On Hinduism

       Below are the contents of my open-book exam on Hinduism.  I am sharing this here for anyone like me, who is looking to broaden her knowledge and experience of the world's faiths.  As a yogini, this one is particularly meaningful for me, however I must include the disclaimer that my study program is not academic in nature; while the information contained herein is very likely accurate, it is necessarily schematic and superficial.  It is based on initial study and personal reflection.  Hinduism has been a personal interest of mine for 20 years, and in our program we attempt to bring respect and diligent effort to the study of many faiths; therefore, in spite of the superficial presentation of this information, I hope that someone can find it inspirational.

1.    What are the four desires Hinduism recognizes? What, if anything, surprises you about these desires? Which one is the most meaningful for you, personally?

The four desires are Pleasure, Worldly Success, Duty, and Liberation.  Truthfully, nothing surprises me about the desires that drive humans.  I feel that all of my actions have resulted from these desires and as I age I am moving further up the rung of desires so that I can base a greater number of my actions on achieving the goal of Moksha, or liberation.  Liberation is most certainly the most meaningful for me, personally.  I have been very disillusioned with the pursuit of worldly success.  I am able to achieve goals that I pursue diligently and have proven to myself that I can compete in the world, but I have always disdained competition, from childhood.  Duty is becoming more appealing to me. I like volunteering and serving my community.  I am always a sucker for pleasure, and I am not ashamed of this.  However, liberation is what my soul truly seeks. 

2.    Describe the difference between Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga; describe how each one can be practiced.  If you had to choose one, what would your path be?

Jnana Yoga is “the path to the [Divine] through Knowledge,” as described by Huston Smith.  It is the transcendent, transpersonal path to God, passing first through the intellect in order to subdue the mind, and arriving at the center of being and Oneness with All.  Jnana Yoga is the steepest path, followed by the most ardent philosophers.  The Jnani walks this path by training the mind with intense dedication and precision.  First, the Jnani studies philosophy, theology, and sacred scripture.  Second, the Jnani studies herself.  Third, the Jnani connects with the Eternal in herself, via spiritual practice.  She begins to see more deeply.  She begins to understand not only with the mind, but with the deepest part of her being, that there is truly no separation.  In the end, the Jnani merges with God and with All.  The veil lifts and being shifts into the Eternal. 

Bhakti Yoga is the path to the Divine through love and devotion.  It is the path of the lover of God, deeply personal and emotional.  This path stands in apparent opposition to the Jnana path, because of its personal rather than transpersonal approach to the Divine.  According to the way of the Bhakta, the Divine is the ultimate Other whom we are called to seek, worship and adore with all our hearts, with all we are. 

The Bhakti walks her path with her hand in the hand of the Divine, building upon her devotion with each step.  She is ruled by Love, and carried by the flow of Love for the Divine, into the Ocean of Love.  Following her deepest longing and dedicating her life to the Divine, her thoughts and actions are devoted to achieving union with her Beloved. 

Karma Yoga: This is the path to the Divine through work.  The Karma Yogini acts tirelessly, seeking union with God through dedicating the substance of her actions to the Divine.  This is not the way of the dreamer or the philosopher.  This is the way of the busy and selfless servant.  The Karma Yogini transcends her finite existence through losing herself in her work.  “Like the center of a rapidly spinning wheel, they seem still-emotionally still-even when they are intensely busy.  It is like the stillness of absolute motion.” This is my favorite quote from Huston Smith’s description of Karma Yoga.  I imagine the selfless director of an orphanage, working day and night in the service of needy children, running after them and teaching them, clothing them, feeding them and protecting them. This orphanage director also spends countless hours working in her office, preparing adoption paperwork, applying for grants and keeping track of every detail about each child she shelters.  In this work, the work of her life, she achieves union with God.

Raja Yoga: This is the path for the person of “scientific bent.”  Raja Yoga is practiced through completing “psychophysical” exercises in succession.  The method involves the whole person, an entrainment of the mind and body to reach the depths of the soul.  A Raja Yogini will have a dedicated Asana practice and a rigorous meditation schedule that will afford her great self-awareness as well as increased comfort in the physical and mental bodies.  This path is less heady than the Jnana path and less emotional than the Bhakti path, while it is also more mental in nature than the Karmic path.  It appears to be a blend of the other three paths, with a more precise focus on meditation.  I know that it is supposed be distinct from the other three, but I see elements of each of them in Raja Yoga.  I think that modern yogis and yoginis are mostly walking the Raja path.  I include myself in that group, although I am a Jnani at heart.  So I would choose Jnana if I had to choose; but practically speaking, I am following the Raja path. 

3.      Describe:

A.                          Samsara: The endless cycle of death and rebirth in this physical realm.  Samsara ends in the attainment of Moksha (liberation).

B.                          Karma: The doctrine of Karma is closely related to the Western concept of the law of cause and effect.  Karma is action and the fruits of action.  Karma exists in conjunction with Samsara; Karma perpetuates Samsara.  We cannot escape from the spiritual law of reaping that which we sow.  We reap in experiences that which we sow in thought and action. 

C.                          Maya: Maya is the direct experience of the sensory stimuli that surround us as human beings.  Maya is what we perceive of our environment with our senses.  It is not the true nature of reality, but it is what appears to us through our sense organs and the perceiving aspects of our minds. 

D.                          Lila: This is “God’s play,” the spontaneous, creative manifestations of the Divine in the Universe.  We cannot discern any rhyme or reason within Lila, as it is the playful, free will of the Divine unfolding in the Universe. 

4.     Choose one sentence in Ramakrishna’s statement (“Many Paths to the Same Summit”) that is particularly important to you and summarize it in your own words. 

