On the Siddha Yoga path, studying, practicing, assimilating, and implementing the teachings are paramount for a student to make progress in sadhana. This year, as you know, the Siddha Yoga path website is featuring Explore & Study Gurumayi’s Message, a collection of resources and study tools to support people in learning and applying the teachings from Gurumayi’s Sweet Surprise 2019. In light of this, you will find that Gurumayi’s Love in Action 2019 is designed as a book.
Each year, Gurumayi creates Love in Action in honor of St. Valentine’s Day, and each year it is designed to enhance your exploration and study. For some, Love in Action 2019 will be like a treasure chest. For others, it will be like a labyrinth, a puzzle to solve, or else a game of hide-and-seek. Gurumayi said, “The intention for Love in Action is for people to learn something while having fun.”
Even if you don’t feel love at a certain moment,
when you look at others, do so with love.
Because somewhere, in someone,
you will collide with the love that is meant for you.
~Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
न था कुछ तो ख़ुदा था, कुछ न होता तो ख़ुदा होता
डुबोया मुझको होने ने, न होता मैं तो क्या होता
When there was nothing, there was God.
Had there been nothing, there still would have been God.
“To be” is what drowned me.
Had I not been, then what would have come to be?
~Mirza Ghalib
Nada te turbe,
nada te espante,
todo se pasa.
Dios no se muda.
La paciencia, todo lo alcanza.
Quien a Dios tiene,
nada le falta.
Sólo Dios basta.
Let nothing perturb you,
let nothing frighten you.
All things pass.
God never changes.
Patient endurance attains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices.
~ Saint Teresa of Ávila
Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.
~William Shakespeare
ವನವೆಲ್ಲಾ ನೀನೆ, ವನದೊಳಗಣ ದೇವತರುವೆಲ್ಲಾ ನೀನೆ,
ತರುವಿನೊಳಗಾಡುವ ಖಗ-ಮೃಗವೆಲ್ಲಾ ನೀನೆ.
ಚೆನ್ನಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನಾ, ಸರ್ವಭರಿತನಾಗಿ ಎನಗೇಕೆ ಮುಖದೋರ ?
You are the entire forest.
You are all the divine trees in the forest.
You are all the birds and beasts playing under the trees.
O Chenna Mallikarjuna, who supports everything,
why don’t you show your face to me?
~Akkamahadevi
Let your love for God grow every day,
and let that love be without motive.
~Baba Muktananda
ವಚನದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಮಾಮೃತ ತುಂಬಿ,
ನಯನದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮೂರುತಿ ತುಂಬಿ,
ಕಿವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕೀರುತಿ ತುಂಬಿ,
ಮನದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮ್ಮನೆನಹು ತುಂಬಿ,
ಕೂಡಲಸಂಗಮದೇವಾ, ನಿಮ್ಮ ಚರಣಕಮಲದೊಳಗಾನು ತುಂಬಿ!
My speech is filled with the nectar of your name.
My eyes are filled with your image.
My ears are filled with your praise.
My mind is filled with thoughts of you.
O Lord Kudala Sangamadeva,
I am a bee, residing at your lotus feet.
~Basavanna
Love knows no distances
The water lily and the moon
So far apart, yet so near!
Together illumined by the heavens
~Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
सखिया, वा घर सबसे न्यारा, जहाँ पूरन पुरुष हमारा ॥
जहाँ नहीं सुख-दुख, साच-झूट नहीं, पाप न पुन्य पसारा।
नहीं दिन रैन, चाँद नहीं सूरज, बिन ज्योति उजियारा ॥
O friend! That abode is unparalleled
wherein resides my cosmic Self.
In this abode there is
neither happiness nor suffering,
neither truth nor lies,
neither sin nor virtue.
There is no day or night,
or moon or sun.
Yet, without any flame, it is filled with light.
~Kabir
Liberate the love that dwells within you, already perfect, already free.
Then you will find your delight in the inner Self.
