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