Hi Welles,
I couldn't help but remember the great Hindu master Lahiri Mahasaya of Banaras when I smiled over the idea of what if Buddah had been a woman and a mother. This amazing Master balanced a job, wife, and family with a most beautiful spiritual life.
Yogananda Paramahansa writes in "Autobiography of a Yogi,"
"Day after day this sublime guru initiated one or two devotees into Kriya Yoga. In addition to these spiritual duties and to the responsibilities of his business and family life, the great master took an interest in education. He organised many study groups and played an active part in the growth of a large high school in the Bengalitola section of Banaras. At weekly meetings, which came to be called his, "Gita Assembly," the Guru expounded the scriptures to many truth seekers.
By these manifold activities, Lahiri Mahasaya sought to answer the common challenge: " After performing one's business and social duties, where is the time for devotional meditation?" The harmoniously balanced life of the great householder-guru became the inspiration of thousands of men and women. Earning only a modest salary, thrifty, unostentatious, assessable to all, the master carried on happily in the path of disciplined worldly life."
I love the way Jason wraps up his thoughts here...
“Open yourself to the perspective that all of the things you do in your life, the nitty-gritty living parts of life, are included in the definition of what spiritual mastery means. The distractions that you meditate through, the school schedules you work your yoga classes around, the hugs and kisses you find time for in between emails, tweets, and conference calls, and all the work and money and all the other things we call distractions…each and every one of them is part of life. Our ability to breathe through all of these diversions is the real enlightenment of today.”
Thank you Welles for posting another excellent article.
Sandy
