~
Humility is the flip side of wisdom.
~
“The course of action is unfathomable” – Bhagavad Gita
~
“The only true knowing is that you know nothing” – Socrates
~
To grasp the ungraspable…
~
illusive…
~
truth.
I had a great economics professor in college. He once compared predicting the future of the economy to predicting where the autumn leaves falling from a tree would touch the ground. It is far to complex and multivariable to predict.
~
What then does determine our future, not just economically, but in every regard? In short the answer is: alignment with natural law.
~
At the depth of existence, all things are unified. That means all things are rooted in infinite harmony. Yet the complex web of life that it births is not fathomable and can be experienced as anything but harmonious.
~
By aligning with the underlying source of infinite harmony, the surface of life is healed. All things come into harmony. Not only the economy, but also the weather, daily life, and anything else you can imagine.
~
The western approach to knowledge, ‘the scientific method’, attempts to fathom life by holding all but one variable fixed. Then formulas are created to describe that isolated law of nature. This obviously has great value, as it is the foundation of tremendous technological advancements we have all come to enjoy.
~
However, the subtlety of the mastery of life is far more sublime and multivariable.
~
Vedic science embraces all the variables simultaneously. The unified wholeness of diversity is fully addressed. Infinitely complex dynamics, such as the economy, are managed by enlivening the connection between the surface and the limitless harmony that lies at the depth of all things. This is the technology of the future. It is the reality of the situation.
~
I understand full well that this understanding, to many, is so new, so radical, that it is difficult to imagine, let alone embrace. That is fine. In fact, it is the history of all innovations.
~
It entails a whole new way of thinking… one that is in harmony with nature.
~
“The greatest mistake you can make is to be continually fearing you will make one.” – Elbert Hubbard
~
~
Someone shared the following concept with me today that I understand came from a Navy Seal.
~
Everyone has a frontline in their life.
~
Your front line is the place where your hopes and dreams come up against the realities you are confronted with in life.
I received a question on the ‘God’s Will’ post and responded to it in comments. I thought it would be good to post it here as a blog:
~
Karma is action. The laws of karma are the laws of action… the laws of cause and effect. If you hit something (action), your hand hurts (reaction). The laws of karma are part of Gods will… part of His creation.
~
Grace is also God’s will. It transcends karma. It is free. Living from that level, you are free to act in harmony. You become like a martial artist or surfer in the sense that you can gracefully ride whatever karmic waves come your way.
~
Most of your karma dwells within you as your thoughts and feelings. As you align with Grace, more and more, your thoughts and feelings are in harmony – in Grace.
~
You then interact with karma gracefully, like a surfer surfing the waves on the ocean. Karma is still there, but you ride the waves with Grace. See?
~
Grace is an attribute of the absolute. Karma is an attribute of the relative.
~
In the state of enlightenment, the two are integrated. Like the tree trunk with the branches, the flow of motion is harmonious, even in the greatest karmic storm.
~
To perceive harmony on this level requires great wisdom. All may not be as it appears at first glance.
~
The big picture often eludes the casual observer.
The Will of God comes in two forms: Karma and Grace.
~
That simple principle answers many questions that have puzzled theologians throughout the ages.
~
The laws of physics are laws of karma. For every action, there is an equal reaction. What goes around comes around.
~
Why does God allow bad things to happen? Because karma lies in the domain of God’s Will. Simple… see?
~
Grace is the omnipresence
of God,
of love,
of Oneness,
of the unified field, infinite harmony, forgiveness, freedom.
~
Pick the word of your liking. A rose by any name is still a rose.
~
Ultimately, your will and God’s Will are one.
~
The only question: Is your will Karma or Grace?
~
The answer is up to you. You cultivate the life of your choosing.
Karma is like a propulsion engine on an orbiting spacecraft.
~
Truth acts like gravity from the nearby Sun… Shiva Ram.
~
In time, all things enter the infinite dominion of Truth, fight it as they may with their propulsion engines.
~
The wise and fortunate use that engine to speed toward Truth…God… the Sun.
~
Yet the best trajectory is highly elusive, easily misunderstood, overshot, undershot, misinterpreted,
the eye of the needle.
~
The Guru sees and shares what he sees in a manner subtle,
in accord with what can be heard,
pushing the envelope while not crushing the spacecraft.
~
This blog was written as a collaborative effort of Michael and the women of Mount Soma.
Vedic knowledge is easily lost. The question is, “Why?” If the knowledge is so valuable, why would it ever go away? Wouldn’t it be held, cherished, and protected no matter what?
There are many reasons why, however an issue has come up that illustrates one way the knowledge is lost that actually touches our own lives in a very personal way.
I understand that the following is a delicate topic and may, at first glance, be difficult for some to receive. I ask that those individuals take time to ponder the matter.
What if you were to learn that women should not attend pujas, homams, or yagyas, during menstruation? Certainly, there would be an understandable disappointment. But would it go further than disappointment?
Would you be inclined to disregard, reject, or rebel against the notion? Would you take offense? Would you choose to believe this is an invalid, sexist, cultural distortion? Would you cast it aside or rationalize it away?
How many examples of knowledge are lost in this way?
This knowledge is not an arbitrary or cultural matter. There is a physiological basis to it. Like gravity, it is simply a law of nature. It just is…
Women, during menstruation, are open channels to energy. They become more susceptible to the energies of the environment. Negative energies can enter and positive energies are easily dissipated through them at this time. They are particularly sensitive to all energies, but especially spiritual energies. They receive, hold, and radiate spiritual energy in a very powerful manner.
This time naturally affords women the opportunity to go inward and rest deeply. It is a window to advance spiritually if your relationship with it is healthy and wise.
