The Tree of Life

Commenting on the name Vriksha, The Tree of Life, in our reading this week, pages 310–318 in The Constant Companion,* Easwaran suggests, “We might reconsider the practicality of an age-old view, held until a few centuries ago in cultures around the world: that the whole of nature is a life-supporting system worthy not just of respect but of worship.”

Interdependence is a biological fact of life, he notes. “Trees are an illustration that any child can understand. They give us oxygen, fuel, and the restorative solitude of great forests, which attract water and wildlife to replenish barren places; it seems natural to me to find them holy.”

We are inspired by this reverence for our mother earth, and look forward to hearing how it inspires you.

What is the most important thing that Easwaran said to you in this reading? How can you apply it in your life?

As we read The Constant Companion, we are working to strengthen our practice of Spiritual Reading via reflection. This week consider how these stories are speaking to a loving relationship in your life. 

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names The Tree of Life and All. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Kindness

Commenting on the name Kindness to start our reading this week, pages 300–309 in The Constant Companion, Easwaran gives us fascinating insights into his view of human nature:

“It is a very poor evaluation of human beings to think that impatience and violent reactions are part of human nature. We have to look to people like Mahatma Gandhi, kind under any provocation, to see what human nature is really like. Gandhi’s life showed over and over that even a violent person will respond if exposed to someone who, by being always kind, focuses consistently on the highest in our nature.”

We too are slowly gaining this ability to focus on the highest in those around us, he explains. As meditation deepens and the mantram begins to get established, you gradually build the strength “to take whatever life deals out without losing your humanity.”

• Is there a particular situation that causes you to get speeded up or agitated? What tips does Easwaran offer in this reading that you could try out in this situation? Even if the tips don’t seem to directly apply, try them anyhow and tell us what you find.

• We’ve been giving special attention to our practice of Spiritual Reading. This week notice how reading Easwaran supports your relationships with difficult people in your life.

And to close, here is a spiritual entertainment treat from Easwaran. In this three-minute video he shows the importance of learning to train our attention.

Video

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Kindness through The Lawgiver. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Whom We Desire

“Ishta means your chosen spiritual ideal, the incarnation of God to whom you feel most deeply drawn,” Easwaran explains in this week’s reading, pages 292–299 in The Constant Companion.*

But he mentions, too, that “in my native language, Malayalam, ishta also means ‘friend,’” and a real friend not only supports us but will oppose us when we are causing trouble. In that context, it is not surprising that Easwaran takes the opportunity to share about Granny:

“My grandmother was a perfect friend. On the one hand she was very softhearted, but on the other hand, I have never seen anybody so tough in all my life. In fact, the two toughest people I have ever known are Granny and Gandhiji. She didn’t spare her toughness when she was dealing with me, either. She was usually very tender, but sometimes she was strict to the point of seeming harsh. It took many years to understand that this was an important part of her love for me.”

May we each draw inspiration from our reading this week to increase our devotion to the One whom we desire!

• Is there some tip from Easwaran in this reading that you tend to skim over because you have already heard it many times before? Try focusing on it this week.

• We are taking this book study as an opportunity to give special attention to our practice of Spiritual Reading. On the days you are able to do spiritual reading, what benefits do you find?

Let’s turn again to The Thousand Names Talks** in the Easwaran Digital Library for our spiritual treat, this time with Talk 8. The full talk is 37 minutes, but you can listen to part of it now and when you return the player will resume where you left off. If time is short, consider starting with the first five minutes, where Easwaran comments on the name The Sun. Describing the genius for dramatization in Hinduism, he explains why the personification of natural phenomena like the sun does not conflict with scientific advances – and shares a sweet little story about his grandmother’s devotion along the way.

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Bearer of the Bow through Freedom. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

** You’ll need to log in for the link above to work. If it’s your first time, use the button Create new account from the login page.

Joy

Easwaran continues with the theme of pleasure and pain as he comments on the names Sat and Asat, Reality and Unreality, in this week’s reading, pages 282–291 in The Constant Companion.* “Just as the experiences of the dreamer and daydreamer are not real,” he reminds us, “but only constructions imposed by the mind, so the pleasures and pain of this world have no reality apart from the mind.” The implications are revolutionary:

“When you reach a certain depth in meditation, you will look back upon some of the occasions when you felt a great deal of pain and see it as a kind of optical illusion. You will not see any reason for the pain, which means that there was no pain in the world outside. You did suffer then, just as in a bad dream, but now that you are awake at that level of consciousness, you can look on the same experience without any overlay of suffering.”

