Day 1 - Yoga Sutra 1 - Reflections on Practice

Shanti and welcome

Perhaps one of the most important parts of a strong yoga practice is the practice of tarka or reflective journaling. Reflection upon your inner and outer life is essential if you wish to progress along the path. These reflections on your life can help you see your mind more clearly. Your relationship to yourself, the world, and others is revealed in each journal entry. We can sometimes be blinded by our own beliefs or trapped in a cycle of thinking that is unhealthy for us. Tarka can help us to illumine the way before us, discard old beliefs, and change our attitudes and ways of thinking.

This blog is designed to help you reflect upon your life and examine your mind so that you may travel the path of enlightenment with greater ease and harmony.


Today's Tarka Practice
For today’s reflection, I have chosen Satchidananda’s translation of Patanjali’s first teaching in Book 1 of the Yoga Sutras.

“Now the exposition of Yoga is being made”

Here, Satchidananda’s emphasis is on the “practice”. He tells us that yoga is not something you just think about but something you do. He is not talking about only the physical practice (asan) but the entire practice of yoga (all 8 limbs – yamas, niyamas, asanas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi).

He believes that one will not reach the goal by philosophy and words only; instead, if we wish to reach the goal of yoga, we must practice.

For today’s tarka in your journal consider the way you practice each of the eight limbs of yoga. If you are not practicing all 8 limbs, think about how you could incorporate this practice into your daily life.

Day 2 - Yoga Sutra 1 - Reflections on the Present Moment

Today's Tarka Practice
For today’s reflection, I have chosen Kriyananda’s translation of Patanjali’s first teaching in Book 1 of the Yoga Sutras.

“Now, at an auspicious moment, begins the traditional instruction in yoga”

Here, one of the main ideas of Kriyananda’s translation is his focus on “this moment”. He wants us to consider the important concept of auspiciousness. He wants us to ask “why now”? Why has yoga come into our lives right now, at this particular time?

For today’s tarka see if you can reflect on the importance of yoga in your life right now. For a deeper understanding, you may want to think about how long you have been practicing yoga, why you were called to it in the first place, and what it means to you on this particular day.

Day 7 - The Chandogya Upanishad

Today's Tarka Practice
I want you to reflect on this passage from the Chandogya Upanishad...

Brahman is all. From Brahman come appearances, sensations, desires, deeds. But all these are merely name and form. To know Brahman one must experience the identity between him and the Self, or Brahman dwelling within the lotus of the heart. Only by so doing can man escape from sorow and death, and become on with the subtle essence beyond all knowledge.

To get started on your reflection, think of Brahman as meaning "the totality of reality". That is everything in reality both physical and non-physical.

The Atman or Self is one thing in that total reality.

How does this Upanishad help you to understand the relationship between yourself and the total reality? If you are having trouble, think of yourself as one ripple in an entire pond or one wave in an entire ocean. The ripple or the wave is the Self and the pond or Ocean is Brahman.

Day 9 - The Empty Mind

Today's Tarka Practice
On of the reasons that we practice meditation is to empty the mind. An empty mind is a clear mind. An empty mind allows us to see reality as it is, to connect to our higher sense of self, to become one with God, Self, Nature,Universe, Reality or the Atma within the Brahman.

The first step to an empty mind is to use a meditation technique to focus the mind. Meditation practitioners around the world use a variety of techniques - they use a catch word or phrase, they use the breath, they use an object of beauty, they watch their thoughts, they use a mantra, etc. There are many techniques to choose from. Do not get caught up in the technique. The technique helps us to focus the mind but that is not the goal. The goal is to allow this focusing technique to empty our minds of all other thoughts. Eventually, with practice, you will become completely focused on this one thing. However, you should not stop there.

It is when you are so completely focused on the now that you are no longer concentrating that you have acheived the goal. All time passes away, all thoughts pass away and everything becomes completely effortless. It is at this point that you will truly experience the peace and harmony of an empty mind.

In your journal, write down a list of all of the different techniques you have tried. Out of that list, pick the one that works the best for you. The one that helps you get as close to this empty mind, this one-pointedness that you can possibly be in this moment. Now, practice only this technique for the next 40 days. See what happens and record any changes you experience in your journal.

Day 10 - Once Upon A Yogi Time

Today's Tarka Practice
Today, I wish to share one of my favorite stories. Before making any decisions in my life, I think about this story to see whether or not I really wish to generate the karma from the thought and action that would occur from the decision. It goes like this...

"Once upon a yogi time, a disciple went into a restaurant and sat down. He was thinking. 'My Guru says that the mind can cause great havoc. I don't understand.' His eye caught the glistening of a little drop of honey that had splashed on the wall. He then saw a bee come to taste the honey. Soon a lizard rushed at the bee with its long, quivering tongue. The manager's pet cat leaped for the lizard. A little dog hidden in the coat of a customer jumped up and wounded the cat...the owner of the little dog pounced upon the dog...the waiter spilled a large tray of hot soup...and the cook came screaming from the kitchen wondering what was going on! The disciple sat calmly and reflected. Is that too mystical"? Taken from Goswami Kriyananda's Beginner's Guide to Meditation

What is the moral of this story? Sometimes we should leave the honey alone, or sometimes we should not take any action.

