Prabhuji Magazine Issue 3 - Love

m ag azine MARCH 21, 2021

| I SSUE no 3

L OVE L ove, is a deep longing to erase limits and to eradicate differences until becoming one with the W hole.

"I n a worldly romance, your heart responds to a glance, a touch, or a kiss. I n devotion, your heart vibrates with the breeze that caresses the trees, the moon?s reflection on a lake, or the perfume of flowers in the air. Your soul dances with the song of birds and the silence of the forest. W herever you look, you recognize the magic, the mystery, and the divine secret. You hear it in the rustle of the wind, the sound of the waves, and the rumble of river rapids. You feel it in the fragrance of the soil after the rain and in the salty air by the ocean." ~Prabhuji

Opening words from the editor T he subject of love has a very significant place in Prabhuji?s teachings. I t wasn?t hard to find inspiring words from Prabhuji about the subject, but what was hard to decide upon was what to keep out of the magazine... We highly recommend Prabhuji?s books and lectures to any of you who would like to delve deeper and continue opening the heart.

On this special day of Prabhuji?s appearance, we offer this magazine as our homage of love to the embodiment of love - L ove for the truth, love for God, love for life, and to every living being.

Swami Ramananda, RamakrishnanandaAshram

Only one who has loved understands that two can become one without ceasing to be two.

THE SEARCH FOR LOVE Excerpt from Prabhuji's Book: Bhakti Yoga, The Path Of Love

Many speak about love, write emotional poems, and compose romantic songs. However, few actually love.

Many embark on passionate affairs, get married, have children, and eventually get divorced, all without ever having truly loved.

Using people to ease the pain of loneliness, many seek to fulfill an inner void with another?s embrace. Yet very few dare to set out on the adventure of discovering the profound mystery of the human heart.

Many people see love as a means of pleasure and expect to have the fortune of stumbling upon it. However, very few are interested in what love actually is.

T he search for love does not usually arise from the desire to love, but from the need to be loved. Efforts are therefore focused on becoming worthy of love. T his implies being attractive to another: men seek power, wealth, fame, and recognition; women embellish their physical appearance.

For bhakti yogis, however, love is an art connected to the development and evolution of their own capacity to love. T hus, they dedicate their time and energy to mastering the skill of loving: first its theoretical aspects and then its practical ones.

Bhakti yoga is the yoga of love.

Devotees aspire to a love different from the love in romance novels: it is not sentimental love that begins with sweet promises and ends in bitter disappointments, nor is it emotional love that arises from physiological processes and hormonal needs.

For bhakti yogis, love does not depend on an external relationship.

I nstead, it is a state of the soul. Far from being an interaction with another person, love is the perfume that emanates from our own presence, here and now. Bhakti is the purest and most elevated love. I t arises from the depths of consciousness and the peace and silence of meditation. W hen we experience this love, we discover that it is not an emotion or a feeling, but what is real within us.

Because transcendental reality can only manifest itself in pure hearts, bhakti yoga offers a process of spiritual cleansing and purification.

Although it is said that the path of bhakti is accessible to everyone, I would say that it is a journey exclusively for those who hear the call of love from the depths of their souls.

T he message of bhakti yoga is unequivocal: love is the means and the goal. Without devotion, spiritual practice seems dry, prayer turns into unnecessary chatter, and religion becomes boring; it is reduced to a mere collection of laws, commandments, and ceremonies, and becomes more political than spiritual. I ndeed, only by surrendering yourself to your own heart can you know what religion truly is.

FOURTH CHAKRA. ANAHATA CAKRA OR?HEART CHAKRA? Excerpt from Prabhuji's Books: Kundalini Yoga, The power is within you.

T he heart chakra, as many call it, serves as the link between the three gross chakras (muladhara, svadhisthana, and manipura) and the three subtle chakras (visuddha, ajna, and sahasrara). T he first three chakras represent the body and the physical reality of names and forms; the last three represent our interior world and the soul.Anahata- cakra is a center of transition toward the more subtle and elevated dimensions of consciousness. T he first three centers are human; the last three are divine.

