Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

2016 : A Year of Hope and Opportunity; Chanting is Half the Battle

It is easy to be uneasy about the prospects for 2016. But uncertainty provides an opportunity for assessing one's priorities, and nothing like the New Year for new resolve and intentions!

Making predictions about the future is about the most ill-conceived use of one's time and risk to one's reputation as ever can be conceived. Fortunately, most predictions are soon forgotten and rarely held to account -- a lot like campaign promises, I suppose.

I feel safe in predicting less and less stability in all areas of human activity and life: political, economic, climate, health, technology, and so on. The opportunity in this is to become increasingly self-reliant and, as odd as this may sound, self-reliance includes making connections and commitments with others who are engaged in the same efforts and hold the same goals and ideals as your own.

Government protections will continue to erode, whether in emergencies, security, or in safety net services. But, have no fear because few people will heed warnings; most will simply react to present circumstances and will likely be unprepared or under-prepared. So, like Alfred E. Neuman used to say: "What, me worry?"

Spiritually, there's no one who comes around and makes you pray, meditate, or serve others selflessly. So many well intention-ed meditators therefore imagine they can do that later, when time allows, as they are busy with more immediate concerns. You can spend a lifetime putting things off, and many, if not most, do. (The classic example is preparing one's will and medical directives.)

When I returned from my seclusion during the first week of December I wrote a number of "Ah yes, I remember that! in my blog. One of them is the uselessness of 99% of our random and fleeting thoughts which are forgotten almost as soon as they pass by. 

Instead, I reaffirmed that the best use of my mind when not engaged in the task at hand or the person at hand is to chant and pray inwardly. When I think of the infinite variety of thoughts, activities, social positions, wealth, poverty, and circumstances in which billions of my fellows live, and when I think of all that as but a fraction of infinity, and as infinity as the just one aspect of the nature of God, why should I give my circumstances or my random thoughts so much importance or my thoughts, well, any thought at all?

The vibration (level) of my consciousness is everything. My consciousness and consequent magnetism infuses and empowers my actions and thoughts with appropriate consequences. All else is so much less. The support of the overarching energy and consciousness of which I am but a minuscule part is far more valuable than much of what I can bring to bear using only my ego-centric will power or mere desire. 

So, why not chant and be happy? There is nothing and no one who is not part of the fabric of reality seen or unseen which both manifests and hides the Infinite Spirit at the same time. There's nowhere to hide and nothing to fear. Armed with this veil-piercing realization, even if, at first, it is but fleeting, one's spirit and joy can experience a taste of freedom. 

It is no coincidence that Paramhansa Yogananda counseled that "Chanting is half the battle."

So, if chanting's half the battle, what's the other half? Why, silence, of course. Prayer, chanting, mantra, "japa," and mentally affirming the divine presence all have as their deeper purpose to prepare us to enter the Holy of Holies: inner silence. It is in silence that the voice of God, the presence of God, is experienced.

At first we are likely to have the impersonal experience of soul-satisfying states of awareness such as joy, unconditional love, deep calmness, the inner sounds and divine light. There comes a time in our soul's awakening when God takes human form: whether in vision or in person. But, in the end, God is beyond form and the particulars (whatever form of perfection we strive for, worship, or have experienced up to that point) must melt into the bliss of the Infinite Spirit!

So, when practicing chanting during the day, I always take it toward silence: even moments of silence. In meditation, of course, this is the Holy Grail prerequisite cup from which the true intoxicating "spirits" are to be imbibed.

This, and not success in the long list of my duties or improvement in my attitude or habits, is my New Year's Resolution. Give it some thought or not, but happiness is what we truly seek, whether we get a long or a short life. Or, an easy or difficult one. 

I just happen to know that if I "Seek 'Thee' first, all these (other) things, will be added" and my duties and habits will find completion, success or appropriate resolution with the power of divine help and power.

As Swami Kriyananda's great musical piece, "Life Mantra," affirms: "God is Life; God is Joy; Joy is Life; Joy is God."

Happy New Year friends!

Nayaswami Hriman


Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Welcome 2015: Adieu to 2014!

Those who follow mainline world news may wonder what is there to welcome but flaming hotspots of war, disease and violence? But as each morning lets us begin a new day, so each year offers us the opportunity for a fresh perspective. Though to turn away in a yawn or a scoff may seem the better part of realism, the human spirit needs refreshment every bit as much as the human body needs nightly rest or daily nutrition.

If I were a psychic or a saint I could make some intriguing predictions about 2015, but predicting is a fool's game to play in print. But it is a good moment to step back and ask "What directions have I been taking? Are these the directions that will bring to me happiness or pain?" And, as we are part of a much larger world, we might also ask ourselves "What events in the world around me seem to hover, ready to strike? What, if anything, should I do in anticipation?" As a yogi and devotee I wonder, "What is God, through my karma and my guru (Paramhansa Yogananda), guiding me to focus on for my own spiritual growth? How can I serve Thee and to do that which will make me free?"

