 When there is struggle and conflict in the world, it is easy to forget that the infinite one abides in all that is, that you and everything around you are composed of one intelligent awareness, one infinite love, one being, and one consciousness. Within the play of that consciousness comes the variety of experiences in this relative world where there is happiness and sorrow, there is ignorance and suffering, and there is the gamut between them. There is fear, hatred, anger, joy, compassion, love, happiness, and pain. This is the nature of this relative world. It is a mixture of these, and at some points, there is much pain and at other points, there is much happiness and joy. It changes from time to time, from person to person. But the underlying reality remains the same. The horrors inflicted in this world by ambitious men and women, who want to have power, territory, and prestige, have been going on throughout human history. They remain active today in today’s societies. The influence of such people is on the rise in society today, in general. Dictators and men wanting power are on the rise. Why? Because the world is less stable than it was. The climate itself, the planet itself is reacting to the population of humanity, and the people do not feel as secure as they did 50, or 75 years ago so they want to secure themselves. Fear is a very motivating factor in human behavior. And out of fear, people become aggressive. They develop anger. Because fear and anger are two sides of the same experience: defense, defense, to secure one’s safety and the safety of one’s group. And out of this comes any information that will make people compliant with the order that is. The problem is not simply propaganda that happens when people follow what they are told, but the leaders whose intention is not for the welfare of humanity, but for their power and prestige, who have fallen into the trap of needing, desiring power, desiring prestige, desiring to be in leadership and very attached to that power. So, for those, many techniques of disinformation are very helpful. When you are in fear of such people and the forces that they put in motion, do not fear. And do not become downtrodden. Even in the most difficult situations, there is always hope, and there is the lightness and love of the human spirit. Keep your mind ever in the unitary whole of being, remember the infinite, and take the play of circumstances not as something you should be passive about. You must fight for the truth. But also let your mind rest in equanimity, not taking upon yourself fear and distress because of variations in worldly situations. Remain solid in your knowledge of the love that binds all beings and is the truth and essence of all that is. Remain ever connected to the infinite one. Then the play within the cosmos, the rise and fall of this or that movement, person, or problem, has a relative place.  You fight for Dharma but don’t welcome fear into your heart or anger. Live out of the intention of love and kindness for all beings, even if that is not what you see around you.
Work for that; work for the instilling of leaders whose intention is not personal power, but the welfare of humanity. People have wars because they see welfare differently. Humanity is in change. From one level of existence, from one level of functioning to another. In this change, there will be upheaval. In this change, there will be polarization. Not only in the United States but throughout the world. You cannot understand the thinking of another person; their ideas are so foreign. That is what happens in polarization. The very nature of reality seems to be divided. This has happened throughout history, it is true. But in these critical times, when a shift is occurring, it is more pronounced. It is darkest before dawn. When the sun rises it casts a dark shadow, until the shadow is burnt away by the brightness of the sun in the noon. This is the tide and the flow of nature, the paradigms within the operative principles of this universe. Ignorance, hatred, anger, and fear are the culprits, not individuals. If those individuals are dominated by these forces, they do not serve themselves to allow these forces to gain authority within them. Keep your love, keep your equanimity of mind, and do all actions out of compassion for the promotion of Dharma and love for all beings. Let fear and anger fall away from you. Do not let them into your heart. At times it is stressful, yes. When you fight for Dharma, there are times it is stressful, but let love and compassion and lovingkindness dominate you, not fear, not anger, not hatred. This relative world is relative. There is a very dynamic change going on. You worry over who will be president, and what regime will abide. But there are deeper problems that are even more worrisome, that are being ignored. They will not be ignored for long. Even in the darkest times, remember love, and kindness. There is only one infinite being in all the forms, and all the shapes, and the dance of this creation. Namaskar.
