A Journal for Spiritual Living Published by the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation & Nilgiri Press www.easwaran.org Summer 2010 Volume 21, Number 2 Deepening Determination By Eknath Easwaran Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada, later to become loved around the world as St. Teresa of Jesus, grew up as a beautiful, highspirited girl from one of the most distinguished families in the sixteenth-century Spanish town of Avila. With charm, intelligence, keen artistic sensibilities, and a saving dose of common sense, she seemed to have the world at her feet. Yet while still in her teens, this passionate young woman had already begun to find the attractions of worldly life too small to satisfy her. She felt their pull would be torn in two by it, in fact, for more than twenty years. But nothing could silence a much deeper appeal, a call to a far higher destiny. Some dim awareness of an infinite promise deep within her must have prompted her to turn inward. In her writings, Teresa describes candidly what was taking place inside. All the things of God gave me great pleasure, she recalls, but I was held captive by the things of this world. Yet the inward pull would not let her go: Blue Mountain E S T A B L I S H E D B Y E K N A T H E A S W A R A N F O R P R E S E N T I N G H I S E I G H T - P O I N T P R O G R A M O F P A S S A G E M E D I T A T I O N Young Teresa had seen what life offers on the surface, and it was not enough. She longed for much greater challenges, deeper awareness, something more lasting than this world of change. There is no joy in the finite, the Upanishads say. There is joy only in the Infinite. Teresa s soul yearned for the Infinite, and nothing less would satisfy her. Teresa of Avila is so appealing a figure, so human and yet so inspiring, that we naturally want to know her secret. What enabled her to turn herself inward, heart and soul? Is it something that we can follow? As it happens, Teresa did leave us her secret. In her autobiography, Below, from our archives: Eknath Easwaran Continued on page 4 e k N T H W N has been called one of the foremost teachers of medi tation in our times. From his arrival in the United States in 1959 on the Fulbright ex change program until his passing in the fall of 1999, he taught to modern men and women his eight-point program, based on his unique method of meditation on memorized inspirational passages from the world s great religions. Many thou sands of people representing the full range of cultural and religious backgrounds attest to the bene fits of his teaching. He continues to teach through his thirty books on spiri tual living over a million copies in print in twenty-seven languages and through the ongoing programs and publica tions of the organi zation he founded in 1961 to carry on his work: the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation and its publishing arm, Nilgiri Press. Reason tells the soul how mistaken it is in thinking that all these earthly things are of the slightest value by comparison with what it is seeking. A little recollection reminds it that all these things come to an end. And faith instructs it in what the soul must do to find satisfaction....
B L U E M O U N TA I N b lu e mounta i n The quarterly journal of the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation Summer 2010 2010 by The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, Inc. f o u n d e r Sri Eknath Easwaran b oa rd of tru stees Christine Easwaran Nick Harvey Sultana Harvey Diana Lightman Terry Morrison Robert Nichols Beth Ann O Connell b lu e mounta i n e x e c u t i v e e d i tor Christine Easwaran Post Office Box 256 Tomales, ca 94971 Telephone 707 878 2369 Facsimile 707 878 2375 Email info@easwaran.org Web www.easwaran.org Printed on recycled paper 1 Deepening Determination Nothing will strengthen your determination more than the regular practice of meditation, writes Eknath Easwaran. And to those who persevere meditation brings a level of fulfillment that no achievement in the external world can give. 6 Beyond Trade-offs: Creating an Integrated, Balanced Life Do we have to choose among achievement, happiness, and a calm mind? A longtime meditator gives her answer. 10 Establishing a Solid Meditation Practice How do you get a spiritual practice off the ground? These and other questions are responded to by friends who have been meditating daily for years. We Welcome Your Help The Blue Mountain Center depends on donations to carry on its work. Every gift, large or small, is much appreciated and put to good use. The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation is a 501(c)(3) California nonprofit corporation. Contributions to the Center are deductible from state and federal income tax. 2 Blue Mountain Center of Meditation The Center offers instruction in meditation and allied living skills, following the eight-point program of passage meditation developed by Sri Eknath Easwaran. The approach is nondenominational, nonsectarian, and free from dogma and ritual. It can be used within each person s own cultural and religious background to relieve stress, heal relationships, release deeper resources, and realize one s highest potential. Passage Meditation: An Eight-Point Program 1. m e d i tat i o n o n a pa s s a g e Silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world s great religions. Practiced for one-half hour each morning. 