T he fourth center transforms whatever is gross in the lower centers and makes it more subtle and refined, so that it may harmonize with higher planes of consciousness.

I f we look carefully, we will see that modern humans? with their fears, preferences, desires, jealousy, and ambitions? only move within the limits of the first three chakras. I n fact, they live an animal life in a human body. T oday?s society has unbalanced the functioning of anahata- cakra and most people do not go beyond the limits of the first three centers. T heir lives are restricted to eating, sleeping, mating, and fighting. T hey die and leave their bodies without even imagining that there might be something beyond these limits.

L ove is beyond the chakras related to survival, sex, and power. Here lies the visnu- granthi, or ?the knot of Vishnu,? which warns us that emotions and feelings entail the great danger of attachment and slavery. T he center of love lies above the plane of needs. With only three first centers open, we still perceive ourselves as entities independent of the universe, separate and disconnected from the rest of creation. Only when anahata awakens do we experience harmony and unity with other living beings and life. Existence blooms.

To love is to experience the expansive movement that erases differences and borders, unites hearts, and fuses souls.

T herefore, love is a luxury that not everyone can afford.

Only when the fourth center opens can we be considered yogis; until this happens we are still sadhakas, or ?aspirants.?

T he functioning of this center influences our expression of feelings toward those around us. I f we only identify with our physical body, love is expressed as sex.

I f we climb a rung in the ladder of evolution, we identify with the mind. W hen perceiving ourselves as thinking entities, sexuality is manifested as romantic and sentimental attachment in the style of Romeo and Juliet.

L ove manifests as religion only in those who reveal their own authenticity as pure consciousness. Only then is the sacred madness called love experienced in all its fullness.

From the rational mind?s point of view, love is lunacy. I t is not that love is irrational, but that the logic of the head and the heart are very different. T heir directions are diametrically opposed: the mind finds gain in receiving and accumulating, while the heart does so in giving and sharing.

T he mind is always looking to possess something or someone, while the heart yearns to be possessed by the W hole. T he most important matters for the heart are irrelevant for the mind, such as the soul, God, or religion.

T he mind is interested in religion only as a business; its interest in the sacred stems from the expectation of some type of benefit or gain. T he head is calculating; it is focused on aims, objectives, purposes, and goals.

Unconditional love threatens its comfort, and surrender challenges its safety. T he mind resists and escapes from the T ruth; the heart pursues it at all costs.

T he heart does not pursue goals; it pursues meaning.

T here is a certain degree of madness in love, as it leaves us without concrete answers to ?why?,? ?what for?,? and ?to what end??

T he heart is brave. I t does not pursue safety, comfort, or convenience; love causes us to expand ourselves before the experience of our soul in the clear sky of our interior.

T o love is to experience the expansive movement that erases differences and borders, unites hearts, and fuses souls. T he embrace of love evaporates our exclusive attitude and expands the boundaries of our love for those we hold dear. Besides our family, we start to love our neighborhood, city, nation, world, and the entire universe. L ove is humans? most wonderful potential. I t is stored in our chests; it is a seed ready to bloom and release its nectarous and intoxicating scent.

PURIFICATION OF THE HEART CENTER

People who purify this center discover their capacity to love. T hey cease to be ?beggars of love? and become channels that pour out love; they reveal anahata- cakra as the center of love in its highest expression. T hey harmonically draw in everyone who is close to their aura and inspire them to love.

T his center is the soil where the seed of devotion is planted and cultivated until it grows and reaches the heights of divine love as prema and par?- bhakti. T he scriptures affirm that by focusing our attention on this center, it is possible to realize the very essence of our existence.

An?hata- cakra is considered the seat of the divine Self or ? tman. Patañjali Maharai says: hrdaye citta- samvit Focusing attention on the heart leads to knowledge of the nature of consciousness. (Yoga S?tras, 3.34) Within the limits of the first three chakras, we are waves that are born, hold on for a while, and meet our end when we weaken and arrive at the shore. T o awaken anahata is to discover our oceanic nature. T his center is a gateway that provides direct access to our universal aspect, the Self.