0 Comments
 Namaste. The world today is a changing place. Finding your dharma, your place and your right action in a world that is shifting and changing in a process of transformation from one age to another can be difficult. To know your place, to your know dharma at this time can be challenging because there are so many distractions, so many electronic engagements to be made, so many ideas available by so many people, and so many beliefs. The world of information is vast, encompassing knowledge from all parts of the globe, encompassing the ideas of all manner of people. And so, people follow different leaders, some opposed diametrically to others. It is confusing and easy to become polarized for in times of great change polarization is natural, it occurs. But for those to aspire to think of sadvipra, one who encompasses all of the different points of view and connects with the divine flow, then it is not taking one side or another but going within and finding the light within, the guidance within. And from that guidance find your true path for you amid all of the ideas, confusion, beliefs, doomsday predictions, and so on between the emergencies, the fears, the literal storms of weather, the droughts, the hurricanes. Amid all of this, do not look with fear to the outside for answers, but calm your mind, go within, and there, with your divine guide, find your dharma. Find what it is that will be in harmony with all life and with the divine flow. I have said this year that divinity will come closer to the earth plane, and be more accessible to living beings, but this means that there will also be more turbulence because that subtle frequency disrupts the status quo, but it is a push to the times to come, to the age to be. Sattva guna will be increasing on the earth plane, but this increase in sattva requires that there be change. Change that is so fundamental is not only a change of attitudes, a change of beliefs, a change of habit, but a change of frequency. For those attuned that will be a great relief. For those not attuned it will cause disruption.  There is a wavelength to the time that has been for some years prominent in the world. A time of materialism, a time where philosophy and the thinking of people made the material world the sum of their ideas. But that time has changed. That is breaking down and the spiritual realm, the subtlety of sattva guna is coming into play.
That does not mean all will be smooth, for a sattva increases as the subtle energies of Parama Purusha become more available and the frequency in the earth begins to shift. The minds of people will be changing and in confusion many times not knowing where the ground is, where they belong, and confused as to whether what they believed in the past is truly the way. But out of that confusion, out of that disruption, humanity will rise like the phoenix to meet the day, to be aligned with the infinite. That is the new dawn rising. That is the new beginning. The question to ask yourself is, will you align yourself with that infinite one? Will you increase sattva guna in yourself? Will you surrender what you have been to the divinity which lies within you and all around you? Will you take this opportunity to walk with the divine, to let the divine permeate you and guide you to move in harmony with the great? Doing this, put aside looking outward. Find your ground, your center with the divine Beloved and let go—let go. That divinity is coming closer; through this year that will come closer still. There will be more access. That means you will have what you need for spiritual alignment. Lord will be there. Surrender. Let go. Let go of what you have held onto. Hold to the infinite one. Let that one fill you, guide you, and align you with dharma. Do not look to organizations, do not look to leaders, do not look to social norms to be your guideposts. Let the infinite one, let Parma Purusha be your guidepost, your polestar, your bright light in the night. Then you have nothing to fear. And being aligned with that one, being aligned with the harmony of the universe you will find your way to live in truth, in love divine, in care and compassion for all beings. And right action will ensure; dharma will prevail, and you will be part of the forces of light that are shifting and changing this world Surrender and act in harmony with this flow from the infinite. You will be more accessible to you as the year goes forward. Remember this, alright? Are there any questions?  For hundreds of thousands of years humans have lived upon this planet. They have, each one, struggled to exist, to survive, to have a good life - to live. And in this time throughout history people have encountered various obstacles, difficulties, struggles of the life. These struggles are a natural part of human existence; a natural part of living in this world. There is no time in human history when there hasn't been some sort of difficulty, large or small, personal or collective. Difficulties always arise. But in addition to difficulties there are always periods of personal joy, personal fulfilment, personal expansion. Times when life seems very good. Times when you feel very connected to friends, family, loved ones. Times when you feel there is abundance in your life. These are also natural human experiences. And throughout history people have had both the difficult experiences and the joyous experiences - times of