A Story from Tao - or in other words Namaste

The Rascal and the Saint

Few people had the courage to remain with Chuang Tzu.  He was always creating embarrassing situations; saints were not supposed to do such things.  For example, he was seen one day in the capital riding on a donkey with his disciples following him.  The whole town was laughing - people were gathered on both sides of the road - because he was not sitting the right way on the donkey.  The donkey was going forward and Chuang Tze was sitting backward facing his disciples!

The townspeople were laughing and the disciples were embarrassed.  Finally one disciple said 'why are you doing this? You are making a fool out of yourself, and along with you we are being ridiculed with you unnecessarily.  People think we are idiots!'

Chuang Tzu said, 'There is something great implied in it - I have thought it over.  If I sit the way people normally sit on donkeys, then my back will be facing you, and that is insulting.  I don't want to insult anyone, not even my own disciples.  The other possibility is that you walk in front of me - and that is not right either, this would be the disciples insulting the master, and that is not right either.  So this is the solution that I have found.  Let the fools laugh - but you are facing me and I am facing you and that is how a master and a disciple should be, I am respectful toward you and you are respectful toward me, and the donkey has no objection - so why should we bother about what some people think?'

Now this kind of man is rare and unique and perhaps difficult to find.  He attained the highest clarity, consciousness, love, compassion and he remained cheeky and a rascal with playfulness until the very end.

Placing our hands together at the centre of our chest in Namaste mudra or the position of Namaste / Namaskaram brings this sense of respect - or the meeting of two - the sun and the moon, the master and the disciple, night and day the two polarities meet each other.  If you become sensitive enough you can feel the vital life force merging or transmitting between the two.  I make this gesture to all life forms, to every living being, tree, frog, human, bird and blade of grass - every drop of water - you are life of joyful life - life of divine consciousness.  I honor the light that is within you that is the same within me,  I honor the universe that is within you that is the same within me, together we are one.  

Have joyful days of practice and awareness of all life that exists around you and feel yourself in respect for everything

love life,  love the planet,  love yourself

Namaste - I honor and salute you as I honor and salute myself

Om Namah Sivaya

Mangala / Nicky  

A New Year begins when we decide to make a change.

Atha Yoganusasanam

And Now Yoga

So here we are in now 2020, somebody somewhere told us the year, that there are 12 months in one year and 24 hours in one day.  It seems at this stage people begin to make lists of all the things they would like to change for a new year.  Swami Chinmayananda explains beautifully that only when we as a human being make a choice for a change - a dedication for a change for a better self then a new year will begin.  Why wait for a number - this can happen at any moment throughout your day, month, year - life time - when the time is right make a conscious choice to change from a less meaningful way of life to a meaningful way of life.  And this means taking care of yourself in the right ways, of evolving away from materialism and moving toward knowledge - that you are not this body, this mind, these thoughts, and to reconnect with supreme satisfaction and contentment.  As one moment dies a new moment is born, in death of one thing there is life.  Where there is opportunity for the individual soul to merge with the whole universal spirit.

The great sage and compiler of the Yoga Sutras starts with the first thread - Atha Yoganusasanam - meaning and now you are ready - you have come to this point and now you are ready to make an integral change within you.  To come to start your journey working towards awakening through Sadhana - spiritual practice and Sadhana leads to knowledge and ultimate freedom.  To start to look within to nurture and clean internally, to maintain your inner landscape to begin to find the stupendous capabilities that you hold within you.  Or as Sadhguru says to engineer inwardly, to scientifically observe and analyse ourselves.  To put an end to a meaningless search and begin with a meaningful one, or to stop the searching all together and let things unfold in the 'way.'  To put an end to paddling up stream with a struggle and a beginning to surrendering to the flow of the water and allowing it to take you without effort.  To live a more creative life full of vitality and intrigue, a magical lust for the beauty of every leaf of every tree you pass on every day, for every bird and every ant that crosses your path, for a pure joy of all aspects of life.

Take a simple step forward to a profound way of life - creating your own sense of happiness and fulfillment and in doing so you will also be creating the same for others.  By helping yourself alone - you will become more and more proficient in helping others.

Only you can choose to start a new year only you, nobody or anything else can do it for you - no higher consciousness will do it for you - only you.  As Swami Chinmayananda says 'The day you decide to make that choice to live a higher life, that will be the new years day, it need not be January 1st, any day can be January 1st, new years day is the day that you decide to change yourself.'

So when you are ready if you haven't already done so - make it a new year - a beautiful new year.

AUM Shanti Shanti Shanti

Mangala / nicky