“Bow down and worship where others kneel, for where so many have been paying the tribute of adoration the kind Lord must manifest himself, for he is all mercy.” As children of the Creator and followers of our chosen paths to the Divine, we are all one in the family of God.  We can worship with all of our hearts, in complete confidence, in any setting.  I can pray to Adonai in a synagogue, a mosque, a Hindu temple, a yoga studio, a Catholic church, a Protestant church, or standing next to the Ocean.  I see the entirety of humanity as my brothers and sisters.  I know that my Lord is with me wherever any are gathered in honor of any form of the Divine. 

5.     What is the one most important aspect of Hinduism that resonates for you?

The aspect of Hinduism which resonates the most for me is the belief in one God, Brahman, from which everything flows, and Who becomes incarnate on Earth for the salvation of humankind.  From the Bhagavad Gita: “Than Me no other higher thing whatsoever exists,[…], On Me all this (universe) is strung, Like heaps of pearls on a string” (VII; 7).  “For whenever of the right a languishing appears, […]A rising up of unright, Then I send Myself forth.  For protection of the good, And for destruction of evil-doers, To make a firm footing for the right, I come into being in age after age.  My wondrous birth and actions, Whoso knows thus as they truly are, On leaving the body, to rebirth he goes not; to Me he goes, Arjuna!” (IV;7-9).

6.     Identify the following names:

Arjuna: He was a great warrior and the friend and brother-in-law of Lord Krishna.  The Bhagavad Gita is the lesson given by Krishna to Arjuna before the great battle of Kurukshetra. 

Krishna: Lord Krishna is the incarnation of the Divine most dear to the hearts of Hindus and Yogis.  I love Krishna.  He is the brother of Jesus Christ (to me, and to many of us).  He is the eighth and complete avatar of Vishnu, the Preserver.  He is the voice behind the Bhagavad Gita.  Gopala is the infant form of Krishna.  Hence, I see Gopala as the brother of Baby Jesus.  Krishna was God made man.  According to the Gita, all incarnations are from the same God (Brahman), and I believe this to be true.  They are one in the same Spirit. 

Kali: She is the Destroyer Goddess, wife of Shiva.  Kali destroys the power of the Finite so that we may unite with the Infinite.  She is to be greatly revered and her love is fierce.  She is often depicted standing on the body of Shiva, sword in hand.  When I envision Kali, I see a magnificent fire breathing beast with black clouds behind her. 

Lakshmi: She is the Hindu Goddess who embodies grace, beauty and charm.  She is celebrated principally at the Hindu festival of Diwali.  She is the principal Goddess of abundance, both material and ethereal, as well as the Goddess of fertility. 

Mohandas (“Mahatma”) Gandhi: Mahatma means, “Great Soul.”  Mohandas Gandhi was the greatest political and ideological leader of India during her rise to independence.  He is principally known for his doctrine and practice of non-violent resistance to tyranny.  He was an international champion of civil rights and women’s rights and tirelessly fought for justice throughout his life.  It is very difficult to give any kind of an accurate description of Gandhi’s life without going into several pages of detail.  Suffice it to say, he should be declared a Saint by every faith.  My favorite Gandhi quote is “You must be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

Ramakrishna:  He was “the greatest Hindu saint of the nineteenth century.”  He was an interfaith pioneer.  In our training, we should all give a daily thought of gratitude to Ramakrishna for the work he did in furtherance of interfaith understanding.  He was a brilliant mystic, who studied Tantra, Bhakti Yoga and non-dual meditation among all of his other Hindu training.  He was a Hindu priest.  He also spent parts of his life following Islam and Christianity. 

7.     Write a response to a selection of your choice from the Bhagavad Gita or other sacred Hindu text. 

I have chosen Chapter II, verses 11-25.  Quoting from Franklin Edgerton’s commentary in his translation: “Arjuna sees in the ranks of the opposing army a large number of his own kinsmen and intimate friends.  He is horror-stricken at the thought of fighting against them, and forthwith lays down his weapons, saying he would rather be killed than kill them.” Krishna then speaks to Arjuna of the imperishability of the soul, the impermanence of the body, and the illusion of being passing into non-being. 

“Thou hast mourned those who should not be mourned, and yet thou speakest words about wisdom!  Dead and living men the truly learned do not mourn.  But not in any respect was I (ever) not, nor thou, nor these kings; And not at all shall we ever come not to be, all of us, henceforward.  As to the embodied (soul) in this body come childhood, youth, old age, so the coming to another body; The wise man is not confused herein.  But contacts with matter, son of Kunti, cause cold and heat, pleasure and pain; They come and go and are impermanent; Put up with them, son of Bharata! For whom these contacts do not cause to waver, the man, O bull of men, to whom pleasure and pain are alike, the wise, he is fit for immortality.  Of what is not, no coming to be occurs; No coming not to be occurs of what is; But the dividing line of both is seen, of these two, by those who see the truth.  But know that this is indestructible, by which this all is pervaded; Destruction of this imperishable one no one can cause.  These bodies come to an end, it is declared, of the eternal embodied (soul), which is indestructible and unfathomable.  Therefore fight, son of Bharata!  Who believes him a slayer, and who thinks him slain, both these understand not: He slays not, is not slain.  Who knows as indestructible and eternal this unborn, imperishable one, that man, son of Prtha, how can he slay or cause to slay—whom? As leaving aside worn-out garments, a man takes other, new ones, so leaving aside worn-out bodies to other, new ones goes the embodied (soul).  Swords cut him not, fire burns him not, water wets him not, wind dries him not.  Not to be cut is he, not to be burnt is he, not to be wet nor yet dried; Eternal, omnipresent, fixed, immovable, everlasting is he.  Unmanifest he, unthinkable he, unchangeable he is declared to be; Therefore knowing him thus thou shouldst not mourn him.”

