According to Indian philosophy the world is made up of the three gunas or constituent principles. They are different vibrations. These three principles are tamas, rajas and sattva. They combine in infinite permutations to form the manifested universe. When we put these three in complete balance and still them, we are said to have completed our sādhana. Combinations of the …
The Guru Models….
All my years with Baba taught me how to live. Baba was a great model for life. When I say this I do not mean that he showed me I should wear orange robes if it is not my dharma. I do not mean that he showed me that I should live in an ashram if it is not my …
The Guru’s Grace….
The five-fold action of God is as follows: Create, Sustain, Destroy, Conceal, Reveal. As human beings and therefore shrunken manifestations of God, we perform these five activities in a diminished form, believing we are powerful. We obviously create, sustain, destroy, and delude/conceal. Revelation or grace is harder for us, as individuals, to see or perform. Our “grace” is the grace …
Watching and Waiting….
Is God everywhere or only where we want Him to be? Our flight back to Baltimore was supposed to leave at 4:30, getting us back to Baltimore by 7:30. Here it is 7:00, and we have not moved other than from gate B1 to gate B9. We have been texted that the flight was leaving at 7:40 then 6:30 then …
Skipping the First Step….
Everything and everyone is perfect. If we are to use this belief as fact, which is what is implied by the people out there saying, “You are perfect just the way you are”, then we need to be consistent. The murderer is perfect. The cruel person is perfect. It is all perfect. Everything is perfect. But usually these shouters of …
For God’s Sake Live Your Life….
The most clear resistance I meet with is the push against living our lives to the fullest. So sad. Baba wanted me to be independent and free to experience the Bliss of the world, which in fact is the bliss of God. Granted, there were times when I fought him, not out of thinking he was wrong but out of …
Selfish Sādhana….
We do sādhana for ourselves. We also do sādhana for the sake of the Self. And if we all did sādhana for the sake of the Self, then we would all be living in peace and love. We would not be killing, and we would not be blaming. We would be taking responsibility for our actions and being empowered to …
Mirror, Mirror….
When my two sons were born, I felt that one of the most important jobs I had was to be a mirror for them. As I looked into their eyes, I would also be looking into my Heart. There was a strong feeling of connecting with them, and this was not about me; this was about us in the greater …
Reaching the Third Level….
The third level of practice, which is called śāmbavopāya (path of Śiva) in the tradition of Kashmir Śaivism, uses the will. All traditions teach this practice, in which we rest in the Heart by a well directed will. Obviously, this is not easy; it requires discipline and complete surrender to God, Self, the Absolute. Yoga Sūtras III.17 says that through …
Being a Free Actor….
When people come to my classes or see me privately, we usually use situations or people in their lives to show how to apply the practice in the world. Though this is truly an internal practice, it has to be used and applied to inform all of our life. So after a class people leave the laboratory and hopefully implement …