Last week we took up The Challenge of Choosing to Be Kind, the Winter 2015 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal, including starting the title article where Easwaran answers frequently asked questions about choosing kindness. This week let’s continue that extended article, reading from page 11 to the heading on page 21. The section is full of insights and practical tips, including this striking metaphor about focusing all our attention on what is best in others:
“This is one of the most practical skills I have learned from my spiritual teacher, my grandmother, and it can be tremendously effective in helping those around you. It is something like turning a flashlight on a particular spot. I don’t diffuse my attention to take in both positive and negative behavior; I keep concentrating on what is kind, what is generous, what is selfless, and the amazing response is that this kind of support draws out and strengthens these very qualities. Not only that, as they become more secure, such people begin to spread this consideration to their other relationships too.”
Here on the eSatsang we’ve spent the past several weeks studying Easwaran’s message on how to live in unity amidst a world in crisis. Now let’s explore living in unity from a different direction, turning to The Challenge of Choosing to Be Kind, the Winter 2015 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal. We’ll start with Christine Easwaran’s introduction to the issue on page 2, along with the opening statement from Easwaran on page 3. We’ll then read pages 5–10, the start of the title article for this issue, composed of frequently asked questions answered by Easwaran. We’re eager to hear what parts inspire you. Here’s an extended quote that stirred us:
“Most of us can treat others with respect under certain circumstances—at the right time, with the right people, in a certain place. When those circumstances are absent, we usually move away. Yet when we respond according to how the other person behaves, changing whenever she changes, and she is behaving in this same way, how can we expect anything but insecurity on both sides? There is nothing solid to build on. Instead, we can learn to respond always to the Self within—focusing not on the other person’s ups and downs, likes and dislikes, but always on what is changeless in each of us. Then others grow to trust us. They know they can count on us –and that makes us more secure too.”
To finish our study of A World in Crisis Part 3: Living in Unity, the new issue of the Blue Mountain Journal, let’s read Easwaran’s brief article “The Joy of All” on page 59 along with the passages on pages 21, 41, and 56. Throughout the issue, Easwaran has reminded us that meditation is essential to unity, so this journal includes his brief instructions for meditation on pages 60–61, providing an opportunity for us each to review with fresh eyes. And here are the final words from Easwaran on the journal’s back cover:
“When we start living for others, we come to life. All our deeper capacities flow into our hands; our security increases and our wisdom grows, as does our creative ability to solve the problems that confront the world. Living and acting selflessly, we will be constantly aware that all life is one, and that throughout creation there is an underlying unity binding us all together.”
The law of unity sounds like an abstract spiritual concept, but throughout the new issue of the Blue Mountain Journal, Easwaran guides us through its practical applications for healing our relationships and our world. In this week’s reading on pages 48–53, the application is selfless service, as he enumerates “Nine Ways to Work in Unity.” We are eager to hear about your experiments applying these in your own live. Here is one excerpt that inspired us: “How we work is as important as what we do. Spiritual values are not so much taught as caught, from the lives of those who embody them. Your job may be nothing more glamorous than janitor in a hospital, but if you are practicing sadhana sincerely, you will be contributing to other people’s lives, even though you may not see it happening. These are spiritual laws.”
Let’s continue our study of the new issue of the Blue Mountain Journal, A World in Crisis Part 3: Living in Unity. This week we will read Easwaran’s article “At Home with Friends and Enemies,” on pages 27–39. Continuing the issue’s exploration of the law of unity, here Easwaran explains its expression in kind conduct towards those who disagree with us. He writes, “…if we grasp this great truth – that the Lord lives in each and every one of us, regardless of who we are – we will never be discourteous to others, we will never be unkind, we will never try to avoid people, we will always be glad to work in harmony with those around us. Then it becomes impossible to quarrel, to be angry, to hurt others, to move away.”
A new issue of the Blue Mountain Journal has arrived, A World in Crisis Part 3: Living in Unity, and we are eager to begin studying with you Easwaran’s message which is so important in our present world. Let’s start by reading the brief statement from Easwaran on page 3, along with his article “The Tree of Life: A Symbol of Unity” on pages 5–18. Exploring the Bhagavad Gita’s magnificent simile of the Tree of Life, Easwaran guides us through the vast practical consequences and opportunities it implies, including enriched relationships, security, and love that grows without bounds. He writes, “There is no limit to how wide our concern can extend, because in meditation our consciousness expands little by little, until ultimately we discover we are the very root of the Tree of Life.”
