Month: July 2016

When it comes to Sannyasis, use of Samadhi appears to be a fashion. Is it a word used to refer to the death of a Sannyasi?

Posted on by Mandala

Question

I have seen all popular Sannyasis getting referred to as taken Mahasamadhi. Is it a word used to refer to the death of a Sannyasi?… When it comes to Sannyasis, use of Samadhi appears to be a fashion. Those who die in surgery in USA are also brought back to India and put in a sitting posture to declare Samadhi. Why such a thing of dishonesty is happening with the spiritually luminous Sannyasis?

Answers

Two have answered this question: Dr. Stephen Parker (Stoma) and Lalita Arya (Ammaji).

Dr. Stephen Parker (Stoma)

Mahasamadhi is the yogic process of consciously leaving the body at the moment of death, having gathered the pranas in the heart center and then utilizing the udana-vayu to conduct the pranas from the body through the “solar gate,” the brahma-randhra at the crown of the head. Such a yogi returns to rebirth only by choice. One can never really know for certain whether someone who dies in surgery or in some way other than the formally witnessed mahasamadhi, with witnesses seated before the yogi, has actually taken that path. Many times I suspect they do, even from surgery (because a genuine yogi remains aware even under anesthesia). I’m sure there are other times when this is indeed wishful thinking on the part of disciples. It is not our place to judge them or to know their subjective experience. Let us accept these gestures on the part of disciples as a last loving wish and blessing for a beloved teacher.

Remember also that a true sannyasi is not always the one wearing orange or white. Bhagavad Gita gives a beautiful account of the nature of true sannyasa. Sometimes it can be very challenging to discern who is whom. Few sannyasis of recent history exceed the renunciation and spiritual attainment of the great householder yogi Shyama Charan Lahiri (Lahiri Mahashaya) of the Kriya Yoga tradition. Formal sannyasa is not a badge of spiritual attainment; it is the adoption of a lifestyle that allows a total focus on sadhana. Many sannyasis are total beginners on the spiritual path. The true yogis are rare in either group and many times delight in hiding to all but their close disciples. Jesus said, “Those who have eyes to see, let them see; those who have ears to hear, let them hear.”

Lalita Arya (Ammaji)

Thank you Stoma for giving your time to explain some of the technicalities involved in the system and tradition of sanyaasa.

What I would like to comment on is the apparent arrogance a lot of us assume in what we think we know of the Sanyaasa tradition at least where this questioner is concerned.

Let me quote from the question:

First – “I have seen all popular Sannyasis getting referred to as taken (taking) Mahasamadhi..” Really?

Have you actually seen them “all”? Please be more specific. Maybe you have actually “seen” some or read about some.

Second quote – “Those who die in surgery in USA are also brought back to India and put in a sitting posture to declare Samadhi. Why such a thing of dishonesty is happening with the spiritually luminous Sannyasis?”
“Dishonesty” is a very strong accusation here about a system and tradition about whose intricate and sometimes very private rules non-sannyasis know nothing about. And Yes, the Sanyaasa tradition does have its own rules, rites & regulations. We do not know them all; some of what we do know we may not agree with. Sometimes there are students who are thrilled with the idea of becoming a swami, but like most systems, you do not know what it’s going to be like until you are in it – maybe like marriage.

I seek forgiveness if I seem to be harsh in my comments – but I do want to add that while we are all trying to know the TRUTH and we are all seeking, if we are in a meditative tradition, we need to practise the first teaching of Awareness – in our thoughts, in our speech or written words and in our action. True seekers exhibit humility with awareness to find the Right Path.

I agree that all teachers are not true. Some seek fame, some seek wealth, but fortunately some just seek dedicated students.

Editor’s Note

If you have any questions about your spiritual practice, you may write to the AHYMSIN Spiritual Committee at adhyatmasamiti@gmail.com.

