Let’s conclude our study of the new digital-only issue of the Blue Mountain Journal with two brief and inspiring statements from Easwaran, on pages 3 and 63, as well as the passages included in this issue of the journal on pages 24, 45, 46, 50, 53. In the opening article Easwaran begins, “I keep in close touch with what happens in the world. And there are times when I feel deeply grieved by the suffering I read about, and I wonder why life has to be this way. But I never despair. At those times I go deep, deep into meditation until I reach the very source of love and wisdom that exists in each of us.”
We hope studying the new special issue of the Blue Mountain Journal is lifting everyone’s spirits and reminding us all of our deep connection with Easwaran and his community. This week we examine Easwaran’s article “Two Paths” on pages 29-41 of the new digital-only issue, where he says, “These two paths, the self-centered and the selfless, open to us constantly, in a thousand little choices throughout the day. Any time we choose to give rather than get, we have taken a step on the path of true fulfillment.”
Continuing our study of the new digital-only issue of the Blue Mountain Journal, this week we will read Easwaran’s article “Nine Tips for a Crisis,” pages 12-21. In the article Easwaran says, “when we have an overriding goal, we find that many of our problems fall away of their own accord. Everything falls into perspective: we know what to do with our time, what to do with our energy, and it is easier to see all the little choices that confront us every day.”
With much of our world disrupted by the pandemic, we need Easwaran’s guidance more than ever. This week we will start studying the new Blue Mountain Journal, “Wisdom and Compassion in a Global Crisis.” We hope this special issue will lift everyone’s spirits and remind us all of our deep connection with Easwaran and his community.
In our reading from Passage Meditation this week, Easwaran says about the books he has written, “They are based entirely on personal experience, and their sole purpose is to help readers make their highest ideals a part of their daily lives.”
Do you sometimes wish that Easwaran would be here today, so you could spend time with him, ask him questions, receive his advice? In the upcoming weeks, we will develop a simple but powerful habit that can make Easwaran your intimate friend. In our reading from Easwaran’s book, Passage Meditation, he says, “I have found spiritual reading especially beneficial after evening meditation. When I have finished, I go to bed and repeat the mantram until I have fallen asleep in it. The reason for this sequence is simple: what we put into consciousness in the evening goes with us into sleep.” Let’s embark on an adventure to explore and develop the very same spiritual reading skills that Easwaran found especially helpful in his own inner development.
Even in the midst of dark or uncertain times, the mystics tell us a divine radiance surrounds us and emanates from us. Turning to Easwaran can immediately transform our perspective and give us a glimpse of divine light. This week we offer two short readings and a video from Easwaran in which he touches on the radiant end goal of transformation through samadhi – union with reality.
In our rapidly changing world, Easwaran counts on his students to lead us into a spiritual renaissance of healing, goodness, and unity. Such people will need to be flexible, naturally joyful, and able to juggle their likes and dislikes easily. This week in our reading, Easwaran invites us to take a playful approach to our likes and dislikes. He offers a number of practical suggestions for learning flexibility and approaching life with deeper joy – because he trusts that we are creating the spiritual renaissance, right now.
In Easwaran’s village when he was a little boy, waves of contagious disease, family losses, failed crops were part of life. Through it all, Easwaran’s diminutive grandmother stood like a big tree under which everyone could take shelter. What was Granny’s secret? She knew how to use her mantram to transform any negative emotion into strength, courage, and love. This week, we invite you to express your inner Granny.
Over the next month, let’s embrace our unsettling times as a difficult – but real – opportunity. As passage meditators, whatever we face, we have the capacity to give, to love, and to serve. In this week’s reading, Easwaran assures us, “It takes many years, but in the end, the great mystics of all religions tell us, every bit of anger, fear, and greed can be removed from our consciousness, so that our whole life can become a flawless work of art.”
In this month of invigorated practice of the eight points, Easwaran’s granny has been an inspiring presence. She is firm and unshakeable, focused on an eternal reality of love, light, and goodness, regardless of external circumstances. Just as Granny’s presence gives solace and peace to little people like you and me, here at the BMCM we’ve felt that your presence is surely bringing solace and peace to those around you, giving you glimpses of the divine face behind all faces.