~Baba Muktananda
O alto e glorioso Dio,
illumina le tenebre del cuore mio.
Dammi una fede retta, speranza certa,
carità perfetta e umiltà profonda.
Dammi, Signore, senno e discernimento
per compiere la tua vera e santa volontà.
Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart and
give me true faith and certain hope,
perfect charity and deep humility.
Give me sense and knowledge, O Lord,
such that I may carry out your holy and true command.
~Saint Francis of Assisi
सफ़ा से मिला जब सफ़ा हो गया मैं
ख़ुदी मिट गई ख़ुद ख़ुदा हो गया मैं
When I met the Pure One, I too became pure.
My ego was erased, and I myself became God.
~Dharmadas
Para venir a lo que no sabes,
has de ir por donde no sabes.
Para venir a lo que no posees,
has de ir por donde no posees.
Para venir a lo que no eres,
has de ir por donde no eres.
To come to what you don’t know,
you must take the way you don’t know.
To come to what you don’t possess,
you must take the way where you don’t possess.
To come to what you are not,
you must take the way where you are not.
~Saint John of the Cross
अगर है शौक़ मिलने का तो हर दम लौ लगाता जा।
जलाकर ख़ुदनुमाई को भसम तन पर लगाता जा ॥
If you truly long to meet God,
then keep focusing all your love on him.
Burn up your ego in the fire of love,
and keep smearing its ashes on your body.
~Mansur Mastana
Liebe ist das Einzige, was sich verdoppelt, wenn man es teilt.
Love is the only thing that doubles when you share it.
~Clemens Brentano
Giving is in harmony with God’s will.
It is a shining act of love.
~Baba Muktananda
Wood already touched by fire is not hard to set alight.
~Ashanti proverb
राम-रंगी रंगले मन।
आत्म-रंगी रंगले।
विश्व-रंगी रंगले मन ॥
When my mind was immersed in the rapture
of chanting the name of Lord Rama,
my heart overflowed with bliss
and the whole atmosphere throbbed with that joy.
~Govindrao Tembe
Aimons toujours ! Aimons encore !
Aimons toujours ! Aimons encore !
Quand l’amour s’en va, l’espoir fuit.
L’amour, c’est le cri de l’aurore,
L’amour, c’est l’hymne de la nuit.
Let’s always love! Let’s love again!
Let’s always love! Let’s love again!
When love goes, hope flees.
Love—it’s the call of dawn,
Love—it’s the hymn of night.
~Victor Hugo
If the moon in its perfection loves me, why should I care about the stars’ opinion?
~Maghrebi proverb
Der wahrhaft Liebende liebt Gott in allem und findet Gott in allem.
The one who truly loves…loves God, and finds God, in everything.
~Meister Eckhart
Wave after wave dancing in the sea,
watching its play, the heart fills with glee.
Follow the path that makes you carefree.
Worldly weariness cannot linger—it must flee.
~Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
Reverence is true beauty and divine wealth
because it purifies the mind.
~Baba Muktananda
न कहीं से दूर हैं मंज़िलें, न कोई क़रीब की बात है।
जिसे चाहे उसको नवाज़ दे, ये दरे हबीब की बात है।
जिसे चाहा दर पे बुला लिया, जिसे चाहा अपना बना लिया।
ये बड़े करम के हैं फ़ैसले, ये बड़े नसीब की बात है ॥
The destination is not far from anywhere; neither is it near.
He may shower his grace on anyone he wants—
this decision comes from the Beloved.
He may call whomever he wants to his doorstep.
He may make whomever he likes his own.
These are decisions of great compassion.
It is a matter of great fortune for those who receive his grace.
~Qavvali by unknown author
The heart is the hub of all sacred places.
Go there and roam.
~Bhagavan Nityananda
ಉಳ್ಳವರು ಶಿವಾಲಯ ಮಾಡುವರು
ನಾನೇನ ಮಾಡಲಿ ಬಡವನಯ್ಯಾ.
