Patience: The Language of Nature

By Manorama

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Patience is an awesome thing to have. 

~ Manorama

I was reflecting today about how in my mid twenties I realized that I possessed very little patience. I don’t know the exact moment I realized, but I recall feeling impatient and cognizing that I needed more in life overall. It occurred to me at the time that I might need to actively cultivate patience. This realization of patience being a practice led me to explore the value of it in my life and how to work with it.

During the year my precious mother was sick I recall sitting by her bed at Sloan Kettering. The light was streaming through the oversized hospital window.  It overlooked an uninspiring expansive industrial landscape that told the story of man’s attempt to move forward.  I noticed there was not a drop of nature visible.  At the time, it made me smile inside.  Somehow it was fitting and matched our circumstances. My mother’s problem seemed linked with man’s similar attempts. There was nothing alternative or natural about her care at that stage and therefore there was a palpable lack of inspiration surrounding the circumstance.    

Anyhow that particular day was one of our ‘good days’ at Sloan where you not only felt like your loved one may actually experience healing, but you somehow felt that whatever was happening was just as it should be. I sat there open and receptive and decided to take in that good feeling. Then I began to laugh… every experience with the hospital from the initial emergent care to the administering of medicines, to the interaction with the various people that work there from the technicians, to the nurses, to the doctors, the whole experience was filled with lots of waiting. It was a kind of ‘hurry up and wait’ experience. Wait for the doctors. Definitely. Wait for the nurses to administer medicines. Yes. Wait for the technicians to help bathe and clean the bed, the physical therapists to exercise and build strength in the muscles. Wait for the next test. Wait to be admitted and wait to be released. It was clear that the entire experience was built around the notion of needing to cultivate patience. 

I turned to my mother that day after we had gone through another round of waiting: Waiting for scans, lab results, doctors etc. and said to her, “Well now I know why they call us patients because to undergo this process you need to have a lot of patience.” She agreed and we both chuckled together. I started to consider … did illness start in the body from a kind of impatience with one’s self or one’s body… since we were sharing a kind of crash course in patience, what was the value of it and was there a way that we somehow lost contact with it that led us to need it so much at that time.

I discovered that there was great value in developing patience and that patience was a key factor in the happiness code. Here are a few things I realized in the cultivation of patience:

• Patience requires attention to breath.
• When patience is active I feel internal space.
• It feels good to offer this to others and to receive it from them.
• In an active state of patience, I experience clarity in my thoughts and openness in my heart.
• Patience allows me to be open to the moment and to receive it more fully.
• Patience requires that I sit with the energy that is moving through me. 
• Study a flower growing, the sun rising or setting, a frog leaping: Patience puts you in accord with nature.
• Having patience allows me to stay grounded and connected with my self.  

Luminous Shabda Cultivate Patience Exercise:

This month, cultivate patience in your life.  Work to be patient in all that you do and observe the results on an inner and outter level.

Write in your journal all that you discover.

© 2013 Luminous Shabda/Sanskrit Studies & Manorama

Nadam: Mystical Sound of Light

by Manorama

Rishis of old, speak of the mystical sound that lies within every manifest being. In Sanskrit, this sound is called OM or Nadam. It is the sound of silence and is linked with pulsation, light and essential rhythm. A yogi-in-training must practice listening to this inner sound during meditation, in order to develop his/her practice and to connect more deeply with his or her Self.

Nada Intoxicated:

When you focus your attention uninterruptedly on the inner OM, you enter the meditative space within, beyond thought known as nada intoxication. Your whole being becomes energized and filled with the pulsation of light and sound. Here, you perceive inner sound, but do not move in any way to translate it. Instead, let the thought waves dissolve by withdrawing your attention from them and work to simply be with the sound through what I call the pure feeling mode.

Manifest and Unmanifest:

Connection to mystical inner sound is extremely healing and energizing. It refines your capacity as a yogi-in-training in both the manifest and unmanifest sense. In the manifest sense, paying attention to nadam develops your capacity to listen more deeply to the sounds around you. Regularly connecting with nadam trains you to be more grounded and present to all of life’s experiences because by being with it, you learn to be with energy overall, energy that both rises within you and around you. This is an important skill for the budding yogi and creates much needed inner space for profound teachings to land. 

