Changing Oneself Swami Sukhabodhananda

Changing Oneself

Swami Sukhabodhananda

Prayer is not changing God. Prayer is changing oneself. A lot of people feel by praying, we remind God as to what he has to do to us. In a temple, one rings a bell. It is not to wake God, but to awaken the God within. God exists within, but the five layers that have not opened are like closed doors. Prayer is to open these inner layers of ourselves. If we are depleted, there is leakage of energy. We then try to draw energy from our partner. Each one starts sapping the other’s energy. Thus we become dependent on the other. The other feels miserable if one is dependent and saps one’s energy. Then one becomes possessive. No one likes to be possessed. Freedom is our birthright. We feel bound if someone possesses us. This leads to pushing the partner out of the freedom zone. The partner feels rejected. This rejected self will maintain a mental score and will wait to settle scores in the times to come. By this, a war of roses will occur. But if you have tapped all the five layers within you, you will overflow with joy. Share joy but not beg for it. You will not sap the energy of the other as you are already overflowing. You will neither be dependent on the other nor be independent. But if you learn to be interdependent, your partner will feel a sense of belonging. The relationship will reach new heights when you open your body, prana, mind, intellect and bliss centres. One has to get out of addictive demands in a relationship. Husband and wife are usually lost in their demands and thus miss the ‘here and now.’ Being present ‘here and now’ creates a different ‘presence.’ A spouse whether alone or with the partner should know how to be present ‘here and now.’ Understand the distinction between demand and preference. Demand makes one rigid and overpowering... meaning without, this, ‘I’ refuse to be happy, while preference makes one light and inclusive… means ‘I’ prefer this, but if it does not happen it is OK. It makes one more flexible. Another sign of an enlightened relationship is an understanding that happiness is within. A partner is one who helps you to go within. ‘The kingdom of heaven is within you,’ quotes the Bible. ‘Happiness is within us,’ declares the Gita. www.prasanatrust.org