Friday, July 27, 2012

Lalli's poem


A thousand times I asked my guru,
'The name of the One who is known by No-thing',
Tired and exhausted was I, asking time and again;
Out of Nothing emerged Something, bewildering and great!



http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/L/LallaDedLal/AthoustimesI.htm

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Verse 3:15 Bhagvad Gita


The translation of BG 3.15 that I would make is very close to 

Know that action arises from Brahman, Brahman from the Imperishable. Thus Brahman, although all-pervading, is ever established in yajña. 

The main point is not to translate 'yajña' as 'sacrifice'.  Sacrifice is not an entirely wrong translation of yajña but it is very inadequate.  As you would see from BG. 3.9-3.15, yajña is an activity involving two levels--humans and devas--in a mutual nourishment.  Of course, my attachment to a lower level prevents me from seeing or listening to the devas and therefore obstructs collaborating with them.  Therefore a sacrifice of my attachment to lower levels is needed.  But that is only a part of the undertaking.  In the exoteric tradition yajña becomes merely an external ceremony with 'havan', 'ahuti', etc.; thus completely perverting the teaching.


In the simple practice of breathing in and breathing out, if I breathe in with more awareness, or as I breathe more consciously, that simply means that I am aware of slightly subtler levels of reality and I therefore invite the deva of prana to assist me, or to work with me, in extracting subtler or alchemical substances from the same air as everyone else breathes.  Breathing more consciously is what turns my ordinary breathing into a yajña of breathing-- a prana yajña.

Great Prayer


GOD when I lose hope let me remember that
Your Love is greater than my disappointments

and Your plans for my life
are better than my Dreams

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Teacher's Advice


"If I understand it rightly, right action is not possible unless I involve a deva in the actions I undertake. So a search for us is how to invoke and involve a deva in us to collaborate with us in our activities.  The most important requirement for that is to bring the whole of my organism--body, mind, feelings--to become receptive to the whispers of the devas.

It is interesting to ponder BG 3:15 where Krishna says, "The all pervading Brahman is [especially] eternally established in yajña."

This seems to be the heart of the instruction for me. How to become receptive to the whispers of the devas.