Jijivisha

On page 21 of this talk Gurumayi speaks about the life in the “sinewy thread spun round and round by a silkworm.” When I was a child, some friends and I kept silkworms. On our way home from school we would climb the mulberry trees to collect leaves for the silkworms to eat. I remember well the great feeling of excitement as I lifted the lid of their box and watched them eating the leaves. And then, after some time, I watched as they wound the glistening thread round and round their bodies until they had each created a beautiful cocoon. Even at that young age I had the wonderful feeling of their jijivisha, connecting with that in my own body and heart.
 

London, United Kingdom

Recently I walked through the small forest in my backyard, and as I sat on a bench, my shawl accidentally brushed against a trail of ants that had gathered there. This interruption sent their disciplined march into chaos as they defensively fled for safety.  
 
I immediately thought of Gurumayi's teachings about jijivisha. Even the tinest insects have the virtue of jijivisha, "the fervent desire to live life." This brief encounter reminded me that the jijivisha of all living things should be honored and respected.
 

Georgia, United States

I read this talk with the understanding that Gurumayi is talking directly to me. She writes that “Your clarity will serve as a lighthouse for others.” Yet my experience is that it is her clarity that serves as a lighthouse for me so that I may better contemplate and understand jijivisha.
 
Jijivisha validates the journey I am on to honor the life I live—and to live it with the awareness of the gifts I am constantly given by Gurumayi.
 

Massachusetts, United States

I am amazed, comforted, and deeply moved by Gurumayi's talk on jijivisha. And it came at the perfect moment for me.
 
Starting tomorrow, I intend to apply this gift from Gurumayi in three ways. I will reread her talk and write the prayer Gurumayi gave us in my journal. Every day I will repeat and write this word I have just learned— jijivisha, jijivisha, jijivisha—for there is power in this word. And, to learn how to release my fears, I will contemplate and reflect on what Gurumayi said about one’s comfort zone.
 
I am sincerely grateful to have received the perfect teaching from the perfect Master at the perfect moment.
 

Paris, France

I woke up in the middle of the night and was wide awake. I began silently repeating jijivisha. After a half-dozen repetitions, energy began surging in my chest area. As it grew more and more pronounced, I focused my attention on it in order to fully experience it and grasp its nature.
 
As I did so, my perception shifted. All at once, I was the experiencer, the act of experiencing, and the experience undifferentiated. The power of jijivisha became manifest.  
 

Washington, United States

As I was reading this powerful talk by Gurumayi on jijivisha, I had the understanding that jiva, the individual soul, carries within it the remembrance of its innate divinity. I reached this conclusion from Lord Krishna’s telling Arjuna, “I am the seed of all beings,” and from Gurumayi’s teaching that “jijivisha has immortal life” and is always within me, forever “glowing like quiet embers.”

I am immensely grateful for this talk.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The timing of this talk was perfect for me; it brought me such clarity for my sadhana, and helped me to cope with a seemingly enormous challenge. My experience of reading Gurumayi’s words fortified my inner experience of how I am held in the Guru's hand as I move through my world. Indeed, I know I am in the Guru's boat as her teachings carry me across the sea of samsara.  
 
I'm so grateful for these encouraging words that serve so beautifully to remind me of who and where I am.
 

Florida, United States

Watching a documentary about Yellowstone National Park gave me an instructive example of how jijivisha manifests in the animal kingdom. It showed some young bear cubs leaving a secure riverbank and following their mother into the cold, rapid current of the turbulent river, in order to reach safety on the other side.
 
Similarly, I understand that, in order to attain liberation, I must set aside secondary objectives (like staying in my comfort zone) and follow the Sadguru’s teachings—with all the energy and vigor of my own jijivisha—while crossing the turbulent ocean of worldly existence.
 

