on July 11th, 2011
“guru satyam guru jnanam guru anandam guru shantih” My teacher is the truth, my teacher is the wisdom, my teacher is the bliss, my teacher is the peace.
Often when a student talks about their guru, they say things like, “It was like they saw right through me. There is nothing I can hide from them; I am transparent in their presence. They remind me of God; I feel more whole when I am with them. They seem to know everything about me, and yet they still love me, unconditionally.” How does this work? What kind of relationship is this? Gu means “ignorance; that which obscures Truth.” Ru means “that which removes.” The guru is the agent-the teacher-who removes ignorance so that the Truth can be revealed.
The relationship between student and teacher is a spiritual one-a relationship focused on identity. The quest for identity is the ultimate quest. To know oneself, to find out, to discover who you are, is the truth that everyone is looking for. The student seeks out a teacher because they want to know who they are. They are looking for help in understanding the confounding complexities and limitations of their own personality. You could say they are having an identity crisis. Usually the search starts with an experience of discontent and a feeling that they may be more than they thought they were, or that life may hold more potential beyond just eating, sleeping, money, sex, marriage, home, job and acquiring more stuff. This is why the spiritual path is not for normal people; it is for people who are looking for something more than success in the realms of the three basic power drives which fuel the three . . . → Read More: Monthly Focus: The Guru as a Mirror
on March 1st, 2011
 What is Yoga?
yogash chitta-vritti-nirodhah -PYS 1.2
This sutra is how Patanjali defines Yoga: when you cease to identify with your thoughts, fluctuations of mind, then there is Yoga-identity with Self, which is samadhi, happiness, bliss and ecstasy.
Wow, what a concept! And it is from this simply stated concept, this simply stated idea, that the philosophy, paths, methods and practices of yoga have emerged and developed. But if we take into consideration the thousands, maybe millions, of books which have been written about yoga since Patanjali made this statement, then we have to conclude that the question What is Yoga? has and continues to challenge and confound scholars, practitioners and devotees alike, even though Patanjali has given us the answer in four straightforward words. But can words themselves ever answer our deepest questions?
Well we can at least look at the words and contemplate what they might mean: yogash: “then there is Yoga”; chitta: “the content of the mind”; vritti: “the fluctuations, whirling or movement of the chitta”; nirodhah: “the cessation or letting go of identification with the movements of the mind”. By means of nirodhah, the revelation as well as the simultaneous merger with the Absolute comes about. This magical occurrence is a shift in one’s perception or a shift of identification of ones self/Self.
Nirodhah is what the practice of yoga aims to bring about. Nirodhah generally means to stop or to cease. Nirodhah here means ceasing to identify with your personality or limited self, which is composed of thoughts: thoughts about oneself create the reality of oneself. Yoga means union with the Self: not the self in the limited sense of mortal self-body/mind/ego/personality-but the higher Self-the Divine/eternal/limitless Self. The practices of Yoga . . . → Read More: March Focus (2011)
on February 1st, 2011
The Sheltering Roof
One who is friendly and compassionate towards all creatures is dear to me
There was a time in the not so distant past when during the winter months the old growth forests with trees, some of whom might be a thousand years old, would form a canopy with their upper branches and greenery, protecting the forest floor from snow fall. Of course when the sun shone in the morning and definitely in the spring time the snow that had been caught by the upper boughs of the trees would melt and the forest floor would receive this moisture in a gentle way. 
Can you imagine what it must have been like for the animals then, who knew the forest as their home? For one thing, they were kept much more dry than they are today. The small animals, who do not hibernate during the winter, like bunnies, mice and squirrels, would find it not that difficult to wake in the morning and go forage for food for themselves and their families. Nowadays with deep snow it can be difficult to find enough food. More than 97% of the old growth forest in the United States has been cut down. Still more is being cut each day. Perhaps in a few years this country, once so abundant with ancient forests will have none left. Even in the tropical rainforest of Brazil with all the clear cutting and damage that is going on, the Amazon still retains 75% of its old growth forest; it is called jungle there. The United States has barely 3% left.
When we look out of our windows here in Woodstock, NY, we can see mountains. These Catskill mountains have no old . . . → Read More: Focus of the Month
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My teacher is the truth, my teacher is the wisdom, my teacher is the bliss, my teacher is the peace.