In the unmanifest sense, focusing on nadam builds a real relationship with witness consciousness. In order to hear the inner OM, you must focus on it. When you stay with the inner sound continuously it shifts you from a mental level of knowing to a vibrational understanding where you transcend thought. Regular practice illuminates the connection that exists between consciousness and energy.

How to Work with The Practice:

One way to work with nadam is to simply sit each morning and hear the sounds that are in your vicinity. Listen to the sounds that exist in your everyday life: The cars whooshing by, the refrigerator, the creaking of the house, the ambient sounds outside. Pay close attention, not in a serious manner, or in a way that is filled with tension. Simply listen in a way that is open, easeful and attentive. 

After you have worked with being aware of outer sound in this way shift your focus and work with the inner aspect of OM. To do this start by allowing the daily awareness of outer sound to expand in you as you shift into a more meditative place of listening. Listen to the sound within. As the sound grows or dims in intensity do not move to make meaning, instead work to allow the process to lift you into witnessing the sound thereby allowing the OM to reveal its meaning to you.


Copyright 2013 Luminous Shabda, Sanskrit Studies & Manorama

Essential Tools: Safety & Un-Safety

by Manorama

Trust creates peace.

~ Yogi Tea

Tea Fortune: 

My tea fortune instructed my contemplation this morning. It said: ‘Trust creates peace.’ After reading it, I started thinking how in yogic practice I’ve learned to ground in both safety and un-safety. I know it sounds funny, but as I sat there considering it I realized that both aspects were important for my yogic development. To establish safety, I had to work with concepts and teachings that made sense to me. One way I did this was to engage movements or sounds that were familiar to me.  

The word ‘Yoga’ means union with Self. And the relationship you have with your self is of primary importance within yogic practice. Remember yogic teachings are not only aimed at unifying you with your individual self, they are interested in our complete understanding, transformation and union with our universal Self. The question is always ultimately the same: How do I do this? 

How do I understand my Self? : 

Sometimes I linger on statements that I’ve heard repeated. One that comes to mind in the context of the tea fortune is “All Relationships are built on trust.” Relationships… I’ve certainly experienced the blessings associated with trust within a relationship and the sadness, fear and dissolution associated with its absence. In yogic practice we begin by developing a true and real relationship with our self/Self.

Here is the process: 

When we engage the familiar through yogic practice, we are building a foundation of trust with our self. Trust builds closeness in any relationship. Having a close and trusting relationship with your self provides a sense of inner peace and ease. Inner peace and ease, offers us a kind of space and grounding that we will need in order to be open enough to connect with our cosmic Self. 

For example, in the practice of asana, if I move my leg then root down into it as I fold forward in such a way that I may have done before, or in a way that is not wholly foreign to me, I gain greater awareness of my leg, torso and breath, through that movement. With repetition of the movement, this awareness I experience starts to become a familiar concept. The more we bring our self to this experience as we repeat it the more it builds resonance and connection between our physical and mental bodies.

Connection offers us ease and from ease a sense of spacious awareness rises. It is kind of inner strength, born of practice, which blossoms into trust between the body and self. As the fortune above aptly says, trust creates peace. I define peace as being content in beingness. Asana is a practice for building trust between one’s body and spirit. When we build trust, over time, the feeling of contentment arises within. Feeling content or peaceful prepares you to experience the mysterious unknown Self. 

Hi-Ya! Bruce Lee Weigh’s In:

John Little, in his book called The Warrior Within, talks about Bruce Lee and his philosophical understanding of gung fu as a way of life, says:

“There is a strong impulse in the Western mind to instantly identify or compartmentalize everything we encounter by placing things into convenient categories. Typically these categories come down to just two subheadings, Safe and Unsafe. Those things which we are, to a certain degree, familiar with are placed under the former heading, and the different, unknown, or foreign are instantly placed under the later. The end result of such a practice is that we often find ourselves far too busy labeling and standing outside of life to actually take part in it or, at least, to enjoy it to any great degree. In short, we lack the grander perspective that is gung fu.” 

We could supplant the word Yoga for gung fu here and arrive at the same meaning. 

Little goes on to say, that it was the essence of philosophy that Bruce sought and the martial arts were simply the route he chose to express it. 

Martial arts was Bruce Lee’s vehicle much like the asanas, meditation, breath awareness are the vehicle for the Indian yogis.  But the vehicle for what? These practices are the conduit for a genuine entry to the mystical life. 

