Happy Father's Day to All My Friends

Whenever I feel real joy, happiness, gratitude and peace, I think of the heavenly Father, of the Absolute Supreme. Of course, the earthly father is the microcosm of the macrocosm … the Creator God. We are all made in the image of Spirit and the Light Divine dwells in all:

“What! Know ye not that you are the temple of God; that God dwells in you and that you are not your own?” 1 Corinthians, 3:16

“The earth is the Lords, and its fullness there of and they that dwell there in it.” Psalm 24:1.

Nevertheless, the earthly father – for us anyway – at an early age, is in fact like a heavenly Father, offering his strength, wisdom, concern and sacrifice, for our growth and development. The earthly father serves as a beacon, to show us the pitfalls … to help us to find the way. This does not mean that he is in any way perfect and can sometimes be very difficult to live with, but at least he tries in his own way and according to his own understanding.

Yoga philosophy teaches us that everything is an experience that the Absolute is having in and through us. Good or bad, it is God’s experience, if we learn to see it that way. My father was not the best of a parent, but Yoga encourages me to look beyond the negative, to see how I have been shaped and moulded ... that the Creator all the time was blessing and guiding me, to become what I eventually became.

I just love Bill Holland’s and Eric Dierker’s attitude to life … to parents. They see how they have been shaped and offer gratitude, even though in their early life, the shadows were sometimes quite dense.

So, let us celebrate Father’s Day today. We celebrate the Love, the devotion, the reverence and obedience … the early nurturing and care. Someone, or both parents were responsible and so we followed a light of sorts, while we were still weak and like chickens just out of their shells. Thus we grew up, shaped and designed as it were, by both the earthly and the master painters, to play our roles in life.

So, to all Fathers and Mothers and family and friends, let us join in the spirit of oneness, of harmony, of Love and identification, to celebrate this very special day.

"I want to congratulate all the men out there who are working diligently to be good fathers whether they are stepfathers, or biological fathers or just spiritual fathers." T. D. Jakes.

"Being a father has been, without a doubt, my greatest source of achievement, pride and inspiration. Fatherhood has taught me about unconditional love, reinforced the importance of giving back and taught me how to be a better person." Naveen Jain

"I pray to be a good servant to God, a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a brother, an uncle, a good neighbor, a good leader to those who look up to me, a good follower to those who are serving God and doing the right thing." Mark Wahlberg.

He gave me comfort, money; toys,

He showered love and heard my cries.

When I was wrong he did address,

My faults with sweetness at its best.

He gave me praises; scolding’s too,

“I’ll make a better man of you!”

And so, I learnt my lessons well,

Proud of my daddy, truth to tell.

At times with mother, saw him sleep,

Head through the pillows, had a peep.

With life’s endeavours, laughed and wept,

Embraced as one we always slept.

Concern, devotion was his name,

All through his life ‘twas just the same.

Fun-loving, witty; life of care,

For mom and I, went everywhere!

My father was a man of God,

Through trials; rain, was never sad.

He counseled me when in distress,

Elated, proud of my success.

A doctor great, turned out to be,

But wanted most for him to see,

The Heart of beauty I became,

All blessings to my father’s name.

Manatita, The Lantern Carrier, 16^th June, 2018