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 January 4th, 2011
 Three Steps
My first real spiritual teacher was an alchemist. By “real spiritual teacher” I mean that he consciously gave me teachings and practices to help me understand the spiritual principles underlying all of existence. By “alchemy” I mean the ancient practice of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. My teacher was a photographer by profession and his knowledge of chemistry was not only practical but metaphysical as well. I initially came to him because I wanted to know the cause of physical matter: what makes form form? Under his tutelage I studied the basic building blocks that constitute matter-the twelve cell salts. These salts, being crystalline in form, actually provide a mathematical or geometrical grid that attracts subtle vibrations and organize them into what eventually becomes manifest form. I also learned how to grow crystals in test tubes in a laboratory setting and assisted him in classical alchemical long-term projects that dealt with elemental properties of minerals, especially mercury and gold. He taught me the value of meditation and how to look deeply into ordinary things to discover essence, which included the investigation of words and their root etymological meanings. He infused our lessons with practical science, providing what he promised was an experiential connection to truth.
During this time I was also drawn to The Theosophical Library, an occult library where I spent a lot of hours reading books about yoga, saints, Eastern religions and enlightenment. Several books stand out in my memory-all biographies: The Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahamsa Yogananda, and two books by W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibet’s Great Yogi: Milarepa and Padma-Sambhava’s biography. After I read these, I professed to my teacher that above all else I wanted to become enlightened and asked . . . → Read More: Jivamukti Yoga Focus of the Month Jan. 2011
on December 23rd, 2010
 December 2010: Sweeping The Dust
pattram pushpam phalam toyam / yo me bhaktya prayacchati tad aham bhakti-upahrtam / ashnami prayata-atmanah
Whatever is offered to Me with a pure loving heart, no matter if it is as small as a leaf, a flower, a piece of fruit, or a sip of water, I will accept it. -Bhagavad Gita IX.26
When I first went to India, I was eager to look at Indian miniature paintings from the sixteenth century. I had seen many of them in museums in the West, and I assumed that in India I would find the best collections. But the museums in India are poorly lit, so I couldn’t see anything. What I did find, though, was incredible artistic beauty in a hand-painted spoon, the tapestried seat of a chair, a clay cup, an embroidered shawl, a hand-woven man’s skull cap and carpets made from rags called rag-rugs. So I gave up looking for art in a museum and instead found it in daily life. Worshipping is like this also. We may look for God in the museum, church or temple, but God is not limited to such places: He is everywhere. But how do we find God everywhere? By treating everyone as God. And how would God like to be treated? In this verse, the Lord says bring me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or some water, with devotion. He wants something unpretentious that expresses affection. If we can do this with everyone, we will know the meaning of this verse. One stick of incense, a single good word, food for one dog, memorizing one text, bowing down one time or one warm cup of tea-all are acceptable to the Lord. In . . . → Read More: Jivamukti Yoga Focus of the Month
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