The beautiful plaque on the wall of our friends’ home caught my eye. We were in Chandigarh staying with a Sikh family who are fellow disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda. They welcomed us with such graciousness and warmth that we soon felt totally at home.
The most prominent feature of the plaque that had drawn my attention was a striking drawing of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the most sacred site for the Sikhs. What stood out the most for me, however, was a small poem at the bottom:
I see no stranger, I see no enemy; I look upon all with goodwill. . . .
The one Beloved dwells in all. Beholding this wonder, I bloom with joy.
These words were written nearly five hundred years ago by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth guru in the Sikh lineage. It was he who built the holy temple at Amritsar, and who created the first rendition of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, which is housed there. This sacred text is a collection of his own poetry, and that of others in the line of ten Sikh gurus, as well as a number of Hindu and Muslim saints.
Uplifted by the drawing of the magnificent temple and those beautiful words, I was then stunned to read about the conclusion of this great soul’s life: In 1606 Guru Arjan was tortured to death by the invading Mughal emperor Jahangir.
“How little the world has changed,” I thought. Here we are still today with Hindu against Muslim, Muslim against Christian, Christian against Jew; with racism against Blacks; with one political party against the other; with one nation against another: the list could go on and on.
How can this ever end? It is only by the upliftment of consciousness. In the teachings of India, the term “maya” is used to denote “delusion.” To bring everything into manifestation, God divided His infinite consciousness into pairs of opposites, creating light and darkness, good and evil, joy and sorrow, male and female.
The literal meaning of “maya” is the “measurer,” that which divides the undifferentiated whole into seemingly different parts. The tension created by these dichotomies keeps us engrossed in the play of life, until our souls tire of the endless cycling between conflicting opposites. Then we crave to realize the underlying unity of all things, in which we see the One Consciousness behind the many forms.
“Under one sky we live watched by One Father.”
I do believe that, contrary to current appearances, the human race is moving toward this higher perspective. Personal and global suffering are helping us to see that when one is oppressed, we all are oppressed; when one loses his security or freedom, we all lose it. This awareness must come in time, because in essence we are not separate one from another. God manifested each of us out of His own consciousness; we are all equally parts of Him.
Some years ago, a friend gave us an original edition of Paramhansa Yogananda’s book of poetry, Songs of the Soul, which was signed by him personally. His inscription reads: “There is one breath that enlivens all strange lands and strangers. Under one sky we live watched by One Father. With my blessings, Swami Yogananda, Oct. 20, 1924.”
May we all awaken to that consciousness in which, blessed by one Father, we see no strangers.
With hope,
Nayaswami Devi
Listen to Devi as she reads the blog, then expands on it, often adding special behind-the-inspiration stories and answers to common spiritual questions. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (8:16):
24 Comments
Such truth is repeated again and again in our scriptures but we still don’t see it.
Beautiful.
Just beautiful thank you.
The poem is beautiful.
So much truth and God’s light in it
Namaste
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you. I have just returned from weeks in the Middle East. There are so many ancient truths and much evidence of the oneness and search for universal truth through the ages. If we are deeply rooted and grounded in truth, then love will find a way. Seek and we will find.
Thank you for sharing Divine Wisdom!!!
Davey, you have answered perfectly in this article a question that was being asked recently, “How can I believe in any benevolent God with such suffering in this world?” Thank you, and Guru’s blessings! 🙏
🙂 Siri is still learning how to spell Devi.
Thank you Devi for such words of wisdom. The world does seem to be tearing itself apart, but at the same time there is a great force of consciousness enfolding us in its light.
Blessings
H
Soooooo beautifully said — from your Heart re-arriving into this Heart —the One
So beautiful, Devi! God bless you and Jyotish for all the Divine Light that you share with all. Aum, Aum, Aum!
Right on Soul-Sister!
AUM, may the sacred light that fills this world and all of us help us see the truth that we are all ONE.
God and Guruji’s blessings and Thank you Deviji
May Ananda’s light in the world join with that of others to bring a deeper shared understanding more quickly!
“I see no stranger, I see no enemy; I look upon all with goodwill. . . .
The one Beloved dwells in all. Beholding this wonder, I bloom with joy.”
..is a great and simple mantra to repeat over and over in my mind. And I love Jyotish’s painting.
all the best
Your visit to a Sikh home brings to mind a Sikh named Valarie Kaur, and her book called “See No Stranger”. I believe her Revolutionary Love Project is moving us closer to that reality.
Dear Nayaswami Devi JI,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful blog.
The world needs more light and with His grace may we be able to share His light with all
Very nice to read Master’s saying towards the end :-)
Joy,
Prem
Many thanks for this.
Love,
Ian
Thank you Devi. May we all strive to see the one life behind it all.
Beautiful
Deeply inspiring! Thank you for this teaching and all the light you send into this world! 🙏🙏
Beautiful share. Thankyou.
Dearest Devi Ji, thank you for this beautiful blog, for reading out Master’s poem ‘demand for seeing the One Flame’ and the sweet encouragement of achieving that vision of unity – of seeing God behind all forms. Thank you both for sharing your light, love, wisdom and highest consciousness to all whom you meet (and to us via these blogs).
So nice.