In your journal today, think about a situation that got out of your control very quickly. Think about the very beginning of the situation - the thought that made you take action. How might your life be different if you had not acted on that thought?

Day 12 - The River of Life

Today’s Tarka Practice
I have one more story to share with you this week. This story is taken from Goswami Kriyananda's Beginner's Guide to Meditation.

"Once upon a yogi time there was a man who owned a little donkey. For many years, the donkey carried huge baskets of salt that weighed him down and made him tired. One day, by accident, the donkey slipped at the edge of the river and fell in. When he emerged, he realized that his burden was greatly lightened because most of the salt dissolved in the river. The man was angry but accepted the loss of the salt as an accident. The next day the donkey passed the same river and remembered how light his burden had been made the previous day. So he threw himself into the water and came back out, his load greatly lightened. This went on for a few days until the man realized what his donkey was doing. But he said nothing. Some days later, the man stacked huge piles of cotton on the donkey and together they started their trek. Coming to the river, the donkey thought himself very clever and again fell in. But this time the light cotton quickly soaked up the water, and when the little donkey emerged from the stream his legs buckled under him, and he understood the ways of the river of life."

While there are many different levels to this story and many things to reflect upon, today we will focus on only one of those themes.

For today's journal, think about your misconceptions about life. It is easy to think that once we take care of the problem, life will run smoothly. However, this is not the way of life. Life can be easy sometimes and challenging sometimes. We can solve one problem, have a break, only for another new set of problems to begin. Write down your expectations about life. What you expect to happen and what actually happens may be completely different things, so it is good to be aware of the nature of life, particularly, the nature of your life.
Shanti

Day 16 - The Isha Mantra

Today’s Tarka Practice

This week we will be discussing and practicing several mantras.

The Isha Mantra
Om Purnam Adaha Purnam Idam
Purnat Purnam Udacyate
Purnasya Purnam Adaya
Purnam Eva-vasi-syate

This mantra is an expression of the ideas set forth in the Isha Upanishad. It speaks to the relationship between the Atman (Self) and the Brahman (Absolute Reality). The message here is that the Brahman is perfect, whole and complete and because we come from the Brahman or the absolute, unmanifested reality, that we are also perfect, whole and complete.

We can use this mantra in our own lives to help us understand that the Atman and the Brahman are the same. We are a part of the absolute. We have come out of the absolute. We are a part of the manifested reality that comes out of the unmanifested reality.

This mantra is used to harmonize ourselves with the universe or to yoke together our earth life and spiritual life. It is one of the most important mantras because of this yoking. It is this yoking that is the goal of yoga – complete Self-realization.

On a practical level, one could use this mantra when one is feeling confused about life and one’s purpose in it. One could use this mantra if one is feeling disconnected from one’s spiritual nature and/or spiritual life. There are really an infinite number of uses for this mantra. It is, perhaps, one of the most powerful mantras to use in our daily practice.

For today's journal entry, think about the times that you feel most disconnected from your own life's purpose. If you are struggling to find your life's purpose, write down those thoughts as well. Repeat this mantra over and over for 5 minutes. Write about your experience.

Day 17 - The Sarveshaam Shanti Mantra

Today’s Tarka Practice
Today we will discuss the Sarveshaam Shanti Mantra. In my tradition, we only practice the first part of the mantra, which is...

Om sarveshaam svastir bhavatu, sarveshaam shaantir bhavatu
sarveshaam poornam bhavatu, sarveshaam mangalam bhavatu

The Sarvasham mantra is a blessing mantra or prayer for all people and can be interpreted in the following way:
Sarveshaam – means all people
Svastir – means well being
Shaantir – means peace
Poornam – means completeness
Mangalam – means auspiciousness
Bhavatu – let it be ordained

Hence, this mantra means…let it be ordained that all people experience well-being, peace, completeness and auspiciousness.

This mantra can be used in your practice in many ways. It can be said daily as a part of your meditation practice. It can be used when you are having trouble with forgiveness. It can be used in a temple at the beginning or end of a service.

For today, let’s talk about using it when you are having trouble with forgiveness. Sometimes we are not ready to forgive someone and we need some help moving into that place. In order to help us move towards forgiveness, we can say this mantra daily in our meditation practice as we picture the person we wish to forgive. Saying this mantra will allow us to send good wishes towards the person we are feeling angry about (without actually forgiving them yet), which will eventually help us to feel more positive and less angry. As we begin to feel more positive and less angry, this moves our thoughts gradually, slowly towards forgiveness. Eventually, our thoughts will become softer and we will be ready to forgive and let go of the feelings we once held.

