Lots of people make resolutions on or before New Year’s day, but not so many people carry them out successfully. But that doesn’t mean that we should not try. The mayor of Oklahoma City has taken on a great resolution to try to help his obese city (they are ninth in the USA) to lose one million pounds collectively. I have given some suggestions on how individuals can lose weight, and you can read about them.
Similarly if you want to give up smoking, then now is also a good time to do it. I wrote a book about this subject and you can look a the introduction to it on the web.
So, it is a New Year, it is time to open up a new chapter in our lives. I hope we are all successful in this endeavor.
January 6th, 2008
Usually on New Year’s eve many people make resolutions to improve their lives during the coming year. This is a good thing because firm determination is the first secret of spiritual success.
However it is not enough to stop there. After you make a determination to do something, you have to follow up with action. So, if you have resolved to become regular in your practice of yoga and meditation, then now is the time to act on this resolution. It is already the new year, so if you skipped your yoga session this morning, then do it this evening. Don’t wait till tomorrow or the next day to start, or you may never get going.
In any case I don’t want to give a lecture about this, I would just like to wish you a Happy New Year and lots of success in the coming months.
January 1st, 2008
by Dada Vedaprajinananda
The practice of yoga and meditation has become increasingly popular in the past few years, but I am sure that there are many people who are still asking themselves, “What’s in it for me?” So, if you have been wondering whether it would be worth your time to start practicing yoga and meditation, I would like to give you five good reasons why it would be a very worthwhile activity for you. (more…)
December 24th, 2007
Today I was riding in one of New Delhi’s famous three wheeled autorickshaws.
The driver was a very good young man and said that he was working in this job due to family circumstances, but he had originally intended to study more and get a better job. He said that if he had a better job and more money then he could help society with social service.
Actually we can all do something regardless of our capacity. The charity of a beggar is in fact worth more than the charity of a rich person, because the beggar is making a greater sacrifice.
There is an incident in India’s epic tale, The Ramayana that illustrates this point well. In that story, the hero Rama had to build a bridge spanning a huge distance of ocean. Helping him were strong apes who carried boulders for the bridge’s construction. There was also a small squirrel who carried pebbles, out of love for Rama. The monkeys taunted the squirrel saying that his pebbles were useless. Rama intervened and said that the squirrel was working to his capacity and that his contribution was equally valuable.
Here is what my Guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti said about this:
“You know the story of the Rámáyańa. During construction of a bridge, the big monkeys carried large stones while the small squirrels brought only tiny grains of sand. Is there any difference between the carrying of tiny grains of sand by the squirrels on the one hand and the carrying of a whole mountain by Hanumán on the other? Both are equally valuable. You may be a small entity like a squirrel, but your existence is in no way insignificant.”
So help others according to your capacity and don’t worry if you are not rich enough to be a famous philanthropist. Your heartfelt help made according to your own capacity is as good as a gift of one billion dollars.
October 27th, 2007
India is the home of yoga and I am visiting here for the next month. I hope to share some insights with you during this trip and show you some pictures soon. So come back in the next few days
In India one of the most famous prayers is the Gayatrii Mantra or Gayatrii Rk. Here is what my Guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti has to say about it:
By meditating on this divine effulgence we get the inspiration to move along the path of blessedness. That is why we meditate and that is why we are to meditate. We must meditate. This prayer is of the cardinal type, hence it is a necessity. We should do it, we must do it. Prayers like, “Oh God, give us food, give us drink” are all non-cardinal; hence they are useless and should always be discouraged. I told you that your requirements are better known to Him. You do not know what you actual requirements are. He knows. In several portions of the Yajurveda also, prayers are like this “guide our intellect unto the path of blessedness.”
October 25th, 2007
It is not easy to follow a spiritual path in an age of materialism. You may be trying to improve yourself with yoga and meditation, but your neighbors, friends and even family members may be moving in a different direction.
One of the ways you can gain the strength needed to stick to your path is by associating with like-minded people. When I first began yoga there were some days when I didn’t feel like doing it, but I was with some friends who were also into yoga and they said, “come on let’s do our yoga postures together.” So that really helped. Imagine if I had had friends who would have said,”yeah, yoga is for sissies, come on let’s go and drink some beer.” I wouldn’t be here now writing this yoga blog!
So, if you want to remain consistent and strong in your yoga practice hang out with like-minded people. Find some friends who also wish to move on the spiritual path. Good company in Sanskrit is called Satsaunga (sometimes written, satsanga). Sat signifies the unchangeable supreme truth and saunga means company.
Here is what my guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti has to say about satsaunga:
“Even a golden vessel needs polishing occasionally. Unmaintained it gathers dust and dirt and loses its lustre. Similarly, even a good person or a sádhaka needs proper maintenance, for in a world of constant change, care must be taken that the change be always towards the better or the higher. Keeping good company is essential for this positive development. While bad company strengthens the bondage of the soul, good company is conducive to liberation and salvation. The keeping of good company is conducive to liberation and is known as satsauṋga in Sanskrit. When satsauṋga is followed, either physically or mentally or both, the subconscious mind, and thus the conscious mind, are charged with better and higher influences. This change will move the follower forward towards higher and better goals.”
