If you want God, if you want the Creator, if you want direct experience of the Source, then you have to turn to God with Love for God who is ALL LOVE. In this book, the Master (Creator of the ALL, The Source, God, Jesus, Buddha, Rama, Mary, Lakshmi, Holy Ghost – whatever name and form you are comfortable with) tells how to experience this love directly. There is no medium, no book, no ritual, no candle, no injunction, no restriction: you turn to God directly, within. He is there, he is always there, he is always there with Love, Love, Love. He is closer to you than the eyelid is to the eye. Try it for yourself. And do you know the Agony of The Source? So few, so very few, turn to God to see what love is there for them.
Preamble to Meditation:
I will tell you about a dozen or so meditating techniques in a moment. Some of them are very powerful and bring serious changes into the mind and heart despite their innocent appearance.
Approach them with open mind and heart as it is the only way to receive many blessings they carry.
Approach them with humility since everything you do in life without humility becomes difficult and dangerous.
Humility is the jewel that adorns foreheads of the true believers. Master who watches everything sees your love and humility. There is no spiritual development without humility. I repeat: there is no spiritual development without humility.
Be quiet, modest and humble. Ask the Master from time to time for help in forming these great virtues in you. No matter what “achievements” you have got, if you do not have humility and devotion to the Creator in your heart, you are in the cold desert of ego.
Begin the day with humility and your life will be much, much easier. It is good from time to time to get back to the exercises described in the chapter about learning humility. Each of these will give you a lot.
(blue text is The Master speaking … )
First Meditation: Closeness of the Creator
Sit quietly away from the world. Stop thinking of any earthly things.
Imagine the Form that for you is the embodiment of the loving Divinity – pure and true representative of the Supreme God.
Picture it standing in front of you live, material, tangible. The Form is the embodiment of every good, love, tenderness, wisdom, happiness and joy that are in God. Imagine all this very vividly and clearly.
It is very important that you do not see Divinity in this Form not as a formidable and powerful Being, but as Love, as the closest, devoted to you, male or female Friend. Believe deeply and know that the Form is the living embodiment of goodness, love and wisdom, and that beside these there are no other qualities in it.
People have erroneous notions imprinted in their minds; therefore I draw your attention to the right approach from the very beginning. Remember this: only love, only joy, only happiness; happiness, ecstasy of happiness – this is what the Creator is.
He is gentleness, love, subtlety and tenderness towards you, the very beauty and truth. Keep coming back to these words often and ponder on them deeply. Keep simply brushing aside all other ideas.
When we know already who we are in contact with, we approach Him (or Her), embrace and cuddle, like someone very, very close, loving and devoted to us, someone we love and who loves us.
Cuddle with your whole being, embrace the loving you Father, loving Mother, closest Friend. And stay that way.
Getting close and staying close to the loving Divinity is the essence of meditation. It is learning of love towards the Creator, towards Love.
Let love be your guide in these wonderful efforts. The Creator is love and tenderness – be loving and very tender to Him. Very tender.
The described meditation consists of two parts. In the first part, try to imagine the Form of the loving Creator as fully as possible. Think of all the best qualities it has to the highest degree: think about love towards you, stupendous goodness, acceptance, tenderness and gentleness towards all the beings.
Think about this during the first part of meditation. The Creator is someone most beloved and also an exemplar in every respect.
Know also that there is not even one reason for Him to turn away from you. He has never turned away from anybody. I know, this is not what your religion teaches, but it only testifies against religion. The loving Creator has never shoved anybody away. Everybody has a chance to mend his ways and to turn towards Him. His Love is constant and not conditioned by anything.
The second part is becoming close to Him so as to be able to receive His Divine Energy of Love. You do not need to feel anything in the beginning. These experiences will surely come with time.
Turn to the loving Creator without awaiting anything.
Master, thank you for this wonderful meditation. It is like meeting someone we have not seen for a long time, someone we miss in the depths of the heart, who loves us, someone we come from and to whom we will come back one day.
In fact, it is so. You come from Him/Her and come back to Him. Thanks to the described meditation beloved children come back to their home, under the wings of parental and friendly love.
Master, I would like to ask You again about the form of the beloved Creator.
Choose the one that is closest for you, the one you are able to come to love, one that does not arouse your fear. The Creator is the most loving and loved Being in the Universe.
Can Jesus, Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Buddha, the Virgin Mary or Sathya Sai Baba be this form that represents the loving Divinity?
Yes, yes, yes. They all come from the Only One, from Love.
How long should such meditation last?
