Textual Tuesday

Hari Om

The schema of study devised at Chinmaya Mission is the subject of this post each week. To see all texts referred to, click the label below ("SuggtdReading")

For the next suggestion in the schema of study, we have UPADESHA SAARA. The translation from Ramana Maharshi's text is this time done by Guruji, Swami Tejoymayananda.

Here is a most delicious text, deceptively short, packed full of essential concepts Karma Yoga (action), Ashtanga Yoga (physical movement), and Jnaana Yoga (Knowledge). It explores how the performance of action, care of the body and attention to learning can take one to spiritual heights.

It is, as its title proclaims, "the essence of all teaching!"

Meditative Monday

Hari OM

So often we find ourselves adrift when attempting meditation-proper.

All too often we then let our minds become random and raucous.

Far too often we begin to avoid our practice of meditation and find house chores a welcome distraction.

Then we realise we have become separated from our spiritual selves... from Our Self.

When meditation is eluding us, japa is the way to navigate back. It centres and focuses us. Do japa. Then more japa.

Sunday Statements

Hari OM

Saturday Satsang

Hari Om

...and remember that the 'wise' may be among you. Listen to your peers, your elders... even, on occasion, your children. Wisdom is where knowledge and instinct merge and a greater understanding of the ways of the world emerge. From that understanding, improved reaction and behaviour are ours for the taking. Increased sensitivity to the world and society and a deeper ability to adapt to it - or leave our own influence - all arise from our interactions with and reactions to the words of the wise.

Thursday Thoughts

Hari Om

Gurudev's pointers to saadhana now give the four pillars of daily practice.

Serve - without reserve. It can be as simple as lifting the bags for a parent, taking food to an elder, all the way through to carrying out your employment tasks in the mental condition of surrendering all to the Higher, even as you serve the boss.

Love - with the capital 'ell' - is not mean, or selfish, or expectant of return. It is the straightforward acceptance of all being deserving.

Purify - ensure that in carrying out your saadhana that it is done in the knowledge of burning vaasanas, lifting away from baser actions and with the intention of raising yourself ever higher, spiritually.

Meditate - meditate, meditate!

Whispering Wednesday

Hari Om

Dharma is how we live our lives. In doing so, it is best to follow a direction that maintains principles of rectitude and spiritual purpose. It requires a set of values upon which to hang our motivations and desires and to keep us pointing to a goal of peace, reliability, trust and Love. To achieve this, there is an inherent sense of duty and performance thereof - not always pleasure, but definitely always purpose.

Textual Tuesday

Hari OM

The schema of study devised at Chinmaya Mission is the subject of this post each week. To see all texts referred to, click the label below ("SuggtdReading")

AATMABODHA - is the next to take from the shelf! Having understood the basics of Advaita from TattvabodaH, now the more subtle concepts are brought forth. 

This is the text in which the famous 'rope trick' and 'ghost in the post' analogies are found as aids to understanding how our minds can be so easily tricked into believing one thing which is nowhere near the truth. It is the text of illusion and delusion... and how to clarify our understanding so as to see through the magic of Maya. 

As ever, Gurudev's erudition shines through as he helps us digest the shlokas from Adi Shankara. The link on the title above will take you, also, to the posts of exposition in chapter one of this blog. 

Although classed as a prakarana, this text holds the seeds of advanced thinking. 

Meditative Monday

Hari OM

The way to grant that gift is to meditate regularly and sincerely. As with anything which is practiced from habit, it becomes a natural thing and we are thus more able to call forth the skill when it is required most.

Stilling the mind at times of need is the equivalent of stilling the body with a deep slow breath!

Sunday Statements

Hari Om

Saturday Satsang

Hari Om

"Luck is not a mysterious something that descends upon us from nowhere - when preparation meets opportunity, there comes to manifest luck. And so ever be prepared to meet the demands."

Luck is what you make of life. True, we can be handed a case of lemons when we wanted oranges... but lemons make good marmalade too. As well as lemonade! It is knowing what to do with the fruit that we are given which makes the difference to what we eat.

Equally, there are opportunities all around us if we but know how to see them and then to use them to best advantage. How often have you heard those who have done well for themselves declare that it was nothing but hard work and determination to succeed that helped them overcome the obstacles that inevitably fell their way? There are very few in this world who do not know this truth. Yes, some are then born to riches and fame... but how rich are they in personality and quality of life really?

Stop dreaming of how life might be - start this very day and make of life what you wish of it!

Thursday Thoughts

Hari Om

Another little series, this time prompted by quotes from Gurudev on saadhana.

There can never be enough reminding when it comes to the pursuit of Advaitic philosophy. Our saadhana must, therefore, include regularity of mananam - deep thinking on the ideas and concepts of the philosophy and how they might apply to us at ground level, as it were.

