Each of you is a very dear heart to the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, the Living ECK Master. I know of the big and little weights in your personal life that are bent on pinning you to the mat. They prove formidable opponents.
And yet, your love for the Holy Divine, SUGMAD, raises you above the smog and pollution round about.
Love really is the heartbeat of creation.
There are far too many of the dark, dark hours that seem a mainstay of mortal being. Will there ever be an end to our heartache and confusion? It looks unlikely sometimes.
But a new dawning does arrive, in good time. And again, the golden rays of hope burst forth. Life is good after all.
The HU song is a soothing balm for every bruise. The Master is at hand when you meet yourself and all the not-so-nice things you’ve done, ages or hours ago. Indeed, life is good. Very, very good.
Do you know what grieves me? It is people who take public charity because it’s there, not because of a genuine need.
They are spiritual lazybones, fatted upon the labor of others.
The very worst part is seeing their eagerness to enlist in Kal’s army of servility. So in their sloth, they shelve the good of their someday divinity. They cover the God-spark under a mail of lead.
Please understand, accept the help of others when needed. Survival is key. But do get back on your feet, if at all possible. Sometimes it’s not.
I practically cry when the spirit of people is crushed by a paternalistic government’s heel of good intentions.
Good intentions often bring unintended consequences.
On the other hand, Soul’s coming to the lower worlds is to eat and drink of every possible experience. One of these is to indenture oneself to Kal’s slave market. Food, shelter, and clothing in exchange for raw experience.
So the Master stands by. He looks for the few among the many who straighten their backs and turn their faces skyward, a silent prayer in their heart: Dear God, bring an end to this subjection.
It is then that the Master appears. Soul’s journey home to God begins.
Stories are the life of an effective homily, but you’ll have to supply your own stories. They may be yours, your family’s, or anyone else’s. You supply the spice. Otherwise, the soup is ready.
On to learning now.
We learn best by doing. Books, courses, and lectures are fine tools, but real learning begins with hands-on experience.
Senior leaders are urged to select and groom suitable candidates for leadership roles. Expose them to various duties. The idea is to prepare for ECKANKAR’s future.
And allow them time. It takes time to absorb knowledge. Start now. Again, the next generation of leaders is the future of the ECK teachings here. There is no end to the potential among our youth. They require guidance, of course, but also wise mentors who let their exuberance breathe.
In the future, too, there will be more ECKists of all ages willing to dedicate a year or two of service at the ECKANKAR Spiritual Center. Here, they’ll find friends from around the world.
All this, together, will fortify our mission: to show people the most direct way home to God.
—Sri Harold Klemp
Did someone once help you become able to stand on your own two feet as you learned to live as an ECK leader?
Reflect on what example you now are to others. Every chela has a special talent or way they love the Master. Show your glow!
Sri Harold Klemp herein states as follows, “Do you know what grieves me? It is people who take public charity because it’s there, not because of genuine need. ”
Experience is like a spider web that draws Souls back to God. Experience succeeds where words fail to trail.
In a ballroom of Souls, all kinds of experiences are possible.
If experience is the food for the party, the MAHANTA is the party.
Since all free food is in the trap, a better approach could be to work harder, chant HU and surrender everything to the MAHANTA.
The MAHANTA never lets anyone down.
Experience of hardship is seldom the end of the story.
Even a drunk man knows that a little dance in the street does not equate to madness.
This blog, for me, is filled with love letters directly from your heart to ours. They light up what we need to know, both personally and collectively. It delivers love and joy as a healing balm to further encourage us on our journey as we maneuver through opportunities, disguised as challenges or obstacles, that may attempt to thwart us along the way. Victory is ours for the taking if only we keep our focus on the ECK and the highest ideals as creators and co-creators in our lives. What better way to show our gratitude than to pass that love onto others. Thank you!
Each day the Mahanta sends me gifts of love. Among these are teachers whose paths cross with mine. Today, I had people who stretched my patience. The master Teacher, the Mahanta, gives me an opportunity to look at myself. I met the first and clutched at the loin of anger. Then in another place, I felt as though I was ignored and anger with a tincture of vanity seeped in. However I had the presence of mind to sing HU and ask what is it to learn. Towards the evening, another teacher came. The encounter was on phone and from my point of view the other person showed no courtesy. Pulling these together, the Mahanta sent these persons to teach me to be loving. I had to send them love and to open my heart. I became lifted up by the hands of Mahanta going through these experiences or gifts of growth. My attention became more on ECK and I sang the HU along with the playing HU song. I was able to find my balance. One thing was the tiredness I felt during those moments. But the drain dissolved when the heart opened up. In other words, the encounters with these different persons brought me up to be able to stand on my two feet as an ECK leader to be a magnet of love to others. I was able to give calm to others afterwards by talking about life and reincarnation to a friend who called and was concerned about the worsening situations of some acquaintances. This talk was a source of relief to my friend who became lighter as we ended the talk. May the blessings be!
Bolanle, you express your experiences with your “teachers” so well! When someone leaves me feeling out of sorts and unbalanced, I have learned that if I can bless them in Sugmad’s name, daily if need be, I begin to feel less bound to them in negativity. This practice has helped me open my heart, feel lighter, and move forward spiritually. Forgiving self and others is part of it, too. Thanks for sharing your own examples.
I learned best from those who kept their heart open. Now I have that opportunity also to Keep my heart open and listen to those who want to serve. Thank you for this reminder. Especially with the youth who are so eager.
Thank you Mahanta for all your many gifts of Love coming straight from the heart. We, every chela in Eck is so fortunate to have you rooting for all, directing and guiding. We do need the youth to slowly come into full view to learn leadership skills for the future of Eckankar. Thank you for your words of wisdom, reminder to always keep the heart open.
My heart opens like a rose petal receiving the warmth of the sun and rain drops lifting me higher and higher, at the same time delving deeper in the works of ECK for better meaning and understanding smoothing my way home to Sugmad. Youths are the future.
I really appreciate reading these blogs, they are so uplifting in these challenging times to know there is a different way to look at life and find the gems that are hidden in them, only teaching us more about ourselves.
Now a senior in life, as a younger person I have always had a sense of responsibility to learn things from mistakes made and not just blame someone else. I wanted to be a better example to the next generation.
I have a young ECKist friend who I have known since she was a baby, now 17. We catch up from time to time, hearing about each other’s learnings, and how the Mahanta is helping us in our daily life.
Recently I got a txt from her asking if I’d like to catch up. When we met she told me that I was in her dream and that it was a sign to get in touch with me. We sat in my car one early morning before her work having a coffee. After chatting about general things the conversation turned to something a bit deeper. It was to do with being able to say sorry in a very heartfelt way when we know we have said or done something that has hurt another. She said her boyfriend was good at doing this and it felt so good. And she added it has helped her say sorry to and how good that felt, like the connection is restored straight away.
For me it was such a gift to just listen to her and allow her to share this with me and grateful that she acted on her dream, because this helped me to.
All the experiences I have had over the years just learning how to do things with more ease is so worth it (not always easy!) knowing the younger generation need to see us learning from life too. To be an example that everything is there for our good to take us to a higher view point. To be able to better serve Mahanta.