I open my eyes from the timelessness inside to see images of Buddha, Krishna, Christ, Shiva and many other enlightened beings hanging up on the temple wall, and the chanting of ancient texts brings me back to myself with deeply healing vibrations.
Is the woman behind me a Hindu goddess? Is the lady to my left an Earth angel? I see one of the nuns leading the devotional singing. She sings from the heart and helps to raise the collective energy of the room, bringing in our higher selves, the god and goddess energies. It seems to me that she is a divine goddess, her life devoted to the inner self.
Now, I am passionate about the importance of living from the right hemisphere of philosophy, spirituality and unity consciousness so we do not rely solely on reason and logic, analysing everything into separation. While experiencing temple life at Skanda Vale Ashram, a multi-faith monastery with a mixture of Sisters, Brothers, Swamis, lay people, volunteers and pilgrims, my thoughts turned towards chants, mantras and language in general: everyone has a different way of perceiving the same concept. Here is a temple full of people trying to find ‘God’ and every single person will be having a completely different experience.
It is interesting that the nuns are called ‘sisters’ and the monks are ‘brothers’, whilst in my own community, too, we think of ourselves as one extended family, brothers and sisters on the same journey. At the events, healing sessions and workshops I attend, we call each other sister and brother, recognising the divine light inside. So I naturally found myself asking, what is the difference? In ashram life, the titles are used in a completely different context – and could potentially have different meanings from a religious perspective – yet is there any essential energetic difference? Intention and feeling are everything, so if calling someone ‘sister’ or ‘brother’ brings a feeling of love and unity consciousness, perhaps this is all that matters. In a world of duality and ambiguity of language, of over-analysis, it is time to return to the essence.
Skanda Vale is truly a beautiful example of how old paradigm religion and the New Age can exist harmoniously. When I saw a painting of what I would describe as an ‘alien sky god’, a Christ-like figure many would perceive as a ‘light being’ here to assist our evolution, I had a strong feeling of being safe, protected and not alone. My own work as a Reiki Master Teacher and shamanic healer allows me to communicate directly with beings on subtler dimensions, so this is what the painting meant for me. But many people have had no such direct mystical encounters and rely solely on faith and traditional religious teachings. Most are unaware that the divinity we attach to figures such as Christ is available within ourselves – within our very own DNA, cellular memory and consciousness. The intention of the ancient luminous ones mentioned above was to provide us with a living example of the level of consciousness we can achieve, a true Heaven on Earth.
For me, the vibration and energy of the temples during Puja service was uplifting, connected and truly divine, and each time I left I felt wonderful. It did not matter whether I ‘understood’ the words used or not. So it is the feeling that language evokes in us – the feeling of names such as Krishna, Buddha, Christ – that matters for our spiritual growth, rather than the language of feeling – the concepts we attach to our feelings. Recognising this would do so much to break down the barriers between faiths.
Music is of course also strongly connected to this theme. Indeed, in a sense it is the nature of everything because everything is frequency and vibration; on a subatomic level, particles flow together to create an interactive oneness of all existence. Our minds tune in to different frequencies, consciously or unconsciously, and it would be interesting to know what energetic experience each person in that temple was having!
One young man really made an impact on me: he was a permanent resident in the ashram with his wife and would play the drums during each Puja service. It was beautiful to watch him as he literally became the music, merging as one with Source. Observing him reminded me of those who enter a shamanic trance state to journey through other worlds. So it was fascinating when I had a conversation with him later about telepathy and using music to merge with Source as a form of communication, that he had no idea what I was talking about! He was simply creating his own reality and affecting those around him through his merging with the music and by the vibrations he was sending out. He was using his energy to communicate his feeling, a divine representation of God energy. Yet from a ‘left brain perspective’, using reason to describe the whole experience, he was very confused by my suggestion, as if I were speaking a different language altogether…
The soul is eternal and one with the external
so when in tune with the universal music that surrounds us
we see time’s cycle disappear
and everything exists as one sound.
Tunes are playing frequently through body, mind and soul,
we sense them fully, instantly
for we are the music’s notes.
And within the silence
free from all desires,
the higher mind reminds us
we are loved, powerful and appreciated,
comforted with loving words in rhyme.
(Extract from A Message from Source)
Grace Gabriella Puskas is the author of A Message from Source,
winner the 2014 Local Legend Spiritual Writing Competition.
www.local-legend.co.uk
She guides poetic meditations for healing in both the UK and abroad,
and holds healing workshops, sacred attunements and shamanic ceremonies.
Find her at gracegabriella33.wixsite.com/grace