Last week we joined our spiritual family virtually at Ramagiri Ashram for Vishu, a holiday when we honor the Lord within ourselves and others. Consciously weaving the eight points throughout an entire day quietens our minds and brings our meditation passages to life. It can help us “bring heaven to earth,” for ourselves and those around us.
On Sunday, April 12, we will gather together virtually with Ramagiri Ashram for our shared contemplative practice for the Kerala celebration of Vishu, a day that was dear to the heart of Granny, Easwaran’s spiritual Teacher. Although we won’t be physically together, the spiritual forces that connect us are far beyond the borders of time and space. Together, we will deepen our meditation and light the lamp of wisdom within us all. The significance of Vishu is to mirror the pure spark of divinity within each of us, making this ancient ritual a very modern remedy for our times.
As we prepare for the Kerala celebration of Vishu, it’s reassuring to remember Easwaran’s granny, who stood fearless no matter what the external circumstance. Last week, we could feel Granny’s spirit in the way in which we have all been increasing our mantram use – a perfect preparation for Vishu, a holiday dear to her heart. Ramagiri Ashram will celebrate Vishu on Sunday, April 12 and invites us to join from wherever we are in the world in a day of shared contemplative practice. There are suggested activities throughout the day providing us with many opportunities to connect with each other virtually.
In honor of his grandmother, Easwaran celebrated the Kerala spring holiday called Vishu each April at Ramagiri. The significance of Vishu is to mirror the pure spark of divinity within each of us, making this ancient ritual a very modern remedy for our times. This month let’s join Easwaran and his granny in in following this tradition. Note: See the Community page on the website to access the new BMCM satsang live program, which is run twice weekly on Tuesdays and Sundays.
In our reading from Passage Meditation, Easwaran tells us, “When you see opposition, do not get afraid. Look upon tough opposition as a challenge to test your inner growth – to see if your capacities have grown so that through patience, courtesy, and the depth of your conviction you can win over your opponent into a fast friend. But all this takes time, and it takes the capacity to concentrate. You have to be willing to develop these skills, which is the purpose of slowing down and one-pointed attention.”
This week, Easwaran will speak directly to those of us who yearn to be of service in our troubled world. Answering the question of how to make our efforts more effective, he writes: “All the great changes in the world for good and for ill have come from the impact of men and women with an overriding singleness of purpose and a concentrated mind. In our own time, on the positive side, Gandhi is a perfect example. To make our full contribution, we need to train the mind to be at peace and then radiate that peace to those around us.”
Thank you for your daily meditation and your increased efforts to be one-pointed. These are healing forces you are contributing to our world. This week we’ll continue exploring how to cultivate a one-pointed life of goodness and service. Then, no matter what happens externally, we have something precious to give. In this week’s reading from Passage Meditation, Easwaran says that when you are fully one-pointed “you will not ignore the distress or joy of others, because in looking into their eyes you will be looking truly into their hearts.”
Many of our friends are concerned about the environmental crisis right now and are asking what Easwaran would advise us to do. Love for the environment was one of Easwaran’s main teaching messages throughout his life, increasing in urgency as he saw the situation deteriorate. His starting point in healing the environment is the mind. “Without some control over the thinking process,” he explains in our latest Blue Mountain Journal, “it is impossible to make lasting changes in the way we live.” Through systematic training of the mind we can harness our desires and start to build a better world.
Easwaran Video for inspiration: Tips for Deepening Meditation
Because Easwaran’s early students carefully recorded and preserved his talks, we have the opportunity to listen directly to the founder of this practice. If we concentrate fully, we can imagine being in the BMCM meditation hall with Easwaran, receiving his personal guidance.
This 22-minute video is entitled “Tips for Deepening Meditation”. If you want to watch a shorter section of video, consider watching the first five minutes of the talk during which Easwaran describes the key to minimizing distractions (0:00 to 5:07).