ಎನ್ನ ಕಾಲೆ ಕಂಬ, ದೇಹವೇ ದೇಗುಲ,
ಶಿರವೇ ಹೊನ್ನ ಕಳಸವಯ್ಯ
ಕೂಡಲಸಂಗಮದೇವಾ, ಕೇಳಯ್ಯ
ಸ್ಥಾವರಕ್ಕಳಿವುಂಟು, ಜಂಗಮಕ್ಕಳಿವಿಲ್ಲ.
Those people who are wealthy build a temple for Lord Shiva.
But what can I do? I am a poor man.
My legs are the pillars.
My body is the temple
and my head is its golden cupola.
Listen, O Lord Kudala Sangamadeva,
the immovable perishes.
It is the movable that does not perish.
~Basavanna
He who is filled with love is filled with God himself.
~Saint Augustine
Nourished by discrimination,
discipline, charity, and kindness,
love grows.
~Baba Muktananda
तू मिला भी है, तू जुदा भी है तेरा क्या कहना
तू सनम भी है, तू ख़ुदा भी है तेरा क्या कहना
I have found you, and you are also separate from me.
How shall I sing your praises?
You are my beloved and you are also God.
How shall I sing your praises?
~Amir Khusro
प्रेम हरि कौ रूप है त्यौं हरि प्रेम सरूप।
एक होई द्वै यौं लसैं, ज्यौं सूरज अरु धूप॥
Love is of the form of the Lord,
and thus the Lord is of the form of love.
They are one, though they may seem separate,
like the sun and its light.
~Raskhan
Ich bin bei dir, du seist auch noch so ferne,
Du bist mir nah!
Die Sonne sinkt, bald leuchten mir die Sterne.
O wärst du da!
I am with you, however far away you be,
You are by my side!
The sun sets, soon the stars will shine for me.
Ah! Were you but here!
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
चित्ती पाय रूप डोळा।
मुखी नाम वेळोवेळा॥
May your lotus feet forever abide in my heart,
your form in my eyes,
and your name on my tongue.
~Sena
Hier ist das Wunder, das allen immer widerfährt,
die wirklich lieben; je mehr sie geben,
desto mehr besitzen sie von der kostbaren erhaltenden Liebe,
die Blumen und Kindern Stärke verleiht
und die allen Menschen helfen könnte,
wenn sie sie ohne Zweifel hinnähmen.
Here is the miracle that always happens to all who really love.
The more they give, the more they have
of that precious sustaining love
which gives strength to flowers and children,
and which could help all people
if they accepted it without any doubts.
~Rainer Maria Rilke
Any day
or any night
the heart may wander.
Recall that first moment
of surrender.
To renew the spirit of love
at every step,
at the hundredth step,
and at any misstep
refresh those promises,
the ones embedded
in your memories.
~Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
In ma ya moyol iuh quimati
in antepilhuan in ancuaht'anmocelo ah
mochipan titocnihuan zan cuel achic nican
timochi tonyazque o ye ichan.
Ohuaya ohuaya.
Let your hearts know,
O princes, O eagles and jaguars:
not forever will we be friends here,
only for a very brief moment
and then we all go away to His house.
Ohuaya ohuaya.
~Aztec poem
The syllables ohuaya ohuaya in the Nahuatl language serve as a musical coda, signaling the conclusion of a song or of a movement or verse in that song. These syllables have no translatable meaning. Rather, they provide rhythm and cadence to the song.
Gurumayi's Invitation
Gurumayi’s vision for this heart, which is formed by words for love in various languages and scripts, is that it be an invitation for your muse of creativity to shine forth. As you celebrate Gurumayi’s Love in Action 2019, be free to compose your own poem on love and write it in your journal.
The translation of the poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is by Richard Stokes, from his book The Book of Lieder (London: Faber and Faber, 2005).
The translation of the Aztec poem is from Ancient American Poets, translated and compiled by John Curl (Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Review Press, 2005).