Achariya George Adams
Speaks on "The Good Life"
Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 11:00am
How many times have we heard someone say that so and so is living the good life. Usually, when we hear those words we think of a life of leisure, health, wealth and material comforts, a life without worries or problems. This, however, is a limited view of life and its goodness. The word “Good” has its origin in the word “God.” So our subject could just as easily be “The God Life” or we could say more correctly that “God is life!” or “Life is God.”
This Sunday, we will go beyond the limited materialistic view of our life and view our life in its totality. We will look at our life from the perspective of the God centered life. We will address questions such as: What is our spiritual mission in life? How can we tap the happiness and joy that exists within us? By life, do we mean just this earthly existence or are we on a greater journey through the various planes of consciousness? We will also consider the importance of love and service and what the Messengers of God had to say about the Good life. Most importantly, we will consider the nature and role of God, our Soul, within and without, and how that realization of Soul leads to “The Good Life!”
—Achariya George
From the Gurus and Swamis: AUM
"Life is already perfect, but as humans our destiny is to realize and thereby consciously attain to that perfection. There is a process of consciousness which can be called 'learning to live,' and that process, simply, is religion in its purest and most universal meaning. Art is the perfection of self-expression, and religion can be described as the art of living--living so as to perfectly experience and express the divinity of soul,"
—Swami Kamalananda, "Frontiers of the Spirit," p.139
"The glory of God is great. He is real, and He can be found....Silently and surely, as you walk on the path of life, you must come to the realization that God is the only object, the only goal that will satisfy you; for in God lies the answer to every desire of the heart."
—Swami Paramahansa Yogananda, "How You Can Talk with God"
"God, give me thy light that I always may carry it in my heart and illumine my life with truth and vision, love and peace."
—Swami Premananda, "The Inner Path to God"
"I fill the cup of life with divine libation,
I am the soma juice of inspiration,
the nectar of sweet love,
the elixir of vigor and strength,
the healing balm of compassion,
the fountain of eternal youth,
the shaman's potion of harmony and peace.
Who will drink of my heavenly bliss?"
—Srimati Kamala, "Frontiers of the Spirit, Hymn to Saraswati" (p. 184)
Noble Thoughts: ("Let Noble Thoughts come to us from all sides." —Rigveda)
"I am life. I am the reality of consciousness. Meditate upon me as immortality, eternal life and bliss. Life and immortality are essentially the same. Immortality is bliss. Immortality gives existence to soul Bliss is realized in everlasting life. Consciousness, the pure intelligence, reveals the truth. He who meditates upon me as eternal life and bliss, lives in peace on earth and attains bliss and immortality in the world of divine perfection and glory."
—Swami Premananda, "Light on Kriya Yoga," translated into English from the original Sanskrit
"As soon as you start to pursue a dream, your life wakes up
and everything has meaning."
—Barbara Sher
"Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves
come when life seems most challenging."
—Joseph Campbell