Thursday Quote

"The inadequacy of sacrificial worship to obtain Liberation has already been pointed out. Philanthropic works are in the same category. They are generally undertaken to acquire fame or power, soothe a guilty conscience, or kill the boredom of life. The performer of such actions believes in the diversity of the relative world. Any work based upon diversity cannot lead to the Highest Good. True and unselfish service to others can be rendered only by those who have realized the unity of existence."

-Swami Nikhilananda

Monday Music

Funny Friday

Chelsea, NYC

Thursday Quote

"Due your duty, never grow anxious and do not think of the future. Whenever anxiety rises in you, you become an atheist; you don't believe in God and that He cares for you. If you have real faith, you can never grow anxious."

-Swami Ramakrishnananda

Monday Music

Vastu Puja and Vastu Shanti Mantra

Thursday Quote

"In Yoga, we're not looking to repress aspects of ourselves or deny that they exist. It becomes a falling away. A process. And you slowly begin to come into an awareness that you authentically want to clean up your act. You no longer run away from your work— you sit in the purifying fire of it."

~ Chandra Om

MONDAY MUSIC

JAGJIT SINGH: "Om Shivay Hari Om Shivay" (Dhun)






Happy Birthday, Sri Dharma!

THURSDAY QUOTE

“Until now, I have been dreaming. In my dream, I wandered through the forest of illusion, from birth to birth, beset by all kinds of troubles and miseries, subject to reincarnation, decay and death. The tiger of ego attacked me cruelly, without ceasing. Now, by your infinite compassion, O Master, you have wakened me from my dream. You have set me free forever. "Salutations to you, O great master. You are one with Brahman. You are one with the shining Light that casts this shadow of a world.” -Adi Shankaracharya

Monday Music

Monday Music

Another classic track from the 80s: "¡Nicaragua Sandinista!" by the Argies



¡Asi se toca!

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

A look back at Pattabhi Jois's 2000 "Final World Tour"

when one practiced with Pattrabhi Jois, R. Sharath *and* Manju Jois





Exhibit A: Rebecca Mead's New Yorker article - in which Gwynneth Paltrow is described as "a tall tall man"



Exhibit B: Cara J's Yoga Chicago article - in which I receive my first adjustment from Pattabhi Jois - in Janusirsasana C!

Reverence

Bhagavan Das and his Kali gave an awesome kirtan at YogaNow last night.

It was like he was channeling his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba.

Before the kirtan, the shala owner read from a sheet about basic kirtan etiquette. Among the guidelines (these are not word-for-word and my memory is not perfect):

-Stand up with folded hands when Baba enters and leaves the room. We are not standing up to show respect for him per se, but to acknowledge the spark of the divine within our own selves (and him).

-Do not point the feet at the deities / Bhagavan Das (this is considered highly offensive in India [to point feet at deities / an elder])

-Do not lie down during the kirtan

-Kirtan is participatory - not a concert. Sing!

-It is not a social event. Please keep conversation to a minimum.

-Keep the doors closed. If you must leave, close the door quietly behind you.

I cannot relate how refreshing it was to hear someone finally lay down the law; I think it made the space more sacred and created a much more powerful experience (for the first time in eons, no one sprawled out for a nap next to me during kirtan! Now, if they'd just ask people to stay til the end).

American culture can be so casual, self-centered, and insensitive - we often don't know how not to act otherwise. Like children, we sometimes need to have it spelled out for us.

Anyway, I haven't heard such truth since Chandra Om revealed how we should comport ourselves at Sri Dharma's 200-hour training in 2007. Her compassionate but not watered-down words still ring in my ears.

* * *

Reverence II

Interestingly, this quote from Sri Dharma Mittra was included in yesterday's missive from the New York center:

"To be a good student, one must be reverent, have patience and make great efforts.

"I think maybe there is a little less reverence today and perhaps more interest in the physical aspects of the practice, but the questions are still the same as people yearning to discover who and what they really are remains eternal. I try to be receptive to what the students ask and to what I think will help them to make progress based on my intuition and experience. I think it's good sometimes to just do your meditation and keep asking the question. Then, all the answers come." -Sri Dharma Mittra







Reverence III

The student should also be obedient and not fickle....

...and stick it out til the end

-K.O.

THURSDAY QUOTE

Relaxation of the muscles is as important as focusing on their development, and it is a balance of the two which brings one to a state of radiant health.

Even just ten minutes of Deep Relaxation, with the thoughts and breathing slowed almost to the point of stopping, can be as restorative as a good night's full rest. Deep Relaxation is the best antidote for impurity. It dispels tension and fatigue in the physical body and relieves depression, anxiety, headaches, cravings and desires. Deep Relaxation rejuvenates and energizes the entire system, bolstering the body's natural healing capacities and helping to normalize the circulatory system's function. When done regularly and with pure intention, one departs the body and crosses over into Psychic Sleep, briefly experiencing the Astral Plane. It is through this deep practice that one can gradually come to recognize that they are so much more than the body or the mind.

-Sri Dharma Mittra