Pain and pleasure are not real, he explains; they come and go. Joy stays with you, increasing with the passage of time; it knows no end.

• What is one statement that speaks to your heart in this reading? How will you put it into action this week?

• Spiritual Reading has been our focus for practice extension throughout this book study. How does reading Easwaran’s books helps you make your highest ideals a part of your daily life?

Finally, for bonus spiritual entertainment, here is Christine Easwaran reading Psalm 100, the passage “Worship the Lord in Gladness.”

Passage Audio

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Reality through Joy. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Who Brings Good from Suffering

Easwaran addresses pleasure and pain as he comments on the names of the Lord in our reading this week, pages 270–281 in The Constant Companion.* Speaking to the short-lived pleasure of dreams, he acknowledges the legitimate function dreams serve and then offers us a clear message:

“My advice, however, is to forget your dreams – don’t dwell on them – and never dwell on daydreams or fantasies of what might be. When you do, you are teaching your mind to live in a dream world, where it can cling to private pleasures and retreat from anything unpleasant.”

He explains that this tendency to separate what we like and what we don’t like into “two different departments” prevents us from growing. And as we practice bearing what we dislike cheerfully, we discover they are not separate departments after all. “If it benefits others, we can actually learn to enjoy it. Then a good deal that was bitter in life becomes sweet.”

• Identify something in your life that you find confusing at this time, and where you wish you could ask Easwaran for his tips. See what he has to say in our readings. How can you apply his words to your situation?

• Throughout this book study, we’ve been giving special attention to our practice of Spiritual Reading. What do you find most helpful or nourishing about the ways you practice Spiritual Reading?

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Child of the Infinite through Whose Thoughts Are True. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Full of Glory

Commenting on the name Bhagavan – which “is used much the way we use ‘Lord’ in English” – Easwaran describes “six bhagas or splendors” which are possessed by a divine incarnation. Each of these splendors is instructive, and Easwaran notes that among them “the fifth quality may be surprising: beauty.”

“The Lord is infinitely beautiful, with a beauty that is not diminished by time. Physical beauty cloys with familiarity, but the inner beauty which shows itself in the capacity to give and to cherish grows with the passage of time. It transcends the senses, transcends even mind and intellect.”

Easwaran notes that while we cannot achieve the perfection of one who is bhagavan, “these are qualities we should try to cultivate in our own lives if we want to remake ourselves in a higher image.” May our eSatsang grow in beauty this week, as we each strive to increase our capacity to give and to cherish! Our reading this week is pages 261–269 in The Constant Companion.*

• What is Easwaran telling you about the workings of your own mind? This week, use this new understanding to get some cooperation from your mind when it is being uncooperative. Tell us how it goes!

• Spiritual Reading has been our focus for practice extension throughout this book study. What have you found most helpful or nourishing about your spiritual reading throughout this time?

For our spiritual treat, here is the final excerpt from the Easwaran video “Love Alters Not.” Note that the full video is 34 minutes, but the excerpt begins at 26:45 and the player should start automatically at that time.

Video

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names The Shining One through Bringer of Joy. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

He Who Attracts

“One special instruction I would like to give to you is to make use of every spare moment to repeat your mantram. A million opportunities can be discovered during the course of a single day.”

This week’s reading in The Constant Companion is pages 251–260.* Commenting on the name Krishna, He Who Attracts, Easwaran describes how his granny, his spiritual teacher, must have planted in his consciousness early in his childhood the seeds that eventually blossomed into his devotion. And he tells us we too can see this devotion bloom via the mantram:

“When you go on repeating the mantram sincerely and systematically, this is the kind of devotion that the Lord helps to generate in your heart. Once it floods your mind completely, it will not leave you even in your sleep; it walks with you and works with you always.”

May we each move a bit closer this week to this holy flood of devotion.

• Which lines particularly strike you, and how can you apply them to your life this week?