Rodez, France

Gurumayi’s talk on jijivisha gave me great insight on how to embrace the entire year of 2020 with heightened awareness, so that in whatever external situation I may encounter, I will always recall that the light within me beckons me to turn within. Jijivisha also helps me understand that nothing in the world around me is everlasting, and the importance of sincerely acknowledging every human being that I come across in my daily interactions.
 

Bedford Gardens, South Africa

This is the second time I have read this talk by Gurumayi, and once again my heart is full of gratitude for the compassion and encouragement in Gurumayi's words. They remind me of my core nature and capacity during what is deep mid-winter where I live. As I am writing this, the sun has come out both within my heart as well as outside, shining through the clouds. I am filled with enthusiasm for both my inner and outer next steps in 2020 and this lifetime.
 

New York, United States

Gurumayi's words landed straight in my heart and tears of recognition flowed. They spoke to my life's circumstances these past two years. Over that time I have experienced loss of loved ones, and yet I observe myself moving on more and more each day. I am being propelled to re-create my life and dive deeper into my purpose and how I can offer my gifts to the world. The jijivisha in me is getting me through all the phases of grief as well as the re-creation of my life. I am surprised by my soul's own steadfastness to keep going in spite of the challenges. My prayer is that I imbibe the guidance that Gurumayi has given me in this talk.
 

New York, United States

In the midst of feeling less connected to my inner being, I suddenly had a strong motivation to clean the area in my home where I meditate. Once I started cleaning, my effort evolved into a major undertaking that left my puja and meditation area sparkling. More importantly, this act of service firmly reconnected my awareness to my inner light. Jijivisha came to me in the form of grace that has refreshed my resolution on this glorious path.  I am so grateful for Gurumayi’s nurturing and healing presence in my life.
 

Georgia, United States

How much beauty is in Gurumayi’s talk, how precise is its language, how needed its meaning, and how much clarity, wisdom and kindness I experience in each word! Reading this talk was for me like speaking to a dear friend who knows me so well.

Only this morning, before opening the website, I thought about how I miss the feeling of curiosity and excitement for life that I had in my younger years. I sometimes experience trepidation about leaving my comfort zone when challenges arise. Gurumayi’s prayer and guidance to live life with courage and clarity, continually accessing the power of jijivisha, felt like sweet, pure water nourishing my heart.
 

California, United States

In meditation this morning I invited the energy of jijivisha to come into my awareness. This invitation arose in response to challenges I am experiencing. An image arose in my mind: I was playing in a swimming pool, attempting to submerge a basketball in the water. I was using all my strength. My arms were straight and forceful, but I could only keep the ball underwater briefly. Irrepressibly, the ball would shoot up to the water’s surface. It was a real struggle, and ultimately unwinnable. I sensed that this was the power of jijivisha: irrepressible, unable to be held back--this will to live, this vigor and force. After meditation, the image stayed with me. Sensing this potent energy inside of me, even in the face of hardship, I experience that the buoyancy of life is stronger.
 

Rhode Island, United States

Gurumayi's talk deeply strengthened my resolve and my enthusiasm to pursue sadhana. A health issue that I've experienced for the past several years has made life feel challenging at times. Recently, I had the insight that fear was permeating and distorting my perspective, and I have had a strong impulse to transcend it. I've felt as if I was starting over as a small bud pushing through the earth. I now feel a strong conviction that through practicing jijivisha, I will be able to inspire others.
 

Connecticut, United States

Gurumayi’s talk led me to reflect on how connected I am to the universal grace and power of the Guru! Gurumayi’s words felt like a remedy for every ailment in my head and heart and like an answer to every question in my mind. I have memorized the prayer that Gurumayi gave us, and this has helped me reflect on it again and again as I go through the day. I realize that jijivisha is a blessing in itself. It is the pulsating grace in my life which propels me to live, laugh, go through situations with my head held high and to also have fun and smile, experiencing my life as a blessing from God. I pray that I stay connected to this understanding by making the right effort.
 