The Value of Unsafety: 

Once we build trust, safety and resonance with our self, we are ready to work more deeply with un-safety. What I mean by ‘un-safety’ is similar to what John Little spoke about above with regards to Bruce Lee’s philosophy. Un-safety means things we have never thought of coming in contact with concepts that are wholly unfamiliar to us. The notion of a vast limitless Self is not something most of us regularly relate with. But that is what we want to do, evolve our capacity to be with the notion of the vast limitless, pure Self, or what feels un-safe or unfamiliar. We want to work to expand our threshold for what is unfamiliar and thereby grow our capacity to be with Self. We can do this by reminding our self that it won’t be familiar, or feel normal but that it is safe to connect with what we are beyond the body and mind. 

Story: 

One time, a student came for her lesson and said to me, “I did what you said in our last lesson. I practiced feeling what I am beyond the mind. But … (she leaned in looking over her shoulder as if to whisper in my ear) what is beyond the mind?” I smiled, knowing full well my answer would produce more questions. ‘What is beyond the mind?” I repeated so she could hear her own question, “You are beyond the mind.” She heard my words and though she wasn’t able to fully integrate them yet she felt their import. We both sat there together quietly.

What I am saying is: Our experience of wholeness lies within our own grasp. We will realize it by being with both what feels safe and the unsafe. The more we work with the two the more we will ferry ourselves to the shores of real wholeness. Our capacity to be open and develop intimacy with self, while also connecting with our Supreme Self and unifying into the state called Yoga becomes our living reality. 

© 2013 Luminous Shabda, Sanskrit Studies & Manorama

  

Luminous Shabda 'Nada Connect' Exercise

with Manorama

1. Pause and consider the principle of Nadam.

2. Read from the book 'Nada Yoga', by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati **

3. 3 x's each week Meditate for 8 minutes. Watch your body and mind. Listen to the subtle sound of Nadam within you.

4. Don't try to make meaning of the sound. Simply listen to it and let the sound fill your consciousness.

5. Remind yourself to feel beyond your mind and body.

6. Each time you practice, let the healing sound of your essence fill your awareness more and more.

Nada Connect Weekly Contemplations 

Each week, contemplate one of the statements below from Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati:

Week 1: All forms of energy have the potential ability to transfer into one another. Light and sound energy frequently travel together.

Week 2: Meditate on nada with dharana, dhyana and samadhi and gradually the once seemingly mechanical sound will become the living pulsation of awareness.

Week 3: Nada is the manifestation of akasha, ether or space.

Week 4: In reality, nada is present, everywhere, because it is beyond time and space. The frequency of nada and our perception of its center of manifestation shifts when our mind is silent.

** Nada Yoga is available through Sanskrit Studies. Click here.

© 2013 Luminous Shabda, Sanskrit Studies & Manorama

Vande Gurunam Caranaravinde

Reverence to the Gurus' Lotus Feet

by Manorama

Meaning of July 

Each year we celebrate the full moon of the guru known as Guru-Purnima.  This celebration is marked in July because in India the rainy season happens at that time.  It is said that teachers and students can’t easily move when the heavy rains come so the opportunity to bond and set a good course of study together is present during this time of year.  It is for this reason that July has become known as the month of the guru.  

The Lotus Feet 

During my time with Guru ji whenever I would move to touch his feet in the traditional manner of a student, he would hug me instead. As time went on I would say to him “But Guru ji I am your cela, I want to have the dust of your lotus feet I have my rights.” This made him chuckle a bit and he would say, “ok ok.” 

But what does it all mean? What does touching the feet signify? In India, children are born into a cultural system where they touch the feet of their parents or some respected elder. I am not sure if at times they even know why, it is simply woven into the culture. But with the guru the teaching is as follows: In most people the head is the highest seat of consciousness and the feet are the lowest, but in an enlightened being, the head and the feet are synonymous.  Moreover, to obtain the dust is symbolic of receiving the light.  There is also the cultural significance, which is that in the Indian culture this is how you show respect. The idea is you bow down your being to That and you trust in That. In such surrender and trust, you bridge a depth of teaching that is obtained no other way, and is quite beautiful. 