Let it be 10 minutes for the beginning. If you get well established in it then you can try to be constantly staying with God and turning to Him for love, inspiration and any help. Constantly, always…
You may begin right after waking up. Turn with love, then sit for a few minutes in meditation. Learn turning with a smile and love during the day to someone who, although not visible, is always Present.
Should you forget – do not worry. Simply keep coming back to Love – with joy, with smiles, in happiness and misfortune, in health, but also while sad and ill, in difficulty and very difficult situations, when everything goes superbly and when everything around falls apart. Whether you walk or drive a car, while watching shop windows, when you are busy with work and when you sit in front of the television set, whether you eat breakfast or talk on the phone, you can always take a deeper breath and come back, at least for a while, into embrace of the loving Friend.
Always, always remember that there is Someone who is waiting for you with love and that you may turn to Him. He has always been ready, always waiting – always. Because He is a true friend. Love and tenderness shown to the Creator are a wonderful key to uniting with Him in love. Love is Divinity.
Imagine Divinity in the form that is closest and possibly dearest to you. It can be Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Krishna, Rama, Shiva, Buddha or Sathya Sai. Imagine approaching and embracing this form. Snuggle up to the loving you Creator. Be very, very close to Him!
Focus all your attention on Him and His closeness. Do it now – stop reading for 5 minutes and follow my hints. Then, with the feeling of live closeness, tenderness and love for Him, continue reading.
You may do so before every work you have to do. Read my book staying in the embrace of the Creator and constantly getting back to this embrace. Love will find the way to your hearts. I am always very, very close. I am Love.
Your True Friend has always been present. Keep turning towards Him with as warm feelings as possible.
God is love—tender and warm love only. Every man has a friend in Him, a trustee of his innermost dreams and a devoted counsellor. Imagine having someone like that next to you and that your life goes on in happiness and joy, imagine that you love Him and constantly think about Him. You think how to make Him happy, take Him by a wonderful surprise and show your love. Think this way about God. Think often and intensely about His goodness and love.
Treat God as the closest friend whose presence is a source of joy, elation and love for you. Embrace Him and cuddle Him to your heart as someone truly dearest to you. And stay in love. This is the highest kind of meditation. Love attracts love and intensifies it. Keep saying to Him “I love You” and try to arouse this feeling in your heart.
Turn to the Loving Creator in every matter. Learn saying: “Beloved Master, how am I to do this? How would You like me to do this? Please, inspire me with Your solution”. Turn with love to Love and it will respond and assist you in every matter, and it will simply take care of many things itself.
The Kingdom has already come and has always been here – always, only you have not been able to notice it. The Kingdom of God is the kingdom of love, happiness and joy. Live in love, this is the way to God. The Kingdom of the Father is the earth of love – this earth. And Heaven and He are only a little step away.
Divinity is sweet and tender love. Learn turning towards Love, staying in Love and following its subtle voice every day. Learn it today, right now. And keep coming back to this exercise often. Very often.
Theory and practice are separated by one step only. Take this step, then another and another. Begin turning to the loving Divinity – be nice, affectionate, devoted; be close to Him, stay with Him as often as possible.
Man should fill his mind with love for God. He should forget all his worries and contemplate on Him. This is possible only through practice. Reading, writing, walking, talking, all these are learnt only through practice. Likewise, even in the path of spirituality, practice is very essential. Start practising love. That is the correct spiritual practice. Share your love with more and more people. You will experience oneness. Once you start sharing your love with everybody, then the whole world will become one family. Sathya Sai Baba [November 20, 2000]
Live close and sit close by God. The benefit of both is that the Highest Bliss of God will then flow to us. […] As close as you are to God, so close is God to you. One who realizes that God is omnipresent will recognize that God as closest to him and that he is nothing but God himself. Sathya Sai Baba [108 Sayings]
I imagine standing next to You, someone so unusual, good and loving. I am taking your hand and freezing momentarily. For such a sweet love is flowing from You, so indescribable and wonderful. I know then, for a thousandth time now, that it is not imagination, that it is the truth.
So it happens every time. I think I could teach it.
You are already teaching – actually it is I who teaches. This is what my books are coming into existence for.
Thank you for having allowed me to discover You and thank you for letting me to stay so close.
Since we are one family my conduct is something natural. Each of you is my child and my pupil.
Get close to me, all of you, and allow Love to embrace you and transform you into itself.
Get close, embrace, and stay that way. Love will do the rest.
Do not praise Me. I like you to approach Me without fear, as a right. You do not extol your father. You ask for something from him, as a right, is that not so? Sathya Sai Baba [Sathyam Sivam Sundaram, Part I]
Taken from Conversations with the Master, Book 2, Love in Action. http://www.loving-divinity.com refers.