• We have been strengthening our practice of Spiritual Reading and reflecting on its benefits. This week consider how these stories help you contribute to healing the Earth.

For our spiritual treat, here is the next excerpt from the Easwaran video “Love Alters Not.” Note that the full video is 34 minutes, but the excerpt goes from 9:35 – 26:45 and the player should start and stop automatically at those times. We’ll share the final segment of this video next week. Of course, you are welcome to watch more now as well.

Video

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names He Who Attracts through Approachable. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

The Supreme Magician

With the name Maha-Maya, The Supreme Magician, Easwaran again focuses our attention on life’s transience. Describing “the Lord’s magic,” he writes:

“Out of apparent nothingness the Lord brings you and me and all these innumerable other creatures out upon the stage. Then, all too soon, he sweeps us away. Those with whom we have grown up, gone to school, shared the joys and trials of our adult years, one by one they just go.”

And again Easwaran makes clear that this is not morbid reflection, but a precious gift of urgency: “Life is so short, and this discovery so urgent and so difficult, that none of us can afford to waste a day in not doing our best to move closer to the goal.” We are grateful to be striving together with you to keep focus on the supreme goal. Our reading this week is pages 241–250 in The Constant Companion.*

• Is there a tip in this reading that is particularly challenging for you? How will you wrestle with it this week?

• As we read The Constant Companion, we are working to strengthen our practice of Spiritual Reading. This week consider how these stories are speaking to you about your relationship with animals.

For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the Easwaran video “Love Alters Not.” Easwaran recites from Shakespeare throughout the talk, commenting on the accordance with the Bhagavad Gita and the Dhammapada, and on how each of us can learn the skill of unchanging love.

Note that the full video is 34 minutes, but the excerpt ends at 9:35 and the player should stop automatically at that time. We’ll share the next segment of this video next week. Of course, you are welcome to watch more now as well.

Video

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Free from Craving through Whose Mind Is Full of Wealth. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

The Good Weaver

The weaving of spiders is a theme in our reading this week, pages 228–240 in The Constant Companion*: the Lord is “The Good Weaver,” and “Who Keeps Expanding His Web.” “The allusion is to a marvelous metaphor in the Upanishads,” Easwaran explains, “where the universe is compared to the web that a spider weaves out of itself.”

One implication he draws out is the preciousness of our brief opportunity: “How fleeting life is! Everything in this delicate web of a universe changes from moment to moment.” Reflecting on how quickly life passes is not a morbid activity, he explains, “for it throws our activities into the sharpest perspective. Every day’s first priority is to learn to move closer to the Lord of Love who lives in the depths of our consciousness.”

• If you have a particular issue you are struggling with right now, look into this reading for tips, and try them out this week.

• As we read The Constant Companion, we are working to strengthen our practice of Spiritual Reading. This week consider how these stories are speaking to you about your relationship with nature.

Let’s turn again to The Thousand Names Talks** in the Easwaran Digital Library for our spiritual treat, this time with Talk 7. The full talk is 43 minutes, but you can listen to part of it now and when you return the player will resume where you left off. If time is short, consider starting with the first five minutes, where Easwaran reminds us of the dignity and security we can each draw from knowing that we come from the Lord.

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names The Place of Sacrifice through Immortal. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

** You’ll need to log in for the link above to work. If it’s your first time, use the button Create new account from the login page.

The Auspicious

The name Yajna, Sacrifice, ended our reading last week, and Easwaran begins this week’s commentary on the name Shiva, The Auspicious, by discussing how Shiva powerfully illustrates “the sacrifice of self to a higher purpose.”

“Self” here means self-will, “the selfish, self-centered fragment of ourselves that has forgotten the unity of life.” Self-will is the only barrier between us and love, Easwaran explains, and so “the most effective of all sacrifices is the sacrifice of self-will.”

Our work together in the eSatsang is helping us make this sacrifice, diminishing our self-will day by day, using our disciplines to turn obstacles into spiritual growth. Our reading this week is pages 217­­­–227 in The Constant Companion.*

• Is there a relationship in your life that you wish you could improve? Read this article for tips from Easwaran. Try applying those tips, even if you can’t apply them directly to this particular relationship.

• Through our spiritual reading, Easwaran is helping us to be aware of the Lord’s presence in all. Are there ways in which these stories can help you to share that awareness with others in your life?