In your journal, think of someone you wish to forgive (this could also be yourself). Write down the story of what happened between you and the person. Write down what made you upset, sad, angry, jealous, etc. Get the whole story down on paper. After you have written everything down, set some time aside for meditation and practice this mantra. See what happens and write down what you experience.
Shanti

Day 18 - The Om Namah Shivaya Mantra

Today’s Tarka Practice

Today we will discuss the Om Namah Shivaya mantra.

This mantra is known as a 5 syllable mantra and means “I bow to Shiva or I bow to my Self”. Shiva is one of the Hindu Gods that is part of the creation story and is associated with the destruction of all creation. Shiva is known as the destroyer but can also be interpreted in a way that means things can be dissolved or we can let go of them. Shiva can also symbolize the Self (with a capital S) or spirit / soul – that part of us that remains after everything else is destroyed - our true Self rather than just our physical self.

This mantra is repeated during meditation. As you repeat this mantra you feel a sense of being released from those things that are troubling you. Your troubles are being dissolved and you are being freed. Most often, what you are really freeing yourself from are your thoughts, attitudes, patterns of self-destruction, etc. Repeating this mantra brings forth clarity and wisdom as you begin to see those things which have been holding you back or those patterns in which you are stuck. This mantra will lead you to your own self-realization and you will see yourself and reality as they really are. For this reason, it is a very powerful mantra.

For today’s journal entry, you should write down something that has been an obstacle for you or something you wish to let go of. Set aside some time for meditation and repeat this mantra in your meditation. Write about your experience of this mantra after your meditation.
Shanti

Day 20 - What Would You Like to Manifest?

Today's Tarka Practice
My yoga teacher asked me the other day - what would you like to make manifest in your life right now? I was surprised by the question. It is something that I think about all of the time because I understand that we have the power to create anything we want in our lives. It is not a power that I often talk about with others and so her question made me come out of my own head (which was swirling with thoughts) and try to capture these thoughts in a more tangible way.

Sometimes, when we wish to create something in our lives, it is a good idea to talk about what we wish to create with other people. This can bring the creation from just thoughts to taking action. I often think about this in terms of a big pool of possibilities swirling around in the Brahman and that I have to just reach up and choose something. In yoga, we call this phenomenon aham bramasmi or I am the creative principle.

For today's journal entry think about and then write down 3 things you have been thinking of doing. Have you been wanting to add more to your yoga practice, change your eating habits, take a walk everyday, write a book? Take a look at your list and choose one thing that you would like to make manifest in your life right now. Write it down on a notecard that you look at everyday. Talk about it with other people and then observe how just setting this intention begins to bring what you need to make this manifest into your life.

Shanti

Day 35 - Ganesh Part 1

Today's Tarka Practice
As many of you already know, in Hinduism there are many gods and goddess. Why so many? Because while there is one form of ultimate reality, it can be looked upon in many ways. This is often called Brahman or Brahma. Each god and goddess represents this total reality but in a different way. Each god or goddess is a symbol for an aspect of that reality. Reality and truth can be called by many names and it can have many forms but it is still one totality.

Because using symbols in our practice can be a powerful way to connect with ourselves and heal ourselves, this week I wanted to talk about the symbolism of Ganesha. Ganesha or Ganesh can be thought of as the Lord of Beginnings and Wisdom as well as the remover of obstacles.

Ganesh has the body of a human and the head of an elephant. The head symbolizes wisdom, understanding and intellect. All things that one would need in order to have a perfect life. A perfect life is self-realization or the ability to see and understand the truth about oneself and about reality. Your task, then, is to use your wisdom and intellect to come to an understanding of yourself/reality. In other words, you are to use the wisdom you gain in your practice to move towards greater enlightenment. You are Ganesh. Ganesh is you. You can remove your own obstacles. Obstacles are removed by gaining greater wisdom.

For today's tarka practice, I want you to think about the obstacles in your life. What do you see as your greatest obstacles?

Shanti

Day 36 - Ganesh Part 2

Today's Tarka Practice
This week we are talking about the symbolism of Ganesh. You may want to go back and read part 1 first.

Ganesh has the large ears of the elephant (rather than human ears) and this represents the idea that we should listen more. We need to listen more to our inner wisdom (intuition); we need to listen more to others when they are speaking  and we need to listen more to the beliefs and ideas that are being presented to us. When we are listening to these ideas, we need to determine whether or not they are bringing us closer to self-realization or farther away. For example, harboring anger towards someone and carrying that anger with us all of the time will bring us farther away from self-realization, but forgiving someone might bring us closer to self-realization.

For today's reflection think about the experiences you have had over the past week and write them down. See if you can identify what experiences brought you closer to self-realization and what experiences brought you farther away. For example, your journal entry might look like this:

Got frustrated with my son and shouted at him - this brought me farther away

Gave my husband the opportunity to go to a workshop in his field on the weekend - brought me closer self-realization

Studied some passages in the Gita - brought me closer to self-realization

Found my mind wandering to my own obstacles when my friend was discussing hers - brought me farther away

Shanti