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Previous Newsletters:
July-August 2007
Sept-Oct 2007
| Reflections… | Volume: 1 Issue: 11 January-February 2009 |
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Extract from Guests’
comments Your staff are angels from heaven, always waiting to be of assistance, to help in your rejuvenation. The food- what can I say? It’s incredible, beyond delicious – I wish I could eat more! The garden cottages are that extra touch in escaping our crazy lives & surrounding ourselves with luscious greenery, nature, peace & tranquility. But what truly makes the experience a dream come
true are the special touches – fresh flowers in the bedroom,
decorations on the table, candles on the footpath, incense while
practicing Yoga… It creates the magic of Shreyas. Kim Dresner, Australia |
My dear friends It was also a year where conversations improved, when people became more humble and thrift returned. It was a year we became closer to our friends and realised the importance of family. It was year we finally decided to refocus on our well being. As we gingerly step into 2009, we should remind ourselves of the fundamental tenets of Yoga. There is nothing wrong with the world. There is everything wrong with the way we view the world. When we see ourselves separate from the world, we introduce a “me” and “mine”, that causes us to view the rest as “others”. All our issues arise from this separateness. We compete with the “other” for pleasure and avoiding pain. We forget that what gives us pleasure today can give us pain tomorrow. We forget that someone else’s pain could be our pain (if we like the person) or pleasure (if we don’t). Start with recognising unity
within diversity. The move towards Unity is Yoga. Yoga promises
no miracles. It simply reminds us of the miracle that is life.
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Or we can choose to resist, bemoan our fate
and become disillusioned. The key is “we have a choice”
We can choose to live within our means and realize there is much left to share. We can practice moderation in sense pleasures (“Mita” in Sanskrit) and enjoy the fullness in the part. We can choose for peace in our heart before we expect peace in the world. We can choose to forgive instead of harbouring anger. We can choose to heal our body and mind. That is after all, nature too. We can choose to love those less fortunate, as fortunate or even those more fortunate than us. I wish you well on your journey of self discovery.
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Understanding Real
Prosperity A company’s prosperity
is determined on the basis of its PAT (Profit After Tax). An individual’s
prosperity is measured by his / her conspicuous consumption, which
in turn depends on their salary. But these parameters cannot measure
real prosperity! An improved quant does not necessarily reflect improved quality. For example, if the turnover of health care and pharmaceutical industry goes up, in practical terms, it means that more people have fallen ill and are remaining so! Though this turnover will reflect as growth in a country’s GNP, it does not reflect the quality of life. Thus it is imperative to distinguish between what we understand as ‘prosperity’ and ‘real prosperity.’ Thus, shanti-ashanti and ananda-dukha ratio determines our real prosperity. Scriptures and
Wealth Likewise, wealth also exists in the potential form. It has to be manifested or liberated through right karma called purushartha (valid goals of life). Artha means pursuit of wealth. It counts as an important purushartha. Most of us have the notion that our scriptures prescribe asceticism towards wealth. But nowhere do the scriptures say that wealth is bad and we must withdraw ourselves from it. |
Further the scriptures guide us by informing: “Liberation of wealth must not be done with attachment or for egoistic purposes. It must be for the welfare of the World. The karma of liberating wealth should be in adherence with dharma.” Hence utilization of wealth must also be in accordance with dharma. Work Well to Liberate Wealth for the
Welfare of the World. The attitude: “All Wealth belongs to the Divine!” In the process of liberating wealth, where we generally may go wrong is when we believe that wealth belongs (only) to us. The scriptures categorically state: “Aishwarya (all wealth and glory) belongs only to the Divine.” Wealth is that divine power manifesting itself as a resource which is essential for us to sustain life. Therefore we cannot claim exclusive ownership of any type of wealth. The ideal relationship
between Wealth and us If we think we are owners, then we are preventing the flow of divine power. This attitude needs to be developed. Even modern economics talks about the velocity of money. To be continued… |
Herbs & Spices used at Shreyas Fenugreek The seeds have a slightly bitter taste and are roasted and ground and used as flavoring in curries. Ground fenugreek is frequently used in curry powder. Both fresh and dried leaves are used in Indian pancakes; curries, salads etc. The seeds are used in colic flatulence, dyspepsia, chronic cough and enlargement of liver and spleen and diabetes. It is also used as a carminative, tonic, and aphrodisiac. Fenugreek oil is used to manufacture hair tonics. Dill Dill seeds are used both whole and ground as a condiment in soups, salads, pickling etc. The essential oil is used in making soaps. Both seeds and oil are used in indigenous medicinal preparations. The emulsion of dill oil in water is an aromatic carminative.
