The heart, in the spiritual sense, means the heart centre, the Anahat Chakra. It is located in the chest centre, in the subtle body near the physical heart. Hence it is also called as the heart chakra. But the psychic being is still deeper. It refers to the inmost soul within us and is the psychological centre of the human being. It is our true being, our true individual self, a portion of the Divine within us. One of the ways to discover the psychic being is concentration in the chest upon the Divine Presence.
At the Feet of The Mother
Daily Offerings from Alokda
Notes and Reflections (9 of 19)
Sri Aurobindo hints at this ‘something else’ in the Synthesis of Yoga. He writes, ‘The supreme Shastra of the integral Yoga is the eternal Veda secret in the heart of every thinking and living being. The lotus of the eternal knowledge and the eternal perfection is a bud closed and folded up within us. It opens swiftly or gradually, petal by petal, through successive realisations, once the mind of man begins to turn towards the Eternal, once his heart, no longer compressed and confined by attachment to finite appearances, becomes enamoured, in whatever degree, of the Infinite. All life, all thought, all energising of the faculties, all experiences passive or active, become thenceforward so many shocks which disintegrate the teguments of the soul and remove the obstacles to the inevitable efflorescence. He who chooses the Infinite has been chosen by the Infinite. He has received the divine touch without which there is no awakening, no opening of the spirit; but once it is received, attainment is sure, whether conquered swiftly in the course of one human life or pursued patiently through many stadia of the cycle of existence in the manifested universe.’
Songs of the Soul: September 23, 2026
Sweet and infinite Mother, Mother Divine, Maa, all our being is offered to Thee with gratitude. Maa, gratitude for not only giving us enough to maintain our physical existence but much more so for awakening us to the true spiritual life without which none of the material gifts have any real value. Maa, we are surely not here, only to somehow exist, driven by the moment’s needs or the sting of desires. We are here to strive for the Highest, the Truest, the noblest the most Beautiful. The birth of this aspiration itself is such a joy and a privilege. Without it, life would be so absurd and meaningless. Gratitude for igniting this aspiration in us.
Maa, gratitude for granting us the greatest of all treasures, the gift of faith. For without faith human life is such a misery. Faith makes us strive for the seemingly impossible. Faith indeed is the secret driver of the flame of aspiration.
Maa, above all gratitude for awakening us to Love, love for Thee in our heart and even more so Thy Love for us. Maa, these three, aspiration, faith, love open the doors of Thy infinite Grace and nothing seems impossible with these powers that are indeed indispensable. Without them life is nothing more than another form of animal existence. With these, life gets empowered to grow beyond even the human to the divine superhuman heights.
Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa
I feel an urge to help the poor, but don’t have much resources, what should I do?
The impulse to help others can stem from any of the four states with resultant different effects. Help done under tamas is an unthinking help done without giving due consideration to the real causes of the suffering. Thus, a poor person may be in a state of poverty because he is too overcome by inertia to bring in the desired effort. Economic help in such a case (granted it is a genuine case and not dramatised to extract money) only increases the inertia. Rajasic help is done usually with the idea of some name or to earn merit. It only ends up bloating the ego. The only help truly worth anything is the sattwic help done with due consideration and thought as not to encourage inertia or wrong tendencies through the money given. The best help however is when we empower and equip the person inwardly to manage his affairs rather than weakening his own capacity to make effort. In any case it your own financial condition is not good enough then it is best not to rush into providing monetary help.
Notes and Reflections (8 of 19)
How does knowledge begin. Reading books, one would perhaps say. But we see as a living testimony in the Vedas, knowledge, the highest Knowledge was accessible and could even be transmitted through a living experience, before the first book was ever written. Clearly it is not books but something else that is most important.
Songs of the Soul: September 22, 2026
Sweet and infinite Mother, Mother Divine, Maa, the more we progress upon the Path, the more alone one becomes. But this aloneness is deeply delightful because it is when we are most alone that we are ready to discover Thee. And when we have found Thee, then all loneliness is filled and replaced by Thy Presence in all things and everywhere. It is as if one is at home everywhere because Thou art everywhere with us. One feels everyone as one’s own because all are something of Thyself, a portion of Thee. It is then impossible to harbour inimical thoughts and feelings for anyone. The whole world discloses Thee and all the different objects and facets are as if aspects of Thee that suddenly reveal their secret.
Maa, the whole world speaks of Thee, reveals Thee to one who is ready to listen. But we are too drowned in the noises of the world, especially of the surface life that is in constant agitation. Yet within all, behind all there is Thy luminous, wonderful Presence, Thy Presence that is the Source of everything, the Source of all Beauty and Light and Peace and Joy and Love.
Maa, Thy enchanting smile is everywhere and in everything and even the dust and the grass carry Thy sweet and happy embrace.
Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa
How can I find evidence of the Divine Presence?
This conviction is generally not found on the surfaces of life. And even if intellectually one tries to build the conviction it stands on the fragile grounds of the sensory appearances that are ever changing turning the ‘convictions’ of today into the doubts of tomorrow. The seat of conviction lies in the depths of the heart. It grows as we shed our selfish view points and our hearts are moved and reach out towards those who need a healing touch. Or our mind aspires and seeks for the Divine Light however falteringly. It is best cultivated through the company of the wise, of those who have gone before us, through books of profound wisdom, through the company of those who are on the Path. It is like a flame that catches another wood that is ready. Swadhyaya and Satsang are indeed the best ways to cultivate conviction.
Notes and Reflections (7 of 19)
Songs of the Soul: September 21, 2026
Sweet and infinite Mother, Mother Divine, Maa, human beings live such a harassed life because of the mind. The mind gives an illusion of knowledge and with this illusion follows the impression of power, of control. Thence arises the impression of being the most superior of all creatures and hence greater than all beings including greater than God! But in reality, if one looks sincerely one can see clearly that the mind knows nothing except the appearances and that too very imperfectly. The mind calls this knowledge of appearances and the little power to alter it as Science! But the true knowledge and true power escapes it completely. Some sense this limitation and begin to seek a greater knowledge and a greater power. But even these discoveries are like halfway hills. For nothing is really known until all is known and to know the All one must know Thee, the Source, the Origin. But the Mind falls silent the moment it comes in contact with Thee. The only way to get the ultimate Truth, the supreme Knowledge and the Power that accompanies it is to surrender oneself, the mind and all its pride and arrogance completely to Thee and understand that one knows nothing except what Thou canst help us know.
Maa, may this gift of true knowledge, of the true power be granted to us so that we can serve Thee better and better in the world, so that we can do in the right and true way what we are here to do, so that we live the way Thou wouldst want us to live and do what You would want us to do. This effort should be the basis of all our future progress. Nothing for us but all for Thee and Thy Service, here and everywhere.
Maa, without Thee we are nothing, we know nothing, we can do nothing. With Thee, all can be known and all can be done and nothing is impossible any more.
Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa