by Gurani Anjali
Namaste. Settled in everyone? This body takes so much. Be thankful you are in a body. Take care of it. Om shanti
Om
bhur bhuvah svah
tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yo nah prachodayat
Om shanti, shanti, shanti.
Om
Earth, Atmosphere, Sky,
May our understanding rise to
Envision that desirable radiance of
the god Savitr (the illuminating power of the sun)
Gurani:(spoken slowly and softly) Om satyam sundarum agni ( Om the beautiful truth or existence of Agni )
All: Om satyam sundarum agni
Gurani: Om agni svaha ( Om hail to Agni [god of illumination and sacrifice])
All: Om agni svaha
(Chanted 15 times, led by the Gurani and repeated by all, etc.)
Gurani: Om satyam sundarum agni
All: Om satyam sundarum agni
Om, shanti, shanti, shanti.
Everything that appears, disappears. Everything that rises, falls. There is the coming and the going, appearing and disappearing. There is a constant, flowing nature of the rising and the falling. It is in every situation, in all circumstances. Therefore, it is wise for one to seek understanding. Seek understanding, then apply appreciation for what we call life. Everything that appears before us disappears. There is the rising and there is the falling. There is the coming and the going. It is wise for us to accept this, to get to the point of non-clinging. To know the real appreciation of aparigraha (non-possessiveness). We inhale and we exhale. Nothing stands still. We must not cling. We must see. We must observe the nature of life because this is our life- the rising and the falling, the coming and the going, constant movement, which shows us the sattva guna (the illuminating structure of experience), which gives us our true reality. This we have to understand, appreciate and accept. Everything that appears, disappears. Everything. And when we can see this, appreciate this and accept it, then we can have peace. Peace that goes beyond understanding. Peace that goes beyond our greatest ideas and thoughts. Peace which goes beyond neighbors, friends, father and mother.
Everything that appears, disappears. In every situation, it is showing us that it is so. The food appearing in front of you on a beautiful plate and the wonderful, delicious morsels of food that we so delighted in disappear from the plate. Every word that is spoken is also soon forgotten. Accept this, and in accepting this, you can find happiness. We are looking for contentment (santosa). Practicing aparigraha is a wonderful assignment given to those just coming on the path. It is a wonderful application, when done with a great deal of devotion – not to cling, not to possess. It is not sufficient for the mind to just say, “I’m not going to do this, today, and I’m not going to have this and I’m not going to have that.”
Look for the rising and the falling. Keep a watchful eye on that every day. The appearance of a wonderful friend, a long lost friend is such a wonderful thing to see. But in the seeing is the appearing of the disappearing. We must rise and fall. We must give and take. We must appear and disappear. We cannot hold on to anything. The only thing that we can live in is acceptance of this great dharma, the way of life. We must accept it. Acceptance is a wonderful thing. Once we accept, we can rest in peace. And then we will not have pride, anger, jealousy, hate. For then, who is there to hate? What is there anger for? Only when we possess, only when we have a craving. With every craving there is suffering. When there is craving, there is a sensation in the body. There are many sensations, many, many cravings. But craving is craving. And when a craving arises, a sensation arises, too. If you didn’t have the sensation, you wouldn’t know that you were craving for something. The mind always has to have an object to concentrate on. If there is no object, then there is no concentration. So with every craving, with every desire to have, suffering appears. So we have to go to the root of that suffering. We have to go to the root of the suffering to erase it completely, to eradicate it completely, at the root.
And how do we do that? We do that by watching the sensation. Keep observing the sensation. For instance, you may see something that you would like to have and a sensation will arise. Forget about what you were thinking about having, just get into the sensation. Keep thinking about the sensation for as long as it takes and before you know it, that sensation disappears. As it appears, it disappears. Everything is like that. It appears and it disappears. What we have to do is to watch the sensation. Observe it. For instance, if you have a lustful thought. It is a thought. Thoughts have no feelings. But the body automatically develops sexual sensations. Just don’t do anything about it; sit and observe that sexual sensation and it will disappear. It will become unimportant. It will disappear. Every sensation comes and it disappears. The moment you begin watching it, it becomes embarrassed. It doesn’t stay long. Keep observing it – the sensation not the thought, the physiological sensation. For instance, if you want to drink a glass of cold water: it is a desire, it is a craving. It appears as a thought: “I would like to have some cold water to drink, please.” The water takes a month of Sundays to arrive, but the craving for the water lingers, so you sit and wait and wait and you are watching, observing the sensation. And before you know it, you don’t want the water anymore. It appears and it disappears. Know this, that this is the law of dharma. It appears and then it disappears.
Now I want to give you a little technique.
[Gurani gives a meditation in movement technique.]
The afflictions are so many and these afflictions must be experienced in the sensations. We experience many, many sensations. When anger arises, there are many thoughts that accompany anger. But you know you have anger by the sensation you have in the body. A heat arises, a heat that is not pleasant. And there is fury accompanied by heat. When we tune into the sensation, the first place to go to is the breath: watch and observe, and before you know it, the anger disappears, the hate disappears also. As it appears, it disappears also. Everything comes and goes. The seeker after truth must find the truth, and in finding the truth, we are to accept the truth, and once we accept the truth, we are to act wisely. We are to act with noble truths. We are to act with the embodiment of ahimsa, nonviolence. These are all very hard philosophical thoughts to deal with. But for the seeker after truth, these are not impossible. The first place to go to is the breath, then find the root cause of the afflictions that come as sensations in the body. The body is a battlefield, and in this body many things rise and fall.
Nothing stays. So the seeker after truth must hold on to the truth. Embody the truth and eradicate the negativities that come as sensations. When a negative sensation arises, watch it, observe it, and it will go. Nothing lasts. Worship the breath. Do these techniques that we did here at least once a day, as little or as much as you can. Find the truth in life. The whole world is wanting peace and there is much suffering all over the world. If everyone would tune in to the dharma (right conduct, duty) of life, the natural laws of life, suffering will end. But most people are caught up in fantasy, in cultural notions of “this is right and that is wrong.” Everyone is going after someone to destroy them. But what can be destroyed in this world? Everything is already taken care of. We don’t have to do anything except to accept what is. We are to enjoy the beauty of life. We are to see that in the rising, there is the falling, and to take note of what is rising and what is falling. We are to use a discriminating mind to guide us into the realities of life, so that we may better worship and acknowledge what stands before us. Constantly, many things appear before us. Many things, many objects appear before us; some are important, and some aren’t. Some need to be attended to right away and some must wait, but everything comes and goes before the seeker after truth. And because the seeker is seeking the truth, the seeker is wide-eyed, alert, so that he or she may give the proper adoration that is perfect and fitting for the dharma. So the seeker after truth has a lot to think of, but the seeker after truth must also watch the sensations that rise and fall in the body, the laziness, the tiredness, the greed, the lust, everything. We must watch and observe everything so that we may uphold the dignity of life, the honor that is life, the precious moments of life, for everything comes and goes. So we are here to worship and pay adoration. Om shanti.
Om
paramesvaraya vidmahe;
para-tattvaya dhimahi
tan no brahma pracodaytat.
Om santi, santi, santi.
May we know the Highest Lord;
May we meditate the Highest existent;
May that Brahman guide us.
Om shanti, shanti, shanti. Namaste.