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The Touch of a Master Hand

Posted on by Mandala

The intensely emotional experience of rising energy which a lover of God feels (a lover of God, that is, who is separated from Him, who does not know that he or she has any love for Him, and who is using all of that energy in whatever pursuits his mind happens to be involved in) – this energy can always be traced to its origin in divine love.  A robber planning a masterly robbery, a painter producing a masterpiece painting, a poet bringing forth (not knowing from where) exquisite diction and expression, a man mad after a female body, a woman never satisfied with sex – all of these are expressions of shakti, divine energy, the kundalini, pouring forth through our chakras. But because of our limitations we do not recognize the true source of that energy. It is for this reason that a man of God never judges others and trains his disciples not to judge people, not to be ungodly, for the immense rain of energy that comes to them from God does not always take the direction that we think is godly. Very easily, however, by the touch of a master hand, the great energy of sex, the great intellect, the great inspiration, the great vision, even the great mad rush for worldly power – all of that can be directed toward God when the soul is ready because, ultimately, there is only once source of energy, and no other.

Editor’s Note

It is a direct quotation taken from the book God by Swami Veda Bharati, published in 1979 by The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

Address of Tribute, 14 July 2016

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Guru Brahma…
Tasmai Shri Gurave Namah;

Namaste, I salute the divinity that is within you,

On Behalf of our Sanyasin Community, Sincere Greetings to One and All;

Please receive the grace of the sacred fire and the akhanda-japa going on for these 5 days;
and
Please receive Blessings of these saints & distinguished guests, who have gifted us with their presence.

A special appreciation to the Youth – the next generation who will carry-on this event for many years to come;
and to those whose challenges prevented them from being present — they are also with us today.

My gratitude to all who have created an oasis of beauty with their lengthy preparations, and decorations.

All of us have journeyed to this sanctuary, this sacred place of beauty and peace with the sentiments — the bhava of respect, shraddha-faith, and joy.

When devotion has matured in the fires of tapas, in our sadhana, a gem is formed. A pure heart is the gem of the saintly world, a loving mind, the gold of the saintly alchemists. This aspiration, this sankalpa for a life well-lived, are the gifts we together bring today.

We gather as a celebration on this first anniversary of our beloved Swami Veda’s samadhi.
Here, we are not adoring the physical body which was placed in this space one year ago;
we are present to embrace the subtlety of his example, the beauty of his teaching, and faith in his mandate — “share with the world the pure form of meditation and only initiate into the same.”

We gather to give witness — that our relationship with the Yoga Meditation Tradition, a Living Lineage,
should be absolutely pure and selfless, and carry the Guru-Shakti of self-transformation and spiritual awakening. This finds expression in performing our daily duties selflessly with respect, as our beloved Swamiji reminded us: “Let each person feel loved.”
With selflessness and love, we assure a wholesome and holy life.

May I present these distinguished guests — these living saints as examples of gems in the world today.
They live with the constant awareness of divinity and always mindful of their duty.
May their words, and their silence, encourage you, inspire you, and guide you to that inner source of Light and Love.
and now a moment of fullness in silence…

Om shreem gurave nama

Editor’s Note:

This is the text of Swami Ritavan Bharati’s address of tribute for Swami Veda’s Mahasamadhi to those attending the 1st anniversary commemoration at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) and for those sadhakas unable to be physically present at SRSG. July 14, 2016.

Guru Purnima Message 2016

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Dear Initiate of the Himalayan Tradition,

Om shreem gurave namah;

At this time, we are reminded of a unique relationship that is so fulfilling and satisfying. At this time, our efforts now cease with the fruits of contentment from a sadhana well-performed and surrendered. Celebrating Guru Purnima is a joy beyond words, a deep stillness that echoes a wholeness & holiness. A wholeness that provides the answers to our pursuits, our yearnings and reveals a purpose for life. To live and to love with a heart unconditioned by conflict, and a mind, unified beyond division.

Please accept this gift of remembering:
of being reminded to forgive, our own faults – limitations and those of others; of aspiring to self-transformation; of receiving the love of the Lineage. This perennial message of our guides and sages of the Tradition is expressed beautifully in this address by Swami Veda given on Guru Purnima in 2011.

May the inner guru find expression in your daily life, in your relationships, and in your duty to reveal your destiny.

With love and blessings of the Lineage,

Swami Ritavan Bharati

Guru Purnima 2016

Guru Purnima Blessing

From Swami Veda Bharati (2011)

Swami Veda reciting:

Brahamanandam parama sukadam, kevalam janamurtam dantwa, yedam gagana sa drisham, tatvamas tikamyam, mekam nityam vmala achalam, sarvadi sakshit bhutam bhava dtitam, triguna rahitam, sat Guru tam, namamea.

