*5/4/23 - Morning Meditation & Satsang with Gurudev from Los Angeles Center*

 *5/4/23 - Morning Meditation & Satsang with Gurudev from Los Angeles Center*

It is Narsimha Jayanti today. Narsimha is story of divine that emerged out of a pillar to grace the devotion of a little boy whose father was very egotistic.

There was silent meditation that started with three OMs and ended with Gurudev playing a prayer chant written by Adi Shankara - Sri lakshmi Narsimha Karavalamba strotram. 

Gurudev said Adi Shankara was a genius psychologist. He wrote prayers assuming the spirit of devotees expressing the ups & downs experienced by a devotee and through those challenges rather than blaming others. 

Adi Shankara showed that praying the divine was the way to go, he showed graceful way out of a mind full of greed, lust, insecurity. Gurudev explained the essence of today’s prayer-chant that he had played. “Oh divine lend me your hand & pull me up. I am slipping into this dark, filthy well, oh divine give me your hand and pull me up. When I climb this tree of samsara, there are many thorns to face, oh divine give me your hand and pull me up”. 

Adi Shankara would write prayer strotras (not mantras) for many different occasions with totally different tones. In another prayer tone. Adi Shankara wrote, “Oh mother, you are divine, your son can be bad but mother can never be bad, please bestow your compassion and protect take me. I am immature”.

In yet another prayer tone Adi Shankara wrote “Oh god, I know you have lots of responsibilities, you are extremely busy. You do not have time, but do not forget me, keep your grace on me. 

Adi Shankara assumed the spirit of the devotees and showed them how being prayerful through the tough times is the way to go and we pray not to seek solutions and not to ask that solutions be granted right away. 

Rather just pray and be understanding that prayers are not to ask solutions rather understanding that praying itself is the solution being prayerful takes us out of that mindset of blaming, complaining & grumbling. 

Then Gurudev talked about the  Ponniyin Selvan 2 movie that is made by a devotee, our cool Guru  went to watch that movie yesterday with bunch of devotees. Gurudev gave his review, he had hoped to see the big temple etc in the movie. 

He talked about the history of the king who had made big temple in Tanjore and also in Columbia, how Gurudev did Vigyan Bhairav in that temple in 2016 for freeing the soul of that king. 

Gurudev said he has designed a new two day teachers refresher course with nine new processes in it. He was laughing out when he was listening to teachers - they were constantly judging and expressing what can be improved. 

Things can always be improved further, more can always be learned, however there can also be time where you just be, just enjoy what is however it is, you dont need to be constantly judging, unless you are asked to judge, just be, just enjoy what is. 

He was saying once they become teachers its hard for them to become students. Teachers should remain students.