Our study of the Fall 2019 Blue Mountain Journal Seeing the Lord in All has been abundant with balm and inspiration. Let’s finish with the brief final article from Easwaran on pages 58–61 and the beautiful passages included in this issue on pages 25, 30, 31, and 55. Here are the final words from Easwaran on the journal’s back cover: “I don’t have to close my eyes in meditation to see God. I see nothing else. And I see, at the same time, that not only every human being but every living creature, the mountains, the rivers, the seas, the skies, the forests and the earth, are all one indivisible whole.”
This week we’ll pick back up with Easwaran’s article “Remove the Veil of Self-will,” reading from the bottom of page 35 to the end on page 44 in the Fall 2019 Blue Mountain Journal. The section is full of practical tips for reducing self-will. And in practical language Easwaran describes the exalted state to which this work leads:
“Through sheer exercise, over a long, long period, we do not just love Jonathan or Josephine; we become love itself. Our love radiates to anyone who comes within our orbit; we simply lose the knack of doing otherwise. It does not matter whether the person seated beside us has been unpleasant to us for years, perhaps has even opposed us; that is immaterial. What matters is that our very nature now is love. At all times, in every situation, we are at our best with everybody. This is the answer to our most profound prayers.”
Continuing our study of the Fall 2019 Blue Mountain Journal Seeing the Lord in All, this week let’s read the short articles from Easwaran on pages 26–27 and 28–29, and also start his longer article “Remove the Veil of Self-will,” reading from page 33 to the end of the section on page 35. Throughout, Easwaran helps us see past our differences. He writes, “All our greatness comes from this common humanity, and when we constantly keep our eyes fixed on it, we discover the unity of life which is divine.”
“Only when you have lowered all the barriers between yourself and others will there be no barrier between you and the Lord within,” Easwaran explains in this week’s reading. “Deliberately, then, from the very first, you begin to chip away at those walls in consciousness. You do it in little ways, throughout the day, by trying to see the needs of others as clearly as your own and to act in harmony with them.” Let’s pick back up on page 12 of this article, titled “Seeing God Everywhere” from the Fall 2019 Blue Mountain Journal and read to the end on page 22. As we enter the new year, we are so happy to be studying Easwaran and practicing the eight points with you!
Our recent theme has been how to be of service amidst a world in crisis. Now as we close this challenging year let’s turn for inspiration and balm to Easwaran via the Fall 2019 Blue Mountain Journal Seeing the Lord in All. Let’s begin by studying the short articles on pages 2 and 3 and starting the first extended article from Easwaran, reading pages 5–11. Here Easwaran writes:
“In all the world’s great religions, this is the purpose of human life: to realize God in the depths of our consciousness. It means discovering that we are not physical creatures that can be satisfied with physical gratifications, but spiritual beings made in the image of God. This supreme discovery brings a complete transformation of personality that cannot help making profound changes in the world around us.
“That is why I say that as I present it, religion is the solution to all the problems that burden us today. In a truly religious country we would have no wars, no violence, no exploitation, no pollution of air and water — for the simple reason that when you realize God, you see God in everyone.”
Easwaran urges us in this week’s reading, “Tear out all the old resentful episodes from the past and never bother dwelling on any of them again. Otherwise they are going to cause a lot of pain in the year to come. Then go into the New Year with a fresh resolve to keep that kind of episode from causing further anguish. This is the most pressing New Year’s resolution there can be.” Please find that brief article, titled “A New Year’s Resolution,” on pages 25–27 of the Spring 2015 Blue Mountain Journal Does Meditation Really Help the World? and let’s read it along with this issue’s final statements from Easwaran on pages 29 and 32.
This week we’ll continue the title article of the Spring 2015 Blue Mountain Journal Does Meditation Really Help the World?, where Easwaran answers frequently asked questions about this urgent topic. Let’s pick back up on page 7 and read to the end of the article on page 18. As usual, Easwaran’s answers are personal, practical, and uplifting. He writes, “When the battle is waged within, against the forces of anger and selfishness we find in our own hearts, even our smallest triumph benefits the whole world.”
