Karma is prominent in Easwaran’s commentary on the first two names of this week’s reading, pages 197–206 from The Constant Companion.*
With the name Rudra, Bringer of Tears, the Lord “personifies the unavoidable fact that most of us learn from our mistakes only because they bring us sorrow.” Easwaran shares a telling description of how Granny tried to teach him very early in life that a certain amount of suffering “is not only inescapable but even necessary for growth”:
“When I made a mistake and suffered for it, she would not be very sympathetic. She didn’t gloat over my suffering or withdraw her support of me either; but in wordless ways, she helped me to learn not to make that mistake again. At the time I didn’t understand what seemed a strange lack of sympathy. Today I know that if someone has been behaving selfishly, it is much better for that person to suffer the consequences and learn to change than it is to remain blind and fail to grow, which just means letting problems grow instead.”
What is the most important thing that Easwaran said to you in this reading? How can you apply it in your life?
Spiritual Reading is our current focus for practice extension. Through our study of The Constant Companion, Easwaran is guiding us to see the Lord in all. What do you notice about how that is applying to your interactions with the people in your life?
Save the date! Please plan to join us on Sunday, December 31 for BMCM Satsang Live at 9:40 am Pacific Time (convert to your time zone) and for a Mantram Day for Peace and Healing. When the first part of our satsang has ended, we will all turn to the Easwaran Digital Library to watch a never-before-seen video of Easwaran. It is his last recorded class given in 1998. We hope you join us for this extraordinary opportunity!
* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names All-seeing through Full. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)