Reflections on a trip

A very interesting insight in meditation today, that this trip is no different from the other trip (this janma [birth] is after all another longer trip). So even if one knows that the future holds the potential for discomfort or something pleasurable in a short visit, there is no reason to either reject or be attracted to the same. The same thing is called samyagdarshana in Yoga- it is a certain equality in viewpoint. There is a verse (5.18) in the Bhagavad GItA that I was reading the other day, which captures a similar sentiment

Text 18

vidyA-vinaya-sampanne

brAhmaNe gavi hastini

shuni caiva shvapAke ca

paNDitah sama-darshinah

Translation 

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]. 

And another practical insight was also revealed. Although I could feel that the timing of this visit was not at the best time, one realizes that faith in Devi can conquer even these unsuitable conditions because Her power is what enables the planetary movements and their subsequent effects on human life. Or one may interpret that as a mind made strong by faith in Shakti can conquer the ups and downs of circumstances and situations. So it all went well.

Daily remembrance and satsang

I can understand that sometimes it is hard to set aside the right time for meditation, and I think you are doing exactly the right thing: which is finding some time during the day to either read the Gita, or listen to a stotram, or to read the autobiographies of the gurus and saints. They all accomplish the same thing- which is to remind us of the Divine around us and in us. If this can be done as often as possible, even once a day to begin with, then it is very uplifting. That is the first step towards the final goal of constant remembrance.

The daily grind in the mundane (and this word with its Latin root mundo- the world, captures the point so well) leaves us spiritually exhausted. Even conversations with friends and others often revolve around something or the other that is not altogether uplifting. In time the invigorating tonic of hearing about the Divine becomes intoxicating, and it is accessed in different ways. One of the benefits of satsang is the opportunity to discuss something uplifting, where otherwise it would be difficult to talk about anything other than the mundane.

Free will and Determinism

From Sri RamaNa MahaRshi:

Firm and disciplined inherence in the Atman, without giving the least scope for the rise of any thought other than the deep contemplative thought of the Self, constitutes self-surrender to the Supreme Lord. Let any amount of burden be laid on Him, He will bear it all. It is, in fact, the indefinable power of the Lord that ordains, sustains, and controls everything that happens. Why then should we worry, tormented by vexatious thoughts, saying: 'Shall we act this way? No, that way,' instead of meekly but happily submitting to that Power? Knowing that the train carries all the weight, why indeed should we, the passengers traveling in it, carry our small individual articles of luggage on our laps to our great discomfort, instead of putting them aside and sitting at perfect ease?

And some other thoughts on free will and determinism for sAdhaka-s

https://sites.google.com/site/sadhanaguidance/concepts-1/free-will-and-determinism

ShivAnandalahari

The ShivAnandalahari directly captures so many insights, and unsurprisingly it is composed by none other than SrI Adi ShankarAcArya himself!

It takes this mind quite a bit of time to understand and digest even one verse of it, so it is pretty amazing how people chant this at high speed like the TGV express!

Reflecting on verse or two at a time that captures a particular idea that resonates in sAdhanA and then dwelling on it is very useful. As an example, here is one that clearly informs of the folly of arduous religious pilgrimages when the mind is not truly seeking to know the true Self:


Searches and hunts the dim witted one, 

In the deep dark lake, 

In the lonely dangerous forest,

And in the broad high mountains 

For a flower to worship thee. 

It is a wonder, 

That these people do not know, 

To offer to you the single lotus, 

From the lake of ones own mind, 

Oh God who is the consort of Uma, 

And be happy at ones own place.

Difference and Reality

An insight arose in the mind on waking up:

"The least perception of difference is false perception"