Soul Union

In Sanskrit, the word 'yoga' means 'union.' The goal of the practice of yoga is union with God. Contrary to the Westernized idea of yoga as a matter of body postures and asanas performed mostly for health, the true yoga is a spiritual practice designed to bring the practitioner closer to the great creator of the universe, the ultimate soul, God. This is not to say that asanas and physical well-being are not important. They are. But real yoga is a science and practice of the soul.

The aim of this practice is to calm the mind, close the senses, and open the doors of true soulfulness--true liberation from worldly suffering. According to the yogins of old, the purpose is to--through single-pointed meditation--to close off the senses and deprive them of worldly pleasure so that we go within to find the source of true bliss, true soul. This can only be found through realization of our higher selves--which is the sacred space in the heart that unites us with God.

Through the practice of yoga, I have been able to calm my restless spirit and find peace. This peace is our very nature. It is the peace we were born with and to which we can return in this life--not just in the afterlife. To find it, though, we must still our minds and find the silence within.

As Patanjali tells us in the Yoga Sutras, we will find in this silence the changeless, timeless, deathless source of all true joy--God.

The Razor's Edge

The Yogis of India tell us that the decision to walk the spiritual path is a decision to walk the razor's edge. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that the instant you find your treasure, a thief will arrive to take it from you. I can tell you for certain that this is true because, at the moment I found God, a thief came to try to steal Him from me. I am proud to say, the thief has failed to do so thus far.

The moment I made my decision to renounce the past and all worldly desires, my life became filled with nothing but sorrow. I say this, not with a frown, but with a smile. Why, you ask? For the simple reason that it tells me I am on the right path. If I were not, then I would not be experiencing such profound suffering.

The wise Saint Anandamayi Ma said with the greatest insight that God heals suffering with suffering. He places us in the path of sorrow so that we can be purified by it. Ma also tells us that we must accept what is and not fight against it.

I am living now a life in which sorrow is the cup I drink from in the morning, at noon, and at night. Yet, I have attained equilibrium and enough resolve to accept my fate. It is just a life, nothing more, nothing less. And this earthly life will end. I have every faith that the life that follows this one will take me to eternal bliss.

My advice, to anyone who wants it, is to accept whatever your fate may be. Learn from it, suffer with it if need be, but never fall, and never doubt the intrinsic wisdom of your soul.

The Empty Boat

THE EMPTY BOAT

He who rules men lives in confusion;
He who is ruled by men lives in sorrow.
Yao therefore desired
Neither to influence others
Nor to be influenced by them.
The way to get clear of confusion
And free of sorrow
Is to live with Tao
In the land of the great Void.

If a man is crossing a river
And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be a bad-tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again,
And yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty.
He would not be shouting, and not angry.

If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you.

The straight tree is the first to be cut down,
The spring of clear water is the first to be drained dry.
If you wish to improve your wisdom
And shame the ignorant,
To cultivate your character
And outshine others;
A light will shine around you
As if you had swallowed the sun and the moon:
You will not avoid calamity.

A wise man has said:
"He who is content with himself
Has done a worthless work.
Achievement is the beginning of failure.
Fame is beginning of disgrace."

Who can free himself from achievement
And from fame, descend and be lost
Amid the masses of men?
He will flow like Tao, unseen,
He will go about like Life itself
With no name and no home.
Simple is he, without distinction.
To all appearances he is a fool.
His steps leave no trace. He has no power.
He achieves nothing, has no reputation.
Since he judges no one
No one judges him.
Such is the perfect man:
His boat is empty.

- Chuang Tzu -

Speaking & Knowing

“Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao The Ching

 

If I speak or write, I begin to believe, as Lao Tzu, that I do not know [the Tao]. Therefore, please forgive me for writing without truly knowing anything. Despite the fact that I know little or nothing of truth or Tao or divinity, even if I have worked on learning for a long, long time, I will say that in silence, I am closer to the divine than when speaking or writing. Nevertheless, I will temporarily break my silence to say: Life is better when words are confined to the page and are not constantly on the lips.

 

It has become evident to me that silence in its truest form is beautiful and contains the all in the all and the love that is eternal. Go into silence and you will know that the truest form of bliss resides there. It is not external. It is within.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memento Mori

Memento Mori (Latin)--"Remember you must die."

In the Middle Ages, a popular school of art arose which was known as Memento Mori. Essentially, the term means, "Remember you must die," and the art form was designed to remind people of their mortality.

Remembering my own mortality is easier now than it was before. I thought, as we all tend to do in our youth, that I would live forever. I managed to hold onto that belief until I fell apart some years back and found myself in Damascus facing my own demise. The strange part about that whole experience was that I did not die, and for the past several years, I have been left to wonder why.

Given the utter and catastrophic conclusion of my dreams after I fell apart and committed a crime, I still have no idea why I'm here. I do try each day to find reasons, but like Marc Antony when he knew that the jig was up and Octavian was going to kill him at Actium, I have let go of hope and therefore let go of any anxiety about my demise.