Mumbai, India

After reading Gurumayi’s inspiring talk, a feeling of deep gratitude arose in my heart. Her words shed light on this power that lies within me, and awakened my awareness to rely on jijivisha as I pursue my goals.
 
My work and practice, as I understand it now, is to learn to connect with jijivisha—and with the excitement, courage, and enthusiasm that reside within me—each and every day of my life, even at times of adverse conditions.
 
The story of the orchid exemplified this capacity for me and mirrored a story from my own life. Last September, I sadly observed my orchid lose its flowers. To my surprise, this morning, in the middle of winter, I saw four tiny buds emerging. What an incredible present! 
 

Madrid, Spain

This is the perfect teaching I needed to receive from Gurumayi!
 
Recently I was feeling a bit like a wet log—dampened—as if something in my life was missing. This talk showed me clearly that jijivisha is forever within me, and that nothing is missing.
 
I was so inspired by the story about the orchid. It was touching to hear about the care with which the Siddha Yogi nurtured it, keeping his mind from rationalizing that the orchid’s life was over, and then, after twenty years, seeing it bloom again!
 
This story shows me that I can perceive everything that life offers me as the perfect gift sent by Gurumayi, and it is up to me to treat each situation with respect, faith, and patience before I can experience its fruit.
 
This talk on jijivisha will be my guiding light.
 

Hosur, India

My heart swelled up with indescribable joy and gratitude as I read Gurumayi’s inspiring words: “Your clarity will serve as a lighthouse for others — jijivisha.” It became crystal-clear to me! How blessed I am to serve as a light to those who cross my path. 
 

St. Laurent, Canada

When I was a little girl, I had many dreams and aspirations. As I grew up, I was told that they were utopian, idealistic, impractical, and philosophical, and they were made to seem undoable, unattainable. So it was most heartwarming, to say the least, when I heard the same dreams and aspirations being supported by my beloved Guru in her talk on jijivisha.
 
My heart feels so much contentment and solace that having Gurumayi in my life feels like a homecoming in every way for my thirsty soul. I feel so blessed that my dreams of wanting to spread the goodness of my heart is exactly how I get connected with my beloved Guru.
 

Mumbai, India

The way that Gurumayi describes some difficult situations in this talk matches precisely the situation in my professional work environment. I have been constantly asking myself how to approach these seemingly mountain-like problems that surface daily. For example, is it my role to clean up the mess which was due to decisions made by others?
 
I have observed that what has helped me every time to rise above the problems was working on myself, going deeper into my own light. This has enabled me not only to thrive but also to triumph over the challenges. Reading Gurumayi’s talk has helped me to understand that it is the quality of jijivisha that has supported me in these situations, and which can guide me in the future.  
 

Pune, India

What a beautiful gift from Gurumayi! When I first began the talk and saw this huge boulder, I immediately recognized that boulder, so strong and immovable, as a part of me. Jijivisha—I have always felt you within myself.
 
Gurumayi talks about life with all its bounty of goodness and light and she also talks about the most difficult parts of life, and of struggles to survive. For me my life has been on the struggle side, due to much illness and other serious challenges. But honestly, I would do it all over again—because it has meant that I have met my pure strength to keep living and loving. It was always there in my determination and perseverance, but hidden, or maybe I just ignored it to stay in my comfort zone.
 
I still struggle to live life “easefully,” but my strength, my jijivisha—in helping to give to others the best that I can—is life itself, and I'm living it as though God is with me as my jijivisha.
 

Florida, United States

I read this with an overwhelming sense of love. I felt Gurumayi imploring me to go deeper, to grasp every millisecond of my life. I also thought about my sister, who is gravely ill, who still finds the time to remind me—yes, me, who feels like the ever-observant one—to check the moon out. She says, “Did you see the sun today? Did you hear the rain last night?”
 
As I took in Gurumayi's words, gratitude for her guidance swept over me, strengthening my resolve to make my life shine brightly, just like the stars my sister directs me to check out.  
 

