Achariya George Adams
Speaks on "Our Father"
Sunday, June 19, 2016 at 11:00am
In recognition of "Father’s Day," we have chosen for this Sunday’s meditation, the subject “Our Father.”
We begin our meditation with gratitude to God for the life and example of our earthly Fathers. Each of us has special memories of our relationship with our father that we treasure in our hearts, and on this special day, we extend our love and thankfulness for his life, idealism, example, love and gift of our life.
There are other “Fathers” for whom we should be grateful. These are the “father figures” who have influenced our journey through life by their example and who have inspired us along the way. We also extend our gratitude to these “Fathers” as well.
In addition, we extend a special thankfulness to God for the life, guidance and ideal of our “spiritual fathers." These God-realized individuals include such enlightened souls as the Gurus, Buddha, Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi and the many other spiritual lights that have graced our life. In particular, I know that the fellow devotees of our Church are immensely grateful to Swami Premananda and Swami Yogananda for their spiritual home.
Finally, we thank God, our Father, for the most precious gift of all, the gift of our Soul. God in me is my Soul. God in you is Your Soul. You and I are sons and daughters of God. We are one in Soul.
Jesus of Christ Consciousness used the metaphor of “Our Father” to communicate this Truth to his followers. This Sunday we will explore this metaphor in its many facets.
Please join us! All are Welcome!
—Achariya George
From the Gurus and Swamis: AUM
“Look at the great and spiritual work of the Kriyaban Jesus: 'The Father in me doeth the works,' he said with wisdom, humility and inspiration. He taught his disciples to meditate. He initiated them into the light of Kriya, and he gave them the charge of bringing the greatest ministry the world can receive from any servant of God: 'Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven'."
—"The Mystic Cross" by Swami Kamalananda
“O God, thou Father of the universe,
The whole creation is thy manifestation.
Heaven and earth proclaim thy glory.
In the immensity of space and the eternity of time,
The sun, the stars and the planets play thy mystic symphony.
O thou Almighty,
Thy will guides the destiny of creation,
Life moves in obedience to thy command.
O thou omnipresent Being,
Thy presence permeates all.
Thy harmony shapes the beauty of the universe.
Thy love fills it with peace and joy.
Inspire us to realize thy beauty, love, peace and joy Everywhere.
But let us realize thy glory within us first,
For thou art the soul of man, as of all created beings."
—"Prayers of Self-Realization" by Swami Premananda
"Never was it born, nor will it ever die. Nor, having existence, will it cease to be. Birthless, deathless and changeless is the Self. Without beginning, without end, self-existing , it pervades all. It is not destroyed with the dissolution of form.
"The Realization of the supreme Self, which is indestructible, eternal, without beginning and without end, destroys the illusion that the self is annihilated at the highest state of self-realization."
—The "Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita," Spiritual Interpretation by Swami Premananda
Noble Thoughts:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me.”
“The Father within me doeth the works.”
“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."
“The Kingdom of Heaven cometh not with observation.
The Kingdom of heaven is within."
“My Father’s house has many mansions. I go now to
prepare a place for you that where I am ye may be
also.”
“None come to the Father except by the son.”
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and thy
neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets.”
Jesus of Christ Consciousness
"Eternal, imperishable and infinite is Brahman, the supreme Self. The wise and the ignorant both live in his cosmic existence. Ignorance is the cause of sense identification and delusion. Wisdom leads to self-liberation and immortality, but the supreme Self transcends all conditions of duality."
—"Svetasvatara Upanishad," Chapter V, verse 1
"My consciousness has reached immortality, the illusion of death has vanished away. AUM: I remember the state of my illumined Self, I remember."
—"ISHA Upanishad," verse 17