Namaste!
You have probably heard my question many many times, but This is the first for me. I am wondering how I am supposed to remember this life and learn from the mistakes and achievements within it if I can't remember any of my past lives? I am just a regular person who considers himself to be spiritual but also has strong issues regarding organized religion and the associated dogma. I see myself with no perceptible spiritual gifts or insights - just a plethora of questions. Thank you!
—Mike , United States
Dear Mike:
Thank you for your question. The fact that you are asking and seeking answers to such thoughtful inquiry speaks volumes. It shows that you are ready to pursue and know Truth because you are already listening to the quiet call of your soul.
Our path contains many references to the past lives of our Masters and also our community’s founder, Swami Kriyananda. Yet these stories remind and instruct us that we are not to live burdened by the countless dramas and roles the soul has played through hundreds of thousands of incarnations (!).
We are instructed that at this point in our journeys that it is mostly a blessing not to remember – not to be entangled or ensnared by past deeds and actions so that we can begin anew and have a fresh start, learning in this life what the soul still needs to learn.
There are, nevertheless, archetypal patterns and tendencies, samskaras, that give us subtle clues about past lives that continue to shape our present experiences. You may have noticed talents or tendencies in yourself or others: vocational, artistic, certain fears or attachments—attractions and repulsions—that may be subtle echoes from previous lives.
Paramhansa Yogananda said that the past lives within us now. We don’t need to remember who we were. We are the sum of all we have ever been. In essence, as Kriyananda says, we are what we have made ourselves to be. The critical thing to give attention to in this life is a sincere effort to grow in awareness – wisdom, kindness, and love so that we can advance the soul’s long journey towards freedom. Kriyananda reminds us that spiritual progress comes not from our history, but from the awakening of our consciousness. Our journey is one of remembering who we are in Truth and the soul’s divine and eternal nature.
You are well on your way. Let this life be your focus. Let it fill you with gratitude for the lessons and adventures that lie ahead. There is an African proverb that says: “The road you are on is the one you must follow.” Pay attention to what is before you to do so that you can complete what is left undone and triumphantly fulfill the purpose of this life.
May you find peace and inspiration in these words that Sri Yukteswar once shared lovingly to console his disciples:
Forget the past; the vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until anchored in the Divine. Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.
Master’s Infinite Blessings & Joy,
Nayaswami Nefretete
