Page 79 - Mystic Pathways through the Bible

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of God and true spirituality before you, but you are unable to express it in your day-to-day activities. You nd that your ego hinders you from adapting and adjusting to the challenges of the world. When you sit quietly for meditation and prayer, you are aware of God’s Presence. But a few minutes later, when someone insults you, angry words come bubbling forth from your tongue like frogs croaking in a lake! Your not-yet-integrated personality prevents you from realizing that you are dealing with the same God in the person who insulted you as in the person who places a garland on your neck. Ego causes you to forget that you are always in the presence of the Divine Self, no matter how distorted a face He presents to you.
Therefore, in order to love God wholeheartedly— not halfheartedly, intellectual conviction is not enough; sentimental feeling is not enough. In spiritual movement there must be a complete integration of your personality in which head, heart, and hand are in total harmony and your whole life becomes ablaze with spiritual aspiration.
With All Thy Heart
Loving the Lord “with all thy heart” is the message of devotion or Bhakti Yoga. All your feelings and sentiments ow towards God, as you perceive Him to be the reality in all. It is by loving God and being loved by God that the sentiment of love nds its highest ful llment.