The more years I spend on this planet the more I am convinced that reality, happiness, truth.......are found in "God alone." This sounds a bit much unless one dives a little deeper. "God alone" is a code phrase for being centered; unruffled amidst the "crash of breaking worlds." It is code for having a "God's eye view" of life, and, more importantly, MY LIFE! Not only in "don't sweat the small stuff," but hold steadfast to faith and ultimate goodness in the big stuff, too. Devotion, prayer, meditation, and active service together build a fortress of inner peace.

It also refers to the intuitive realization born of lifetimes of living and seeking that no human dream or goal or experience, whether laudatory or debased, can bring more than a fleeting peek of true happiness. This is one of the gold rings of the true Trilogy. This is the wisdom of what, in India, is called Shankhya philosophy. It is, however, universal to the unfolding of human consciousness even if it is but the first step towards wisdom. (The second gold ring is the awakening, or "smriti," of our divine nature and of Divinity as the only reality. The third is the ever-expanding realization of that nature.)

Few people are born with this insight. In most lives it comes, if it comes at all, with living a God-centered, truth-centered (versus a Me-centered) life. However, even Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita says, "Out of a thousand, one seeks Me......" And, in viewing the drama of human lives, that's probably closer to the real odds given by the "Las Vegas" wheel of human karma.

Honestly, I don't know how people find any sustaining happiness, creativity and contentment in this world without a faith that is rooted in a robust sense of centeredness and divine Presence. How many humans, by the time life comes to a natural end, have succumbed to disillusionment, ennui, and regret. Some, too, augur into self-made hells of hatred and bitterness. Others, simply into pain: physical or emotional; others, too, into the escapist world of the sub-conscious mind. And yes, admittedly, there are good people everywhere who live to a ripe old age: happy, grateful, and content. This latter group is to be commended for having done so seemingly devoid of any faith but I wonder how deeply rooted this state is (for those of us who believe in reincarnation). Who can predict whether the karmic wheel will fall on this coveted space? Is there anyone who can, by force of will power alone, ensure such a happy destiny? I doubt it. Those who have achieved it seem to have been born with it.

Looking back over 2014, can you discern a direction to your thoughts and attitudes? Actions and responses? A pattern to events and relationships? Imagine railroad tracks extending from these patterns forward past the veil which hides the future? Peer into and past that veil. Where do they lead? Was 2014 a victorious year for conscious, sustainable, ideal-focused living, or, well, is it time to renew your "vows?"

Diet? Exercise? Yoga? Meditation? Education? Service to your community? These should be on your review and to-do list. Yes? TV, movies, internet, overspending, sloth etc etc...........say no more?

Economists tell us 2015 is looking up. Being somewhat a contrarian by nature, I figure that when the bulls or the bears are stampeding, that's the best time to reverse course. The Dow at 18,000? Based on, what, exactly? I'd say be very conservative before leaping into the idea that 2015 is going to be a banner year economically. Grow food; nurture conscious-living friends and community, refresh your spirit on retreat; in nature; and, yes, for some, in pilgrimages or other ideal-inspired travel. Share generously but wisely, relative to your means, of course.

Politically: ditto all the way. More of nothing from the U.S. Congress. Poor 'ol Obama: intelligent, wise and well-meaning: stuck in the mud of a divided nation. Our national culture is suspicious of the federal government and for good reason: both on principle and on experience. Obama came on the scene when our nation was broke and bereft of consensus and confidence. Yet, some of the issues we face nationally and internationally require strong leadership and bold, though perhaps unpopular, initiatives. Sigh. Ditto internationally: east vs west (a replay?). Asia vs. the west (unfinished karma)? Hard to see our way forward, isn't it?

The solution is local, not global. The solution is individual, not collective or political. This is the hard lesson that our planet must learn. It is neither easy to do, nor pretty to watch. Ananda describes this solution in terms of intentional communities: people with shared (but universal) ideals, cooperating creatively, and with individual volition and initiative. Affirming and working with the positive.

You see: ours is an age of individualism. Yet, none are an island unto ourselves; nor could we be in this world of globalism that we have created. Individuals, not nations, must acquire conscience; integrity; self-effort; creative-thinking, health-mindedness and high-mindedness. Despite the enormous power of the "haves," the others CAN change the tide of history by being "the change we seek."

Think in longer rhythms, in other words. For the few who can leave the cities and start a new life, perhaps with others, go for it!

Last year we (Padma and I) were given Vedic astrology readings. Having reached the landmark of 60 years (ok, a tad north of that), it seemed a good time for a higher altitude perspective. Sure enough, changes are afoot! This phase of life tends naturally to be a time to begin pulling back from well-honed skills in order to mentor others and/or to serve in a broader way, and thus it was the message of the "stars" to us, as well. We expect to go further afield of the Seattle area to serve the work of Ananda. We shall see!!!!

So, time to reflect and renew and put the shoulder to the wheel of happiness, health, and "heaven."

A blessed and ever-New Year!

Nayaswami Hriman