“Would that it were so simple…” is a line from a Coen Brothers movie that’s always stuck with me. In the scene, a refined British actor is trying to teach a rather simple-minded American actor to say this line with the gravitas and culture it demands, and the American is simply failing. In the end, his line is mercifully changed to read “It’s complicated” that he delivers flawlessly with a charming smirk.
And I think it’s stuck with me because it’s somehow a line that encapsulates my often-felt desire about life. I wish it were simple. Or at least, I wish it felt simple. But being caught in the delusion of identification with this limited body and mind, as most of us are on this planet, life often feels complicated and confusing.
Perhaps this is why Yogananda’s words often feel like healing water on the parched sponge of my mind and heart, because he tell us, with full Divine authority, that in fact life IS actually quite simple.
All that exists is God, the Master tells us, and nothing “good” or “bad” exists outside of His creation. As devotees, it’s one thing to believe the great Masters when they explain this, it’s quite another to Realize our inherent divinity and connection to All That Is.
Swami Kriyananda said that “When we become too engrossed outwardly, too engrossed in things and complications and relationships and so on, there’s no energy left inside for God. If we’re really living for God first and keeping that thought of our attunement with Him uppermost, then we find that [simplicity] automatically.”
This is of course, for many people, easier said than done. As Yogananda often said, “Environment is stronger than willpower,” and while most of us strive to create God-reminding environments in our daily lives, the larger environment of the world and our modern society is ever-present, and can seep into our consciousness with relative ease.
For example, you can live and work alongside devotees in God-reminding environments all day and all night, but if you’re struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table, it’s much harder to think about God, and one becomes more susceptible to the ideas, suggestions, and complicated plots of the world. So what is a devotee to do?
While we exist on many levels in life, from the many roles we play in our relationships to others to the daily obligations of life, Swamiji reminds us that “we can find simplicity on all levels.” But, he continues, we must begin by recognizing that this kind of simplicity only comes when we are centered in our higher Selves, and in God’s consciousness.
Luckily for us as devotees, we already have all we need to practice this simplicity, and center ourselves in God-consciousness.
Kriya Yoga, first and foremost, is the scientific method of God contact taught by Yogananda Himself which helps one remain centered in all circumstances, and contact the all-centering Spirit within. Through Kriya we learn to calm the tumult of the mind to see situations, find solutions, and hear the voice of Wisdom more clearly.
We also have satsang, or keeping the company of other Truth-seekers, which can help ground and center us by opening up to guidance through the channels of true friends, who themselves are open to the guidance of God for our own highest good. This indeed helps to simplify our lives if for no other reason than Truth-seekers tend to be rare on this planet, and simply removing 999/1000 people as potential companions makes it easier to find the 0.1% that will uplift and inspire you on your spiritual path.
Finally we have the Masters themselves, who are always with us and guiding us, sharing their vibration to all who would receive it. When we cultivate proximity to this vibration, whether through prayer, deep mediation, or music, we find ourselves naturally attuning to this higher consciousness. With that attunement comes a greater sense of inner simplicity, and the clarity of life’s true purpose stands in shining contrast to the false lures of the world.
So when troubles come, as they inevitably do, we can rejoice that we’ve found our work! We know what we must do! Whatever is throwing you off center is where the sacred work begins and ends, until our souls achieve endlessness.