Building on our recent theme of how to be of service amidst a world in crisis, this week we will begin studying the Spring 2015 Blue Mountain Journal Does Meditation Really Help the World? Here is how Christine Easwaran begins her introduction to the issue on page 2: “We are interrupting our coverage of Sri Eknath Easwaran’s Eight Point Program in response to an important question that has gained urgency in the last several months: In light of the terrible problems we see around us today, around the world, can our individual efforts at meditation really help?” Of course that question continues to be extremely urgent today. Let’s begin our study by reading the rest of Christine’s introduction on page 2 (titled “In This Issue”), the brief statement from Easwaran on page 3 (titled “Meditation is Not a Luxury”), and the first few questions and answers from Easwaran in the journal’s main article, starting on page 5 and ending at the top of page 7.
Our study of the new Fall/Winter issue of the Blue Mountain Journal has been full of practical tips and inspiration for transforming ourselves into instruments of peace. The journal ends with this quote from Easwaran on the back cover: “The lovers of God know the world is a harsh place, and the times we live in are difficult and dangerous. But they have enough security, endurance, and love to remember that all these upsets are on the surface. Beneath the anger and agitation, through every human being a river of love still runs.” As we conclude our study of this journal, let’s read the brief final article from Easwaran on pages 57–58 as well as the passages included in this issue on pages 9, 35, and 54.
“The shining examples of spiritual figures like Saint Francis stand as monuments of hope,” Easwaran writes in the introduction to the new Fall/Winter issue of the Blue Mountain Journal. And indeed, it has been so hopeful to study together Easwaran’s message on transforming ourselves through meditation on Saint Francis’s prayer. Continuing the theme of our role as instruments of peace amidst the current world crises, this week let’s study Easwaran’s article “Growing in Love” on pages 37–47. Here Easwaran explains, “This can happen to every one of us, over a long, long time. We start with our own family, our partner, our child, but then gradually we extend the circle of our compassion and affection to our neighbor. Slowly, it moves on down the street. In time, our new capacity to love is so strong that it won’t let us ignore the needs of homeless people on the other side of town. Then it extends to the county, then to the state. This is how it develops, and this is why it takes some years.”
This week we’ll continue Easwaran’s article “A Prayer for Transformation” from the new Blue Mountain Journal A World in Crisis – Part 2: Our Role as Instruments of Peace, picking up with the section “An all-out effort to understand” on page 21 and reading through the article’s end on page 30. Here Easwaran continues the story of Saint Francis and describes the marvel of meditation on the ideals illuminated in Francis’s prayer: “You go to work on your own mind and change whatever needs changing, making yourself into the kind of person most suited to meeting the challenges of the day. There is cause for enormous hope here.”
Continuing our study of the new Fall 2020 / Winter 2021 Blue Mountain Journal A World in Crisis – Part 2: Our Role as Instruments of Peace, this week we will read the first half of Easwaran’s article “A Prayer for Transformation,” from page 12 through the section ending on page 21. Here Easwaran shares the story of Saint Francis and describes the Prayer of Saint Francis as "a blueprint for making our life a blessing for everyone," giving us “the key to his transformation and a new vision of what a human being can become.” May we be newly inspired to join in this call to the best in ourselves!
This week we will begin studying the newly released Blue Mountain Journal A World in Crisis – Part 2: Our Role as Instruments of Peace. After a deeply inspiring month celebrating Easwaran’s life and teachings and rededicating ourselves to our practice, we now turn again to Easwaran for guidance on how to be of service amidst a world in crisis. Let’s start by reading the introductory statement from Easwaran on page 3 along with his article “Unity in Dangerous Times” on pages 5–8. There he explains, “…the most powerful way to transform people is not through violence or punishment or sanctions, but through patient personal example. Every one of us has a role to play in this great task, right in our own home and community. It doesn’t require speaking or writing or political skills. It requires ideals and the desire to live by them.”
We have arrived at the week of our Celebration of Easwaran’s Life and Teachings! You can read details of how to participate this Sunday, October 25 at www.bmcm.org/celebration. Here in the eSatsang, for the final week of our study of the 2017 Blue Mountain Journal Teacher and Student, let’s read the passages included or excerpted in this issue of the journal on pages 40, 53, 59, and 64. And we can again give Easwaran the final word, savoring his brief statement on page 60 titled “From Darkness into Light.” There Easwaran assures us, “Even in little people like you and me, the Lord can come to life. By ourselves we are nothing, but every one of us can become a little lamp that shines like a beacon for all around to follow.”