Love is the thirst to reconnect to our origins, to reunify with our source, to return to ourselves.

To love is to go back to the place we never left; it is to come home, to God. ~

Love Excerpt from Prabhuji's Book: Bhakti Yoga, The Path Of Love

Bhakti yoga is the yogic path of love that aspires to an inner alchemy of emotions; it does not suggest suppressing earthly feelings or nullifying them mechanically, but transcending them by developing the discernment between attachment and love.

Attachment is the expression of love through a limited and undeveloped instrument. Although attachment and love have the same essence, the former takes place on a level where we only seek our own benefit. Attachment is actually an attempt to exploit others for the sake of one?s own enjoyment.

As long as we perceive ourselves as separate and disconnected entities, love will manifest itself in us as attachment. L ove is bliss and beauty, but through the ego, it can only be partially expressed. Consequently, love not only loses its glow but also causes suffering.

Attachment is a typical symptom of the ego phenomenon; the ?I ? is nothing more than an accumulation of attachments.

Attachment is selfishness, while love is generosity. Attachment is self- love, while love is universal attachment. T he ego lacks love, whereas love is free of ego.

To be attached is to desire to receive, while to love is also to be ready to give and share. T he majority of people say they look for love, yet what they really crave is to be loved. Not finding love in themselves,they beg for it from others. But those who seek love from another person because of an inner void will always ask, demand, make claims, and, ultimately, get stuck in worldly attachment. As long as we do not find bliss within ourselves, we will continue to need others. On the contrary, love cascades from the hearts of beings who are full and complete, and who recognize themselves as love.

PHYSICAL LOVE For someone at a basic level on the evolutionary ladder who identifies mainly with the physical body, love is a form of enjoyment or sensory pleasure.

At this early stage of development, love manifests itself only as the release of certain chemical substances, as a physiological phenomenon.

W hen only the corporal reality is perceived, love is closely identified with sexual appetites or lustful desire. I n Sanskrit, the expression of love in its coarsest form is called kama or k?man?, meaning ?lust? or ?desire.?

We are also reduced to the physical plane if we only love our people, that is, those related in some way to our body, whether by blood or country.

EMOTIONAL LOVE T hose who identify with their emotions believe that they feel love with the heart, but this type of love is simply mental activity.

T he dramatic relationships portrayed in soap operas and romantic films, in which characters try to satisfy their own egoistical needs, are taken as models by emotional people.T heir love is a mixture of cheap sentimentalism with adolescent whims. I t is subject to change: a person can initially feel attracted to someone, fall madly in love, but later feel that the other has become not only unpleasant but even unbearable. And vice versa: someone who is intolerable now can become likeable and attractive in the future.

INTELLECTUAL LOVE For those who especially identify with their thoughts, love is experienced as an intellectual phenomenon. I ntellect is the mental function of evaluating, judging, and discriminating. T he love of this type of person generates expectations, such as the arrival of a so- called prince charming or dream girl. I n this way, many love from their imagination: they compose songs, write poems, or pen romantic novels.

T heir love is merely theoretical, rather than real and alive, because although they spend long periods of time thinking about love, they rarely love.

DEVOTIONAL LOVE I n the early stages, aspirants need to assign qualities to the Absolute so they can become attached to it. Since attachment belongs to the objective realm, devotional attachment requires symbols of the transcendental in the dual and relative reality. Hymns, books, temples, and deities are essential features for worldly attachment to become devotional. To the extent that the devotees become attached to God, they detach from the world.

T here is a big difference between worldly attachment and attachment to God. T he former brings about fear, confusion, suffering, and pain, while the latter bestows peace of mind and happiness. Selfish attachment turns into addiction and slavery; devotional attachment becomes divine love.

TRANSCENDENTAL LOVE Bhakti yoga starts with selfish attachment, or love for the mundane; then, it goes through devotional attachment, which is love for God as a separate entity; finally, it culminates in transcendental love, where divisions between the lover and loved one vanish.

Before reaching transcendental love, there are still prayers, rituals, and a devotional relationship between devotees and the L ord. I n the last stage, there is observation, and then only meditation remains.