London, United Kingdom

What a wonderful, timely talk by our beloved Gurumayi, which I needed very much at this moment of my life.
 
I have set goals for my sadhana and for a project I am pursuing, but I was usually staying within my comfort zone. Recently I happened to come across my earlier journals and was astonished to note that I possess a treasurehouse of beautiful sadhana experiences, thanks to the Guru’s grace and my self-effort. So I wondered, “Why am I slackening right now?”
 
Now Gurumayi’s talk has filled me again with jivat, the “vigor, vitality, courage of the heart” that Gurumayi speaks of. I have recorded the prayer she has recommended in my journal and I review it daily to make its imprint on my heart permanent. I am very grateful to Gurumayi for this awakening right at the beginning of the new year.
 

Udaipur, India

Gurumayi’s talk spoke directly to my situation. After losing my dear husband several months ago, I realized that I had to go deeper into my own inner Self to get over this loss. I was experiencing that feeling of “there’s nothing left for me to do in this world.”
 
Yet these tender feelings inside me really let me understand Gurumayi’s words in their fullness, and helped me see how the passage of time has led me to even more confidence and faith in this path than ever before, and to the deepening of my sadhana.
 
For me it is also sadhana to become aware of the life around me and of the living power inside myself: to remember jijivisha and experience it through the Siddha Yoga practices.
 
I thank Gurumayi for her presence and her wisdom.
 

Offenbach, Germany

For the last several months I have had to deal with quite a few challenges, one after the other. I have had to learn to live outside my comfort zone. Each challenge has required more strength, courage, and perseverance.
 
Gurumayi’s talk has been a confirmation and a reminder that I have what it takes to accept and go through these challenges. Living outside my comfort zone has helped me to experience the teachings on a deeper level. Instead of letting my mind create frightening scenarios of what may happen, I remember God, the Guru, and the mantra more often and I experience their protection.
 

Willemstad, Curaçao

When I was very young, the ups and downs of everyday life and my frustration at my failures often made me plunge into a state of resignation and apathy. At these times a recurring phrase would inexplicably appear from nowhere and begin to inhabit my thoughts insistently: “I am here to achieve higher goals in my life! I am in this world to do something else!”

These thoughts, today as in the past, renew perseverance in me and support me in refocusing my energies on the most important and profound aspects of my life. And so I recognize that it is jijivisha that has always given me one of its precious rays of sunshine, illuminating my way.
 
Thank you, Gurumayi, for always helping me to remember and make sense of my experiences through your precious teachings.
 

Carena, Switzerland

Jijivisha! How beautiful to know you exist! How heartening to hear you named! Reading Gurumayi's words filled me with hope and serenity, energy and calm in equal measure.  
 
Many parts of the talk encouraged and inspired me. As a person living with a disability, one of the many sections that touched my heart was Gurumayi’s description of the efforts of disabled people. Her words did much to ease my concerns about whether my ever-narrowing physical world, and all its seemingly mundane challenges, “count” and have value. Those words bring me greater peace and acceptance, and a refreshed way of viewing my journey with disability as part of my life.
 

Murrumbeena, Australia

This magnificent rock, enduring ages of geological and climatic wear, reveals its strength, beauty, and vitality—its jijivisha.
 
This spirit, through countless lifetimes—wearing body after body—with grace reveals its strength, beauty, and vitality—its jijivisha.
 

California, United States

After reading Gurumayi's inspiring talk and contemplating it, a wish ignited within me. My wish, for 2020 and beyond, is to live my life according to the prayer Gurumayi wrote for us. I wish, in every moment of my life, to strengthen my remembrance and experience of jijivisha and to align all my actions to this experience.  
 

South Yarra, Australia

Over the years my apartment has become the home to many "rescue" plants, some flowering and some not. All of them have survived and have brought me great pleasure and joy.  This afternoon—before I had read Gurumayi's talk—I rescued yet another plant that had been discarded in our recycling room: a two-stemmed orchid, which I quickly pruned and placed in my window next to two other orchids.  
 