Swami Veda commentary:

She/he who is One with the bliss of Brahman who grants us the highest delight, the one absolute alone, the very embodiment of knowledge beyond the conflicts of dualities, pure like the vacuity of the sky and space, one who is the goal to be achieved by the knowledge of the Vedantic mahavakyas, the great sentences, such as That Thou Art, tat tvam asi.

The one alone perennial immaculate, immobile, the witness of all thoughts and intuitions beyond the states of being, free of the effects of the three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas, to that pure true Guru and his lineage unto that, I prostrate, I surrender.

As I was contemplating this occasion of Guru Purnima, my thoughts went back to what I have shared with you in the past of the first creation: the mind creation. The bodiless mind beings, they whose bodies are minds, the first sages, the first carriers of the knowledge that is infused into these unencumbered minds, these beings whose consciousness is only the consciousness of infinity not divided like ours in spaces, times, causations, conflicts, events, situations. Such beings are the ones from whom all the Guru lineages begin, whose mantric knowledge all the lineages inherit, and in their compassionate generosity that knowledge is infused into us by way of initiation.

As I was contemplating this, the knowledge-beings sent forth some mantras. Four of them I’ll recite and then I’ll read out the approximate, very rough, inaccurate paraphrase of what has been passed on in the form of these passages.

1. Madhoodakam tRShitaaya chetase
Sanaa jaagran me tanvas tmano vashee
bhraajad-rashmih paavakah shuchih
somo gurur bhadra-geer aasheer-daa bhoot.
Om eem amrtaaya tejase shreem viraaD-gurave namah

2. hRdaa su-peeto vaacho agne rasah
svarvaan satya rtasyaamitaujasah
praanasyormir aaviSh-kRNvan mayRtam
rashmeer vi-kiran dhRtir indriyasya
Om a’eem saarasvataaya shreem pRthivyaa gurave namah

3. viShNoh karmaaNi tri-padasyoshmasi
dhaatur dhaatraaNi dheeShu dhareemasi
somasyaapaam shikhaah pra pibaamasi
syasya naamnaam dhaamni ni vishaamasi
Om hreem vaiShNavaaya
shreem aantarikShyaaya gurave namah

4. poorNenduh kalasho yatra soma aa-plutah
yatraaraa rashmeenaam vi-dhRtaa sahasram
tatraa guruh sinchati soonRtaanaam
kaavyaa ushanaa na amRtaa su-jeevaa
Om eem, a’eem, hreem, kleem, streem,shreem gurave namah

These syllables Om eem, a’eem, hreem, kleem, streem, shreem that are repeated in these mantras are known as bija mantras, powers of shakti, the supreme infinite energy, the Divine Mother. I ask you to keep copies of the paraphrases I read out and spend a year reading them over and contemplating to understand the mystery of the Guru.

1. “Honeyed water for a mind athirst
His speech a blessing conferred from eternity
Eternally wakeful He is Master of my body and soul.
My eyes are affixed upon the visible and invisible
Rays emanating from the feet of that moonlike Deity.
Om Eem1 , unto that immortal Light,
 Shreem, unto the universe-Expanse Guru
My prostrations, my homage, my surrender, my ‘not mine’ is offered in love.”

2. “Who is the essence, flavour, savour, juice of fire that is speech, the word
Drunk in the heart in abandon, the heavenly truth
– of the Perennial Law filled with immeasurable luminous power;
Wave of prana revealing in me that perennial law,
Radiating rays that are the sustaining power
– of all that is in the lord of heaven
 Om a’eem, unto the incarnate form of Saraswati, the Divine Mother of Wisdom.
Shreem, to the guru of Earth my prostrations
My homage, my surrender, my ‘not mine’ is offered in worshipful love.”

3. “We who sees only with the eyes of senses,
– We the cattle of the Lord of beasts,
– The One Whom we see thus with Whose own eye
He Who Himself dwelling in our own eyes
Sees His self and Whose Self sees our self
Om kleem, unto the very form of the Lord of the beasts
Shreem, unto the guru who is the Master of luminous heaven
My prostrations, my homage, my surrender, is offered in love.”