T ranscendental love lies beyond carnal desire, mental or emotional attachment, and even spiritual devotion. I n that total and absolute union, ecstasy blossoms.

EXPANSION OF LOVE Bhakti yoga is a process of expansion, which leads us from the limitations of our identification with a name and form to the experience of infinite consciousness without boundaries; it takes us from our personal awareness toward the universal.

Bhakti yoga encompasses an expansive process that starts by establishing a devotional relationship with God. At the beginning, we experience attachment to the L ord and everything that is related to him.

As we evolve, we get closer to God and discover him in the depths of everything and everyone. Only love reveals the Divine within us as our own reality.

SUBLIMATION OF LOVE Many consider the path of bhakti yoga to be a series of rituals and ceremonies.

However, this liberating path implies a process that leads to a radical transformation from the basic levels of life up to existence in its purest state of consciousness.

Just as the same electrical source can switch on a light bulb, an air conditioner, or a large machine, the same love can reveal itself in physical, sentimental, intellectual, devotional, and transcendental ways.

Both ordinary and enlightened people experience love. For the former, it is a sentimental experience, while for the latter it is existential.

T he intensity and quality are so different that they seem to be utterly opposite experiences. L ove for the jivanmukta, or one who is ?liberated in life,? stems not from any physical, mental, or sentimental level, but from meditation: from the depths of consciousness. W hen discovering love as our own essence, it expresses itself like a perfume emanating from our very presence.

T he process of bhakti yoga consists of an authentic inner alchemy that can sanctify the human being. L ike a philosopher?s stone, bhakti divinizes the earthly, spiritualizes the material, and transforms our worldly attachments into true love.

" Th e pat h t o love begin s at ou r iden t if icat ion w it h body an d m in d, an d en ds in t h e exper ien ce of t h e spir it ; it set s sail f r om t h e r elat ive an d disem bar k s u pon t h e Absolu t e. It goes f r om m an an d ar r ives at God: t o get at t ach ed is h u m an an d t o love is divin e.

God is love, an d sin ce w e ar e an in t egr al par t of divin it y, love is ou r n at u r e, t h e ver y essen ce of w h o w e ar e. Love is as vit al t o t h e sou l as br eat h is t o t h e body. Ou r in n at e n eed f or love is pr oof t h at t h e divin e spar k dw ells w it h in u s."

Dear Prab huji,

w hat is devot ion or b hakt i?

Excerpt from Prabhuji's Book: Experimenting With The Truth

Devotion is the purest expression of love; it is love in its absolute purity. Romance happens between people, but devotion is love for existence.

I n the most intimate depths, all limits that separate us from life evaporate. T he boundaries that make us feel like a person separated from the W hole disappear. I n this divine love story, any sensation of ?me? and ?mine? vanishes, and we fuse with life itself. Devotion is love, not solely physical, mental, or romantic, but spiritual.

I t is expressed not through the body, mind, or feelings, but arises from the depths of the soul. As we experience devotion, all differences between lover and loved, subject and object, disappear.

I n a worldly romance, your heart responds to a glance, a touch, or a kiss. I n devotion, your heart vibrates with the breeze that caresses the trees, the moon?s reflection on a lake, or the perfume of flowers in the air. Your soul dances with the song of birds and the silence of the forest. W herever you look, you recognize the magic, the mystery, and the divine secret. You hear it in the rustle of the wind, the sound of the waves, and the rumble of river rapids. You feel it in the fragrance of the soil after the rain and in the salty air by the ocean.

L ove exposes us to the Divine; devotion shows us God. A devotee?s heart knows the ultimate T ruth of life. I t is important to understand the difference between ?knowing? and ?knowing about.? ?K nowing about? refers to practiced skills or memorized information: sports, mathematics, languages, and so on. On the other hand, ?knowing? expresses a familiarity with someone or something.

K nowing God is very different from knowing about anything else in life. For example, your dentist knows about your teeth; your mailman, about your address; your mechanic, about your car. T hey might recognize your face, but none of them really know you. Similarly, many religious people claim to know God because they know about his address, his language, his desires and inclinations, but you can only know someone you love.

