via Nirmala Devi (Norma Berrios)' Daily Inspiration e-mails:

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Excerpt from:  Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

D.: Taking the first part first, how is the mind to be eliminated or

relative consciousness transcended?

M.: The mind is by nature restless. Begin liberating it from its

restlessness; give it peace; make it free from distractions; train

it to look inward; make this a habit. This is done by ignoring the

external world and removing the obstacles to peace of mind.

D.: How is restlessness removed from the mind?

M.: External contacts - contacts with objects other than itself - make the

mind restless. Loss of interest in non-Self, (vairagya) is the first step.

Then the habits of introspection and concentration follow. They are

characterised by control of external senses, internal faculties, etc.

(sama, dama, etc.) ending in samadhi (undistracted mind).

D.: How are they practised?

M.: An examination of the ephemeral nature of external phenomena

leads to vairagya (dispassion). Hence enquiry (vichara) is the first and foremost

step to be taken. When vichara continues automatically, it results

in a contempt for wealth, fame, ease, pleasure, etc. The ‘I’ thought

becomes clearer for inspection. The source of ‘I’ is the Heart - the

final goal. If, however, the aspirant is not temperamentally suited

to Vichara Marga (to the introspective analytical method), he

must develop bhakti (devotion) to an ideal - may be God, Guru,

humanity in general, ethical laws, or even the idea of beauty. When

one of these takes possession of the individual, other attachments

grow weaker, i.e., dispassion (vairagya) develops. Attachment for

the ideal simultaneously grows and finally holds the field. Thus

ekagrata (concentration) grows simultaneously and imperceptibly

- with or without visions and direct aids.

In the absence of enquiry and devotion, the natural sedative

pranayama (breath regulation) may be tried. This is known as

Yoga Marga. If life is imperilled the whole interest centres round

the one point, the saving of life. If the breath is held the mind

cannot afford to (and does not) jump at its pets - external objects.

Thus there is rest for the mind so long as the breath is held. All

attention being turned on breath or its regulation, other interests are

lost. Again, passions are attended with irregular breathing, whereas

calm and happiness are attended with slow and regular breathing.

Paroxysm of joy is in fact as painful as one of pain, and both are

accompanied by ruffled breaths. Real peace is happiness. Pleasures

do not form happiness. The mind improves by practice and becomes

finer just as the razor’s edge is sharpened by stropping. The mind

is then better able to tackle internal or external problems. If an

aspirant be unsuited temperamentally for the first two methods

and circumstantially (on account of age) for the third method,

he must try the Karma Marga (doing good deeds, for example,

social service). His nobler instincts become more evident and he

derives impersonal pleasure. His smaller self is less assertive and

has a chance of expanding its good side. The man becomes duly

equipped for one of the three aforesaid paths. His intuition may

also develop directly by this single method.

:  Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi - pg 26

Hrd-akasha. Hrd-ananda.  Hrim Shrim Lakshmyai Namaha.

Pedalling through the layers into the Heart of the Self - I feel a deep sigh - and realize that this world created by mine eyes is one of many.  

I ran into this site: http://www.joshabene.com/ and this photo of the Heart-Mind - he's an artist/molecular biologist from Austin who lives in Brooklyn.  Hmmm, what  a small circular world.  Perfecto (said with Spanish accent, is more appropriate here and now -->)

"The eyes are small, but they see big things," - Rumi

Constantly, I am reminded that there are many lokas (universes, if you please, or "worlds") within our worlds.  It's important that we explore them with a very knowledgeable guide - that would be "Guru."  Guru helps you relax as he/she takes you into these lokas.  

"The heart is the hub of all holy places.  Go there and roam in it." - Baba Nityananda

As my friend Lauren Cleff - your friend too! - sends me blessings from Rishikesh where she is looking over Mother Ganga - and I send her blessings from Austin, where the skies gaze at me and hold me in her arms.

How do we know we are progressing in this practice?  This was asked of Shankar from the Shambhava School of Yoga (Shoshoni Yoga in Colorado) - and he said,  "You feel happier."  