Is what I now feel a tragedy or a moment of enlightenment? I'm not sure exactly. But I know that by expecting absolutely nothing from life, I also feel no sense of anxiety about it. Ergo, I don't care if I die. In fact, I will welcome death like a long-lost friend and fall into her arms and rest eternally in peace.

The Buddha spoke most eloquently of letting go of desires--i.e. hopes and dreams of earthly delight. By doing so, he said wisely, we become free and death is not fearful. In fact, as Thich Nhat Hanh says, we have nothing left to fear in death since it is merely another phase of our becoming and the gateway to potential nirvana.

I remind all my readers today, then, to remember you will die. Make your life simpler, delight in the small miracles, and forget about the rest. 

A History of Violence

Transformation is not simply a word. It is a genuine reality for many people. If a human being's heart is moved toward making a real change, then true conversion is possible. Think of Paul and the dramatic change he made after he was literally struck down on Damascus Rd.  Despite the fact that he spent the majority of his subsequent years on earth inside prison cells or being stoned by people in cities that did not believe in his change or in what he taught, he lived a pure life and left behind some of the most powerful words about transformation and the power of love in the Bible.

Think also of Mary Magdalene, a woman who reputedly was a prostitute, yet after she met Jesus, she became an apostle, a devout follower. No one wanted to believe in Mary's change either, but she was probably one of the most important people in the New Testament and in Jesus' life. She was in fact the first person who saw him after he was resurrected.

I know how rare it is for people to believe that you are capable of change after you make a mistake in this life. I know because I am a person who erred greatly, and yet, I have transformed as utterly and completely as a butterfly after changing from a caterpillar. The butterfly can never go back to its cocoon. It's transformation is absolute. And, I, like the butterfly, have transformed my life. I have transformed as an act of daily will and commitment. My change is complete. And though most people don't want to believe I have changed after the unfortunate crime I committed, I can only prove my change is true by living a pure life, one in which I am mindful of my actions, one in which I love others and show compassion for all beings. I am "being" peace and showing I am peaceful each and every day.

If you have ever been in my situation and you have undergone a change, yet you still feel judged by others, do not trouble yourself or feel despair. Live a good life, one which you are unashamed of. Be happy and forgiving of yourself. Love yourself, even if no one else, except God, loves you. And whether people believe in your change or not, you will be free and happy and can find peace.

No one is born perfect or absolutely good. We all err, and we all must forgive one another for it. If we don't, we are all less free. Freedom is our birthright, and no matter what mistakes we make, we all deserve a right to be free.

Being Happy is Embodying Happiness

Being on the "right path" has to do with the very concrete ways in which you live your life in every moment. This makes you happy, and it also makes the people around you happy. Even if you haven't "done" anything yet to make them happy, once you are walking that path and you are happy doing so, you become fresh and compassionate and people benefit from being around you.

Look at the tree in the front yard: the tree doesn't seem to do anything. It just stands there, vigorous, fresh, and beautiful, and everyone benefits from it. That is the miracle of being. So if you can be yourself, this is already love, this is already action. Action is based on nonaction, and nonaction is the practice of being.

--Thich Nhat Hanh, The Art of Power

The most beautiful thing I have learned about life is contained in the simplicity and power of the Buddhist concept of action and being through nonaction. It is the most unique and complete teaching I have found and it is one which applies to all of us. The Buddha did not teach a religion. He did not even really teach a philosophy. Instead, what he taught was a science of finding happiness and ending sorrow.

In its simplest terms, as Thich Nhat Hanh says in the passage above, we can be most powerful and most happy by embodying the peace and the joy that comes from living fully in each moment. The idea is that you simply need to be your highest self. Let your truest and purest self shine through. Make other people's lives better just by being yourself, by embodying love, compassion, and peace in every moment.

We are all looking for a way to be happy. And we have the power to be so within us. Happiness is not an external quantity to be found by chasing after dreams and illusions. It is found in the simple act of being yourself, of loving yourself, and of sharing your being with others so that they too might find the way to happiness.

The Buddha was asked to simplify his teachings and tell people the answer to the question of how to be happy. He said, in the simplest and yet most profound terms that, to be happy, we should simply:

1. Avoid doing the bad things (i.e. things which cause suffering to you and others).
2. Do the good things (i.e. things which cause joy and eliminate sorrow for you and others).
3. Purify and subdue your own mind.

These steps sound too simple to some people, but if you put them into practice, you will find that there is no art to being happy. It is a practical, concrete science that begins with living fully and being fully in this moment, this instant, and letting go of all the painful desires and cravings that make life harder than it has to be. Forget about fame, wealth, sex and power. Focus on the diamond at the center of you. It is your soul. Love that. Foster it. And happiness will come like the spring rain.

Just breathe....