With each Message that Gurumayi Chidvilasananda has imparted annually since 1991, she has provided us with means to enter the heart of our being, access our inner power, and take actions that are for the benefit of the world we live in. And the timely importance of the Message that Gurumayi gave on the first day of this year, in Sweet Surprise 2020, has become ever more apparent as the year has unfolded.
Gurumayi’s Message for 2020 is Ᾱtmā kī Prashānti. Peacefulness of the Self.
As I listened to Gurumayi give her Message in Sweet Surprise 2020, my attention was drawn to the deep resonance and freedom of her voice. It seemed to me that Gurumayi was speaking and singing from a space deep within her being, while guiding us to discover that same space within ourselves.
Since then, I’ve participated in Sweet Surprise numerous times. Each time I’ve participated, it has become more and more clear to me that each word Gurumayi speaks in the satsang, each phrase she sings, each teaching she imparts, is emanating from the place of profound safety and serenity to which it is leading us.
Each of the Siddha Yoga students—whose Reflections on Gurumayi’s Message you will have the opportunity to read on these pages—set out to follow one teaching Gurumayi gave during the satsang. It might be one of the questions she asked us to explore, the way she introduced chanting the mantra, the teaching in the bhajan she sang, her dharana leading us into meditation—even one word she spoke, or what she conveyed through her silence. Each student held the understanding that by assiduously following any one of these teachings or practices that Gurumayi imparted in Sweet Surprise 2020, they could enrich their comprehension of Gurumayi’s Message and experience transformation in the various aspects of their lives and sadhana. Invariably, over time, just as following any moonbeam will lead one’s eye to the source of that light, their steadfast efforts drew their awareness toward the radiance and serenity at the heart of their being.
As they continued with their sustained and focused explorations, their practice often bore fruit in unexpected ways. These discoveries lifted their spirits and also awed them with the renewed awareness that they were in the presence of grace.
A significant benefit that each of the writers has shared is that even during these times of global instability, they were becoming more anchored in steadiness and tranquility. Guided by Gurumayi’s Message, and trusting in the power her grace has awakened within them, they recognized they were becoming empowered as bearers of peace in a perilous time.
After reading these Reflections on Gurumayi’s Message, you may be inspired to explore for yourself a teaching one of the writers practiced. You might even return to Sweet Surprise 2020 and pay closer attention to that teaching and how Gurumayi conveys it. Then you can do what these writers did: focus on that teaching, or another teaching or practice from Sweet Surprise 2020, explore it deeply, record your discoveries, and carry them forward into your sadhana and daily life.
You may already have been reflecting deeply on Gurumayi’s Message or one of the teachings or practices Gurumayi gives in Sweet Surprise 2020. If so, sharing what you’ve been learning might be valuable to other Siddha Yoga students. Click on the “Share your experience” link below. In this way, you can inspire others to enrich their own experiences and understandings of Gurumayi’s Message.