The grace that God has bestowed upon us must never be forgotten in the core place of our heart. There is a deep tunnel between the breast that is the drawing room of God. Here the laughter can be heard in the universe or simply in the moment. Beyond the great illusion of Maya, there lies the truth between the breast and the depth of the heart. All that is, is the great moment of divine play of the Mother. When we take this place and and keep it constricted we lose the wonderful ability to elicit laughter from that bubbling well of spirituality.
This day, taking care of the poor, I not only brought them food, I brought them the gift of a smile. A beautiful old man, with eyes as dark as coal, saw his Ma and gave a smile that broke every barrier and every boundary. In that moment when I looked into his eyes, he began to laugh and giggle like a child. The union of two souls brought this great love -- and this great love brought laughter. It became a contagious thing in the wards of the County Home. People began to laugh simply because Ma was smiling with great admiration, for their strength, courage and fortitude.
Truly holy beings and spiritual people have a twinkle in their eyes. If we forget to laugh, we forget God. You may ask, What is there to laugh about in the time of plague and genocide? There is life and the ability to breathe. If we can smile in the face of horror, maybe one day in the face of a smile the horror will disappear. It does not cost anything to share a laugh as long as that laugh does not makes fun of others. A laugh of sharing is indeed spirituality. I love to laugh and much of my time is spent with quiet tears rolling down my face and a joyful smile on my lips. I have lost so many, but I smile for I have been loved.
When you are down or take yourself much too seriously, take a deep breath in the core of your being -- between your breasts -- and feel God's drawing room. Life tends to be hard. Go deeper. Go into that deep place of surrender.
What are you if you are tiny, and constricted by anger and you allow anger to rule you -- if you allow your anger to subject you to your own thoughts and not your heart's passion? You will find yourself a slave to this anger. Anger will become your God and anger will rob you of your humor and nothing will brighten your day because nothing can take that space in your head that demands that you constantly speak of this anger -- that place that is screaming for revenge.
You must be silent but not indifferent to your own anger. Be silent with your words. Do not put upon others what they already know. Others need not be subjected to a wrath that grows, not from the deep place within you but a wrath that has grown from your mind. If you let go, you will see that it has no beginning and has no end. It is nothing. Thoughts are nothing, it is just that which is ego waiting to pounce and distract you from that silence, that great silence of God. Do not let ego come between laughter and that which lies within your heart.
Ma Jaya Bhagavati is an internationally-known spiritual teacher, caregiver, author and artist. Also Spiritual Director of Kashi Ashram, an interfaith community near Sebastian. She guides retreats there. (800) 226-1008, ext 106.