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LIVING THE WISDOM OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA Pawan Malik (Contd. from Nov/Dec
’08 issue) The relevance and universality of Krishna’s teachings transcend the immediate historical setting of Arjuna’s battlefield dilemma. The first chapter graphically depicts the physical state of someone who is approaching a nervous breakdown; quivering lips, eyes filled with tears, weak knees and hands etc. Krishna, unlike, modern doctors, does not take Arjuna’s temperature or prescribe anti-depressants to control the physical symptoms of depression, but instead proceeds to deal with the core of Arjuna’s problem; his conflict between his duty to fight the war and the attachment to his kin. He initially admonishes Arjuna for becoming weak at a moment when he should be strong, then encourages him to restore his stature of a noble prince and reminds him of his “dharma” to fight the righteous war. The concept of dharma (literally, “duty”) is fundamental to Bhagavad-Gita. The very first word in the Gita is “dharma”, and the last one is mam (“my,” “mine”). Consequently, tradition maintains that all that is taught in between these two words is “my duty.” In other words, the Gita contains the duty of every person. It derives from the verbal root dhr, which means, “to hold,” giving the sense of “that which holds everything together.” |
Although, on the face of it, Arjuna is advocating peace and Krishna is pushing him to violence; at closer look, we realise that Arjuna is already at war – with himself. Arjuna is heart broken as he realises that those he has come to vanquish are his relatives and loved ones. He is confused because of his attachments and not because he considers war to be unjust or unnecessary. His problem is not about killing people to attain kingdoms and justice, but rather that he has to kill who he considers to be “his people”. He forgets at that time that the war was announced only as a last resort, and after numerous attempts at diplomacy had failed. This is the crux of the conflict, and something that we can all relate to easily. Our doubts and insecurities about decisions normally arise when we have something we consider to be “ours” to be at risk. Why is it that we are unaffected when strangers by the millions die each day and deeply affected when it is someone we consider to be our friend or family? Realized masters tell us that the ego fabricates an image of the “I” by aggregating all that it considers to be “mine”. So my husband, my father, my mother, my children etc are really an extrapolation of the image of “I”. When a husband dies, then the wife grieves, for a part of the wife dies with the husband. After all, the wife only came in to being on account of the husband. Similarly with other relationships, including one might argue, enemies. When an enemy is destroyed then also, |
So Krishna is aware that Arjuna’s problem is not war or violence – for he would gladly slaughter those he did not consider his own – but that of attachment. Nevertheless, throughout the first chapter, Krishna patiently listens to the lamenting Arjuna, without once interrupting him. This is a great lesson for all of us, who rush to suggest solutions even though the person has not finished telling us about their problems. The Gita also shows us how a person should behave when they realise they don’t know the answer. Many existentialist philosophers were also seekers like Arjuna. These philosophers did not have the courage of Arjuna to be humble about their ignorance. Instead they turned their ignorance and offered it as a solution. They have stated that life is an accident, it has no meaning, and that you live, you die -that’s it. So enjoy life – you have no one to answer to. This is dangerous. Arjuna too could have provided answers but he chose to be a humble seeker, and therefore received the grace of the Divine, acting through Krishna, who illuminated him to the truths about life. We should also be careful not to turn our ignorance into solutions. Generally, you will find we seek affirmations from friends and family on our own point of view, only because we can then convince ourselves, we are right. |
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Krishna begins his masterful rendition of inspiring leadership in the second chapter. On being asked by Arjuna to guide him, instead of revealing his status as god incarnate, offering the solution, and expecting Arjuna to follow his advice, he pushes Arjuna into confronting his inner conflicts. He wants Arjuna to realise the truth for himself for only then will he be able to withstand all that life has to throw at him. He wants Arjuna to understand that conflicts are a way of life and they present an opportunity to transcend and grow. Without journeying through doubt, faith will not become stronger. Without experiencing suffering, happiness will not be appreciated. Life has to be experienced and every living moment has to be cherished. All apparent inequities and difficulties must be viewed as a means to grow and to understand that there is a core within us all; something that remains unaffected by pleasure or pain, life or death. Many of us wish to escape