2. r e p e t i t i o n o f a m a n t r a m Silent repetition in the mind of a Holy Name or a hallowed phrase from one of the world s great religions. Practiced whenever possible throughout the day or night. 3. s l o w i n g d o w n Setting priorities and re duc ing the stress and friction caused by hurry. 4. o n e - p o i n t e d at t e n t i o n Giving full concentration to the matter at hand. 5. t r a i n i n g t h e s e n s e s Overcoming conditioned habits and learning to enjoy what is beneficial. 6. p u t t i n g o t h e r s f i r s t Gaining freedom from selfishness and separateness; finding joy in helping others. 7. s p i r i t ua l f e l l o ws h i p Spending time regularly with other passage meditators for mutual inspiration and support. 8. s p i r i t ua l r e a d i n g Drawing inspiration from writings by and about the world s great spiritual figures and from the scriptures of all religions. Eknath Easwaran Schooled in both Eastern and Western traditions, Eknath Easwaran took to the spiritual life amidst a successful career in India as a professor of English literature, a writer, and a lecturer. After coming to the University of California, Berkeley, on the Fulbright exchange program, he established the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in Northern California in 1961. His 1968 Berkeley class is believed to be the first accredited course in meditation at any Western uni versity. His deep personal experience and his love for his students have made the ancient art of meditation accessible to those who hold jobs and lead active lives among friends and family.
P U B L I S H E R S PA G E A Daily Rhythm Christine Easwaran In our recent articles, Sri Easwaran has dealt with detachment and with discrimination. In this issue, he takes up the topic of determination. He called these the three Ds: traits we need to develop if we are to live in freedom and not be tossed about by life. Here he tells us that in order to train the mind and develop determination we need regularity in meditation. Whether we live in a community, with family or friends, or alone, a daily pattern for meditation can be a unifying force. I like to think that in subtle ways, in the depths of our being, we can experience some alignment with the larger patterns of the universe (the seasons, the daily rotation of the earth) and gain strength from identifying with this greater dimension. At Ramagiri Ashram we follow a daily pattern based on checkpoints, or Touchstones, for evaluating our course and keeping us on track during the day. These are: * Morning Meditation * Evening Meditation * Sacrament of the Evening Meal * Message from Our Teacher The last two Touchstones may need an explanation. Easwaran saw the value of spiritual fellowship during the day. Sharing stories, whether serious or lighthearted, at mealtimes can con- tribute to a balanced life and create a valuable bonding experience. At the end of the day, we look forward to a video talk by Easwaran (Message from Our Teacher) for inspiration and for focusing our scattered minds on the purpose of our lives. As we watch thirty-minute segments from his talks, we have the precious opportunity to relive his presence with us and obtain what may be called darshan (blessing) from hearing his voice and witnessing his image and gestures. Many of our friends use these published talks at the end of the day just as we do at Ramagiri Ashram. Writing the mantram together is not one of our Touchstones, but it is on our program every Sunday afternoon at three o clock. Recently, one of the participants at a retreat suggested that, after the program ended, they could join us in this activity from their homes. This seems to be the most convenient time across the Americas for participating simultaneously in any activity of the Center, whether you are in Hawaii or Brazil. But no matter where you are, or what time it is, your mantrams are encouraged. The mission of Ramagiri Ashram is to demonstrate the validity of the timeless teachings of our Teacher by living out in daily practice his eightpoint program of passage meditation an awesome assignment we diligently work on. But this is not just the responsibility of the residents at our headquarters. All of us who are earnestly practicing passage meditation, no matter where we are, are part of Easwaran s growing spiritual network. We at Ramagiri Ashram would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the strong support of friends all around the world who help us in so many different ways. May our Teacher s blessings be with you! For the Board of Trustees Though one sits in meditation in a Particular place, the Self within can Exercise its influence far away. Though still, it moves everything everywhere. katha upanishad Life is not a blind area where blind forces are at work. Just as there are physical laws that govern the universe, there are equally operative spiritual laws which derive from the unity of life. When we act in harmony with this unity, the very nature of the universe supports us. We may feel insignificant, but we have the invisible but inexorable support of cosmic forces behind us. eknath easwaran