For our spiritual treat, here is Christine Easwaran reading the passage “The Bridge to Immortality,” from the Shvetashvatara Upanishad.

Passage Audio

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names The Auspicious through Good Works. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Sacrifice

The name Yajna, Sacrifice, “expresses a central principle of life,” Easwaran tells us. And he explains that its real meaning “is not just sacrifice but self-sacrifice”:

“Selfless, harmonious effort, the Gita says, contains within itself the seed and secret of success. However hard we work, however dedicated our attitude, it is not we who determine what we achieve; success is contained in the concept of yajna.”

Easwaran gives an extended illustration of this principle with the history of our own meditation center, growing so naturally from his desire to share spiritual wisdom with others. He tells us that this yajna has only begun, “for this is how spiritual work grows and bears fruit from generation to generation.” Each of us in this eSatsang is contributing to that work through our very practice of the spiritual disciplines Easwaran taught. This week let’s read pages 217­­­–227 in The Constant Companion.* We look forward to reading your reflections in the discussion below.

• Read this article as if you and Easwaran are having a conversation. What advice does he give you, and how can you apply it this week?

• Your spiritual reading – and all your interactions with Easwaran – are helping you draw out your ability to see the Lord in all. What do you notice about how that is affecting your experience in different types of situations in your life?

• Please plan to join us this 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 our spiritual treat here in eSatsang this week, we hope you enjoy this video in which Easwaran comments on the name Shubhanga from the Thousand Names of the Lord, emphasizing its special importance in connection with the New Year, “because it has a direct bearing on how we come to look upon ourselves.” The full talk is 34 minutes; if time is short, consider viewing just the beginning.

Video

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Who Carries Us Across through Sacrifice. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Bringer of Tears

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.)

The Witness

Save the Date: Sunday, December 31, 2023

A Day of Mantrams for Peace and Healing

Sunday, December 31 will be our traditional BMCM day of Mantrams for Peace and Healing in the World. Throughout the day of December 31, right up until ringing in the New Year, let’s keep our mantrams going as much as we can.

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.

Let’s all participate together in the BMCM Satsang Live on December 31st. We will start writing the mantram at 9:40 before the program begins at 10 am. We will make BMCM Satsang Live the centerpiece of our mantram day, and we invite you to join us.

---

Our reading this week is pages 187–196 in The Constant Companion.* Commenting on the Sanskrit name Sakshi, The Witness, Easwaran tells the story of his granny’s response when she suspected he and his friends had stolen mangoes from the tree of a village neighbor:

“‘Even if none of you tells anybody else,’ she said, ‘there was somebody who saw. Someone inside you is watching everything, someone who never misses a thing.’”

Easwaran points out that messages from this inner witness are part of our familiar daily experience: “After we have done something selfish, when we hear a little voice inside saying, ‘Shabby, shabby, shabby,’ that is the voice of the Lord within. And when we feel warm inside because we have helped someone, it is the Lord who is making us feel warm.” Discovering the source of these messages, he explains, will transform our lives.

• Is there some tip from Easwaran in this reading that you tend to skim over because you have already heard it many times before? Try focusing on it this week.

• We are working to strengthen our practice of Spiritual Reading. Can you find ways to share parts of these stories with the children in your life?

Let’s turn again to The Thousand Names Talks** in the Easwaran Digital Library for our spiritual treat, this time with Talk 6. The full talk is 54 minutes, but you can listen to part of it now and when you return the player will resume where you left off. If time is short, consider starting with the first five minutes, where Easwaran begins his commentary on the name Sarva, All, by explaining that everyone is sanctified by the presence of the Lord, whether they are aware of it or forget it.

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Sustainer of Life through The Witness. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

** You’ll need to log in for the link above to work. If it’s your first time, use the button Create new account from the login page.

Beautiful

Beauty is again a theme of our names of Vishnu this week, as we read The Constant Companion, pages 176–186.*

“Even the calves, the poets say, stop nursing for a moment and turn their heads up to look at Krishna. You have to have seen a calf nursing to appreciate that; every ounce of its attention is fixed greedily on the udder. Even that passionate attachment dissolves in love for Krishna.”