Introspection is the tool to hold the ideas up and see ourselves in them - or where we lack. It is our responsibility to detect our own errors or take on board those pointed out to us by others and own them, if true, or reject them if not. 

Then again, we must intellectually shake the tree of the scriptural texts and the teachings of our sages and analyse them for ourselves. We must do our best to find any break in logic - and use our understanding to negate that which is of no use to our pursuit.

Whispering Wednesday

Hari OM

On the theme of words 'arriving' for my deeper consideration and prompt, Swami Swaroopananda has taken to an occasional series via his Instagram account. Whispering into my memory, distilling the essence...

That from which all this delusion arises. The dream upon the Universal Consciousness. This is the advanced Advaitic concept that, for all we think and feel otherwise, we are just figures upon the canvas, no more real than those created by J S Lowry or Botticelli or Picasso...

Our purpose, in our current state of misconception, is to remove that deceptive veil and rediscover our True Existence...

Textual Tuesday

Hari OM

THE LOGIC OF SPIRITUALITY

This book is a transcript from an introductory talk given by Gurudev in 1991 when he was doing a marathon camp on the Bhagavad Gita.

In it, his full erudition manifests. With clear and pertinent comparisons and contrasts, examples and analogies, Swamiji brings forth the best argument for why spirituality is actually a driving force even among sceptics and why it is that we require it to fulfil life. 

Note this comes with a DVD. Gurudev was filmed professionally during that tour of the States and the Bhagavad Gita talks are a true treasure - but we will get to those in due time! For now, do take time to peruse this book and watch the video... for a taster, you can 

see an excerpt HERE.

Meditative Monday

Hari OM

Sunday Statements

Hari OM

Saturday Satsang

Hari Om

"Be firmly established in saadhana. One does saadhana until one comes to feel that s/he is not doing any more saadhana. The very saadhana becomes the routine of his daily living. In short, we continue saadhana until we live saadhana."

There are certain requirements in Advaitic practice, such as morning prayers, meditation, japa and so forth, that are specific as saadhana. When setting out on this spiritual discipline, these things can feel strange, time-absorbing, clumsy. In fact, they can, at times, feel like an imposition on life. This is because we are not truly focused or invested in the benefits that can be gained from their practice or do not have our hearts where our minds and lips are.

Assess your saadhana. Perhaps you need to adjust its content until that becomes familiar and then add in more? Or spread it more evenly around the other tasks that are repeated each day. 

The critical thing is not to let the saadhana go. One day missed will undoubtedly lead to another. There may be no loss apparent in daily life, but the spiritual depletion will be there. 

Daily practice of anything results in that thing becoming comfortable, familiar and regular. Yes, it also contains the risk of becoming a 'chore', and again we lose focus, letting our minds wander freely even as our hands and lips go through the motion of practice. It then becomes incumbent upon us to refocus, pay attention, and perform each task with the fullest attention. This includes the cleaning of body and home, eating consciously... in other words, if we are performing saadhana correctly, then every task itself becomes part of that saadhana!

Thursday Thoughts

Hari OM

Lyrics from "Desolation of Smaug" (The Hobbit/LOTR)

To view the full lyrics, click here. To hear the song sung by Ed Sheeran, click here. Though a song for a fantasy film, the words seem to me to be deeply prophetic...

The last few days of the COP26 meeting are here and one wonders just how much is to be achieved from it. Will it have been worth the cost of its arrangement, the value taken from all the CO2 produced by delegates and participants getting there? Will it all have been just a giant bubble of hot air? Too many people are too invested in thinking short term. They seem incapable of other, loftier thoughts. Lip-service is given, but true intent, the desire to shift and lead by example... I wonder.

Whispering Wednesday

Hari OM

Having a visitor come and stay for Diwali last week was very special. Not just because, after all the recent constraints different company was so welcome, but because the visitor was someone with whom there has been a connection since teenage years.

Of course, the word in English is 'friend.'  Friendship is a profound and valuable commodity, and despite our having lived half a world apart for most of our adult lives due to my migration to Australia, the bond never broke. Stretched, slackened a bit over time and distance perhaps, but never broken. The solid foundation of friendship laid down all those decades ago has served to rebuild and reconnect after my repatriation to Scotland. 

On reminding myself of the Sanskrit word, you will not be surprised to hear that there are over forty available!!! I am opting, on this occasion though, to use सौहृदय / sauhRdaya - which translates as 'cordial friendship,' but is derived from 'saura' which pertains to the sun (solar), and hRdaya, meaning 'heart.' This truly reflects the depth and value of this friendship. It requires the ability to overlook the differences between us and keep hold of those things which unite us. Our adult lives took us in directions and through experiences that only each can know, yet there is a similarity of phases and interests to provide neutral territory and new ground for exploration. There is the will and desire to keep the bond strong - but not restrictive. There is Love of the capital 'ell' variety which nourishes, encourages, entertains, sustains and heals, not permitting any rifts to fester.