Of course many westerners are highly uncomfortable with this gesture seeing it as a kind of deference and submission of self to another. In some cases, they are right to feel that such submission may be dangerous. For these reasons, it is my feeling that there should be no force or expectation for such a gesture especially within our western world. However it would also be wise to apply no stigma to those who feel drawn to engage this movement.  From my own engagement and what I've observed in my life and practice, it is a very personal gesture. 

Mantras & The Value of Surrender

Many mantras praise the gurus lotus feet.  If the phrase is not something you care for, you can always translate it as; We respect and honor the light that comes through the teacher and to that we bow. The meaning of these lines is really that they are instructing the reader or chanter to be absorbed in surrender. There is a necessity of letting down one’s ego in order to enter the teachings more deeply. That is the aspect where a seeker ought not to make a choice about, but instead should find a way to connect with.  It is in surrender, where one finds a powerful spiritual opening and connection with one’s own heart. 

 * All references to Guru ji, refer to Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati in this article.

© 2013 Luminous Shabda, Sanskrit Studies & Manorama

Shifting the Contents of Your Mind Through Sanskrit

This June I thought to highlight a passage of something I read from my teacher, Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati. He writes about language being like a river. In his statement, he evokes images of Sanskrit as having the capacity to carry one across the ocean of the worldly life or mind to the experience of peace. In his words, he mentions that our real problem is within us and that it is the inner work that we do which will support our growth and happiness. He highlights the Sanskrit language as a tool for elevating and expanding our minds and hearts to be able to stand in that happiness. Enjoy the read this month and contemplate the meaning of his words. 
~ Manorama

***

“Language is like the current of a river, such as the river Ganga. The Ganga originates from the Himalaya Mountains… it embraces all rivers coming into it, but continues to move on and on, with fresh currents in every moment, and finally its journey is perfected by merging into the ocean. The Sanskrit language is like the Ganga. It acts as a mother for many of the worlds’ languages, and its ultimate perfection is in freedom and enlightenment…you can not change the human mind, but you can change its contents. When mental contents change, then automatically our hearts become a divine center of unity…

…every problem originates from within; not only the obvious but countless subtle problems lie deeply rooted in the unconscious mind….We can not solve these problems easily, because the un-trained and undisciplined mind itself is a problem-maker. Therefore, we need to raise the contents of our hearts and minds through Sanskrit.” 
~ Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati

Devi Puja

Devi Puja

by Manorama

Each of us work with rituals that sustain and nourish us. This month I am suggesting that students work with this simple Devi Puja, as a new ritual for immersing in and supporting your practice.

Rituals do not exist to make us more neurotic and rigid. They exist to help us see and experience beyond our mundane life to our sacred core.

This month work with the Devi Puja exercise and watch your practice evolve.

Love & Blessings,

Manorama

Preparations for Puja: 

1. Quietly go to the market and purchase fresh flowers and fruit. 

2. At home place these items in an area where they will not be disturbed (please do not place these, or any puja items on the floor).

3. Set aside an hour where you will not be disturbed as you make the offering (i.e. no phone calls, texts, chatting with people, etc.).

4. Focus your attention on the meaning of the Devi. Wash your hands. 

Please note: Puja's are never accompanied by alcohol or the consumption of animal meat of any kind. 

It is highly recommended that one refrain from these items as a practicing yogi-in-training. However for the purpose of the puja it is highly recommended specifically to refrain from them for the duration of the festival. 

Devi Puja:

1. Clean your entire altar area. If you have a statue of the Goddess wash it in buttermilk or simply in cool water. Dry off and place back on your freshly cleaned altar. (If you do not have a Goddess murti do not worry. Just clean the altar or sacred area you have with care and love and that will suffice.) 

2. Place the fresh flowers you got at the market all around your sacred altar.

3. Place fresh fruit on a plate near your sacred area. (After the puja this fruit is to be offered to others).

4. Important: 

Energize your mind and attention on the Goddess and see what you want to request in terms of support. If nothing comes then perhaps you simply want to honor the mother for a blessing, wishing that all be calm in your life at this time. If, however, something or someone comes to mind, silently request healing and protective light from her generous and beautiful source.

5. Next, place a fresh candle on your altar. Light it. 

6. Perform Aarati (wave light in a clockwise direction three x's over the statue).

7. Repeat this mantra 108 x's (or 9 x's) 

OM

Jayanti Mangala Kali Bhadra-Kali Kapalini

Durga Shiva Ksama Dhatri Svaha Svadha Namo'Stu Te

***

We extend reverence to the nine aspects of the divine mother.

