Stillness In The Midst Of Activity by Swami Chidananda Maharaj

Topic for discussion September 29, 2012 Saturday, 7 AM, New York EST "Stillness in the midst of activity"

My telling you all this has but one purpose, your highest welfare. With this one

single intention and view, this sharing has been done with love and goodwill for you and with a prayerful supplication at the feet of Gurudev that his grace and blessings may make your life all-round success. May you shine as a light unto yourself, a lamp unto other pilgrims upon this great path that leads up from death and morality to Liberation and everlasting Bliss. Be up and doing.

I wish to put one little thought seed into your mind in this context. When one attains Brahma-jnana, when one realises the Supreme Reality, one comes to the vision and experience of “ Sarvam Vishnu Mayam Jagat, Sarvam Khalvidam Brahman. The entire universe is pervaded by the Supreme. Verily all this is Brahman”. Whatever exists is that one great Reality. This world is a manifestation of Shakti. In Her vyavaharic satta [relative reality] in this world of activity, you do not see everything as Brahman until you reach that state of Experience. You see an infinite variety of movements and actions; nothing stands still. This universe is in a constant state of movement, constant activity.

Everyone is engaged in action, action, action. One that does not enter into the stream would be cast aside on the way. Because, time and tide wait for no man. We have to be up and doing.

In the heart of this constant activity, however, there is the supreme Stillness, the great absolute Silence, where there is no motion. In a whirling wheel, all the spokes, all the circumference is whirling rapidly. If you put anything upon the spokes of the wheel, you find it thrown off. But if you put something right in the centre at the hub it will remain there . There, in spite of all the whirl, there is serenity; there is total stability. What you put in the centre never moves. It is there and remains established there. In the eye of a hurricane, there is calm. In the midst of this great whirling wheel of Prakriti, there is great Stillness. But behold movement everywhere.

This movement is brought about of a certain Will. Therefore, they say that ichcha-shakti leads to kriya-shakti and if this kriya-shakti is channeled in the proper direction, it ultimately comes to jnana-shakti – the jnana that transcends mere vidya and becomes Para-vidya.

. Swami Chidananda