  

I chose this passage because it brought peace and joy to my soul.  I recognized these words as truth.  These are words that echo my inner knowing of my own nature.  We are truly free beings if we can let go of fear.  As Jesus says in Luke 12;4, “…do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.”  As Krishna and Jesus teach, how wonderful for us to be able to get out from under the fear of losing our bodies to death.  How wonderful for us to truly know that our souls are eternal, that fire burns us not.  And from this seed of truth we can begin to develop equanimity, that supreme giver of inner peace.  As we learn to sit in meditation in the presence of the Holy One, we can begin to shed layer upon layer of aversion and attachment.  We can continually grow in inner strength, our minds coming more and more into alignment with our imperishable souls for whom pleasure and pain are truly indifferent; because our souls are rooted, seated, forever secure in the foundation of the Almighty.  I had a vivid dream as a young child in which I saw masked robbers celebrating in Heaven around an immense, golden fountain.  I knew then that life after death includes everyone, and our Earthly notions of Good vs. Evil and Pleasure vs. Pain no longer apply, as they do in this Earthly realm.  I believe that there is a realm where the limitations of our physical bodies no longer hold us back.  In this realm, we are joined with the Divine.  I do personally believe in reincarnation, but I also believe in the ceasing of Samsara, a time when we will no longer be embodied souls. As it is written in the Koran, “To God we belong, to Him is our return.”  God created us from Himself, and as He has always existed, so have we always existed.  We do not pass from non-being into being, nor do we pass from being into non-being.  Hinduism and Buddhism teach us that such a passage is an illusion.  We are temporarily tied to our physical bodies, yet as spiritual beings we come to increase our faith in the Divine, and as our faith grows, so our deeper knowledge grows.  And we develop the strength and courage to “put up with” heat and cold, pleasure and pain, clinging to that which is permanent.  The path truly does grower brighter and brighter to the full day of our enlightenment. 

8.     

WWrite a description/impression of your site visit/experiential this month:

The description below was prompted by my visits to a Hanuman Temple in Watsonville, California.  I visited that temple in January of 2010.  Since that time, my knowledge of Hinduism and Yoga has progressed quite a bit, however I feel like I picked up the particular divine energy of that place during my visit.  I was staying for several nights in a cabin just up the hill from the temple.  I awoke to the sound of the bells ringing in the temple each morning of my retreat.  I felt a distinct Holy presence during my entire stay at Mount Madonna (the location of the retreat).  I saw many Hindus in traditional dress making a pilgrimage to the temple.  I now realize that the Hanuman temple was where I experienced my first kirtan (chanting the Hanuman chalisa).  Since then, I have chanted in an audience with Krishna Das, in my yoga classes, and in a local kirtan group.  I sometimes chant mantras in Sanskrit before I meditate.  My children like to chant mantras as well, even though they don’t yet realize what they are doing.  They chant, “Wahe guru wahe guru wahe guru,” and “Gobinda Gobinda Hari Hari.”  I love it.  There were families with young children in the Hanuman temple, and we sat on the floor for worship.  I felt at home.  I plan to visit the Ganesha Temple in Queens, but I am including this site description in my homework in case I don’t get the chance to write up my Ganesha experience before class.  I dearly loved the Hanuman temple and plan to return to Mount Madonna Center. 

“The Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple is a sacred place of worship used primarily by the residents of the community and many Hindu visitors, although it is open to the public.  As the name implies, the temple is dedicated to Hanuman, a Hindu deity.  Hanuman is sometimes referred to as The Monkey God.  I was told that his primary quality is selfless service, as reflected in the values of the Mount Madonna Center.  As a visitor, I was invited to attend two daily services, one at 6:30 a.m. and the other at 6:00 p.m.  I attended three of the evening services.  These were joyful experiences of praise and worship of the Divine, complete with various musical instruments and beautiful bells hanging at multiple points across the entrance, perimeter and covering of the open air temple.  I especially enjoyed ringing the bells.  I also sang, or attempted to sing songs of praise which had been thoughtfully written out in the English alphabet with various accent marks to assist in pronunciation.  I was invigorated and inspired by these rhythmic chants, which I believe were the Hanuman Arati.  I plan to buy a CD containing the Hanuman Arati and the Hanuman Chalisa.  At the end of the service, everyone was invited to receive the tilak forehead mark and to partake of the Prasad, which consisted of sweet foods placed into the hands to be immediately consumed.  We were then invited to partake of blessed fruit from a large basket.  I interpreted this as receiving the bounty provided for us by the Divine following our material offerings along with our offerings of prayer and worship.  I loved the beauty and simplicity of the service and appreciated being allowed into a Hanuman temple as a woman since this is forbidden in orthodox Hindu practice.” 

Embodied Spiritual Practice: Yielding to the Flow of Grace

It has been two years since I started attending Mary-Ann Mastreani's yoga classes in Irvington, NY. Mary-Ann has greatly inspired me with the example of her embodied spiritual practice.  After one class, I overheard another student telling her something that I have often thought: "I love coming to your classes.  I listen to what you say, but your message flows through your movement, and even the sound of your voice is healing."

My church pastor, Anthony Stephens, recently wrote to our congregation about embodied spiritual practice.  Living out our faith is holistic, empowering and transformational;  we have to jump in, mind, body and soul.  What good is disembodied spirituality in a material world?  When we connect to Spirit on a deep level, we power up our minds and bodies.  As we grow spiritually, the light of God will shine through our eyes, our skin, our speech, our voice, our physical movements.  We will step into our power as new creatures.  Christians refer to this transformation as a "new birth."  A Jewish friend once said to me about a Christian woman we know, "When she smiles, I see the light of Christ in her face."  That's a powerful testimony.  

When I think about embodied spirituality, my teacher Mary-Ann definitely comes to mind.  As I see her, she is a spiritual warrior.  She spoke freely to our class about her 10 day silent meditation retreat in 2011.  She has shared with us the fruits of her vipassana meditation practice as she helps herself and others to defeat our maras.  Her dharma talks and the readings she chooses always tie into the asana practice she demonstrates.  Her practice is characteristically strong and graceful.  The substance of each of her lessons is expressed through movement, and this, for me, is a new way of approaching my spiritual practice.