4. “Who made me a haven of shree-glories
Warded-off death’s glances with heavenly light
Made to flow unto me in all varieties
– the waves from a thousand udders of the cosmic sound-oceans
Om streem, unto the thousand-rayed,
 Shreem, unto the guru, the Lord of brahma-egg universes
My prostrations, my homage, my surrender, my ‘not mine’ is offered in worshipful love.”

“Sacred goblet is the full moon where into soma is flooding,
the one where the arrays of thousand rays are held variously
– forming sahasraara—
There the guru sprinkles the epics of inspired sweet streams
of poetic speech.
These streams are indeed beyond the pale of death;
These are the beautiful beings of very Life.
To that Guru, my prostrations, my homage, my surrender, my ‘not mine’ is offered in love.”

The words may not make immediate sense. Each word has many layers. So it is with the layers of the mantras that are granted to us by the lineage, by the Guru parampara that constantly infuses into our minds the sparkling rays of intuitive wisdom, knowledge, awakening.

It is said in the scriptures that there are three things, three states most difficult to obtain in this universe. Blessed and fortunate are those who having been: 1. born human are filled with, 2. the state of longing, aspiring for freedom, spiritual liberation, moksha; and among them, blessed and fortunate, 3. who have found a luminous guide, a guru, under whom they have chosen to shelter, under whose guidance they may be guided to walk on the path of that liberation that they are longing for.

Have you cultivated that aspiration? Are your acts inspired by, motivated and guided by this intense longing to reach the personal knowledge of infinity. To live in the awareness that all spaces of the universe and beyond are immaculately filled with luminous waves of infinity and that ocean of infinity is sending its waves through you day and night so that these bondages, these limitations, of spaces, times, causations, conditions no longer bind you.

Are you moved by that longing in your life? Only when you are moved by that longing will the hand of the divine Guru, whatever form that hand has taken, our own Gurudev his lineage, any other such lineage, will that hand rest on your head and will pass on the rays of infinity into your very being. And then you would know who you truly are. The one who, dwelling in your own eyes, looks at you; the one who is the in-dweller, that graceful one, gracious one, who will grant the grace of supreme knowledge, and honeyed water of inspired speech. That is “guru”, that will flow through you.

This is the teaching passed on by countless generations. We do not know how many generations. For thousands and thousands of years – the Gurus to disciples, the Gurus to prepared disciples, passing on the experience. This is being passed on to you also, and some of you are blessed who are passing on the knowledge to others.

I’m inviting many of you who feel that something of a more immortal nature should be done with this life to seek deeper and greater knowledge, to pass it on to others and serve the lineage because the more you serve the lineage the more blessings the lineage confers upon you.

Everything has been passed on. Work on it, learn from the next generation of teachers. And I want to tell you that when a teacher goes into silence, his teaching becomes much deeper. You search for that silence, mauna, the path of the contemplative mystic.

In this silence follow the methods of meditation you have learned. Keep repeating the divine name, same name, again-and-again, always.

Hari Om, Om, Om shreem gurave namah.

Editor’s Note:

1A beeja-mantra of shakti, Energy, potential, that is the Mother divine of the universe dwelling in the Omnipotent. The syllables, shreem, a’eem, hreem, kleem, streem in these mantras are similarly seed-words of different aspects and powers of the Mother Divine. The secrets of these are known to the masters of the mantra science.

Guru Purnima Address, 1980

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Homage to the Guru

Akhanda-mandalakaram

unbroken, complete orb,
having the configuration

Vyaptam yena characharam

pervaded by all that is moving and unmoving

Tat padam darshitam yena

that pedestal, that state was shown by whom

Tasmai shri gurave namah

to that glorious Guru, my homage.

Guru Purnima is a day that reminds one that the purpose of life is to attain knowledge which dispels the darkness of ignorance. The word “guru” is a pious and holy word which means the source of knowledge. There is only one life force so there is only one guru. Deep within the center of our being resides the guru. Let us all direct and guide our energy to the center from where consciousness flows in various degrees and grades.

The day of Guru Purnima is celebrated because internal research is more important than any other attainment in life. The world is full of charms, temptations and attractions. One should not be lost by the temptations. The external world furnishes the means, but the seed of reality resides within. With the help of spiritual guidance one allows that seed to grow and attain perfection in this lifetime.