Easwaran tells us there is no end to the power this beauty has to transform our lives. “This is the very practical purpose of an incarnation of God: that in loving his outward form, as Saint Bernard says, we may slowly be drawn into complete spiritual union.”

• What is one statement that speaks to your heart in this reading? How will you put it into action this week?

• We are taking this book study as an opportunity to give special attention to our practice of Spiritual Reading. In what ways do you find these stories are helping you see the Lord in others around you?

For our spiritual treat, here is Christine Easwaran reading the passage “Come, Beloved,” from Meera.

Passage Audio

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Beautiful through Charioteer. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Will

Last week Easwaran discussed the war within, including commentary on the name Skanda, Lord of War. This week that discussion continues as we read pages 165–175 in The Constant Companion.* “‘Make me your commander,’ the Lord tells us, ‘and I will give you all the weapons you need.’”

Easwaran comments on the Lord as Sharnga-Dhanva, wielder of “a mighty bow called Sharnga, a symbol of one of the most powerful weapons we can have in the war within: the mantram.”

Of course, our own human will is “one of the most crucial of weapons in the war within,” Easwaran reminds us:

“Everything in life, everything in spiritual growth, comes ultimately to strengthening the will until no setback can stop you, no trial or temptation deflect your course.”

Please use the comments below to share how you take inspiration from this week’s reading to join the battle within.

• Which lines particularly strike you, and how can you apply them to your life this week?

• Spiritual Reading has been our focus for practice extension throughout this book study. What have you found most helpful or nourishing about your spiritual reading throughout this time?

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names To Whom Are Offered Seven Kinds of Fuel through Will. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Giver of Wealth

Desire, and the vital energy to which it is closely connected, are major themes of our reading this week, pages 153–164 in The Constant Companion.*

Desire for pleasure and profit are “played up everywhere” today, and Easwaran comments on both forms of “mental pollutant” at length. One painful implication is the profound impact on our children: “The desires of a society are a very important educational influence, more so even than the curricula of its schools. Nobody escapes this influence. It is, perhaps, the primary way in which we raise the next generation. And what are we teaching?”

Easwaran also leads us to see the key role played by desire in the “war within” against our selfish compulsions. In the first phase of this war, he explains, our major objective is freeing our “fighting forces” from compulsive involvement in sense consciousness.

“‘Fighting forces’ here means our vital energy, which is tied up in the countless desires, drives, urges, and anxieties of the ordinary human personality. The purpose of training the senses, which plays a central role in every major spiritual tradition, is to begin to get this riot of energy in order.”

• Is there a particular situation that causes you to get speeded up or agitated? What tips does Easwaran offer in this reading that you could try out in this situation? Even if the tips don’t seem to directly apply, try them anyhow and tell us what you find.

• We have been strengthening our practice of Spiritual Reading and reflecting on its benefits. This week consider how these stories help you contribute to healing the Earth.

For our spiritual treat this week, we hope you enjoy this four-minute video in which Easwaran describes the samskara of dwelling on the past and future, and how we can use the mantram to keep our mind in the present.

Video

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Giver of Wealth through The Seven-tongued. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Answerer of Prayers

“Every strong desire is a prayer,” Easwaran reminds us as he comments on the name Vara-Da, Answerer of Prayers, in this week’s reading, pages 146–152 of The Constant Companion.* “When we have a powerful desire that we can’t forget, we are meditating on that desire, actually praying for it to be fulfilled. In time, the very depth of that desire will release the deeper resources to bring it within our reach.”

Often, he points out, “we do not realize how our pursuit of personal desires affects other people” and our world. For example, “From a spiritual perspective, the underlying cause of industrial pollution is desire.” With this understanding, the content and depth of our desires take on new significance for all of us longing to heal our Earth’s environment, “because it is our thoughts and desires that will shape our future actions – not only as individuals, but as a society.”

• Identify something in your life that you find confusing at this time, and where you wish you could ask Easwaran for his tips. See what he has to say in our readings. How can you apply his words to your situation?

• We are taking this book study as an opportunity to give special attention to our practice of Spiritual Reading. On the days you are able to do spiritual reading, what benefits do you find?