Devotees are indifferent to both suffering and pleasure, to pain and happiness. T hey eliminate all their preferences, predications, inclinations, and conditioning, as well as any ideas, concepts, or conclusions that might threaten love. As their devotion increases, they diminish as ?someone? and disappear, like raindrops of water in the ocean. Devotion is dying to the apparent and awakening to the real; it is to perish to the ephemeral and be reborn in the true. I t is the termination of the personal to make room for the universal; the evaporation of the temporal and the transient to recognize the permanent and the immortal. Devotion is to forget the past and the future in order to observe the fresh dawn of the present. I t is to leave behind what was and what should be in order to discover what is. Devotion is to die in time and space and be reborn in the eternal and infinite. Just as the caterpillar turns into a butterfly, if you love intensely, your love will unfold as devotion. Once your heart is flooded with devotion, you will be moved to worship the stars, the ocean, the trees, and the flowers. Every living being will inspire reverence in you. Your entire life will be transformed into a prayer, and each exhalation into only one hymn: ?T hank you.? W hen this divine phenomenon occurs, you become a door to existence, a bridge to the W hole.

The Fish Pose Mat syasana Exerted from Prabhuji's Book Yoga Union With Reality

Begin by lying on your back in Shavasan.

Join your legs together, and bring your arms straight under the body, so that the buttocks rest on the forearms and the hands. The palms of the hands, facing downwards, should be as extended as possible. Keep the elbows close to each other. Point the toes, stretching the body from the feet to the top of the head.

While inhaling, raise the head and trunk with the help of the elbows by pushing downwards.

Carefully elongate the upper back and neck. Then gently arch the back and neck backwards. While keeping the back arched, slowly lower the body until the head touches the ground, or comes as close to it as possible.

In the final posture, the back is kept arched, while avoiding pressure on the cervical area. When you reach the final posture, stop all movement. Breathe deeply and effortlessly, expanding the rib cage. Relax the legs and the face. Expand the chest as much as you can. Maintain the posture for only 20 seconds in the beginning, gradually prolonging the duration until you can remain in the posture for ten minutes.Practice of mastyasana should follow sarvangasana or halasana, to reap the full benefits of those postures.

Ph ysical ben ef it s Digest ive syst em : Matsyasana can relieve diseases of the stomach. It also removes constipation by bringing fecal matter, which has accumulated in the digestive tract, down to the rectum.

En docr in e syst em : A deep massage is given and opens the thyroid and parathyroid glands, giving the maximum benefit after sarvangasana. The parathyroid, which regulates calcium, is energized and diseases in the throat are relieved. The functioning of the thyroid gland and others are also improved. It is good for all throat and vocal problems.

Lym ph at ic syst em an d im m u n it y: The thymus is activated, stimulating the immune system.

Sk elet al syst em : Increases elasticity of the spine.

M u scu lar syst em : The extension of the chest strengthens the shoulders, upper back and abdomen while relieving any tightness in the shoulders and neck muscles. It develops the chest and extends the latissimus dorsi, the back?s broadness. The neck, shoulders and lower back receive a natural massage.

Ner vou s syst em : The gently arched back helps to tone the nerves of the neck and back.

Respir at or y syst em : The ribcage expands, increasing lung capacity, particularly in the middle and upper lungs. This facilitates deep breathing, helping to relieve chronic bronchitis and asthma, and diseases of the lungs. The diaphragm opens, and massages the heart and lungs.

M en t al an d em ot ion al ben ef it s This asana has a positive effect on the emotional center, and helps relieve emotional trauma, prolonged sadness and depression. It is recommended for people who are shy, have difficulty developing relationships and are unable to love.

En er get ic ben ef it s Matsyasana activates the Anahata, Vishuddha and Ajna chakras. The open chest and neck help to open the Anahata chakra, giving a sense of compassion, and the Vishuddha chakra, opening for clear communication and improving the voice. Through the Ajna chakra, the mind is cleared.

War n in g This is not recommended for anyone with neck or shoulder pain, hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure, heart disease or a history of stroke. Those suffering from lower back pain should begin doing this posture with modifications that are less demanding.with modifications that are less demanding.

