Thank you Aparnaji for leading the contemplation class for us and everyone for your beautiful shares. It seemed too close to the end of the class for me to chime in when ‘remembering’ came up but I wanted to share something I’ve noticed and am wondering if others have too, that ‘forgetting’ is becoming more and more uncomfortable, painful even-it becomes barren so quickly, and I’m wondering if it’s like a built in mechanism of sorts, a natural motivation to be more diligent about NOT forgetting. It seems I can’t stray far or for long now without feeling the angst of separation and wanting, yearning to be back. It reminds me of the expression to be ‘on the straight and narrow’ and it seems to be getting straighter and narrower. I always feel such relief and gratitude when I have ‘strayed’ or forgotten, inevitably because my ego or mind has…
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We are the light. I found this beautiful quote today and wanted to share it. We are indeed stars, self-luminous, wrapped in matter stumbling in the darkness of Samsara. Grateful for our teacher's light that has been pointing us in the direction of our own inner light. Jai Maa !
Thank you Jayanti this post has me singing one of my favorite songs; This little light of mine, I’m gunna let it shine, this little light of mine, I’m gunna let it shine, let it shine, shine, shine, let it shine!
Love and Hate
“Sovereign love arises from inner fullness. It doesn't covet, possess, or enslave. Instead, it's rooted in self-rule, self-sufficiency, and self-love.” —Acharya Shunya
In yesterday’s teaching on Bhaja Govindam, Acharya Shunya reminded us that “body consciousness is the source of hate.”
When we deeply understand that we and “others” are not bodies or even minds, but the one Self, there can be no hate.
Our human minds have been conditioned to be drawn to certain bodies and reject other bodies, (or even love/hate certain aspects of our own body/mind), perpetuating the seemingly endless cycle of joy and sorrow through karma. When we learn about the Self and this cosmic set up, we begin to disrupt this cycle of samsara.
Thanks for sharing this Jayanti! The universe sends us messages when we need to and are ready to hear it and your message lands in a very reflective space for me.
I’m at the beach this weekend and sitting quietly, watching the waves is bringing home some of Acharya Shunya’s words from the Bhaja Govindam Satasnga this week.
From Verse 12, Acharya Shunya expounded on Adi Shankaracharya’s observation that the relentless cycles of nature reflect the relentless, seemingly inescapable cycle of samsara we find ourselves in. We are buffeted by desires and yet won’t let go of them, despite the fact that they are the very things that keep us trapped in samsara.
I look at the frothing crests of waves, relentless, powerful, ready to overwhelm. Yet they are intoxicating, seductive, magnets of attention. They come and go, the tide here rises and falls.
Can I visualize each wave as a desire? Frothing and foaming, seemingly unique and deserving of attention, yet ultimately just more of the same simple seawater. Each cycle of the tide, drawing close and pulling away, revealing…
How beautiful, Ishani ! Your contemplation reminds me of the temporality of desires and that by simply observing them we step into the process of witnessing and detachment. The image of the waves and the sea also help me understand the rise and the fall of ‘Mithya’. (The word Mithya is explained by Acharya Shunya as “qualified reality. It means not true, not false, something in between, temporarily and changing ; Ref. text study Nirvana Shatakam part 4, timestamp from 56’ onwards). Thank you !
Yay, I was finally able to access this forum! I seemed to have missed a step when I first joined the VSC, but after a few trials & errors, was able to complete the steps and join the forum.
I’ve been a student of Acharya Shunya for several years and consider her to be my Guru. I can’t imagine my life without daily sadhana and being in this supportive community. Continuing to learn and more deeply integrate the teachings I’ve received so far has fueled my growth and blessed my life.
It occurred to me in a recent session that the “hammer” of Bhaja Govindam is a particularly helpful teaching when it comes to preparing for the path of Karma Yoga, because when all attachments are hammered away, all delusions broken through, all that remains for us to do with this human life is to turn inward to Ishwara…
Thank you for this share Tami. It is so encouraging to notice these signs in ourselves that the mind is learning, that discerning between what is truly beneficial and aligned with the deeper journey is becoming more of a lived reality and new habits / thought patterns are being formed that are drawing us back to the Self rather than spiraling away indefinitely.