Women’s energies are so fine during this time that those energies need to be nurtured and allowed to radiate out to the environment. They are sacred temples in and of themselves. The physical energy of groups is simply too crude for them to be immersed in. Similarly, they best support the group by remaining inward and restful.
During this time, women may find it difficult to be active. Their body’s inclination is to rest and relax. At Mount Soma we intend to accommodate and support that natural inclination during classes and retreats.
The physiology is so fine that it is best to not even listen to mantras. They are simply too imposing on the physiology. During classes and retreats when we meditate as a group, these women are encouraged to leave the room while Sama Veda and Rig Veda are being played to let their physiology rest in a manner that is best suited for them at this time. Women are encouraged to take full advantage of this opportunity.
We bring this aspect of the Knowledge forth at this time because the group consciousness has come to the level where it can hold it with the respect and dignity it deserves.
I have witnessed communities where this is honored. Women have a most profound aura about them during this time. Their energetic quality is similar to that of a reclusive saint. It is a time for them to honor themselves and to be honored by the group.
We encourage women to attune with their individual needs during menstruation by trying these suggested alterations to their daily routine:
Human behavior is fascinating. By taking a step back and witnessing how humans function, you take a huge step forward in your personal development. Observing how people select their spiritual discipline is a great place to start.
~
I have said before that I needed a better reason to be Christian than that I was born to a Christian family in a predominantly Christian nation. However, you do not need to look too deeply to see that is the primary way people do it. If you were born in a predominantly Muslim nation, very likely you would be Muslim. This is of course true for all the major religions. You would think that fact alone would give people reason to pause and reflect deeply. As some Catholics have said, “Give me a child for the first five years of their life and I will give you a good Catholic.”
~
I have also been fascinated to observe that people select a Guru and that is it. The idea that only their Guru is the real deal is incredibly common. Even more incredible is to see some of the people that are put in such a position of Guru and how they attained it.
~
First being from a foreign country, often particularly India, helps. There is something about the cultural norms of behavior and dress that enraptures westerners.
~
Speaking with a strange and enchanting accent is also a very effective way of being promoted to the title of Guru.
~
The performance of miracles is another favorite criterion. As Einstein said, “There are only two ways to look at life, one is that everything is a miracle, the other is that nothing is a miracle.”
~
Remarkably even to this day, people are quick to think of things they do not understand as miracles. Whether or not it is true, I have, many times been offered to be given mantras through which one can perform miracles. I have turned them down every time. Such things are, more often than not, manipulations of energy and of people.
~
Someone once commented to me that they felt people were more willing to listen to me since my hair began to grey. I responded by saying that I would like to think that people were not that shallow.
~
Indoctrination into a cultural or sub-cultural norm, and subsequently finding someone who aligns with that criterion for a spiritual teacher, is the number one way people select their Guru.
~
Where is the growth in finding someone who conforms to your current world view and clinging to that? Once a Guru is selected in that manner, the cake becomes baked and no one else can be accepted as having that stature.
~
I realize that I am in delicate terrain here. I say this in all humility and sincerity. To evolve beyond your current state, you will do well to get clear on the nature of that state. This is not easy to do.
~
So how to wisely pick a Guru? It requires an integration of thought, feeling, and reflection.
~
The challenge with thoughts is that you can justify anything with the intellect.
~
The challenge with feelings is that they can be based in personal bias and distortion instead of deep inner truth, each of which feels pretty much the same.
~
Reflection means taking time to be with thoughts and feelings with the willingness (this is rare) to question the source and motivation of those thoughts and feelings, and thereby evolve/move beyond them.
~
The ability and act of doing this in an ongoing way throughout life is called a life of discernment.
~
As Adi Shankara said, that is, in and of itself, the path to enlightenment.
Everything is all about balance. You have all the ingredients you need. The question is, do you balance them well? Proper balance of heat and cold is required to temper steel. The subtler something is, the more delicate and elusive the process of balancing becomes.
~
For example in physical fitness, diet, rest and exercise must be balanced. Even with the scale and mirror to monitor progress, this is a great challenge. Few are able to navigate those waters to achieve a great physique. Imagine an arena, where no such monitoring is readily available.
~
Personal evolution is such an arena. As well as being the most subtle of endeavors, evolution requires great attention be placed upon proper balance. So many factors must be balanced.
~
Two such factors are activity and rest (meditation). Balancing these two things is critical if you are to temper the steel of life.
~
Those who live in the world tend to be dominated by activity at the expense of meditation. In the ashram, meditation dominates and must be balanced with sufficient focused activity. Habit must be overcome, be it the worldly habit of outwardly directed activity, or the ashram habit of the stillness within. The tail and the kite must function as one for evolution to happen.
~
The bliss of the Absolute is so charming that it becomes an annoyance to have to focus in the relative aspect of life. If left unchecked, this leads to imbalance.
~
Of course, the individual does not think they are out of balance. They feel they are enlightened, or at least getting there. Yet unchecked, it becomes clear to everyone else that they are becoming dysfunctional! It is the responsibility of the head of the ashram to temper the steel.
~
In a case such as this, the instinct of the student is to avoid the process of integration. After all, basking in the transcendent feels so good. Why, they wonder, must it be disturbed with activity?
~
However, to integrate (balance) the absolute with the relative within the physiology of the student is what evolution is all about. Yoga means union.
~
If you are in the world, the opposite is true: The question becomes “How can I take time to meditate with so much to do? I can not even sit still for a moment.” Once again, yoga means union.
~
Everything is all about balance.
The Truth about Religion and Flatlining
