I first had darshan of Gurumayi’s Message Artwork on New Year’s Day, after participating in A Sweet Surprise Satsang. I savored every detail of Gurumayi’s Message Artwork, and I have continued to engage with it regularly. I have begun to contemplate the multitude of colors and textures present in the Message Artwork. These elements have given me insight into the connection between the different experiences that I observe playing out in my sadhana. Just as Gurumayi’s Message Artwork is one image composed of many forms and colors, my experience of life is woven from a series of unique moments, each a distinct facet of the great power of creation—chiti-shakti.
For example, during meditation I often have an experience in which I feel my awareness becoming absorbed in the syllables of the mantra so’ham. I witness the dance of chiti-shakti thrill in my being. This experience leaves me ecstatic, in a state of total bliss.
Another experience that I have often is while offering seva. As I become engrossed in a seva task, it seems as if all the thoughts in my mind vanish. I continue to work, but I feel completely detached. I experience that I am not the doer and that the power of grace is working through me. This experience brings a sense of calm and comfort, as if I’m being completely supported by the Guru’s grace.
Although the physical and emotional sensations of these two experiences are different, what contemplating Gurumayi’s Message Artwork has helped me understand is that each experience I have is an expression of Universal Consciousness at play. Continuing to practice this understanding has supported me in witnessing the unity in all of creation, and experiencing peace and light-heartedness as I go about my daily activities.
A sevite in Shree Muktananda Ashram