May she ever guide and protect me.

Translation by Manorama

8. After performing aarati and chanting sit silently for 20 min* and feel the resonant healing energy you have all around you. 

*If you are a beginner please sit for no more than 5 to 8 min.

9. Afterwards touch the altar or offer your head on the floor, as a symbol of your love and reverence.

10. Begin your day with reverence in your heart. 

Repeat this simple exercise each day for 30 days.

This is a simple devi puja. The most important thing is to be sincere while offering and to be simple and genuine in your offering. 

Enjoy the process and be blessed everyone. 

Pranamah,

Reverence

Manorama

© 2013 Luminous Shabda, Sanskrit Studies & Manorama

The Goddess Saraswati

Interview with Manorama

by Lisa Dawn Angerame

For Yoga City NYC, March 2013

It is said that the trinity of the Goddess, devi, is represented by Saraswati, Lakshmi and Durga. The first in the trinity, Saraswati, is the Goddess of language, learning, speech, art and music and is the force of creativity. It is late March and nature is hard at work. The trees are coming back to life, the flowers are blooming, and creativity is abound. Sanskrit scholar Manorama, who is kicking off her 2013 Drenched in Devi tour, invokes Saraswati at the beginning of any endeavor she undertakes and here is how we can too.

Lisa Dawn Angerame: What does Saraswati represent?

Manorama:  Saraswati represents purity, fluidity and the awakening to our own creative potential. There’s a verse in Sanskrit that likens Saraswati to the pure jasmine flower. And there’s something about that verse that really speaks to me. She’s likened to this incredibly pure, beautiful, fragrant flower. Her radiant beauty nourishes us through the creative process by giving us everything in this life and by standing by our side through all manifestation.

LDA: What is Saraswati’s essence?

Manorama: Her essence is purity, but not purity in the context of puritanical, and not purity in the context of chaste although she might represent that as well at times. Rather, it’s the kind of purity of sacred essence. Saraswati represents our link with that holy essence that is our core. She is the deity that guides us to truly connect by standing in our Self and then allowing manifestation to move through us from that grounding.

LDA: What does Saraswati mean to you personally?

Manorama: Saraswati is definitely one of my patron deities. I am devoted to Sanskrit and she is the Goddess of Sanskrit and language overall.  Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, my guru’s tradition, is also linked with Saraswati. His formal name is Brahmananda, but Saraswati is the lineage name.  And his mother was called Saraswati, which is a sweet connection. When I invoke the goddess through mantra, I instantly feel more luminous. Saraswati gives me, and all of us, the needed energy to fulfill all our dreams in life.

LDA: How can we invoke Saraswati?

Manorama: Here is a simple mantra:

Om Aim Saraswatayai Svaha

Say this mantra 108 times per month while waving a small tea light, in what is called aarti. You can say 108 repetitions at one time or break the reps up into multiples of 9. For example, you would say 27 repetitions of the mantra per week which would total 108 at the end of the month. Bring any kind of white flower to an image of Saraswati. If you don’t have an image you can offer the flower as a kind of mental puja, where you extend the flower to her internally. It’s really about your offering, your reverence, so that you extend some of your energy and then she extends back and gives you fulfillment in that area.  

LDA: How will invoking Saraswati help my practice?

Manorama: Our job as the student is to ask what is truly being meant by the imagery.  Invoking mantras to Saraswati calls to your own creative essence asking the energy to move through you and link up with the one vibration of the universe. It is like invoking a river of energy that flows underneath you that is ever connected with all. Saraswati doesn’t determine the creation, she just gives you access to your own storehouse of creative energy that is both satisfying and fulfilling. When you are connected with your source energy your creation has an immortal and eternal quality. The body passes, the mind shifts, but something about you remains eternal. When creativity syncs with your soul, what manifests through you is eternal.

