Devi and I have been spending a month at the Ananda community near Assisi, Italy, where there is great reverence for St. Francis. Paramhansa Yogananda, too, honored him, calling him his “patron saint.”
A few years after Ananda’s arrival in Italy, word began to reach Swami Kriyananda, who was residing here at the time, that the Bishop of Assisi had been issuing warnings against us. Apparently, Church authorities had come to consider our presence there a threat.
Swami Kriyananda, being a very forthright person, decided to have a talk with him. In many ways they turned out to be kindred souls: both of them highly intelligent, well educated, and sincere in their spirituality. After spending some time discussing spiritual matters, Swamiji was about to take his leave. As he was at the door the Bishop said, “I enjoyed our time together and really like you. Too bad you aren’t a Christian.”
Swamiji, knowing that it would be useless to argue, replied with a twinkle in his eye, “You say I am not a Christian, and I say I am. Let’s let Jesus decide.”
This thought, “Let’s let God decide,” should be like a mantra, a compass that guides our life. It is a shorthand way of saying, “Not my will, nor your will, but God’s will.” For devotees of this path, we might translate it as, “What would Master do?” or, “What does my own higher Self advise for me?” How many arguments could be avoided if we let this attitude guide us.
Paramhansa Yogananda put it this way: “Learning to love our relatives is simply a training in stretching our consciousness. It is a preliminary practice in loving all others as we do our relations, whom we think of as our own. We have to learn to look on family and strangers alike, because all are children of God. He has given you certain family members with whom you are practicing stretching your consciousness. When the husband serves the wife, and she serves him, each with the desire to see the other happy, Christ Consciousness—God’s loving Cosmic Intelligence that permeates every atom of creation—has begun to express itself through their consciousness. Whenever you do something for someone else, without any selfish motive, you have stepped into the sphere of Christ Consciousness.”
When we align our heart and mind with those of the stretched consciousness of a master, we have a polestar to guide us. If we could simply remember to ask the question, “What do you advise?” most problems in life, and especially in relationships, could be avoided.
Devi and I have recently finished a ten-class course, How to Develop Harmonious Relationships. In it we explore all facets of relationships of every kind: personal and intimate ones as well as others such as friendships and those that are work-related.
Devotees at the Ananda Assisi community in Italy.
Ultimately, all relationships are expressions of the Christ consciousness, but the more we are caught up in desires, attachments, and ego, the more conflicts arise. Human emotions, especially negative ones, are a labyrinth with no exit. The only real solution is to rise above the limiting walls of ego into the free skies of higher consciousness. How? By remembering to ask God or a master, “What do you advise here?”
Asking is one part of the picture. Listening for His response is the other part. God won’t intrude on our free will, so we must first be truly ready to accept His advice. Then we must allow our minds and emotions to become still. He loves us as His very own, and is waiting for us to turn to Him. When we do, He will answer us with a soft and loving whisper.
The next time you are about to argue a point, follow Swami Kriyananda’s model and say, perhaps with a twinkle in your eye, “Let’s let God decide.”
In His all-embracing love,
Nayaswami Jyotish
To view more information about Jyotish and Devi’s new course, How to Develop Harmonious Relationships, click here.
Listen to Jyotish as he 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 (9:02):
35 Comments
Thank you deeply, Beautiful inspiration🌟✨✨Gloria from Ananda Assisi 💖
Thank you 🙏🙏….this would surely cut the ego trips we have.
Dear Nayaswami Jyotish Ji,
Thank you for this wonderful blog. A great message and to be put into practice.
Joy,
Prem
Thanks Jyotish for this inspiring writing
God bless you
In divine friendship
Giampaolo
Fully agree:
I/me/my has to give way to we/our.
Wider outlook helps break the barriers.
Beautiful!
Let’s let Jesus Christ decide every single step of my life.
Thank you for clearing our thoughts and fulfilling our minds with words and teachings
Of wisdom of love, of God.
Dears, as always your Friday ‘s message reaches my heart and conciousness in full.