It is something the nations of the world could do with dosing on, one feels. So many places appear to be undermining the positives and seeking only to dig out the negatives. To be critical and condemning. There is a use and abuse of connections of those who could be friends and allies, making of them instead indifferent acquaintances (at best) or potential enemies (at worst).

Textual Tuesday

Hari Om

MEDITATION; A VISION

Our current Guruji, Swami Tejomayananda, is a teacher who succeeds in keeping things simple and supremely clear to the listener or reader. You may like to consider purchasing this little text (linked from the subtitle) regarding the purpose and skill of meditation, which was derived from Guruji's talks on chapter six of the Bhagavad Gita. 

Guruji was a direct disciple of Gurudev and carries forward the vision of his master and all the masters before, leading all the way back to the Upanishadic seers, the great Rsis... and which is to be found by each seeker his or herself who practices diligent meditation to the point of making that understanding their very own. That is the moksha - the nirvana - the Realisation...

Meditative Monday

Hari OM

Sunday Statements

Hari OM

Saturday Satsang

Hari Om

I have cause to share with you the truth told here by Gurudev. Ever a spiritual seeker, I eventually ended up as a Sunday School teacher in the Scots Kirk (Presbyterian). There was an issue, however. I was not one for simply regurgitating 'the party line.' I had questions and would ask them and there came a point where that brought about a 'divorce.' I could not reconcile my own personal relationship with Yeshu and the Higher Essence with some of the doctrine that was put forth. 

I began to research other faiths. I asked questions. 

Then came a point where having to get on with life, working all hours in a career that was eating my soul and burning my body, took priority. For a period of about six years, there was little - correction - there was no saadhana from me. Not even the simplest of prayers. And there was a desert within me. Every now and then I might remember to ask for the guidance that was once so forthcoming from the connection I treasured. It did not come. It had been spoiled by my succumbing to the crevices that appear when one is wholly absorbed in the physicality of life.

My health suffered. My mental health included. There was an ache so deep - an ache of emptiness. "Positively bad effects."

Then came that time when all those bad effects caused me to take a positive step. I fell to the floor and emptied myself at the feet of the Lord. I cried for the return of that connection that had been my constant companion from childhood. I owned up to my errors and begged forgiveness and that in reconnecting, I would follow any instruction.

That was the night Yeshu poured His Love fully upon me once more, chided me for thinking He had been absent, whilst it was only that I had become deaf and blind for a time. It had been my time 'in the desert,' required to understand one's weaknesses and to appreciate the benefits of spiritual practice. 

That was the night Yeshu wished for me to take a different path - and he handed me over to Sri Rama.

That was the night, Yamini was born.

From there it was a case of rebuilding. Setting in place a spiritual discipline once more - which I quickly came to know as saadhana. Following the lead from Ram-ji, Chinmaya Mission came my way. More importantly, Advaita Vedanta found its way into my understanding. I will not tell you it was easy. It remains not easy. That's the point. Saadhana is for testing ourselves and our resolve. It is the grist to the mill. Without saadhana our persona becomes gross. Saadhana refines us. Never let it go...

Thursday Thoughts

Hari OM

All that is required is to wish all who visit here today SHUBH DIWALI!!!

Whispering Wednesday

Hari OM

I am always intrigued with how energy flows; not physical energy, but the energy of being-ness. How often I have ponderings upon something and then along comes a meeting, a sighting, a reading... to support that pondering, to give it clarification or to correct the thinking if it is astray. 

Or even if one is simply interested in a thing, how many times something comes along to fill out that interest. 

Of late, I have been pondering change. Or rather, of recent times on a personal level, the lack of it. Little things from day to day do, of course, change. But I am talking about those shifts that carry life along in one direction or another. After nearly two years of being almost entirely static, there is restlessness. A wish for some change. It is something that we, as humans, desire to a degree - although very often, when change comes along unexpectedly or unplanned, we can get quite discombobulated! 

Anyway, after thinking these thoughts, I was sorting out some old photos from Sandeepany days, and came across a quote from Gurudev that both supported the desire that is rising and, also, the inevitability of it!

Textual Tuesday

Hari Om

The schema of study devised at Chinmaya Mission is the subject of this post each week. To see all texts referred to, click the label below ("SuggtdReading")

The next little text to consider for your library - or at least online reading (or listening, for example, this one) - is Manah Shodhanam. 

Written by Guruji, this lays out what it is that goes on in our minds and what it is that we can do about bringing that monkey under control. Yes, the cheeky monkey mind does all it can to keep us distracted from our spiritual selves! We have to become our own inner parents and set out the boundaries within which the toddler mind must operate.

Guruji writes poetically and clearly. His way is straightforward and of the keep-it-simple variety of guidance. 

Meditative Monday

Hari OM