Invocation to Goddess Saraswati

Translation by Manorama

Ya Kundendu-Tusarahara-Dhavala Ya Subhra-Vastravrta

Ya Vinavara-Danda-Mandita-Kara Ya Sveta-Padmasana

Ya Brahmacyutasankara-Prabhrtibhir Devaih Sada Vandita

Sa Mam Patu Saraswati Bhagavati Nihsesa-jadyapaha

***

Goddess Saraswati who is pure like the jasmine flower, bright like the moon, shimmering like snow and who wears white clothing, whose hand is adorned with the excellent stick, vina (music), and who has a white lotus as her seat, and who is worshipped by all the gods, beginning with Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. May that great Goddess Saraswati please protect me by completely removing all of my ignorance.

2013 Translation of Saraswati Mantra by Manorama

For students wishing to learn and work on invoking Saraswati through this verse, there is a wonderful recording of Manorama chanting this verse on the Learn to chant Yoga Invocations CD with Manorama.

Digital download is available through CD Baby or iTunes: CD Baby

CD’s are available for shipping through the Sanskrit Studies boutique: Sanskrit Studies Boutique

2013 Copyright Translation Luminous Shabda/Sanskrit Studies, Manorama

Q&A with Manorama: Where can I start?

Question from Student:

I'm a beginning student and recently attended a workshop with you. I become overwhelmed when I review my notes from class, or listen to your spoken word CD's. My question is, there's so much to understand where can I start? How do I begin a meditation practice? Is there a way I can use mantra and chanting to help as I found this very grounding and soothing in the workshop I took.

Manorama’s Answer:

Dear Student,

Let’s start at a place where you feel comfortable. There is no need to read all your notes and listen to every CD. The first thing I want you to do is to start to listen to your own breathing, your own heart beat, your own being. All vidya knowledge of texts and such will come later, but for now the most important thing is that you focus on you. Just be in contact with you. You physically. You mentally, and you spiritually. If you don’t know what that means well then that’s the very place to start. 

Begin by carving out a lil time each day to sit with your self and say inside, I don’t know who I am… then work to sit with that and breathe into this awareness. Watch the thoughts that rise as you engage this practice. Don’t move to make meaning with your mind, instead learn the art of sitting with the thoughts and not following them. Let the meaning around the practice rise in you rather than you impose meaning. This will help you develop the needed strength for the journey of Self-knowledge.

In Sanskrit, we say, Pade Pade which means Go Step by Step and the long road is travelled.

Love & Blessings,

Manorama

The Mystery of Durga Ma & The Sacred Link Between Guru Shishya

By Manorama

When I first met Guru ji, I remember being in a daze from how amazing the teachings were that he shared. At the time, I couldn’t believe anyone had a clue the way he did. During those initial months, it was also as if he read my mind and was teaching everything that I was yearning to know for years. About a month after meeting him, the first Durga festival, called Navaratri started. Navaratri means the nine nights of the goddess.  Guru ji seemed so into the festival. He’d hold program in the temple each morning and guided us all in chanting many Sanskrit verses that were directed to the goddess and particularly to Durga. The chants sang her praises and I recall feeling both completely at home and overwhelmed at how natural it all felt so quickly. It was odd since I knew nothing of Sanskrit, less of Indian culture and certainly nothing concerning a guru. Yet I felt at home.

Each day in the temple, Guru ji shared stories about the mother goddess. One day I was with Guru ji’s longest devotee, George B. Eager to connect and learn more, I chatted with him about what I was learning and how beautiful I felt it all was. George told me that the mother goddess was precious to Guru ji. He said during one particularly difficult period in Guru ji’s life that spanned a few years, a time unimaginable to bear, Guru ji had taken refuge in the feet of the mother goddess Durga. He singularly devoted himself to her, performed puja to her and made obeisance to her, singing her praises and steadily honoring her. When that time came to resolution, George told me, that Guru ji felt Durga ma had been his refuge, his safety and that from then on he was her devotee. I later noticed Guru ji kept a small brass murti (statue) of Durga in his bedroom on his private altar. He had apparently gotten that murti during that time and each morning made some small tender offering to her magnificence. Guru ji had become her devotee and the mysterious ocean flowed between them.

Having a guru is an enigma… In its fullest sense, it is both close and at the same time should remain a deep mystery. Early on in my training, as any student would, I wanted to know more about Guru ji, more about our connection, more about our link.  As I deepened into my practice and in my relationship with him, I learned to allow the mystery to be with us and to trust in that. Maybe that’s what Guru ji did during that period when he was struggling so hard and working to evolve himself. Perhaps he learned to trust deeply in Durga ma, in the mantras and the puja, in the rituals that guided him, in his questions and the answers that rose within, but mostly in the mystery of the force that lay between them.