We exist and we b reat he, b ut it is only w hen we love t hat we really live.

Wat ch Prab huji's lect ures ab out love:

Prabhuji Food Distribution Covid-19 response: Th e Divin e is in t h e in n er cor e of ever y h u m an bein g, beyon d r ace, sex or r eligion ; t h er ef or e h elpin g ot h er s is t o ser ve God. As a pr act ical expr ession of Pr abh u ji?s spir it u al exper ien ce, seein g all h u m an it y as h is ow n f am ily, h e f ou n ded t h e Pr abh u ji Food Dist r ibu t ion pr ogr am (2014).

The Prabhuji Food Distribution Program was founded by Prabhuji with the aim to help people who are in need of nutritious food, and assist them with their daily struggle against food insecurity.

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With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment has rapidly increased and food insecurity is on the rise.

During these difficult times we are working tirelessly to adapt our operations, to address the ever growing need. We are serving 1,000-1,300 people each month through our weekly drive-through food distribution, and new households join the program every week.

A few of the many testimonials: ?Thank you all so very much! It has been a rough few years, and this year has topped the charts, but thanks to your help my family has not gone hungry!? ?We want to say thank you for all the food last week. We would not have enough to make it if it wasn't for your help. Thank you so very much?.

Let us love now, because it is possible to introduce love into our lives in this moment if we just give it. ~

Seek m e

By Prabhuji (T ranslated from Spanish)

Seek me in the flowers?scent, in the breeze?whisper Seek me in the mountain?s serenity at twilight Seek me in a child?s smile, in a mother ?s embrace Seek me in the sound of thunder, in the power of lightning Seek me in the ocean immensity, in the silence of stars Seek me in consciousness and bliss Seek me in that and in this Seek me in your ignorance and you shall find the truth Seek me in the nothing and you shall find everything Seek me in love and you will find God Seek me in what you are and you will see what I am?

IMPORTANT: David, Ben Yosef, Har-Zion, who writes under the pen name Prabhuji, is a writer, painter, and avadh?ta mystic. In 2011, he chose to retire from society and lead the life of a hermit. He spends his days in solitude, praying, studying, writing, painting, and meditating in silence and contemplation. Prabhuji continues to supervise the philanthropic activity of community service and help to people in need.

Prabhuji acknowledges the contribution of two holy spiritual masters to his spiritual evolution: H.D.G. Bhaktikavi Atul?nanda ?c?rya Swami Mah?r?ja, disciple of H.D.G. A.C. Bhaktived?nta Swami Prabhup?da, and H.D.G. Avadh?ta ?r? Brahm?nanda B?b?j? Mah?r?ja, disciple of H.D.G. Avadh?ta ?r? Mastar?ma B?b?j?Mah?r?ja.

Although many consider him to be an enlightened being, Prabhuji does not accept the role of a religious authority that people have tried to grant him for years.

Prabhuji does not claim to be a preacher, guide, teacher, instructor, educator, enlightener, pedagogue, evangelist, rabbi, posek halacha, healer, therapist, satsangist, leader, channeler (medium), savior, or guru. He does not proselytize or try to convince anyone of anything. It is not his intention to attract followers, adepts, or admirers of any kind.

For fifteen years (1995?2010), Prabhuji accepted a few monastic disciples who expressly requested to be initiated. In 2010, he took the irrevocable decision to stop accepting monastic disciples, followers, devotees, or even visitors.

Prabhuji is retired from public activities and does not offer sat-sa?gs, public lectures, meetings, retreats, seminars, gatherings, or courses. Currently, he only offers private talks to the small group of serious disciples who have decided t to stay with their spiritual master.

We kindly ask everyone to respect his privacy and not to disturb him in any way. Please do not try to contact him to ask for interviews, blessings, ?aktip?ta, or initiations.

We share Prabhuji?s vision only through books, paintings, poems, melodies, websites, forums, and private talks filmed by disciples.

m ag azine Ramakrishnananda Ashram, New York m ag azine www.website.com info@website.com

w w w.Pr abh u ji.n et