Monday, September 18, 2017

Ahimsa

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are considering Ahimsa.

The little unremembered acts of kindness and love are the best of a good man's life.

 -William Wordsworth

Our lives affect others, whether directly, through the environment, or by the force of our example.

For instance, we could say that smoking shows a lack of love. First, our capacity for love is actually caught in the compulsion to smoke. But more than that, the example tells even casual passersby, "Don't worry about what your doctor says. Don't worry about the consequences. If it feels good, do it!"

Pele, the Brazilian soccer star, was in a position to command a king's ransom for endorsing commercial products. He never gave his endorsement to any cigarette, putting the reason in simple words: "I love kids." That is a perfect choice of words. He does love kids. He knows that in most of the world they will buy anything with his name on it. Therefore, though he came from a poor family, no amount of money can tempt him to do something that will mislead young people or injure their health.

To love is to be responsible like this in everything: the work we do, the things we buy, the food we eat, the people we look up to, the movies we see, the words we use, every choice we make from morning till night. That is the real measure of love; it is a wonderfully demanding responsibility.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to revisit the first Yama: Ahimsa. “The word ahimsa is made up of the particle ‘a’ meaning ‘not’ and the noun himsa meaning killing or violence.  It is more than a negative command not to kill, for it has a wider positive meaning, love.  This loves embraces all creation…….BKS Iyengar. "Ahimsa is an intelligent, harmonious relationship.  Harmony is the essence of nonviolence." V. Thakar. "The yogi, grounded in the practice of ahimsa, acts from a place of love and respect for all beings, including himself. This begins a new cycle of love and respect instead of harm and pain." BKS Iyengar. See how you can make Ahimsa come alive in your lives.

Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com


Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003

Monday, September 11, 2017

Selfless Action

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are considering selfless action.

Those whose consciousness is unified abandon all attachment to the results of action and attain supreme peace. But those whose desires are fragmented, who are selfishly attached to the results of their work, are bound in everything they do.

 -Bhagavad Gita

It is not so much work that tires us, but ego-driven work. When we are selfishly involved, we cannot help worrying, we cannot help getting overly concerned about our success or failure. The preoccupation with results makes us tense, and our anxiety exhausts us.

The Gita is essentially a call to action. But it is a call to selfless action, that is, action without any selfish attachments to the results. It asks us to do our best, yet never allow ourselves to become involved in whether things work out the way we want.

It takes practice to learn this skill, but once you have it, as Gandhi says, you will never lose your nerve. The sense of inadequacy goes, and the question "Am I equal to this job?" will not arise. It is enough that the job needs to be done and that you are doing your best to get it done.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to consider that through selfless action we can learn to not become attached to the action or to the fruits of the action. “Action done in selflessness is nourishing. You nourish yourself and you nourish the other person….Whatever you do, do it without self. Do it with selflessness.”1

1 Excerpts from Time to be Holy – Swami Sivananda Radha

Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com


Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003