a new year...time for re(new)ing commitments?

Verse 4.30: All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice become cleansed of sinful reactions, and, having tasted the nectar of the results of sacrifices, they advance toward the supreme eternal atmosphere.

The New Year often brings a sense of fresh beginnings. It's a time to introspect, make new resolutions or perhaps re-commit to old ones.

In order to make good on resolutions, promises and vows, it requires steadiness of mind. As we've discussed before, the mind can be a little crazy (to put it mildly)! It possesses the characteristic of chanchala which is the sanskrit word for flickering or moving rapidly. And that, my friends, is the problem many of us face when trying to stick to any promises we make.

Although we may have the best of intentions to stick to our commitments, it's difficult when we reside 24/7 with a tenant, the mind, who is constantly accepting and rejecting various thoughts and ideas. Notice how when first making a resolution or promise, you feel strong and focused? It's because at that moment, the mind may be accepting of it. However, as time wears on, the the sacrifices one may need to make to keep that commitment becomes more apparent.

Therein lies our problem. At that intersection when our commitment is standing in the way of something else that we desire, the mind can act as our worst enemy. If it controls us, our determination wanes and our resolve weakens to stick to our word. That's because the mind is always seeking out ways and ideas to please the senses, not the heart or soul. We are placed in a predicament because our senses seek pleasure which is often temporary and our commitments often require postponing that immediate pleasure.

Although it's an example that's been used before, we'll use it again just because it illustrates this point so beautifully. Resolving to work out more frequently is often a commitment that is renewed around this time of year. For the first few days, weeks or even months, this may seem pretty easy to maintain. However, as time wears on, it's the mind that often gets in the way. "But that cupcake is just so delicious, just a mini one can't hurt," it'll cajole. Then suddenly some unexpected projects fall onto our plate and the mind may say "Impossible to go to the gym, just see all the work you have to finish. And you can't work without eating, so eat what you want!" So tricky is the mind that it's often hard to realize what's happening! It provokes one to ask, "How can I control it or at the very least steady it?"

Integral to the practice of yoga is mantra meditation. By focusing on powerful sound vibration, it helps to calm the mind. Even better is if one incorporates mantra meditation as part of a regular practice. Whether it be two minutes a day or two hours, the effects are powerful. It is the most practical way to steady the mind and costs nothing except a small investment of time.

So go ahead and make new commitments and/or renew old ones! Now you know the secret for ensuring success!

a case study

Verse 4.27: Others, who are interested in achieving self-realization through control of the mind and senses, offer the functions of all the senses, and of the life breath, as oblations into the fire of the controlled mind.

If you follow any major news outlet in North America, you've probably heard one name come up quite consistently in the past few weeks - Rob Ford. I bring up this personality today to use as a case study as to what could potentially happen when one does not control their mind and senses.

Mr. Ford, as many of you might know, is quite unbelievably still the mayor of Toronto. After repeated denials, he has finally admitted to binge drinking, smoking cocaine, buying illegal drugs and...well, I'll leave it at that as you can find out more by just Googling if you really want to.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned as an aspiring bhakti yoga practitioner is the fact that everything can serve as a lesson. In this instance, we can learn a great deal from the above-mentioned personality - specifically the consequences of leaving the mind and senses in charge.

One of the greatest benefits of practicing yoga, and specifically mantra yoga, is the increasing ability to control the mind, which is the leader of the senses. The mind, which is constantly accepting and rejecting ideas is perpetually active. That activity, however, needs to be harnessed. And that harnessing power can only come from the intelligence.

It's like a team. All members of a team may have great ideas and in their excitement may start talking over one another. But if the leader of the team is there to harness that energy and creativity, then great things can be accomplished. Without a capable leader, there is potential for frustration and disturbances to arise.

That's exactly what happens if the mind isn't controlled by the intelligence. It spins out of control. This is why discipline and regulation are foundational elements in the practice of yoga. They serve to keep us on track and when the mind starts to wander, the intelligence kicks in and reminds us of the greater goal - to truly connect with ourselves, each other and the Supreme.

For some of us, we've left the senses and mind play the leader for too long and neglected the intelligence. To reverse that situation takes great strength and determination. The key to keeping the inspiration to do so is not expecting results over night. Rather, by approaching every situation as an opportunity for practice, we start to become more aware of our habits and behaviour. It is that awareness that will help us put our intelligence back in control again.

love vs. lust

Verse 3.37: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.

Have you ever heard of the expression "transforming lust into love"? If so, you might not have known it at the time, but you were actually hearing the very essence of the Gita.

Although certain imagery or thoughts may come to mind when we think of the word lust, the Gita explains that that it is a transformation of love.

So what does love really mean then? Yoga defines love, in its highest form, to be the natural inclination of the soul to give pleasure to the Supreme. If you really meditate on that definition, it makes a lot of sense.

