This week we begin our study of Easwaran’s book Climbing the Blue Mountain, starting with his introduction on pages 9–15.
Easwaran uses the metaphor of travel: “you can look upon me as a travel agent for the world within.” He compares the spiritual journey – for which he is rousing our interest – with travel in the external world, for example using this marvelous stanza from the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita:
If a thousand suns were to rise together,
The blaze of their light would resemble a little
The supreme splendor of the Lord within.
“No external novelty is needed” Easwaran explains, for “when you travel within, every day is fresh with discoveries and challenges, inspiration and profound peace.”
May we progress together on this journey and see rising “a sun which will never set.”
Which lines particularly strike you, and how can you apply them to your life this week?
We have been practicing mantram exercises the past few months, which has been very fruitful. Let’s now put those aside and look for ways to extend our practice of putting others first. Here is an experiment to get us started:
As a challenge, try focusing this week on treating others – and speaking about them – with respect. Do this for those you love, those you dislike, and those you tend to ignore. What do you learn by trying this?
If you don’t yet have the book Climbing the Blue Mountain available, make sure you get it so you can join for the rest of the book study.
We offer a 20% discount on books sold through our distribution partner Indiepubs.com. Here is a link to Climbing the Blue Mountain on that site.