Blessings
Beautiful summation of aligning our will to God and Guru in, for and with divine friendship. Thank you 🙏🏽
It’s incredible how timely this is for me. Thank you!
Excellent and worthy advice . I will definitely follow it.
Thank you for sharing tis simple truth through Swami’s experience. May I always listen with care for God’s loving guidance. This is my daily prayer.
Many blessings and smooth travels,
Astara 🙏🏼🌺
Perfect timing for me, as usual. 🙏
Thank you, Jyotish!
Thank you.
Timely for me too! Good story. Swamiji pulls ahead. I know it’s not a race but , “too bad you aren’t a Chrisitian,” is a little narrow minded and judgemental.
Thank you Nayaswami Jyotish 🙏🌺
This message is so profound and relevant for the current times… the conflicts and disharmony needs an anchor and who better than God to decide what’s right and wrong 🙏🌺
I am making this my go to Mantra for everything from hereafter 🙏❤️💐
Thank you Jyitishji for this very necessary advice.I need to repeat this.sothat it sticks
Aum!Aum!Aum!🙏🙏🙏
Let’s let God decide…….. Master what is your advice? stretching the consciousness. Gratitude and Blessings, Rose *So SOULFUL)
Yes let’s let God decided! 3 years ago I visited an old friend who is a pastor of a small church! We catching up with each other, I told him I was into this meditation and how wonderful it is! That Sunday at the church service he started to humiliate me in front of the congregation, although he didn’t mentioned my name the whole congregation knew he was talking about me and my meditation! I was disappointed…..
Let’s let God decided!
Awesome advice – a very loud Yes, let’s let Jesus, the Lord our God decide. I so thoroughly enjoy all your blogs, from all of you. Thank you and God Bless always 🙏
As above ✝️
Thank you Swami Jyotish for your insightful message.
We could all use it more frequently.
Thank you so much Jyotish ji ,
Very inspirational words of wisdom
Jai Guru 🙏🙏🙏
Thi is so very beautiful dear Jyotish 💙
I love knowing God is bigger and so personal that He cares 💙and knows better than l do, and doesn’t mind that I ask Him so many questions. I listen as much I am able and everyday I can hear more of what He says.
With gratitude and love for you and Devi everyday of my life🎶💛bhajana 🎶🎸
Dear Jyotish, I am deeply grateful for the clear and powerful reminder you have shared. Daily, when I am seeing therapy clients I reach out to Master and ask what can I do in this difficult circumstance, what do you feel for me to do. I am always pleasantly surprised and grateful. In Divine Friendship , Namaste
Simply eloquent and so beautiful…
Love it! Let God decide! Let Master decide! Let Divine Mother decide! Thanks Jyotishji
Great story. Thank you for sharing. Thank you.
Beautiful.!! Thanks you.
Beautiful !! Thank you.
We all born in this world with a set of filter that we think and believe to be true.
We fight over it and impose the others to accept it.
All this is just ego.
Wish we know the true is all within us.
We just need to be still and true is appear.
Gratitude to my master
Thank you for this very profound blog. God is the Doer – how easily we forget or simply don’t pay attention.
Here is a very interesting talk by Swami Kriyananda from Treasures Along the Path:
Reincarnation, Service and Love – given sometime around 1979. A main message of this talk is to let God show and advise you.
The saints he says, have much to teach us, and we can strive to emulate their qualities. The time for knowing God is now!!!
Reincarnation, Service and Love
https://cdn.treasuresalongthepath.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Reincarnation_Service_and_Love.mp3
Swami Kriyananda dealt with Bishop lovingly, fearlessly and with tenacity, confidence and patience.
With God’s blessing Swamiji could turn the team of Assisi in Amanda’s favour.
Aum Guru.
How beautifully put – love this teaching. Thank you Dearest Jyotish Ji. ” When we align our heart and mind with those of the stretched consciousness of a master, we have a polestar to guide us.” .. such an important reminder – Master, Swamiji and great souls like you both – our polestars. We are blessed to be on this path. Thank you Ji.
Excellent message.
Thankyou.
Greetings,
Neel.p