My pastor has also exemplified an embodied spiritual practice through participating in marathons, triathlons, karate and more recently, yoga.  I have heard him and other runners I know speak about running as a meditative practice.

My husband Jamie is a lifelong swimmer, and has told me that swimming is similar to yoga for him, in that it calms and restrains the mind.  

To keep my spiritual practice embodied, I now set physical goals that link up to my spiritual goals.  I have recently worked on opening my heart.  In the Bible, there are many references to the "hardness of [our] hearts;" yogis speak often of healing and opening through the heart.  Spiritually, we can open our hearts through prayer, heart-to-heart communication with God and with others, laughing and crying (allowing emotion to flow), singing and chanting.  As my heart opens, my asana practice changes; the heart based poses start opening up to me.  This is an ongoing process.  When I first came to yoga, I had a back injury.  Back-bending was not happening for me.  Over the course of several years, I am finding great relief and release through camel (ustrasana), wheel (urdhva dhanurasana), locust (shalabhasana) and bow pose (dhanurasana). 

For 2012, my spiritual goals are boldness and confidence.  "Be strong, be bold, don't be afraid or frightened of them, for ADONAI your God is going with you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you" (Deuteronomy 31:6).  I pray this year for the strength and courage to walk my path upright, without fear.  In my asana practice, this will translate into stronger inversions and arm balances.  Because of fear, I still do my headstand practice (sirsasana) next to a wall, but my goal is to practice it unsupported going forward.   I also hope to overcome my fear of arm balances which is holding back my practice.  

A woman in my church congregation has recently opened up about her struggle with cancer, and how she has been sustained through spiritual practice and the support of other believers.  She says she is now stronger than ever, in mind, body and spirit.  I know that others in her church and yoga communities are inspired by her example.  She is now opening up to the new possibilities born of emerging from illness.  


Following my prolonged illness with Lyme disease diagnosed in late stages, and  having suffered from the resulting nerve damage on the left side of my body, I can relate very much to a feeling of mental, physical and spiritual transformation.  I am not who I was before.  But neither are any of us.  No matter how static our lives may appear to us, and no matter how well we think we know ourselves... we must be reminded that the only constant is change.  We are constantly being transformed, whether we like it or not.  We have the power to decide if we want that transformation to occur in accordance with our Higher Selves.  Ultimately our bodies will succumb to decay, but we can always grow in spirit, reaching ever new heights.  In closing, please find below the song lyrics that Mary-Ann Mastreani read to our class last Wednesday.  I thought of these words today when I heard my pastor speak about finding a new calling in life, and then saw what another parishioner wrote about finding a new purpose following illness.  This is a recurring theme everywhere I go!


The only constant is change. The only constant is change. Go...

The human heart is born without legs, sliding back and forth,
And never once does it truly rest, unless accompanied by death... Sliding back and forth.

Even the strongest remnants of history, they have begun to crumble against time.
Sliding back and forth.

The only constant is change. Nothing remains the same.
The only constant is change. There's only growth or decay.

Let's go... Unvarying scenes only found in pictures can never breathe life.
For nowhere else does level ground exist, unless it has been captured by a flash of steady light.

Sliding back and forth,
The only constant is change. Uncertainty awaits.
The only constant is change. There's only growth or decay...
The only constant is change.

There is nothing that stays the same, from the foundation of our lives.
There is nothing that stays the same. There is nothing to erase time.

The only constant is change. Nothing remains the same.
The only constant is change. There's only growth or decay...
The only constant is change. The only constant is change.

(Lyrics from the song, The Only Constant is Change, by the band: As I Lay Dying)

(Image by Bethany Webb, creativeyogini.com)

To Worship in Spirit and Truth

What does it mean to worship?  Is there a right or wrong way to worship God?  When believers of one faith are in contact with people who follow another belief system, everyone involved can benefit from the interaction.  Interfaith dialogue is an opportunity to connect more deeply with our own faith practices as we simultaneously expand our understanding of one another. 

In my interfaith seminary program, I am required to visit a variety of religious sites, approaching the multiplicity of faith practices in our world with respect and an open mind.  As I do this, I am also staying grounded in my own faith practices through my church and through my yoga classes. 

It is exciting to exchange perspectives with spiritual practitioners from each of these three arenas.  I am finding that when we can move away from assumptions and culturally biased interpretations, we are more similar than dissimilar when it comes to acts of reverence for the Divine. 

One recent discussion centered on our human tendency to evaluate worship.  We raised the question of worship as entertainment.  As I thought about the phenomenon of the Mega-Church, where hundreds and even thousands of people can worship through singing praise lyrics written on large screens, singing along to the music of a band, I could see how some may view these services as a show.  But I can also see how certain people may feel more comfortable letting go and connecting with God in an anonymous crowd.  In the past I have experienced sincere worship and connection in mega-churches, in small churches, in yoga classes, on spiritual retreats, and more often than any of those, in the privacy of my own room or out in nature as I praise God silently, within myself. 

What about the words we use to address God in prayer and worship?  In my seminary program, some say, “Mother, Father,” some say “God and Goddess,” some say, “Divine One,” and I still say, “God,” or “Lord.”  Although our preferences can differ, I believe that we are addressing the same being.  I do not make any judgments about the form or even the content of our heartfelt offerings to God.  My feelings about worship, praise and prayer are perfectly reflected in the Rumi poem, “Moses and the Shepherd.”  God is looking for our humility, the sincere expression of our love for Him and our surrender to His glory.  As Jesus said, true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth.  I believe that this day will come indeed, on this Earth, and I plan to be a part of it. 

 

"Moses and the Shepherd" by Coleman Barks

Published in The Essential Rumi. Harper Collins, 1995. websource.

Moses heard a shepherd on the road, praying, "God,
where are you? I want to help you, to fix your shoes
and comb your hair. I want to wash your clothes
and pick the lice off. I want to bring you milk
to kiss your little hands and feet when it's time
for you to go to bed. I want to sweep your room
and keep it neat. God, my sheep and goats
are yours. All I can say, remembering you,
is ayyyy and ahhhhhhhhh."