struggle and strife, times of peace and integration. Some people may ask why are there are periods of struggle and strife? Why do obstacles and difficulties arise? Without them, how could you grow without both the personal and collective, obstacles, struggles, and strife? For each human being loves their life, wants to survive, wants to do the maximum to fulfil their destiny and to find true happiness. But in that search and effort to find happiness, many times the happiness of others can be stepped upon. The happiness of one can be at the expense of the happiness of others. And, for the happiness of one, another may suffer - living beings of all species may suffer. And so, as society goes on and the disparity between those who are well off and see profit from the way the society is operating and those who suffer, be they in human form or in other forms, becomes highly divided. There is bound to be some sort of circumstance which begins to level this off, begins to change the situation. In today's world many animals are highly exploited. There has been a degree of human exploitation of the planet that there are many species dying today, completely disappearing from this world. The world is out of balance and to bring that balance back there are forces in nature which adjust, which naturally bring harmony back to the natural world, back to all the living beings. And so, this is a time of adjustment.  It is one adjustment. Until human beings awaken to the harmony they have with all other living beings, rather than trying to put themselves above other beings and exploit others, when they begin to live in harmony and mutual love and respect with all beings, then the world will change.
So, in collective life as well as personal life, there are lessons to be learned from the trials and tribulations and difficulties that arise. Those are nature's way of teaching us, of showing us when we have gone too far down the wrong path, and allowing us to make adjustments, corrections. When people become very extroverted, trying always to find their happiness outside of themselves, then they may be very successful for a time and then hit a period where that success fails them. And you think why is this happening to this person? But, if you saw the entire scope of that person's life and many lives before, you might see that that person has come to a point in their own evolution where what they've been doing, the way they have been approaching their life, is not working. Is not for their higher good, not promoting their true spirit to awaken and arise, not promoting their path home to their source. And so, certain circumstances might arise to make a correction in that path. When that happens then there is an opportunity in life to adjust, to make changes. And the same is true in collective life. It provides an opportunity. So never be daunted by the difficulties that life presents individually or collectively. But, take them in stride as an opportunity to change, to grow, to expand, to go inward to know your inner most self, to become connected to the entirety of your being. Such are the ways that nature adjusts, and the laws of the universe are sustained. This is the path of dharma. This Blog is an excerpt from: |
 | The type of service best suited to each person may differ. Every human being has their own unique, personalized path in life, determined by the karmic coverings of their mind and their disposition. Within the vast expanse of our shared human dharma, Bhagavat Dharma, everyone is being moved in one direction towards Truth. |
Yet each individual, according to the configuration of time, place, and person, is a unique flower opening to the vistas of the sublime and each has a different and unique way. If you are here, now, and another is in a different time and place, and, of course, has a different personality, it may appear that you are moving in different directions. But, in fact, you are both moving toward the same center, which is Truth. You both are being drawn towards a unified purpose and, in reality, moving in the same direction.
Your unique path towards dharma requires dynamic movement of both rasa and seva and is influenced by the type of seva you perform. There is service in the physical sphere, service in the psychic sphere, and service in the spiritual sphere. According to your inclination of mind, you will be drawn to do service in different areas. Everyone may realize the greatness of their essential nature, or Truth, but through different means.
In the garden of this world, the Divine has created endless varieties of beautiful expressions. Each of you, like a beautiful flower, is unique and special, with your own qualities and characteristics, your own capacities, your own development, and your own specific potentiality.
The realization of your own unique potential constitutes your Svadharma, your personal expression in the world, and your unique path to enlightenment. It depends on the inclination of your mind, the development of your spiritual nature, and the samskaras (reactions to past experiences held in the subconscious) which have given you your specific manifestation. Just as each flower in the garden of the Great has its own singular loveliness and no two are alike, though they share the dharma of flower-hood, so you are unique in your Svadharma, though you share with all people the common bond of human dharma, of Bhagavat Dharma.
