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Jamaica Update - Tuesday November 19th, 2003
After a very busy day, the Blue
Star group prepared for the evening program at Club India, hosted
by the Jamaican Interfaith Group. The topic for that night was
‘Search for God’.
First Reverend Smith spoke on
his perspective of God; he commented that there are many who claim
to be messengers of God when they are really not. Pundit Sharma
then introduced Sri Vasudeva and the Blue Star Group – Raj, Shobha,
Anand, Shastri, Jagdeo, Deva and Anandi.
Sri Vasudeva started by saying
that Blue Star is a Spiritual organization and not a religious one
and that he feels just as comfortable talking in a temple or a
church. He added that it would be wonderful if the messengers of
God became the message. He then began his talk on the topic by
asking: Who is God? What does God mean to me? Some say God is He,
some say God is She, I say Father, Mother, God. How can we know
God
Someone who studied the
geography of Jamaica can speak on Jamaica as if they know it but
only the person who lived in Jamaica will have the experience of
Jamaica, will know Jamaica. Many can say they know God but how
many can say they have experienced God? Guruji then spoke on the
Bible story where God said to Moses, ‘I am THAT I am’ and the
Hindu scriptures which say, ’Thou art THAT’. What cannot be
described is called ‘THAT’ (beyond colour, creed, race etc). ‘I
AM’ defies Time, it is not past, nor future but the present
moment.
Sri Vasudeva then shared his
experiences in his search for God where he found the key in a
book. It was written - to find God one must first find the
messenger who has become the message. This teacher whom he found
taught him that God is within. He continued, “The knowledge of the
Universe lies within you. Psalm 46 says, ‘Be still and know that I
am God’. Patanjali wrote in the Yoga Sutras, ‘When the
fluctuations of the mind stop, you will know God’.” Sri Vasudeva
then narrated the story - Carrying the firewood and fetching the
water. This reminds us that we carry too many things in our minds.
He then explained, ‘He who Think he knows Knows not, God is not of
the Mind, God is an experience. To get into the portal of
Divinity, one must loose the EGO. Every moment must be a sacred
moment, even when working in the world’. He quoted from the Bible,
‘In Him I live, move and have my Being.’
Sri Vasudeva then asked, ‘How
can I belong to a Religion?’ The Bhagavad Gita says, ‘Howsoever
men seek me so do I approach them.’ The best way we can know God
is by becoming the messenger and living the message – Love God
with your whole heart, mind and Soul, Love your neighbour as
yourself. You can experience God by Meditation.
Sri Vasudeva led everyone into
a few minutes of meditation which was followed by the singing of
‘Alleluia’, ‘Start the Day with Love’ and ‘Try a Little Kindness’.
The audience was then invited
to ask questions. Father Martin asked, ‘How can this help us to
deal with the Crime and Violence?’
Sri Vasudeva answered, ‘As a
society we can promote negativity by thinking negative or can make
things better by positive thinking. In a world of six billion
people we can become a network of lights. We, the ones who pray,
are the ones who are maintaining a balance. The only way we can
create change is by changing ourselves. Love has the Power to
transform the space around us.’
Father Martin the gave a vote
of thanks, reminding everyone that we are all messengers.
In loving service
Anand
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