Imagine my great surprise and joy at seeing this "coincidence" as I read Gurumayi’s talk. I have no doubt that, thanks to its own jijivisha, I will see this orchid bloom in the not-too- distant future.  
 

Vancouver, Canada

I am grateful to Gurumayi for her blessings every day. Indeed, my “orchid” is coming back to life, as are my body and my spirit. I was hospitalized twice with a serious disease, and only the mantra in my heart and playing near me kept me in a good state and thinking of Gurumayi and all her grace in my life. So I have totally lived the experience she describes so beautifully in this talk. 
 

Colima, Mexico

Through the power of Guru’s grace and the teachings in this talk, I have now awakened to increasing clarity about this great gift—and the responsibility that goes along with it. I have taken to heart and written down the prayer offered by Gurumayi to strengthen me and “enable me to put forth the right effort in my sadhana” each day and throughout the unfolding new year and decade. 
 

Washington, United States

Since the morning of New Year's Day, I've been contemplating my experience of waking with joy and anticipation to greet the first sunrise of the year. I felt such a tender and sweet longing toward that light. I had the sensation of absolute confidence that greeting the sun would be the best, no matter how the day was adorned—whether with blue sky or with clouds.
 
I've repeatedly been contemplating this freshness, saying to myself, "Yes! This can be a practice I invoke throughout each day. I must remember this!" Now, having received the gift of Gurumayi’s talk on jijivisha, I realize, “Ah, jijivisha! This is what it was and what it is—jijivisha!
 
Thank you so much, Gurumayi, for giving me this gift that I can hold close.
 

New York, United States

Gurumayi’s teachings about jijivisha have inspired me to move on in my life with courage, clarity, and love. In reading her words, I felt she was talking to me directly.  
 

Maryland, United States

After a great loss, I did indeed “become despondent” and felt like everything was over in my life. Yet I always believed in my Guru. Today, after reading Gurumayi’s talk about jijivisha, I felt a zeal to live my life as Gurumayi describes it in her talk.
 
May we all be blessed to live life to the fullest and do our sadhana with jijivisha!
 

Noida, India

Gurumayi’s teachings in this talk have galvanized my spirit. This guidance is such a timely reminder for me of what is real, what is relevant, what is required to attain my life purpose.
 

California, United States

This talk couldn't have come at a better time for me. Being pushed out of my comfort zone is indeed scary, but with Gurumayi’s teachings, life continues to be an adventure filled with light. I'm now asking myself, “What is the new adventure of the Self—as me? Let's do it!”
 
I am so grateful to Gurumayi for always answering all the questions I hold in my heart, and for showering me with blessings in so many ways.
 

Bracebridge, Canada

What joy, what a pleasure, what excitement—to read these words of Gurumayi's, revealing the depths of the passion we feel for life, the divine nature of that sparkling, gemlike, reverberant vibration within us, the eagerness for more understanding that keeps our sadhana going! 
 
All my Guru needs to do is articulate it, and the whole—like laughter— bubbles up to the surface of my awareness again. I feel years and years fall away.
 

Wisconsin, United States

I am very grateful to Gurumayi for this talk, for she has put a name to something I have been experiencing for a long time.  For the past three years I have been very ill and life has been very challenging. Despite all that, something has always kept me going: the will to live. 
 
I am fully grateful for Gurumayi's grace in my life.  It supports me and gives me jijivisha—the will to keep going. 
 

London, United Kingdom

What an inspiring talk! Jijivisha will now become my twin brother, my best companion.
 
I feel such boundless power in Gurumayi’s blessing to pursue a life with the guidance of its light. I am moved by the countless possibilities and miracles manifesting within my life when I follow the current of jijivisha. May I surf this current with my whole being! May this Truth be my daily food! My heart is overwhelmed by gratitude.
 

Milan, Italy