2008-10-11T20:18:07Z
October 11, 2008
September 13, 2008
December 10, 2007
Which time is most suitable for meditation?
Ramana Maharshi was asked this question by Mr. W.Y. Evans-Wentz on January 24, 1935:
from Talks with Ramana Maharshi published by Inner Directions Publishing
Maharshi: What is time?
Questioner: Tell me what it is!
Maharshi: Time is only an idea. There is only the Reality. Wheatever you think it is, it looks like that. If you call it time, it is time. If you call it existence, it is existence, and so on. After calling it time, you divide it into years, months, days and nights, hours, minutes, etc. Time is immaterial for the Path of Knowledge. But some of these rules and disciplines are good for beginners.
February 21, 2007
From Nirmala Devi, February 21 Daily Inspiration
Every word of every tongue is
Love telling a story to her own ears.
Every thought in every mind,
She whispers a secret to her own Self.
Every vision in every eye,
She shows her beauty to her own sight.
Every smile on every face,
She reveals her own joy for herself to enjoy.
Love courses through everything,
No, Love is everything.
How can you say, there is no love,
when nothing but Love exists?
All that you see has appeared because of Love.
All shines from Love,
All pulses with Love,
All flows from Love--
No, once again, all IS Love!
~ Fakhruddin Iraqi (13th century AD)
November 22, 2005
Living Yoga
"Yoga is the state where you are missing nothing."
- Shri Brahmananda Saraswati, Founder Ananda Ashram
I love this quote - this teaching. As it is a great one to aspire to. Manorama, Sanskrit teacher goddess, quoted this at our recent retreat at Ananda Ashram, and it really struck me. I practice everyday - this deep meditation and yoga - many years now - and it's incredible to cut through the thoughts - the self-limiting ones that say, "you need more more more", "the present moment is not enough," "if only I had a billion dollars..." I'm always missing something - or another - aren't we all?
So that's why I practice - this yoga - this meditation, Anusara yoga - why I keep running back to the teachings, to my teachers, to the community - the kula -, to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha - so I can understand what it's like to be in the state where I am missing nothing.
"The lover or God (the yogi) is like the daughter or son of an infinitely powerful king. The royal prince or princess is always relaxed and confident under every circumstance. The Bhagavad Gita describes this person succinctly as 'one who remains spontaneously content with whatever comes.'"
- Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886)
Words to live up to.
Because I'm not so spontaneously content - yet. I'm still asking "but, why?" I'll have to say this, though, through the practice of yoga, I've learned and continue to learn how to be more patient, how not to give in to anger or jealousy, how to see others as divine, one person at a time. In the meantime, the yoga practice is here to step fully into everyday.