It's true - externals become so external to this JOY - this is MUDITA in Sanskrit (name of our yoga studio in Kingston, New York - see - Mudita - Prema (Love in Austin) - and Shanti (this one's going to be in Sugar Land)...

Thank goddess, one of my bestest friends is Omkari - the bliss of Shiva - the bliss of love unending - who has a key to my apartment when they fall away into the playground and whose husband is a dear friend and a great lawyer.  It's so great to have lawyers married to great yoginis as friends.  Contentment not dependent on the laws of ever-changing governances.  Nevertheless - greater ease incurred by knowledge of the laws.  

we are never alone.  only the thinking mind - we'll break down all the levels of the mind-self:

Citta - Vritti - Buddhi - Ahamkara - Mahat - Manas - Gunas - Tanmatras - Tattvas

in the YOGALife program at Love Yoga Co-op so we can understand this part of our beingness.  Om Aim Hrim Shrim Lakshmyai Namaha.  Hrdaye Citta Samvit.  or as Bharati Devi explained to me - "Samyamah Hrdaye Citta Samvit."

I love to eat, exercise, work, play, practice yoga, meditate, chant and sleep.  But it took me a while to figure out in what proportion each of these things should take up my day.  Sometimes I meditate so much, I don't sleep.  And at other times I'm sleeping throughout all my meditations.  Yes - that's me in your yoga class asleep in Handstand.  And guess what really helped me to hone some semblance of balance alongside Yoga, living on an Ashram, chanting everyday, studying Yogic scriptures, working at McCann Erickson as a Project Manager, studying for med school? Ayurveda.  

But what is Ayurveda?  And how does it apply to you and your Yoga practice?  Kerry Meath can give you a superb introduction to this huge body of natural healing from India at Love Yoga Co-op on Saturday, November 7, at 4:30 pm.  For $10 - you'll get a fantastic overview from someone who studied with Dr. Vasant Lad, directly.  Have I yet to go on about how I love Dr. Vasant Lad?  Well, I Love Dr. Vasant Lad -  1 week of Dr. Vasant Lad and I stopped studying for med school. again - again yes the old doctor karma sometimes lures me back into studying genetics, anatomy and physiology from a Western standpoint.  I'm leaving that to my momma in this lifetime.   But I am studying Ayurveda (currently with Dr. Frawley's courses).  And then I met Kerry Meath.  She is a wise woman healer.   I encourage everyone to spend time with her.

Kerry has given me such a thorough regimen of foods and herbs that work for my dosha (Vata-Pitta) - I feel like I could move mountains.  Mountains, I tell ya.  And what does Vata-Pitta mean?  Air-Fire.  In Ayurveda, there are 3 main doshas (my friend Li asked me, you mean like the flatbread?  No, that's dosa), or constitutions - Air - Fire - Earth.  All human beings have all 3 - but 1 can be more dominant than another.  The dominant one is the one that often goes out of balance.  And then bang-o - you wonder why it is that you suddenly feel "uncomfortable in your own skin."  

Kerry will give you just some insight into how to fit Ayurveda in with your Yoga practices of meditation, asana, chanting, etcetera.  It's quite healing and wonderful.  Won't you join us?

Love Yoga Co-op, Saturday, November 7, 4:30 pm

2525 South Lamar, Austin, TX 78704, behind Maria's Tacos - the goddess leads the way, Santa Maria de Taco points you towards LOVE.  But seriously, who could make this stuff up?

It seems that we are ruled by semantics in our limited English vocabulary.  It's so much fun to see how language forms the mental make-up of a culture.  English - for me is a fine, beautiful language, but a language within many that I play around with for a good stretch of the imagination (yes I stretch my imagination, but I don't call it "Yoga.")  This parenthetical statement is a very bad attempt at a joke.  My love of languages is not common in our mono-lingual society.  It's sweet to come from countries where we speak lots of them - even crude, bizarre and wild sing-songy ones.  Now Sanskrit is one of the Proto-Indo-European languages (Latin and Greek are the other two)   from which many Asian dialects came.  

