A student and friend recently shared a quote with me via email. The words brought me back to an experience I had many years ago. In a meeting hall somewhere in downtown Melbourne Australia, I had the great opportunity to be in the presence of Sudhamani (Amma), a living saint and one of India’s leading Bhakti yogis. I have to admit; at the time I had no real idea who she was. I wasn’t even sure why I had gone. Yet on that summer evening this tiny Indian woman, wittingly or not, began a shift in me that changed the course of my life. Surrounded by a community of purely loving strangers, I was touched by Grace and believe I tasted yoga in its purest form for the first time. I fought it with strong resistance (isn’t that weird?) but have pursued it with increasing momentum ever since. As my resistance wore thin, the door opened to many other wonderful teachers, both official and in disguise.
Below is the lovely quote my dear friend shared. I in turn wanted to share these words with you. They show the vast, simple beauty that resides in all our hearts.
“A great deal of people's physical and mental diseases are due to the lack of love and attention. Each of us carries a lot of sorrow and pain from past experiences. These sorrows create many wounds within. Each of us is going around, afflicted with hundreds of such festering and infected wounds. The cure for these maladies is to develop love, compassion, and reverence for our fellow beings. This will heal the wounds. Love is the universal remedy. When there is mutual love, attention, and understanding in life; when we have faith in each other, our problems and worries decrease. And when this love, attention, and faith increases, problems will thereby decrease. Love is the foundation of a happy life. But we are ignorant of this fact. We knowingly or unknowingly are neglecting this. Just like our bodies need proper food to live and grow, our soul needs love to grow properly. Pure love can give more vigor and strength than the mother's milk. We all live for and crave this love. We are born for this and we die in search of this love. By loving each other, children, become united in Love.”
Foundation of the Heart
A student and friend recently shared a quote with me via email. The words brought me back to an experience I had many years ago. In a meeting hall somewhere in downtown Melbourne Australia, I had the great opportunity to be in the presence of Sudhamani (Amma), a living saint and one of India’s leading Bhakti yogis. I have to admit; at the time I had no real idea who she was. I wasn’t even sure why I had gone. Yet on that summer evening this tiny Indian woman, wittingly or not, began a shift in me that changed the course of my life. Surrounded by a community of purely loving strangers, I was touched by Grace and believe I tasted yoga in its purest form for the first time. I fought it with strong resistance (isn’t that weird?) but have pursued it with increasing momentum ever since. As my resistance wore thin, the door opened to many other wonderful teachers, both official and in disguise.
Below is the lovely quote my dear friend shared. I in turn wanted to share these words with you. They show the vast, simple beauty that resides in all our hearts.
“A great deal of people's physical and mental diseases are due to the lack of love and attention. Each of us carries a lot of sorrow and pain from past experiences. These sorrows create many wounds within. Each of us is going around, afflicted with hundreds of such festering and infected wounds. The cure for these maladies is to develop love, compassion, and reverence for our fellow beings. This will heal the wounds. Love is the universal remedy. When there is mutual love, attention, and understanding in life; when we have faith in each other, our problems and worries decrease. And when this love, attention, and faith increases, problems will thereby decrease. Love is the foundation of a happy life. But we are ignorant of this fact. We knowingly or unknowingly are neglecting this. Just like our bodies need proper food to live and grow, our soul needs love to grow properly. Pure love can give more vigor and strength than the mother's milk. We all live for and crave this love. We are born for this and we die in search of this love. By loving each other, children, become united in Love.”
~Amma
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