You can find out more about this approach to yoga at www.anandamarga.org
October 14th, 2007
Technorati Profile
This post is just a technical item, to make sure that the technorati blog search engine finds everything on this blog
October 12th, 2007
I’ve been fasting today. I do it four times a month and am seldom bothered by hunger (I’ll explain why later). But today was different and in the afternoon at around 5.00 PM I had “demon hunger” and couldn’t concentrate on some computer work that I was doing. I really felt like eating something!
I contemplated taking some fruit, which is generally a good idea whenever you are in this kind of predicament. For example, suppose you are trying to lose weight by cutting down on high calorie snacks in-between meals, and all of a sudden you get the “munchies” well if you eat an apple or some other fruit it sometimes does the trick and your hunger is gone.
But instead of grabbing an apple, I resorted to a “yogi trick,” I drank two glasses of lemon water. I made it by squeezing lemon into the glass and adding a bit of salt and water. This lemon water drink is great for giving strength and it also works to allay the hunger. I drank and then went back to work (which includes typing this blog entry). So if you really want to stick to your fast, before you to for fruit, try the lemon water.
And remember one thing: you will not go to hell if you take some lemon water or eat a fruit. Fasting is not a “religious” act (though it has value if you use the time that you save from shopping, cooking and cleaning and do something spiritual during the gained time). Fasting will help you to maintain your health, so do your best to do it regularly (twice a month is great).
Now, I promised to tell you how I usually avoid hunger altogether on the fasting day, so I will do it. Before you begin a fast you have to prepare yourself physically, and most important mentally.
Let’s start with mental preparation. The night before the day when you will be fasting you have to remember that tomorrow is the fasting day and set your mind to it. It’s final, tomorrow you are fasting. If you have this kind of determination, then your desire to eat will not even start working on the day of fasting. It just shuts down. It is amazing but it is true.
If you don’t make this kind of mental preparation then when you wake up you will be thinking of breakfast or of eating sometime. If you decide to fast right then, on the spot, you will also think about why it might be good to eat (you can always find a reason!). And in the midst of this quivering mind-set hunger usually wins the day! So make up your mind the night before and you will be surprised at how helpful it is.
Second, and this is why I was hungry today, prepare yourself physically. The day before the fast make sure that you get enough liquids and also enough calories. My meals yesterday must have been too skimpy and that is why I got hungry. In any case the day is almost over and tomorrow I will dig into some yogurt and fruit!
October 10th, 2007
Any yogi can tell you that yoga will help you to become calm and overcome stress and depression. but up until now there has not been enough scientific proof to convince the skeptics. This may be changing, take a look at this excerpt from the Los Angeles Times:
Study Shows Hard Evidence That Yoga Elevates State of Mind
THE NOTION that yoga is a tonic for the mind, as well as the body, isn’t such a stretch anymore.
Practicing yoga might boost a neurotransmitter associated with regulating depression and anxiety disorders, according to a new report in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine and McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., used magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging to measure levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, in the brains of eight regular yoga practitioners. They found that the yoga group experienced a 27 percent increase in GABA levels after an hour of yoga, while 11 control subjects, who read for an hour, received no such benefits.
“The study shows that there’s a neurochemical response to the practice of yoga that’s similar to neurochemical responses we see when people are treated with antidepressants,” says lead author Dr. Chris Streeter, an assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine.
Although yoga has been associated with a reduction in depression and anxiety, the study is one of the first to provide hard evidence. “This is a behavioral intervention that you can use to augment treatment,” Streeter says. “I would recommend it.”
– Los Angeles Times
October 5th, 2007
7000 years ago, or so, Sadashiva, the founder of yoga, said that one of the seven secrets of spiritual success is to have a balanced mind.
What does this mean? One should not have a superiority complex, nor should one have an inferiority complex. Everyone knows that a big ego is an impediment to spiritual growth. However, just as the “umbrella of ego” can prevent you from feeling the rain of spiritual grace, an inferiority complex can cause you to stop striving for perfection.
The balance between the two extremes is hard to achieve but it is possible. The best way to achieve it is to remember that you are the son or the daughter of the Supreme Consciousness. If you remember this, you can never harbor an inferiority complex. Similarly if you remember this, you will be reminded that whatever strength you have has been provided by the Supreme Consciousness.
About 1500 years ago Caetanya Mahaprabhu gave a wonderful and concise formula for achieving this balanced mind. He said:
Trńádapi suniicena taroriva sahiśńnuná
Amáninaḿ mánadeyaḿ kiirtaniiya sadá harih.
One should be as humble as the grass and as tolerant as the trees, one should give respect to those whom no one respects, and always do kiirtan to the Lord.
So, when your vanity rears up, just remember the example of the humble, but strong, blades of grass that absorb a lot of wear but always bounce up again. Remember the example of a tree that gives everything to people but asks for nothing in return. Turn your attention to the people in society who are neglected and in all your spare moments, sing a spiritual song to God.
October 4th, 2007
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