Let’s turn again to The Thousand Names Talks** in the Easwaran Digital Library for our spiritual treat, this time with Talk 5. The full talk is 50 minutes, but you can listen to part of it now and when you return the player will resume where you left off. If time is short, consider starting with the first five minutes, where Easwaran describes his ancestral family’s observation of Navaratri, in which the Divine Mother is worshipped.

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Maker & Destroyer of Fear through Answerer of Prayers. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

** You’ll need to log in for the link above to work. If it’s your first time, use the button Create new account from the login page.

Holder of the Wheel of the Cosmos

In this week’s reading, pages 135–145 from The Constant Companion,* Easwaran comments on names of the Lord describing what Vishnu holds in each of his hands, beginning with the discus or chakra:

“In devotional portraits, Vishnu is often represented as standing casually with one finger of a right hand held up as if pointing to the sky. On the tip of that finger, perfectly balanced, whirls the disk of the cosmos, called chakra in Sanskrit. As the gospel song puts it, “He’s got the whole world in his hands.’”

This “wheel of dharma” represents “the supreme law of existence which holds that all of life is one.” As usual, Easwaran brings us extremely practical applications. Amidst the tremendous challenges facing our world, if we desire to help, we can begin by conserving the Earth’s resources. “All life is part of us. This deepest of convictions can turn the most ordinary human being into a powerful force for unity.”

• If you have a particular issue you are struggling with right now, look into this reading for tips, and try them out this week.

• As we read The Constant Companion, we are working to strengthen our practice of Spiritual Reading. How does reading Easwaran’s books help you make your highest ideals a part of your daily life?

For our spiritual treat, here is Easwaran reading the passage “Her Heart Is Full of Joy,” from Saint Teresa of Avila.

Passage Audio

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Holder of the Wheel of the Cosmos through Bearer of the Lotus. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

Beauty

Thanks to all who joined in this year’s Celebration of Easwaran’s Life and Teachings, including last Sunday’s culmination!

After a deeply inspiring month, we now turn back to our study of The Constant Companion. This week’s reading is pages 128–134,* and beauty is a major theme.

“There is a beauty appropriate to every age,” Easwaran explains, and our beauty can grow even as our body ages. If you are forty, he notes, “‘You are wise enough to be fifty-five’ should be a thrilling compliment. We can grow in beauty until the last day of our life, and the desire to look on everyone as kith and kin will draw people to us for the beauty of our lives.”

• Is there a tip in this reading that is particularly challenging for you? How will you wrestle with it this week?

• Spiritual Reading has been our focus for practice extension throughout this book study. This week consider how these stories are speaking to intimate relationships in your life.

* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Beauty through The Poet. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)

From Darkness into Light

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 29 at  www.bmcm.org/celebration.

Here in the eSatsang we have been preparing by studying the 2017 Blue Mountain Journal Teacher and Student. This week we will read Easwaran’s article “In the Depths of the Unconscious” on pages 55–59 and also savor his brief statement on page 60 titled “From Darkness into Light.”

Easwaran helps us understand how our efforts at concentration in meditation and throughout the day – which may seem mundane – are slowly opening a way into the depths of consciousness. But “concentration alone is not enough,” he explains. “With concentration must flow what in traditional religious language is called devotion, love of God.” We can achieve this through devotion to our teacher, who has the immense responsibility “to embody the virtues that shine like jewels in the depths of consciousness in every human being.”

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.”

• Read this article as if you and Easwaran are having a conversation. What advice does he give you, and how can you apply it this week?

• A letter of rededication: as we noted at the start of this journal study, each year many of us at BMCM go through a process of reflection for Easwaran’s Life Celebration. We culminate that process with a letter of rededication to Easwaran, and you may want to join in that. Review your notes or thoughts from the questions over the past month, optionally using this reflection worksheet. Then use those ideas to write a letter in which you express your gratitude to Easwaran as your teacher and also a specific small way in which you are rededicating yourself to him in the upcoming year. Put this letter in an envelope and keep it carefully to be reviewed next year at the time of Easwaran’s Life Celebration.

• See you on Sunday in BMCM Satsang Live, as the centerpiece of our day of mantrams for peace and healing in the world. Your presence is important!

And here is one more excerpt from Quietly Changing the World for this week’s spiritual treat. (If you’d like more, you can access these videos here on our website).

Video