                 Moses could stand it no longer.
"Who are you talking to?"
                 "The one who made us,
and made the earth and made the sky."
                 "Don't talk about shoes
and socks with God! And what's this with your little hands
and feet? Such blasphemous familiarity sounds like
you're chatting with your uncles.
                 Only something that grows
needs milk. Only someone with feet needs shoes. Not God!
Even if you meant God's human representatives,
as when God said, `I was sick, and you did not visit me,'
even then this tone would be foolish and irreverent.

Use appropriate terms. Fatima is a fine name
for a woman, but if you call a man Fatima,
it's an insult. Body-and-birth language
are right for us on this side of the river,
but not for addressing the origin,
                 not for Allah."

The shepherd repented and tore his clothes and sighed
and wandered out into the desert.
                 A sudden revelation
then came to Moses. God's voice:
                 You have separated me
from one of my own. Did you come as a Prophet to unite,
or to sever?
                 I have given each being a separate and unique way
of seeing and knowing that knowledge.

What seems wrong to you is right for him.
What is poison to one is honey to someone else.

Purity and impurity, sloth and diligence in worship,
these mean nothing to me.
                 I am apart from all that.
Ways of worshipping are not to be ranked as better
or worse than one another.
                 Hindus do Hindu things.
The Dravidian Muslims in India do what they do.
It's all praise, and it's all right.

It's not me that's glorified in acts of worship.
It's the worshipers! I don't hear the words
they say. I look inside at the humility.

That broken-open lowliness is the reality,
not the language! Forget phraseology.
I want burning, 'burning'.
                 Be friends
with your burning. Burn up your thinking
and your forms of expression!
                 Moses,
those who pay attention to ways of behaving
and speaking are one sort.
                 Lovers who burn
are another.
                 Don't impose a property tax
on a burned-out village. Don't scold the Lover.
The "wrong" way he talks is better than a hundred
"right" ways of others.
                 Inside the Kaaba
it doesn't matter which direction you point
your prayer rug!
                 The ocean diver doesn't need snowshoes!
The love-religion has no code or doctrine.
                                                   Only God.
So the ruby has nothing engraved on it!
It doesn't need markings.
                 

God began speaking
deeper mysteries to Moses. Vision and words,
which cannot be recorded here, poured into
and through him. He left himself and came back.
He went to eternity and came back here.
Many times this happened.

It's foolish of me
to try and say this. If I did say it,
it would uproot our human intelligences.
It would shatter all writing pens.

Moses ran after the shepherd.
He followed the bewildered footprints,
in one place moving straight like a castle
across a chessboard. In another, sideways,
like a bishop.  Now surging like a wave cresting,
now sliding down like a fish,

with always his feet
making geomancy symbols in the sand,

recording his wandering state.

Moses finally caught up with him.

"I was wrong. God has revealed to me
that there are no rules for worship.

Say whatever and however your loving tells you to. 

Your sweet blasphemy
is the truest devotion. Through you a whole world
is freed.

Loosen your tongue and don't worry what comes out.
It's all the light of the spirit."
                                  

The shepherd replied,
"Moses, Moses, I've gone beyond even that.
You applied the whip and my horse shied and jumped
out of itself. The divine nature and my human nature
came together.

Bless your scolding hand and your arm.
I can't say what's happened.

What I'm saying now
is not my real condition. It can't be said."

The shepherd grew quiet.                

When you look in a mirror,
you see yourself, not the state of the mirror.
The flute player puts breath into a flute,
and who makes the music? Not the flute.
The flute player!
               

Whenever you speak praise
or thanksgiving to God, it's always like
this dear shepherd's simplicity.
                

When you eventually see
through the veils to how things really are,
you will keep saying again
and again,  "This is certainly not like
we thought it was!"

Mental Armor: Boosting Immunity With Your Thoughts

The Winter Holidays are here, and for many of us that means getting a lot more exposure than our norm.  Holiday gatherings are fun, but they can also be stressful: whether we are entertaining friends and family, attending parties thrown by others or just spending more time out shopping, we are coming into contact with all sorts of people... and all sorts of organisms.  The Holidays are also cold and flu season, so it's a good idea to have a disease fighting arsenal available; and I'm not referring to the medicine cabinet. 

An image that came to me recently when I thought about immunity was a set of invisible armor that protects my body from all sorts of invaders.  I was thinking of someone I loved very much, and I thought, "I will wear this love like a suit of armor.  It will warm me when I am cold and protect me when I am in danger."  The picture in my mind was of golden, glowing light, surrounding my body, like an aura.  I then started thinking about how we can protect ourselves from all manner of ills by simply adopting a positive attitude and thinking love-filled thoughts that energize, rather than deplete us.

A teacher of mine recently told our class, "Whatever you do over the course of this year, don't get sick.  Just don't."  The setting of the class is a hospital, and part of her instruction had to do with the avoidance of carrying contagious organisms around the hospital and back into our homes.  But her verbal command, "don't get sick," had everything to do with attitude.  I was reminded of many winters in the past when I had to take finals for college, grad school or law school, and I willed myself to be well for the duration of exams.  I didn't drop my guard when exams were over, because I wanted to enjoy the ensuing break.  The time in my life when I contracted the greatest number of illnesses was when I worked in a job that I disliked.  The job wasn't particularly stressful.  However, I wasn't focused on staying strong and "up," so I got sick more.  I let my mental and spiritual guard down.  Even though it has been extensively proven that stress negatively impacts the immune system, the stress of the bar exam or other similar tests didn't make me sick.  In those instances, my thoughts and attitude protected my physical health.