C O M M E N TA R Y Continued from page 1 she stresses over and over the one quality she found vital: determinación, determination, decision, will. Those who have this determination, she declares, have nothing to fear. Determination? Is that all? Surely, we think, some loftier, finer qualities must come before this mundane one. But then we reflect on our own experience. In any walk of life arts, sciences, sports, entertainment wherever excellence is achieved, there is one quality we almost always find: the sheer will to overreach oneself, to keep going whatever the odds until the goal is attained. St. Teresa is simply reminding us that we need this same quality to reach an infinite goal. The same determination with which we pursue passing, personal satisfactions can be used for spiritual growth. If we find that we are not making the kind of progress we would like on the spiritual path, Teresa is suggesting, the reason may be simply that we are not trying our hardest. We may have all kinds of other reasons, but often the problem is simple lack of determination. I often notice delivery trucks with a sign on the back: Frequent Stops. One I used to see regularly in Berkeley was Danny s Diner, which stopped so frequently that it never got more than a block from campus. This can happen in meditation too. There are people who meditate for a few days and then stop to experiment with some old indulgence. When they take up meditation again, their mind is even more rebellious and they fall asleep. So they stop once more. Their mind and senses are offering resistance - meditation is no fun - so they say, Why not go in for a few healthy distractions? This approach will take us no further than Danny s. Many have begun, Teresa observes, but never persevere to the end.... What His Majesty wants is our acts of will. In Sanskrit we have a word which means heroes at the beginning : people who take up a job with a fanfare of trumpets but soon find that their enthusiasm has tiptoed down the back stair. Those who go far in meditation are the ones who keep on plugging. They may not be very spectacular; they may never hear a trumpet. But they keep on trying day in and day out, giving their best in every situation and relationship, never giving up. Such people are bound to reach their goal. The important question The first challenge to determination, of course, comes up every day. Shall I meditate today at my regular time and place, for the full length of time? Or shall I fudge a little? So many things can come in the way! This one little question is so common, so insidious, that I want to stress just how important it is. Nothing you can do will strengthen your determination more than the regular practice of meditation: at the same time, and for the full length of time, every single day. No one finds this easy or convenient. Everybody faces obstacles: you are traveling, you have a cold, your baby starts crying, you get interrupted by a phone call, you have to wait for a call that never comes... The list goes on forever. Some obstacles, I agree, cannot be removed until you change your job circumstances. But most can be dealt with through surprisingly simple measures which never occur to us unplugging the phone, for example, or getting up early enough to let the baby sleep. Just by meditating regularly, you are deepening your determination immeasurably. On the other hand, if you neglect your meditation, you can be sure that your mind will take full advantage of it on the following morning. In the Indian spiritual tradition the saying goes, If you miss one morning s meditation, it takes seven mornings to 4 make it up. If you miss seven mornings well, you can figure it out on your computer. One of the first things I learned about training the mind was to put meditation first always, whatever obstacles or temptations come in the way. When I came to this country, almost thirty years ago, I was on a ship for nearly a month. The Peninsular and Oriental steamship company apparently never felt motivated to provide meditation facilities, and the cabin I shared with other Fulbright scholars would not serve. Among other things, the only fresh air it ever got was supplied by a little tube not much bigger than my thumb. One of my friends saw the expression on my face and asked what was wrong. I tried to explain, as best I could, about needing to get my full quota of meditation morning and evening. He brightened helpfully. See here, old boy, he said, you ve been in harness such a long time now. Why not take advantage of the circumstances and enjoy a well-earned vacation? Everybody enjoys a holiday, and here you are getting one free. Why keep talking about meditation? You can do all that when we get to America, where you will need it. I want to be on vacation always, I objected. That s just why I never miss my meditation. The next morning I got up very early and went exploring. Soon I discovered the sports deck, absolutely deserted in the early hours of the morning. I wrapped my blanket around my shoulders, sat down, and closed my eyes, and once I began going through the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, I forgot all about where I was. When I finally opened my eyes, I found I had been amusing a small crowd of bystanders. I let them laugh; after all, there is not much to do on board a ship, and I didn t mind having a reputation for being a colorful character. People laughed, but