We all, by nature, are seeking that person who will provide us with all our necessities, never abandon us, is capable of loving us completely and is the only person who truly understands how we feel. Am I right or am I right? ;)

It's no coincidence that the Gita, along with all other authorized spiritual texts, give us one unanimous answer to that question - the Supreme.

If it's natural that we love the Divine, then why is it so hard for some of us to access that love. Why do we turn to so many other things? That question is answered here today: Because we are clouded by lust.

"When the soul's natural affection for the Supreme is misplaced, by trying instead to enjoy the property of the Supreme instead of engaging in a relationship with the Supreme, then that love is transformed into lust"

In other words, due to lifetimes of taking on different bodies, we've forgotten our love for the Divine. Instead, some of us try to fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts with all sorts of gadgets, people and situations that we think might make us happy. If that doesn't work and we feel dejected, frustrated and become angry), we still keep trying to seek eternal happiness through our temporary material bodies.

Many of us are under a type of amnesia. The only cure to re-awaken to our natural position of happiness is to associate with those persons who have come out from the fog and confusion. That's why bhakti yoga is a transformation of the heart, not just the mind or intelligence. By practicing mantra meditation, reading bhakti texts and spending time with advanced bhakti practitioners, we start to remember who we really are and gratitude starts to infuse the heart.

That gratitude is the path by which love can develop and we can truly remember who we are.

For many of us:

Life is a journey to find true love.

That true love is waiting for us. We just need to clear the fog of lust and realize that our greatest happiness is not found outside ourselves, but by connecting to the Supreme.

a teachable moment...and an intro to mantra meditation

Verse 3.12: In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajña [sacrifice], will supply all necessities to you. But he who enjoys such gifts without offering them to the demigods in return is certainly a thief.

When we do something for someone else, in one sense, we are performing a sacrifice. We are giving up our time, energy, money and even mental energy to acknowledge someone.

That's exactly what Krsna is saying here. "If you don't "perform sacrifice" for the demigods (empowered beings who are in charge of providing us various necessities), you are not acknowledging their service and therefore may be considered a thief."

No beating around the bush here; we're getting some tough love. And truth be told, for some of us, it may be needed. A jolt, to snap us out of any sense of entitlement we may be experiencing and/or the complete ignorance we may be blissfully be in that at every moment we are the recipients of gifts. Whether it be the air we breath, the use of our limbs or just being able to digest our meals, we are indebted to so many persons.

Ultimately, the person to thank is the Supreme, but I'd like to point out a "teachable moment" here. Although Krsna is the one who is empowering the demigods by giving them the knowledge, ability and facility to provide us with all our necessities, note what He is doing here: Krsna is passing along the credit to the demigods. This not only demonstrates perfect leadership, but by His own example, Krsna is showing us that we should take no one for granted. Everyone should be appreciated and acknowledged for whatever they do.

But I digress...back to the tough love. Acknowledgement is required and it's demonstrated through sacrifice. So what type of sacrifice do we perform then?

The recommended sacrifice that is given in the bhakti texts is that of mantra meditation. A mantra is a spiritual sound vibration which can free the mind from anxiety. If we think about it, why do we experience anxiety? Often it's because we're indebted to someone or something! We need to finish a report for our boss, need to feed the kids, need to plan an event for the thirty people who are coming, etc etc., the list just continues. Mantra meditation removes all this anxiety and in it's place brings about focus and peace.

Still, this might have some of us scratching our heads thinking, "How is mantra meditation sacrifice?" Simply put, mantra meditation requires that we voluntarily use our time to engage in saying these spiritual sound vibrations, and just as importantly, we engage our senses in hearing the mantra. Since mantras are composed of the names of the Divine, by saying and hearing these spiritual sounds, we are essentially making time to re-connect (i.e. yoga) and revive our forgotten relationship with the Supreme. The bhakti texts describe that the names of the Divine are non-different from the Divine Himself.

When you think about it, there's actually a lot more in it for us! Just by sacrificing even a little bit of our time to hear and chant, we get peace and focus, serve to acknowledge all the gifts that we are receiving from the Divine AND re-connect with Him all at the same time!

Another amazing thing about mantra meditation is how practical it is. It can be practiced anywhere, anytime. There is no restriction and limitation as to how and when one can start. This leaves us with one question then - which mantra one do we choose? There are numerous mantras that are offered in the Vedas, but only one is called the greatest mantra (i.e. maha mantra).

That mantra is:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

This sixteen word mantra is so powerful that by just saying it, one gets the benefits of chanting all the mantras that are found in the Vedas.

Simple but so powerful. The perfect sacrifice to express our acknowledgement and appreciation for all the gifts we receive is to engage in mantra meditation.