In this season, we can all use some extra help with immunity, so I brainstormed and came up with some methods I regularly use to strengthen my immune system.  Some of them come from yoga and spiritual practice, and others are simply based on personal experience.  Try some out and if I see you at a holiday party, let me know what you think:

1. Visualization:  When you are starting to feel crappy, pull on the power of your imagination.  In a concrete sense, visualize your immune response.  Imagine your immune cells mounting a defense in your body, circulating through your blood and organs and fighting off foreign invaders.  (The first time this worked for me I was 12 years old, lying in sick in bed on vacation; I concentrated as hard as I could on my lymph glands and immune cells and visualized them fighting off my illness.  It worked and I got up and enjoyed the rest of my vacation.  I will never forget that!)
2. Affirmation:  An affirmation is nothing more than repeating a selected phrase to yourself, out loud or in your mind, to bring about a desired result.  So in terms of immunity, even saying to yourself, "I am not going to get sick," may be all you need.  A busy father told me at church last weekend, "I cannot afford to get sick, so I'm not," referring to his kids' illnesses coinciding with his increased work load.  My husband says similar things when our kids get sick: "I don't plan on getting this."  Almost invariably, the affirmation works for him. 
3. Fantasy:  No matter what kind of negative sensations you are experiencing, from a bad mood to a sore throat, you can use fantasy to flood your body with endorphins.  Endorphins, the "feel-good" hormones, are really goooood for all of your bodily systems, including your immune system.  You can produce more endorphins at will.  Isn't that cool?  It is well-known that exercise ups your endorphin levels, and so does laughter.  Simply thinking about things, people and experiences you love also creates endorphins.  Good, old-fashioned (or modern) daydreaming can help you boost your immune system.  To relieve stress, and start feeling better, put your mental focus on something good.  It can help to think about your significant other and the fun plans you are making... or the last time you had a really great time together, in or out of the bedroom.  This one works wonders.  
4. Prayer:  Turning over your health concerns to the care and protection of God, however you like to call Him/Her, is a powerful practice.  Prayer shapes our thoughts and our energy.  When I am praying for myself or a loved one who is ill, I like to invoke Archangel Raphael.  The name Raphael means, "God heals."  
5. Physicality: Everything I just listed has to do with using thoughts to enhance immunity; obviously the way we treat our bodies is just as crucial, if not more so.  Teachers, parents and doctors teach us that "diet and exercise" are the keys to good health... probably because they are.  I like to use yoga breathing techniques, such as breath of fire, to strengthen immunity.  I also believe in the power of inversions to stimulate the lymphatic system and boost immune response.  There are lots of fun ways to get your head below your heart.  I will include links at the bottom of this post for suggestions on how to spend some fun time upside down. Last but not least, if you want to fight off illness, eat good food.  Vegetables.  Lots of them.  During the winter, I eat a lot of extra vegetables.  Just last night I served three vegetable sides with dinner.  My nutritionist friend recommends a hearty, homemade tomato-based pasta sauce to boost immunity.  I am a big fan of this, myself.  Use lots of garlic, crushed tomatoes, diced bell peppers and plenty of spices.  Cayenne is a great immunity booster.  

RESOURCES:

http://azrahannum.com/endorphins-what-are-they

http://www.livestrong.com/article/351367-breath-of-fire-breathing-exercises/

http://www.sunandmoonstudio.com/Articles/headstand.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_%28archangel%29

http://yoga.about.com/od/yogasequences/ss/inversions.htm

Your Body is a Sacred Friend

 "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."  1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear." -Buddha (Prince Gautama Siddhartha, 563-483 B.C.)

"Yoga is really trying to liberate us from...shame about our bodies.  To love your body is a very important thing."  Rodney Yee

     The spiritual faiths and traditions of the world are unanimous on this point:  we are to love and respect our bodies.  Our relationship with our body says something essential about the condition of our soul.  From the moment we are born until the moment we die, we inhabit a body.  Our bodies are our vehicles for experiencing the world, the creation of the Divine.  Our lives are inextricably linked to the state and condition of our bodies.  Our life force diminishes when we are ill.  Death comes when our hearts stop beating.  No matter who we are, where we are, or what we believe, we wake up each morning in a body, and we relate to that body all day, every day.  We can choose how we want to relate to our body: as a cherished friend, a child that we neglect, or even as an enemy whom we despise.  

     In our walk with the Divine, we are reminded not to take our relationship with God for granted.  We endeavor not to take our friends and family members for granted.  What friend is closer to us than our own body?   How easy is it to take our body and our health for granted?  Tragically, for some of us, neglect of the body turns to its destruction before we can undo the damage wrought by neglect, stress, and lack of awareness.  

     As it is for many people, illness was a powerful reminder for me to reacquaint myself with my body and to treat it with greater respect.  I am fortunate that I discovered this in time to set my healing in motion through the regular practice of yoga, a regular cardio regime and meditation.  I also pay more attention now to nutrition as a way to love and respect my body.  

     I would like to relate to my body as a sacred friend.  I have never liked dieting, because I see it is a deprivation.  I don't want to deprive my friend.  I want to cherish her and give her good things.  I want to be aware of harmful excesses and toxins, but at the same time I want to enjoy the experience of being in my body.  I don't impose rigid rules on my friends, or on my body.  I believe in little indulgences, often, without guilt.  I like half and half in my coffee, whole milk in my tea and butter on my bread.  If I bake desserts, I eat them.  When I want french fries, I eat french fries.  Nothing is really off limits.  Dieting as deprivation often does more harm than good, because it reflects an adversarial relationship with the body.  Jesus was not a proponent of strict dietary rules.  His response to his culture's insistence on strict rules was clear: "You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do."  Matthew 15:11.  

     My faith practices have taught me to love and respect my body.  Yoga, in particular, is teaching me to pay attention to the experience of my body, to treat it with kindness, and to inhabit it with grace.  