C O M M E N TA R Y gradually they came to respect me. He s a really earnest chap, they would say, whatever that Indian thing is that he s doing. That was not the end, either. The tests went on. Eventually our ship reached Port Said, on the Suez Canal. Egypt was not only the land of the pharaohs to me. For hundreds of years it had been a great center of Islamic civilization, and President Nasser had attracted interest throughout the newly independent states of the Third World. The Fulbright commission had made extensive arrangements to take us scholars to Cairo, several hours journey across the Sinai peninsula, and to house us there and show us around. This news was greeted with great joy. My friends, knowing how keen I was on seeing Cairo at last, brought me the itinerary as soon as it was announced. It will be wonderful, I agreed when I saw the schedule. But I won t be able to come with you. They were shocked. Not come with us? Don t you want to see the Nile, the Pyramids, the mosques, the bazaar? Haven t you been telling us about Al-Azhar University, almost a thousand years old? I said simply, You know how much I want to see them. You may never get a chance again. I expect I won t. Certainly not as the guest of the government. Well, then? If I follow that schedule, I explained, I won t be able to maintain my meditation. And that, they knew, was that. I never have seen Cairo. But I have seen the Self. So be regular in your meditation, be systematic in following the instructions, and try to sustain your enthusiasm no matter how you feel. Every morning when you sit down for meditation, renew your determination. If you believe in a personal God, ask for the help of Sri Krishna or Jesus or the Divine Mother to make this decision unbreakable. If you do not believe in a personal God, ask for help from your own deeper Self, the Atman. Either way, it is important to remember that you are appealing to a power deep within you, not to anyone outside. Meditation, of course, is only part of the effort. I cannot say too often that everything we do throughout the day has a direct effect on the mind. I feel perplexed when I see someone put In any walk of life, wherever excellence is achieved, there is one quality we almost always find: the sheer will to keep going whatever the odds until the goal is attained. in sincere effort in meditation and then proceed to quarrel at breakfast, stomp out of the office in a huff at lunch, and not go home at all for dinner. I say bluntly, You have undone all that you did so carefully in meditation. To keep going forward, we have to go on making our best effort to keep calm and kind throughout the day. After dinner, too, even if the day has been rough, it does very little good to try to escape to the bowling alley or the dance hall. The desire to escape is natural enough, but there is really no place to run and you would only be making the next day a little harder, by undoing a day s work of training. Instead, try to spend time with family or friends, building closer relationships, helping to lighten the burden of their day. Deeper realms All this requires endless determination, as I am sure you are already aware. The first stages of meditation are rough going, and the only consolation 5 I can offer is that below the surface of consciousness, the going gets even rougher. As you enter the immense, uncharted realm called the unconscious, there are so many imponderables you have to deal with, so many indecipherable scripts you have to learn to read. Even the most daring intellect looks around in vain for familiar landmarks and throws up its hands. I don t understand this! There is nothing here that I can grasp, touch, see, or think about. I don t know what to do. The will lies down and goes to sleep, and every morning you have to try to rouse it again. This is a long, tough, terribly challenging battle. But the rewards are infinite. If you read the annals of the great mystics, they seem to be having the time of their lives dealing with intangibles, breaking codes that have never been broken, reading scripts that have never been made out. Every day there is a miracle in meditation. You have to fight against an enemy you cannot see, in a battle in which the lines cannot even be drawn. Yet you know you are learning to face these challenges; you know you are moving forward. That is all the inspiration you need, all the thrill you could ever hope to find. Throughout the day you do everything possible to clear your path into the unknown. And when you go to bed at night, you have a sense of having really lived an awareness that no achievement in the external world can give. I want you to know that this is just how I learned too. When I took to meditation, I was not living in seclusion in a cave on the Himalayas. I was a busy professor on a large campus in India, deeply interested in my students and in my subject, which was literature. In addition, I wrote a regular column for a national newspaper and spoke to sizable Continued on next page