Blessed are those who are guiding disciples and blessed are those who are being guided. May you be happy, healthy and wise. My blessings are always with you. I pray for you in every breath of my life.

Editor’s note

The following is taken from a transcription of the recorded address to the sangha by Swami Rama on Guru Purnima, 1980.

Yoga Sutra 2.33, Part 2

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“Words Don’t Teach, but the Application of Words in Everyday Life Does”

(Yoga Sutra 2.33 Part 1 is available here: https://www.ahymsin.org/yoga-sutra-2-33-part-1/)

Yoga sutra 2.33 (vitarka badhane pratipaksha bhavanam)*

  • vitarka = uncertainty, doubt, questionable
  • badhane = opposing, removal, suspended, annulment
  • pratipaksha = opposition, opposite, adversary
  • bhavanam = thought, manifesting, producing, imagining

Yoga Sutra 2.33 says, “When negative thoughts present themselves cultivate and think the opposite thoughts with feeling;”1 “To obstruct thoughts which are inimical to Yoga contrary thoughts will be brought. 2 And, Swami Veda says, “When misratiocinations (When logic and reason have gone haywire [Editors’ definition of misratiocinations]) and deviant thoughts present themselves one should counter these by cultivating and impressing upon oneself the opposite principles in contemplation.”

Just how do we go about shifting our energy to move to the opposite thought so it registers in our minds and feelings that we have successfully applied the meaning of yoga sutra 2.33?

Let’s now look at the modalities that make this movement possible remembering the law of cause and effect is at play in every single movement of thought and feeling to your detriment or success.

Modality number one and most important: Embrace negativity.  Most people have the mistaken impression that it is wrong to feel negative. Quite the contrary negativity is your friend and teacher. The wise man makes peace with it and uses it to grow. So from wherever you stand in your negativity make peace with it simply by acknowledging it exists in you by saying something simply like, “This is how I feel in the moment and it’s alright. I am where I am as I cannot be any other place right now and I’m eager for what’s coming.

Or you can simply ask a question about negativity: What’s the positive benefit of this negative situation or this person? Or what’s good about this? This will also begin the shift of energy to the opposite thought and fulfill yoga sutra 2.33

Once you learn to feel the positive impact of negativity you will put away victimhood, martyr hood and self-pity and you will lay down the whip you beat yourself with as you are now building bridges to actualize yoga sutra 2.33.

You will eventually recognize that negativity is your teacher. It’s a gift showing you that your Inner Being is viewing the same subject, event or person as you but with love, whereas you are viewing it with disdain or contempt.

You cannot know good if you haven’t experienced bad. You cannot feel love if you haven’t experienced despair.

Negativity gives you the opportunity to turn your dial to something that is pleasing to you once you recognize it.

Modality number two: Reach for the next best thought. Since life teaches it is difficult to go from fear to joy in one jump, you can go from fear to rage, from rage to anger, from anger to overwhelmed, from overwhelmed to frustration, from frustration to disappointment, to content, until you feel good. It’s really that simple just by reaching for the next best thought available to you no matter how long it takes until you feel good. It may take a few minutes, a few hours, and a few weeks. Who cares, whose counting. Just be willing to do the work and the rest will fall into place.

You can in your negativity reach for the next best thought available to you in the moment and that’s good enough.

For example, the first time I had cancer in 2009 I was in a state of fear and the day I reached for rage I felt my energy shift for the better and I felt great being in a state of rage instead of fear. It wasn’t long after that I reached for anger, then to being overwhelmed, then to being content, to eventually making peace with the word cancer and all its ramifications. I did this just by reaching for the next thought until I felt better and it took me about 6 months to get to feeling really good. I realized I was building that bridge to feeling good from a place of feeling bad. I was implementing yoga sutra 2.33 by reaching for the next best thought available to me at the moment and I didn’t care how long it took, six months seemed at first like an eternity, but then I was aware I was applying the true meaning of yoga sutra 2.33 in practical ways that would in the end benefit my growth and the six months was forgotten.