     When I first committed to a regular practice, I met a truly inspirational friend in a yoga class.  Her name is Amanda Winters.  She is a health coach and nutritionist who is working towards her yoga certification.  She is a single mother who runs her own health and fitness business.  http://www.aplusplan.com/index.html 

Since I have known her, she has consistently supported me and my family members in making better choices about what we eat and how we relate to food and our bodies.  We support one another in our yoga practice.  Amanda has a set a great example of living out the value of service in the yoga tradition, by volunteering to teach yoga classes to economically disadvantaged women in the New York area.  Through her own struggles with multiple food allergies, she has found a way to nourish and balance herself and to transmit her experiential wisdom to others.  I truly value her friendship and I am dedicating this post to her work with women and families who are dedicated to improving their health and the way they relate to their bodies. 

     Each of us have unique DNA and our bodies are beautiful expressions of that uniqueness.  No matter what we do, we transmit our contributions and connections to the rest of the world through our bodies.  Believing that the soul lives on when the body dies is an even greater motivation to appreciate the body while we still have it.  Your experience in your body is precious and temporary, so make the most of it.  

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."  Romans 12: 1.  If you love God, you will love your body. 

    

Easy Silence

My husband keeps the world at bay for me.  When I heard this song this morning, "Easy Silence," I wanted somehow to dedicate it to my husband.  It's not because our house or much of anything in our lives is silent.  The song made me think of him because his constant presence and support in my life brings me home to ease and silence, even in the midst of the whirlwind of life. 

When you meet him, you may not think of him as a quiet man.  His voice can be heard across a noisy restaurant or a bustling field of 4 year old soccer players.  When I met him 8 years ago, one of the things that attracted me was watching him sit outside of the main dining room at Club Med in a lounge chair, extending high fives to each person as he or she entered.  He likes to make his presence known.  I am just so thankful that he is present for me. 

Anyone dedicated to a spiritual path knows that family life, while fertile ground for growth, is also a minefield of disruptions and distractions.  Those of us with families, spouses, and otherwise busy earthly lives are what the yogis call "householders."  We have a particular role at this point in our lives that necessarily confines us to a certain type of spiritual practice.  We are not monastics.  We are not young seekers, able to travel light and devote all of our time to growth and study.  We are not retired adults in the winter of our lives, serenely dispensing wisdom to our communities.  We are in the thick of life, right now. 

My husband and I are very different from one another.  When we were deciding whether or not to commit long-term to our relationship, he said to me: "I just don't know if we are looking for the same things.  You are in a different place than I am."  That is still a true assessment of the two of us.  However, he supports me on my life journey more than any other person ever has.  He does not consider himself spiritual.  I still can't understand football rules well enough to intelligently discuss a Steelers game.  But he is the person who makes it possible for me to go to yoga classes at night or on the weekend.  He is the one who puts the spreadsheets together for our church's finances.  He is the one who encourages me to meditate at night before bed while he watches football and folds laundry.  He encourages me to read the Bible or the Yoga Sutras while he reads crime novels or historical fiction.  We can't always discuss what we read.  Our interests do not often meet.  But we make enough room in our relationship and our lives for the interests and goals of the other person.

My husband never gives me the third degree.  In turn, I do not question him or challenge him regarding his preferences.  I don't care about the way he dresses.  We don't fight over which television shows to watch.  If our TV is on, it's either Nick Jr., ESPN or Mythbusters.  I don't even like TV.  But I don't mind that my husband likes it.  I respect him and his choices.  He respects me and values what I value.  There is an unspoken mutual support between us that allows us to confidently engage in life.

We talk.  But there is no expectation in our discussions.  I don't try to make him feel better and I don't expect him to give me pep talks.  What's important is that we know what's going on with the other person; he knows what I am thinking about, what I am going through, what my hopes are.  I know when he is suffering, when he is enjoying something and when he needs space to simply be.  We don't fill our time together with a lot of chatter.  It works for us.

Every marriage is different.  Personally, I wouldn't want to be in a marriage where we had to do everything together, in step.  The nature of life is change.  None of us stay the same as we were on our wedding day.  We keep evolving, and the gift of marriage is to have someone there for you to support your evolution.

My husband keeps the world at bay for me.  He lightens every load.  He is the most steadfast person I have ever known...ever.  I am forever grateful for the easy silence he makes for me. 

Thich Nhat Hanh Dharma Talk, 10/14/11

Once again this year, I was able to attend the Dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) in New York City at the end of his North American Teaching Tour.  While the style of the lesson was identical to the prior talk I attended, the content was quite different.  As before, Thay sat on stage with a group of monastics who accompany him on his teaching tours.  The nuns sat to his right and the monks were seated on the left side.

To open the talk, Thay invited the audience to sit quietly and come back to our breath as we listened to the monastics singing the name of Avalokiteshvara.  Thay introduced Avalokiteshvara as the bodhisattva of Deep Listening.  I have heard Avalokiteshvara referred to as the bodhisattva of Compassion.  The following gives a good description of the various translations of the name of this bodisattva: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalokite%C5%9Bvara

Thay's description of Avalokiteshvara was the bodhisattva who listens deeply to the laments of human beings who are suffering.  This being represents the symbolic taking in of our pain, our deepest worries, our cries.  Thay invited us to be present with our own suffering as we sat for approximately 15 minutes.  He said the energy of compassion can only arise when we are able to get in touch with our own suffering.  It is impossible for us to extend compassion to another person if we ourselves are not aware of our own suffering.  Thay said that through deep listening, through the profound experience of our own suffering, we allow compassion to arise within.  He described the universal human tendency to try every means to escape our suffering.  Rarely are we willing to accept and be mindful of our own pain, be it physical, emotional, mental or spiritual.  Thay repeated his well-known phrase, "No mud, no lotus." 

The remainder of the talk was organized around several revered and widely taught Buddhist principles, originating from the Diamond Sutra and the teaching of The Buddha's Four Nutriments.  This year's talk adhered more to classic Buddhist teaching, whereas the former talk I attended was slightly less structured and less religious. 