C O M M E N TA R Y Continued from previous page audiences over All-India Radio. I mention this simply to show that you do not have to drop out of society and go into hiding to pursue your spiritual goals. You do not have to slough your responsibilities so you can learn to meditate at your leisure in fact, meditation is going to make you even more responsible. Meditation is a skill for living. You can draw on its benefits wherever you are with your family, with your friends, on your campus, in your office, at your clinic, in your home. You can drive a taxi and still explore Infinity. Discovering our destiny Most of the difficulties people have in personal relations, at home and at work, arise from one ridiculous attitude: If you give this much, that s all I m going to give. If you are going to try to grab that, I m going to try to grab it, too. This peculiar stance is written into our human conditioning; that is why so much determination is required to change it. But living in freedom requires a complete reversal of perspective. Instead of asking, How much can I get? we have to learn to ask, How much can I give? This is far more subtle than it may sound. Most of us need a long, long time to learn to ask this question in every aspect of our lives, even in our thoughts; it entails a complete turnabout in our direction of living. But that simple turnabout transforms our vision. The entire world looks different. Instead of feeling helpless in a world of hostile forces, you live in a world of hope, equal to any challenge, and by that transformation, you help everybody around you. In the perspective of mysticism, most of us are still playing in the world as if we were children in a giant sandbox. We have our rattles, we hold on tightly to our Popsicles; for the vast majority of us, most of life is spent with toys. Figures like Sri Krishna, Christ, and the Buddha come to the edge of the sandbox and remind us gently, Look, your hair is turning gray. Do you want to play here forever? There are vast worlds to be discovered. But often we reply, in effect, Right, Lord. Just let me finish this one sand castle. I feel very happy now to see so many high school and college students coming to me to learn to meditate. They are extraordinarily fortunate, for they are getting out of the sandbox early in life. If we keep playing with pleasures and possessions for decades, before we realize it the sandbox becomes our universe. Then we have no thought for what we really are, who is within us, what is our destiny, whether life has any goal. If this outlook sounds bleak, it is actually full of promise. It implies that we can always grow up. I am an inveterate optimist, and not of the naive variety either. If we take this compassionate view of human motivations, we won t consider the world around us hopeless. That core of Infinity is still there, right within us, shining away just as brightly no matter how hard we try to look the other way. St. Teresa, again, puts it very personally: Even when we are engaged in our worldly pastimes and businesses and pleasures and hagglings, this Lord of ours is so anxious that we should desire him and strive after his companionship that he calls us ceaselessly, time after time, to approach him... for His Majesty is quite prepared to wait even for years, especially when he sees we are persevering and have good desires. This is the most necessary thing here; if we have this, we cannot fail to gain greatly. It should kindle our determination all the more to think how boundless his love for us must be, so anxious is he to draw us closer to him, no matter how much we may tarry. 6 Beyond Trade-offs: Creating an Integrated, Balanced Life When you re doing original research, life is especially unpredictable, says Lisa B., and prone to strange rhythms. For months on end, you re concentrating intensely on solving a problem, with no apparent results. You re not even sure that an answer exists. Then, suddenly, you snap your fingers there it is. Progress demands a full and steady commitment, yet because the work is exploratory and groundbreaking, there s no guarantee of significant findings. Even within the world of academia, Lisa s field of applied mathematics is an esoteric enclave; the research she and her peers produce in a single room packed with forty cubicles is grasped by a select few. But while the atmosphere may be rarefied, the responses to stress are not. It s pretty much the same anywhere you go, says Lisa. When the pressure builds, people freak out. Our office is a teeming pit of stress sometimes, she says. When I started my degree, it was pretty overwhelming. Almost unconsciously, Lisa responded by beginning a new, personal research project: effective ways to deal with stress. Which habits are helpful and which aren t? Is it possible to give our best to our work without undermining the other parts of life: our health, our relationships, our peace of mind?
