spiritual immaturity. This can prove unfortunate and result in stagnation.

When I wrote about political and cultural conditions, I had a large readership ...and so long as I kept my more important metaphysical interests to a low volume, with short appearances of spiritual things, all was well with those who promoted my work. Once I realized that it was far more important to me to speak on spiritual matters and only tangentially to mention the political and cultural states of affairs, I very quickly fell out of favor with the materialists that found such things abhorrent. My readership dwindled to a core group of visitors and I was generally out of favor and have remained so to this day. That's all perfectly fine with me. I'm not interested in being involved in popularity contests, or risking my relationship with the truly powerful, in order to cater to those who only imagine themselves to be possessed of power. I realize that they don't know any better and like all of us, will find out what is what and what is not, at some point.

It's time for me to bring this posting to a close and hope that some of you have found useful information here. May the divine being have mercy on you and hopefully, sooner, rather than later, reveal to you your true nature and confer upon you that greatest of gifts; self realization.


End Transmission.......

♫ All the things that I Wanted ♫