STRINGS IN THE TAPESTRY OF DEVOTION

Finding God's Love - Chapter Preview

Jesus also proposed the practice of devotion. Jesus had two commandments for us: love God and love our neighbor. He states this several times in the gospels.
Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?

Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40, NIV
Our discussion here will revolve around commandment number one. Commandment number two is commandment number one applied to the world in which everyone and everything is the incarnation of the Divine. We should note that Jesus did not simply say, "love God." Rather he was quite emphatic and dramatic. He asked us to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind. In other words, he is telling us to pour all our heart, our emotion, our resolve, and our thoughts into it. Jesus is like a good basketball coach that grips his team by the proverbial shoulders and looks them straight in the eye and with all the emotion and intensity he can muster says, "You've got to give this your very best effort! You've got to pour every ounce of your heart into it!"
The small heart should become bigger and bigger and, eventually, totally expansive. A spark can become a forest fire. So to have only a spark is enough, for the spark is also fire. Keep blowing on it, fanning it. Sooner or later it will burn like a forest fire, sending out long tongues of flame. At present, love is like a spark within us. Constantly blow on it, using the fan of the Divine Name, japa and meditation. You may perspire, sneeze and cough, but do not stop. Your body may become hot; tears may fill your eyes; you may want to faint. But do not stop. If you perspire, you sneeze and cough, persist in your efforts, and be assured then that you are heading towards the goal. Soon you will become Love itself. This is the reward for your love. Ammachi, Awaken Children, vol. IV, p. 143

Does God Exist?
Ammachi comments on the existence of God:
Student: It is said that there is a God but I am unable to believe that.

Mother: Children, to say that there is no God is like saying "I have no tongue" with your own tongue. Is it possible for a person who has no tongue to say "I have no tongue"? Likewise, when we say "There is no God", at that moment itself we agree that there is God. In order to say that a particular object is 'not', we must have previously had a general knowledge of that object. How can we prove the nonexistence of something which is not known to us? Truth is only one. That is God. God-Realization is our life's aim.

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