 * All references to Guru ji, refer to Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati in this article.

© 2013 Luminous Shabda/Sanskrit Studies, Manorama

Q&A with Manorama: Beginning Meditation

Question from Student:

I'm a beginner to meditation. I’ve been working on maintaining a daily practice. Recently I had an intense experience when sitting down to practice in which my heart started to race and I felt an intense happiness and joy. I didn't feel I was able to control this and got scared so I opened my eyes. Is this normal for beginners to meditation?

Manorama’s Answer:

When you begin a meditation practice, and even after some time within the steady practice, you may have some experiences that are overwhelming. Meditation itself will challenge your senses and your understanding of what you truly are. Meditation is a re-alignment with what you truly are. In the process, sometimes certain experiences can feel intense.  

My suggestion is to allow them to come and go and do not attach specific meaning to them. Hold to the reality that you are beyond all. Keep your attention on the point of experiencing what you are beyond name and form as your primary aim. If you feel overwhelmed stop and be with whatever is coming up for you. Then when you feel rested you can begin to practice again. You will not always feel this fear. But sometimes it will arise. It is just a developmental phase whereby in the quiet the mind grips a bit. Allow it room and don't give it major importance. 

Keep practicing... 

Warmly, 

Manorama 

Threading the Sutra

Threading the Sutra

By Manorama

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Yoga Sutra 1:12

abhyasa-vairagyabhyam tan-nirodhah

The mind is made tranquil by practice and non-attachment

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is a mystical text that guides you from a lack of awareness about who you are, to one of profound grounding in who you are.

In sutra 1.2, Patanjali describes the definition of yoga as the

experience where thoughts subside on the field of our minds. Sutra 1.12 gives the aspirant clues

about how to experience the state beyond thoughts. It says, in order to experience quiet in the

 mind you must practice. As you practice, vairagya will naturally rise in you. 

When the mind becomes quiet your true Self is apparent.

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Developing Practice Through Sutra Study

The Sanskrit word Abhyasa translates as both repetition and practice. In chapter one of the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali cites the notion of practice as the cornerstone of his Yoga model. According to Patanjali, practice is the antidote to man’s suffering. It is the panacea that brings healing to the misbelief that we are something that we are not, i.e., the body and mind alone.

Patanjali says, Abhyasa-Vairagyabhyam Tan Nirodhah 1.12

This sutra states that the process of misidentification with what we are not subsides through abhyasa, practice and vairagya, non-attachment. Another way to say this is: To experience what you truly are, begin to study what practice and non-attachment mean because according to Patanjali, these are the elements that lead to freedom.

If practice is the crux upon which freedom hinges, then the next question is: What is practice?

In sutra 1.14 Patanjali answers this question when he states:

Sa Tu Dirgha-Kala-Nairantarya-Satkarasevito-Drdha-Bhumih 1.14

The sutra says, practice becomes firmly established over a long period of time, when without interruption, with constant effort, dedicated focus, and great love, one fixes one’s mind on the higher Self.

In sutra 1.14, Patanjali describes the full nature of a mature yogic mind. He defines practice as evolving naturally over a long time without any rush. By indicating that, time must thread through the teachings. He is saying that you must take your understanding of yoga with you into each new life experience you have, and that each time you return to formal teachings bring all of your life experiences to those teachings as well.  When you do this, you gain great insights and a wider yogic perspective.

Patanjali also describes the nature of both the practice and the practitioner, providing the student with a guide. As the student follows this map, the floor emerges underneath. When this happens, even though you move through your body and mind, you do not feel bound by the body and mind alone, and you experience freedom within.

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Luminous Shabda Sutra Practice:

• Each day for a month write sutras 1.12 & 1.14
• Then each week select a new word or idea from the list below to focus on.
• At the end of the week, write down your insights.

Sutra 1.12

Practice & Non-Attachment.

Sutra 1.14

What builds a firm ground?:

steadiness,

a long time,

not rushed,

continuous,

uninterrupted.

Qualities needed by the student:

constant effort,

dedication,

great love,

ability to fix one’s mind on the higher Self.  

Copyright 2013 Luminous Shabda/Sanskrit Studies, Manorama