Bhagavat Dharma is the core flow for everyone. But how do you move in this Bhagavat Dharma? What does it look like for each of you? Is it the same exact movement? Do you move like soldiers, each one exactly the same, wearing the same uniform, arms moving up and down in unison, legs marching to the same tune? No, that would be preposterous!
That is not at all the way of dharma, certainly not the chosen method of Parama Purusha, the Supreme Consciousness. The Divine loves variety. This entire creation is made of variety. No one can possibly imagine all of the variety that there is in the universe. In this variety, you are unique in your journey, unique and special. You have your own way to move, your Svadharma.
To maintain Vistara or vision, you need a consistent meditation practice, called sadhana, and to have rasa, the feel or taste of life. You also need seva. The seva that is right for you, is unique to you and will be different from the seva of others. How a rose grows from the ground and blooms in the sun is different from how a lotus flower grows in the mud of a pond and blooms in the sun.
One is coming through the water, and one is in the air. and their leaves take different shapes, their buds are different, and their color and their fragrance are unique to each. Yet they both grow towards and open to the sun. In a similar way, your Svadharma is unique to you and yet in harmony with the collective movement of all beings to open to the deep Source of Being.
Your unique path towards dharma requires dynamic movement of both rasa and seva and is influenced by the type of seva you perform. There is service in the physical sphere, service in the psychic sphere, and service in the spiritual sphere. According to your inclination of mind, you will be drawn to do service in different areas. Everyone may realize the greatness of their essential nature, or Truth, but through different means.
In the garden of this world, the Divine has created endless varieties of beautiful expressions. Each of you, like a beautiful flower, is unique and special, with your own qualities and characteristics, your own capacities, your own development, and your own specific potentiality.
The realization of your own unique potential constitutes your Svadharma, your personal expression in the world, and your unique path to enlightenment. It depends on the inclination of your mind, the development of your spiritual nature, and the samskaras (reactions to past experiences held in the subconscious) which have given you your specific manifestation. Just as each flower in the garden of the Great has its own singular loveliness and no two are alike, though they share the dharma of flower-hood, so you are unique in your Svadharma, though you share with all people the common bond of human dharma, of Bhagavat Dharma.
Bhagavat Dharma is the core flow for everyone. But how do you move in this Bhagavat Dharma? What does it look like for each of you? Is it the same exact movement? Do you move like soldiers, each one exactly the same, wearing the same uniform, arms moving up and down in unison, legs marching to the same tune? No, that would be preposterous!
That is not at all the way of dharma, certainly not the chosen method of Parama Purusha, the Supreme Consciousness. The Divine loves variety. This entire creation is made of variety. No one can possibly imagine all of the variety that there is in the universe. In this variety, you are unique in your journey, unique and special. You have your own way to move, your Svadharma.
To maintain Vistara or vision, you need a consistent meditation practice, called sadhana, and to have rasa, the feel or taste of life. You also need seva. The seva that is right for you, is unique to you and will be different from the seva of others. How a rose grows from the ground and blooms in the sun is different from how a lotus flower grows in the mud of a pond and blooms in the sun.
One is coming through the water, and one is in the air. and their leaves take different shapes, their buds are different, and their color and their fragrance are unique to each. Yet they both grow towards and open to the sun. In a similar way, your Svadharma is unique to you and yet in harmony with the collective movement of all beings to open to the deep Source of Being.
 | Moving Into Harmony When you move on the path of dharma, you move in harmony with your own nature and with the essential nature of all beings. Can you feel those moments when your thoughts, words, and deeds are in harmony with life? When you sense such harmony, such alignment, then you are truly following dharma. |
When that harmony is entirely present, your thoughts, words, and deeds become surrendered to the Divine and you perceive the Sublime manifest in everything. When this happens, you begin to notice all the synchronicities, to see the great tapestry that is being woven in the universe, and, beholding the harmonious substantive nature of all manifestation, you feel the shower of unconditional love falling gently upon you and every other being.