bad times, sometimes by adopting a Guru, who we feel would provide
us spiritual salvation and alleviate our bad times. We seek spirituality
not to understand our true nature, but to avoid hardships. Krishna
is showing all of us that spirituality must be lived, day by day,
moment by moment. Every conflict must be confronted, every drama
must be experienced – only then will we grow. The message
of Gita is to embrace life and never worry. Live life in its totality
and accept whatever this life brings to us. Not only accept but
rejoice in it since it is an opportunity to grow and learn. The second chapter itself is broken into 4 main sections. The first section is when Arjuna asks Krishna to be his spiritual guide and Guru officially. |
The third is the teaching of Karma Yoga and the fourth, the qualities of a spiritually enlightened person. In the Sankhya section of the Gita, Krishna reminds Arjuna that the changeless entity upon which the experiences of change take place is called the “Atma”, whose fundamental nature is of Pure Existence, Pure Consciousness and Pure Bliss (Sat Chit Ananda). It is only name and form that changes with time and therefore what is the point of grieving. The essence itself remains immutable, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, transcending space, time and causation. Our conflicts arise from non understanding of our true nature and further by misunderstanding that we are the body mind and intellect (The “I”). As this sense of “I” is constantly changing, we feel lack and discontentment in our limited state. This discontent creates a tension that is commonly referred to as desire or “Kama”. To fulfil desire, we perform action or “Karma”. This desire which is trying to take us to a sense of fullness is instead interpreted by the individual ego as being for the purpose of avoiding pain and seeking pleasure in the world. However, there is no lasting joy in things which do not last, and we must therefore strive to recognise our inherent nature of fullness with right knowledge known as Jnana. Even Arjuna, although a knowledgeable Prince, was unable to hold the subtlety of this truth. Therefore, Krishna proceeds tell him about Karma Yoga, a science of purifying the mind and of self transformation that will prepare Arjuna (and us) to receive, hold, assimilate and understand the truth about our real Self. We must understand what karma is since it drives our experiences. |
As we progress through the Gita, the dialogue will move through a series of questions and answers that elucidates metaphysical concepts such as the body/soul (matter/spirit) distinction, the principle of non-attached action, the virtues of discipline (yoga) and meditation, the importance of knowledge (jnana) and devotion (bhakti). Krishna will teach that perfection lies not in renunciation of the world, but, rather in disciplined action (karma-yoga), which is to be performed without attachment to results (Karmaphala -sangha). He will tell us about the essential drivers of human personality, the Guna’s and also tell us how to differentiate between the good and bad qualities within us, and how to work with them. Each one of us carries an Arjuna within us, and the mind of humans at the beginning of the 21st century may not be too different from the one who fought 5000 years ago. Unlike Arjuna, our Mahabharata is often fought over a long period and our discontent and disappointments accumulate over time. Nevertheless, we must all strive to understand how to get the most out of life, our role in life, and its ultimate purpose, else we run the risk ofliving an aimless existence.
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Page 5
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CORN & FENUGREEK RICE Cooking Time & Ingredients Method
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Known as the "complete" or "three-part" breath, Dirgha Pranayama teaches how to fill the three chambers of the lungs, beginning with the lower lungs, moving up through the Thoracic region and into the Clavicular region.
Abdominal breathing
Thoracic breathing
 Clavicular Breathing
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Benefits
This short visit was a gift from our daughter,
Tanya, and what a present it turned out to be! Fantastic setting,
unforgettable ambience, great experiences and wonderfully attentive
staff! Will be back! |