So I've found that many people out there who teach and practice Yoga (based in the Sanskrit language) have never studied much Sanskrit.  This is where so much confusion arises.  So let's take a stab at this huge topic so you can see whether or not you are actually practicing "Yoga" or some wonderful stretching exercises/gymnastics (these are very important things, I love stretching and gymnastics.)

"Yoga" - comes from the root word "yug" which means "to yoke."  What exactly are you "yoking?"  Well, it could be more ego-identification to your body.  Or, you could take some definition from Patanjali - the author of the Yoga Sutras:

2nd Sutra, 1st chapter:

"YOGAH CITTA VRTTI NIRODHA."

Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, (Ramamurti S. Mishra) translates this as "Yoga or Union is the cessation of the thinking mind: 'Who am I?'"

Hmm.  Intriguing that Patanjali didn't say, "Yoga is being able to stretch the physical body into different positions."

Not in one sutra - he doesn't say this.  He says it in many sutras when describing the third limb of yoga - "asana."  This third limb of Yoga has stretched and expanded into "Hatha Yoga."  And yes, many of our famous Hatha Yoga teachers are great, not only at teaching Yoga according to Patanjali's definitions, but also at advertising (I work in advertising, we create brands and infinities of brands with tms and circle register rs, so I am familiar).  So most folks out there say, in subtext, "the brand of Hatha Yoga I practice is"...insert name of your style of Yoga here.  But the words that come out of the mouth are "the type of Yoga I practice is..." and they are only talking about Hatha Yoga.  It would be more precise to say, "the type of Hatha Yoga I practice is..."

And then we gad on about how we jump around more in that class or we stand on our head more in that class and in that class we put our foot behind our head.  So if you breathe faster and move around that is one brand of Hatha Yoga.  If you breathe slower and move around that's another brand of Hatha Yoga.  

And the point of this "third limb" of the "8-limbs" of Yoga according to Patanjali - "asana" - see how the ancients really knew how to put "names" on things so they don't "bind" us?  They called the physical postures and mudras "seats."  "Asana" means "seat" in Sanskrit.  You could be sitting upside down for all the heavens care.  Just have "santosha," contentment and ease and "Tadah drastuh svarupe Avasthanam."  This is the third sutra of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.  Guruji translates it as "Then the witness is established in its own form, in pure Self-awareness, "I-am":  Be still and know I am That I-AM."  Who was one of our greatest yogis?  Jesus Christ himself.  And YOU - when you "drop the thinking mind."

The point of this third limb is to get you to where you can understand within your "asana," your "hatha yoga" posture, the other Seven (yes, seven) limbs of Yoga: "Yama, Niyama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi."  

Shri Brahmananda further translates:

"Yama"  - 5 yamas = Ahinsa (nonviolence), Satya (Truthfulness),  Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (abidance in the "I-am" in Godhood and continence (oh yes, he said the word GOD), Aparigraha - non=possessiveness of the mind.

When you practice the five Yamas, guess what, you create "gigantic willpower."  Try it.  Then, you can understand, "Atha Yoganusasanam."  Which is the very first Sutra in all the glorious Sutras.  It says "Now the discipline of Yoga is explained," according to Guruji.  Others translate it as "Now Yoga begins."  Brilliant little mathematical equation in so few words, even in English!

I could go on.  But it's not the point of yoga.  If I plug more information into your thinking mind - and you run it around over and over again in your noggin, guess what?  We have again failed at the above definition of Yoga.  So as Guruji - Shri Brahmananda Sasrasvati - said, "Drop everything and feel...Aham Brahmasmi."

There's ten thousand reasons to meditate.  But mostly lately, I meditate to just empty empty empty until I become one with all and the source of all things.  It's quite satisfying - not in any temporary way, either.  It's satisfying in the most deeply satisfying of ways.

I met Nirmala Devi at Ananda Ashram studying Sanskrit with Manorama.  We seem to be opening up Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj's books lately:

From Nirmala Devi's Daily Inspirations

 Nisargadatta Maharaj