The Diamond Sutra teaches us to attain the quality of non-discrimination.  In explaining the Diamond Sutra, Thay asked us to envision a very large and sharp diamond, able to cut through and excise illusions and faulty concepts.  There are four common ways of thinking to be removed through following the teaching of the Diamond Sutra: 1. Self, 2. Man, 3. Living Beings vs. Non-Living Beings, and 4. Life Span.

Thay described the notion of Self as the idea that we are beings made up of elements which are exclusive to us.  This teaching gets at the heart of what Buddhists believe to be the illusion of individualism.  Thay said, "Look at your son.  You believe him to be made up of "son elements," but he is made entirely of non-son elements.  When you look at the son you see the father, the mother and all of the ancestors.  You cannot separate the son from these elements."  Thay also spoke of his famous cloud illustration, pointing to the presence of cloud elements in every one of us (we all contain water which came from the cloud, every flower has the cloud present in her, a cup of tea was once part of the cloud, etc.) "You are made exclusively of non-you elements," he said.

In elucidating the remaining three concepts, man, living beings and the notion of life span, Thay focused on the interconnectedness of all energy and matter.  He elaborated on the principle that neither energy nor matter may be created or destroyed.  All of this goes back to the Buddhist teaching of "No birth, no death."  He asked us to free ourselves from the notion that we pass from non-being into being and then back into non-being.  Thay noted that we observe no phenomena in the natural world that fit such a scenario.  He said that we all think of ourselves as distinct from plants, minerals and animals, yet he asked how this can be so since we are made up of elements from all of those things.  If we are able to understand this, then we can understand our interbeing with all of the planet.  We are simply not separate beings, according to Thay and to Buddhist philosophy.  This gives new meaning to the oft-quoted Christian teaching that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God.  Nothing can ever separate us from God, from each other, or from...anything. There is no separation, period.

My favorite part of the Diamond Sutra teaching was the easy explanation of "no life span": we think that we have a life span of 70, 80 or 100 years.  We believe that such a time frame contains our life, in a nutshell.  According to Thay, this is simply mistaken perception.  Our lives are infinite.  I was able to find a previously recorded excerpt of a talk given by Thay on December 4, 1997, that is very close to what he said last Friday evening:

“…We think we exist from the time we were born to the time we die, and that this is our life span. That is another notion, a perception, a concept that we need to overcome and liberate ourselves from. According to that notion, before we are born we do not exist and after we die we are nothing. This is a very wrong notion. It is said in many sutras that when conditions are sufficient our body is formed, and when conditions are not sufficient then our body does not manifest. We are caught by the idea of birth and death, the idea of existence and non-existence, and the idea of life span. The notion of life span is the basis of the notions of birth and death, coming and going, existence and non-existence, permanence and annihilation. All of these pairs of concepts have their foundation in the concept of life span. Therefore when we can destroy the notion of life span we can destroy the other notions."

Thay shifted into the next segment of the Dharma talk by tying the concept of interbeing into the logical next step: mindful consumption.  If everything we think, do, say and consume has an effect on everything and everyone else, we can take concrete steps to heal our lives and our planet through being mindful of what we consume.  This leads us to the Buddha's teaching of the Four Sources of Nutriment, which are the following: 1. Edible Food, 2. Sensory Impressions, 2. Volition and 4. Collective Consciousness.  

In his discussion of the mindful consumption of food, Thay predictably explained ways for us all to become more mindful of what we eat and how choosing our food has an effect on people, animals and plant life all over the planet.  When he began to speak about vegetarianism, people in the audience started to leave in surprisingly large numbers.  Unfortunately they did not get to find out that Thay was only suggesting that those of us who are meat eaters could make a commitment to eating vegetarian for 10 or 15 days per month.  In my household, this is something we already do, for economic as well as health and environmental reasons.  Thay reminded everyone of the large amount of grain it takes to feed cattle, and also to make alcoholic beverages.  This was a good reminder to become even more mindful of the amount and type of alcohol we consume, if any.  

Thay's teaching on the mindful consumption of sensory impressions was, in my opinion, a very badly needed reminder for the great majority of us.  He tied this back into the idea of becoming more mindful of suffering.  We consume many, many things in order to avoid the direct experience of our suffering.  The social media we subscribe to, the articles and the books we read, the music we play in our cars and homes, the television and radio programs we see and hear... all of these things have an enormous impact on our lives and the lives of everyone we come into contact with.  What if we could become more mindful of the sensory input we consume?  I, for one, would consume less.  I know that I turn on music throughout the day to shift out of presence and consciousness.  I am now challenged to look at that behavior and modify it somewhat, or at the very least to become more conscious of the times I do it.  

The nutriment of what Thay calls "volition," has also been referred to by other Buddhist teachers as "intention."  Volition describes our desire to get what we want and achieve our goals, immediate and long-term.  Thay said that often the direction of our desires leads us to an unhappy path, snaring us into more suffering.  Our desires can lead to impulsive actions.  In becoming overly focused on our goals and desires, we can lose sight of the best that life has to offer us in the present moment.  Thay says we adjust this tendency through participating in mindful sitting, walking and looking--in other words, through the spiritual practice of mindfulness we can adjust what our volition leads us to consume.  

Finally, in clarifying the meaning of "consciousness" as the fourth nutriment, Thay emphasized that whatever we consume feeds our consciousness.  Our consciousness is dominated by the thoughts we think, the words we speak and the actions we perform.  Thay encourages us to become more mindful of our consciousness and to feed it with love, compassion, joy and peace.  He says that if we look deeply at our suffering, we will see the things we have been feeding our consciousness which have led us down an unhappy path.  We can ease our suffering through taking good care of our consciousness and nourishing it in healthier ways. 

The points above were all I was able to take away from the Dharma talk, other than the peace and clarity exuded by Thay and his group of monastics.  Although I attended the talk by myself, I know that in reality I was connected to each and every person in attendance, as well as countless others on the outside who are contributing to the evolution of our consciousness as human beings. 

May you be safe.  May you be happy.  May you be healthy.  May you be free.