Modality number three: Understanding contrast is subtle, but easy. What is contrast? To compare (two people or things) to show how they are different. Contrast means variety, more things to choose from. It shows you your preferences.

Examples: He’s tall and skinny and she’s short and skinny. He’s very judgmental and she’s even-minded.

I’m judgmental and even-minded sometimes as I observe people or situations.

When you find yourself being judgmental or making editorial comment note the contrast comes from within you.

Stop and appreciate your findings and then appreciate the contrasts between you and whatever you are looking at, be it a person or a situation. Do this without editorial comment. Just appreciate the contrasts.

Example: Kitty #1 is yellow. Kitty #2 is white. Appreciate this color contrast between the two without adding any additional information.

When you recognize the contrasts, you can simply note there is beauty in all situations, in all people of all ages, of all genders, of all nationalities, from all walks of life and all with very different mentalities.

Contrast serves to clarify what you do want and what you don’t want. Contrast is your teacher.

Whenever you find yourself standing somewhere you don’t want to be, remember you created the scenario for your expansion. So, embrace the contrast, where you are and where you want to be, and honor the contrast as it is serving you and has come to you by your invitation for growth through the law of cause and effect.

Remember, contrast leads you to making clear what you don’t want and what you do want.

Another More Subtle Example of how to use contrast to create a new positive vibration to match what you do want while implementing yoga 2.33.

What you don’t want: I’ve been given a terminal medical cancer diagnosis.

What I do want: I want to be healthy.

Current feeling of what I don’t want: “I feel disappointed, some fear and confusion. My current treatment feels like it‘s killing me.” These current feelings do not match what you want which block you from thinking the opposite thought, but there is a way to build this bridge as follows.

Deliberate intent to improve your vibrational (feelings) relationship with what you want:

“People have recovered from this condition”
“Many people graduate from Hospice and go home healthy”
“This diagnosis is not a death sentence”
“Even if I don’t know what to do my body does”
“I appreciate the health I have right now”
“There is no relationship between my parent’s health and mine”
“It’s refreshing to deliberately get outside every day”
“I like thinking thoughts that make me feel good”

These sentences are now vibrationally supportive of what you want: I want to be healthy. And you just actualized yoga sutra 2.33 in a most profound way.

You just shifted your energy using contrast to your benefit and growth.

Remember, out of contrast (what you don’t want and what you do want) is born clarity of desire.

Otherwise, you would have no growth and expansion and yoga sutra 2.33 would just be words without realization.

Modality number four: Remembering your favorite memories is simple and follows on the heels of modality number three. As you move from negative to positive and are now leaning more towards the positive this is a good time to remember your favorite memories.

What does it mean to remember your favorite memories? Take a moment and think of a favorite memory that makes you feel good no matter how far back in time you have to go. As soon as you feel the feelings of feeling good forget the memory and just enjoy the feelings of feeling good. Or think of another favorite memory until feeling good becomes more deep and keep repeating this until it feels really good, then just sit with the feelings of feeling good realizing that you just entered the zone of actualizing and stabilizing yourself in yoga sutra 2.33.

It’s that simple.

Modality number five: Learning to appreciate yourself as you are, life and others is one more key to stabilizing in good feeling thoughts as you move from negativity thinking to positive thought and feeling as you embrace yoga sutra 2.33.

What is appreciation? Appreciation means increasing the value of something. It’s the vibration of who you are.  It’s the feeling like when you see your newborn child and your heart is overwhelmed with joy and unconditional love that comes from within.  It’s the absence of doubt, fear, worry, judgment and everything that feels bad.

My personal experience tells me that appreciation in its purest form is pure joy pulsating through me as I am looking at or thinking about someone or something and it is bubbling up endlessly inside me without any outside stimuli.

Appreciation is being in sync with the whole of that which you are.  Appreciation is whatever you are looking at is through the eyes of God, Source Energy, your Inner Being.

Appreciation is a state of Godliness, of wholeness, of worthiness, of wellness, of peace of mind, of unconditional love. That’s real appreciation. And you’ll know it when you feel joy bubbling up within without any outside stimuli accompanied by a deep unexplainable peace.

And it is much more than words can explain. It’s an experience and that is all the explanation you really need.

Get out pen and paper and write down all that you appreciate about you, about life, about others.

