Satsang teaches us skillful living

Describing a beautiful handmade card which a child presented on New Year Day, Anandmurti Gurumaa drew attention to the fact that children, being pure at heart are more authentic than us. Though we are adults, we sometimes lie, cheat and even steal but we still think we are fine and that everything spoken in a satsang applies to others, not to us. For committing physical crimes people are sent to jail but what about crimes we commit mentally? Spirituality thus has a lot to do with the way we think. It is religion and Gurus who teach us how to live skillfully and make choices which empower us.

Illustrating this, Gurumaa gave an inspiring example of a Mahatma who, while living in the icy Himalayas was suddenly confronted with the thought of jalebi - a delicious Indian sweet. To overcome the greed in his mind, he made a concoction of neem leaves and drank it. This was not to suppress the desire but to ensure that the very thought of jalebi should not arise in the first place.