Bulletin No: 2015.74 – Thursday July 9, 2015

North American Tour, Part 7

Wednesday, 17th of June 2015, Richmond ashram, Virginia, USA

Brothers and sisters from near and far began arriving, and a festive and anticipatory atmosphere was evident at the ashram. They worked together to prepare for the gathering with our beloved Kamlesh bhai. As the time approached for the evening satsangh, the meditation hall was full, and the joy and excitement were palpable.

Thursday, 18th of June 2015

Become aware of what we feel during meditation

In the morning, about three hundred brothers and sisters happily greeted Kamlesh bhai at the ashram, which he had inaugurated via Skype during Babuji’s birthday celebration on the 30th of April 2015. He conducted the first satsangh at 7.30 a.m. followed by a short talk. Here are some notes to share:

• Sahaj Marg is the art of how to remain connected to our Source, the Divine, in the midst of our busy lives.
• We sit with the thought of Divine Light in our hearts which is already there and which is drawing us to Itself. But do we feel It, or do we just keep thinking about Divinity in the heart over and over again without opening ourselves to the feeling? Kamlesh bhai emphasised that the thought of Divine Light in our hearts is not intended to be a mantra.
• We have to become non-judgmental during meditation to become aware of what we feel.
• Kamlesh bhai spoke about mainly three kinds of thought pattern that can occur during meditation: the holy thoughts, the ‘not so nice thoughts’ and the irrelevant or random thoughts. When thoughts come, we use the will to cut the thoughts, and go back to feeling the divine presence, the presence of Divine Light in our hearts.
• We meditate to support our cleaning, and we clean to support our meditation. And we pray to invoke the help of God. We pray to experience the divine presence in our hearts unconditionally.
• We should ask ourselves, “Did the sitting make a qualitative change in my heart, a change in my consciousness?”

The second satsangh was at 11.30 a.m. Following this satsangh, Kamlesh bhai had lunch with an abhyasi who began Sahaj Marg many years ago with Babuji and recently began to practise again. During lunch, the abhyasi told the story of his overland trip to Shahjahanpur and of his first experiences with Babuji. His presence and his story demonstrated that once the connection is made it is never lost. After lunch, Kamlesh bhai visited the children’s corner where he distributed sweets to all of the children, much to their delight.

The importance of obedience

The third satsangh was at 6 p.m. after which he conducted a question and answer session. Here are some notes from that session:

• The experience of God is so profound, how can we talk about it? So one remains silent. If a drop of water falls in the ocean, it loses its identity and becomes the ocean. How can one speak of this experience?
• Babuji’s statement: “If I show you God, how will you know it is God?”
• When we die, the vibratory level of the soul at that time will find its corresponding vibratory level of the next dimension.
• Merger is of the essence, not of the personality.
• According to Babuji, if you want to continue a bad behaviour, don’t think of me. If you want to stop an unwanted behaviour, think of me.
• Kamlesh bhai said that the most important redeeming quality in our practice is obedience.
• To the children’s question, “Master, we know very little about you, please tell us about yourself”, he replied, “Tell them my name is Kamlesh Patel and I know very little about myself.”

After dinner, as Kamlesh bhai was about to leave, two teenagers asked if he could spare a few minutes, as they would each like to sing a song. We were all delighted that he stopped right then to give his full attention to the young ladies. After listening to the sweet and heartfelt songs, he said, “What started like a stanza ended like a concert.”

As a surprise, all brothers and sisters were invited to attend a final sitting with Kamlesh bhai on Friday morning. Knowing that many would not be able to attend, he assured them that they would remain connected remotely.