For example: I appreciate I am open-minded. I appreciate I keep my word, I appreciate I do the work necessary to master yoga sutra 2.33. I appreciate life gives me the opportunity to grow and change, to experience many different things I want to experience, which gives me new insights and expansion. I appreciate I have food in the refrigerator. I appreciate I have a good car in excellent mechanical condition. I appreciate I have hot and cold running water year round. I appreciate the roads I drive on. I appreciate the farmers who grow our food and the truck drivers who deliver it to the stores and the stores for making this food available to all, etc. I appreciate all the variety of cultures on the planet. I appreciate people who think differently than me so I can expand my mind set and grow, etc.

You get the gist of this. It’s easy and fun once you start doing it. A good time to do it is upon awakening  while in a good feeling state, as you are leaning towards being on the positive end of thinking the opposite thought as you are building bridges to realize the positive impact of yoga sutra 2.33.

Modality number six: Writing in your book of positive aspects. This is a really fun way to change your behavior and view point towards others or situations.

The Book of Positive Aspects is thinking the opposite thought actualizing Yoga Sutra 2.33.

A book of positive aspects is simply writing down all the good qualities of people who you know, who you like or dislike. By their name you acknowledge their negative qualities then cross them off and write down what good qualities they exhibit and forget the rest.

And even though every time you are around them they may be mean and angry your focus before you meet them in the office, at home or on the street is to take time to focus on only their good qualities, even if it is only one good quality you can find…that’s your focus.

Example: Think the opposite thought Yoga Sutra 2.33 … cross off the negative after writing them down and keep your focus on the positive; example:

Negative qualities John

Positive qualities John
Mean Perceptive
Inconsiderate Good with the kids
Irresponsible Loyal
Lazy Loves bowling
Liar Committed
Deadbeat Sensitive

Keep your focus on the good in others and forget the rest and watch what happens. All it takes is practice, practice and more practice as you retrain your mind to think the opposite you are mastering yoga sutra 2.33.

Summary: You have been exposed to 21st century thinking in actualizing yoga sutra 2.33 in your life in ways that are easy to understand and easy to implement.  Once you begin applying these tools on a daily basis they will become a habit, a new way of thinking and yoga sutra 2.33 will become alive in you.

All it takes is your willingness to review part 1 and practice the modalities in Part 2 until they become a natural part of your life. All it takes is practice, practice and more practice.

Have fun with all this and remember it’s all about your growth and expansion to higher states of awareness, which once achieved no one can take away from you.

In this two part article you have learned how to use your thoughts, how to direct the law of cause and effect to your benefit and how to actualize Yoga Sutra 2.33 in your daily life.

Remember, you get what you think and feel the most! You are a vibrational being living in a vibrational universe attracting like vibrations that form your experiences in life.

If you can desire it in this space-time reality, then this space-time reality can provide it!

All it takes is your willingness to contemplate and think in a new way to get what you want. So, relax and expect actualization of yoga sutra 2.33 to become a living reality in your life, because the tools presented produce desired results.

Have fun with all this and remember it’s all about your evolutionary vibrational expansion and actualization of yoga sutra 2.33.

References:

*Swami Satchidananda
1 Richard Parenti
2 Swami Vivekananda

Note: Other people who have influenced me in this article are: Mark Wilson, Abraham-Hicks, Walt Baptiste and Swami Veda.

Editor’s Note:

Richard Parenti is initiated into the Himalayan Yoga Tradition by Swami Veda and has studied with such notables as Swami Brahmananda Sarasvati, Abraham-Hicks and Walt Baptiste. He is a registered Yoga Alliance teacher ERYT 500 and guest lecturer for graduate students at California State University on the subject of Emotional Mastery (Chitta Prasadanam). Richard is certified by the MS Society of Northern California to train yoga teachers how to teach yoga to people with multiple sclerosis. He is the author of Emotional Sobriety: Feel-Good Secrets for Everyone, Balboa Press 2013. After returning from a 40-day silent retreat in the Himalayan Mountains in India he authored Cancer, No Easy Choices; Naked Before God; Who Am I; and Your True Self all which appeared in Himalayan Path Magazine. Since 2000 he has been the spiritual director of the Yoga Health Institute in Modesto, California, USA.