Moving in harmony, the foot does not crush the ground beneath. Moving in harmony, all nature becomes one flow. Thoughts, words, and deeds express only the unconditional love of the Divine. The lotus growing in the mud and water brings forth buds that open to the sun. The rose winding around the trellis climbs upward and blossoms in the sun. Moving in harmony towards the Source, all beings have their place. Sun, moon, and stars have their place in the harmony of all things. There is a balance in this universe, finely maintained, sublimely intricate, yet simple. To be in this balance, to move in this harmony, to breathe with the rhythm of the stars, is the way of dharma.
For one immersed in dharma, the words they speak become truth, not because they have foretold the future, but because, being ensconced in dharma, they are in the rhythm of life. They live in truth. The words of one established in dharma are a balm to the heavy hearts of all beings, for true words are spoken from the heart of hearts, not from the mind or the desires.
Walk in silence. Be still in the wood. Be as wild as the breeze upon the prairie. Be as vast as the night sky. Fly with the eagle above the mountain tops. Soar on the night breeze. Dive to the depths of the ocean. Live in the rhythmic harmony of the universe. This is dharma.
Can you walk this path? Really, can you? All religions have attempted to teach people how to live and act in harmony and to define in words the path of right action. But the way for each person is unique. You cannot define it or put it in a box because of the way it moves outside of all boxes. To become whole, to learn to walk in the way of the universe, to move towards the essence of beatitude, to the depths of silence, follow dharma always. Stay connected to your innermost nature.
Moving in harmony, the foot does not crush the ground beneath. Moving in harmony, all nature becomes one flow. Thoughts, words, and deeds express only the unconditional love of the Divine. The lotus growing in the mud and water brings forth buds that open to the sun. The rose winding around the trellis climbs upward and blossoms in the sun. Moving in harmony towards the Source, all beings have their place. Sun, moon, and stars have their place in the harmony of all things. There is a balance in this universe, finely maintained, sublimely intricate, yet simple. To be in this balance, to move in this harmony, to breathe with the rhythm of the stars, is the way of dharma.
For one immersed in dharma, the words they speak become truth, not because they have foretold the future, but because, being ensconced in dharma, they are in the rhythm of life. They live in truth. The words of one established in dharma are a balm to the heavy hearts of all beings, for true words are spoken from the heart of hearts, not from the mind or the desires.
Walk in silence. Be still in the wood. Be as wild as the breeze upon the prairie. Be as vast as the night sky. Fly with the eagle above the mountain tops. Soar on the night breeze. Dive to the depths of the ocean. Live in the rhythmic harmony of the universe. This is dharma.
Can you walk this path? Really, can you? All religions have attempted to teach people how to live and act in harmony and to define in words the path of right action. But the way for each person is unique. You cannot define it or put it in a box because of the way it moves outside of all boxes. To become whole, to learn to walk in the way of the universe, to move towards the essence of beatitude, to the depths of silence, follow dharma always. Stay connected to your innermost nature.
If you would like to read more articles like this one, please go to www.yogama.info under Teachings.
Author
Maetreyii Ma: a teacher of yogic wisdom & practices
Archives
December 2024
November 2024
September 2024
August 2024
May 2024
March 2024
December 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
October 2022
April 2022
December 2021
September 2021
July 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
August 2020
May 2020
March 2020
February 2020
November 2019
June 2019
May 2019
March 2019
January 2019
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
February 2018
August 2017
May 2017
March 2017
December 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
Categories
All
Dharma
Ego
Forgiveness
Intro To Yama & Niyama
Living In Harmony
Niyamas
Spiritual Activism
Spiritual Awakening
The Nature Of Love
What Are The Niyamas
What Are The Yamas & Niyamas
What Is Gratitude?
Yamas
RSS Feed