B E Y O N D T R A D E - O F F S In this experiment carried out in the laboratory of her own life, Lisa s longtime practice of passage meditation (see p. 2) was an essential source of insights. Now, a few years later, she has learned a great deal about achievement, pressure, and the balanced life. The research is still ongoing, she says, but she has verified one key finding: it isn t stress that stresses us out. It s the way we respond to it. Here Lisa shares five discoveries that have helped her attain a high level of achievement without sacrificing the quality of her life. 1. Know where to go for help: inside. When Lisa first arrived at school, it took a while to get her bearings. First, there was the academic cycle, with its deadlines, midterms, and finals. Then, there was the research, with its surges and stall-outs. She had expected that. What took some getting used to was sharing such an intimate environment with so many people whose lives were buffeted by these cycles. During times of intense research, people will go for four days with hardly any sleep, living on potato chips. They come into the office looking like they ve been hit by a truck, and the next morning they re still there working, she says. Even when people aren t having breakdowns in the room, everyone picks up on the communal stress. When Easwaran spent time with us kids, says Lisa of the family programs she attended at the Center, we didn t have to force ourselves to pay attention we just did. It was easy to sit still, without wiggling or being bored, often for long periods of time. (Top photo: Easwaran, second from left, watching a video with children. Lisa at right.) He was so calm that his presence calmed us down. I hadn t known what it was like to have my mind stop chattering away. It was a very good feeling. Years later, when Lisa entered a rigorous PhD program, she found herself in the opposite state plenty of agitation, both ambient and internal. Here she shares her story of bringing into harmony her desires to do well, be happy, and be calm. 7 As a result, the group s ability to work together and build relationships also proceeded in fits and starts. When you re worried about so many things, there is very little left of your attention span for giving to others or for remembering commitments you ve made. Whatever you re stressed about becomes all-consuming, says Lisa. Friendships seemed to change every week, depending on how people s research was going and the emotional ups and downs. It was really hard sometimes not to get caught up in the frenzy. I d snap at someone at the office or feel let down when someone I d counted on didn t come through, she says. But I knew I didn t want to push my stress onto other people. Then I saw that I had just been using failing methods, and that I had better ones. Lisa wanted to give her best, but not at the expense of her peace of mind. In fact, she realized, to give her best, peace of mind was essential. And she had eight points to help her. My meditation practice gave me the ideals of how I want to conduct my life and my interactions, and the methods to deal with the stress on my own. 2. Free yourself from highs and lows by maintaining a schedule. Lisa needed to gain some freedom from the flux by getting a firm grasp of her time and Continued on next page
B E Y O N D T R A D E - O F F S priorities what Easwaran calls slowing down. First, she created a regular schedule Continued from previous page for her studies and began to follow it. Then she started training herself to attend as fully as possible to her schoolwork in the hours reserved for it, resisting temptations to spend time on other activities. These two decisions, she says, have proven very powerful in keeping the ups and downs of her studies from overwhelming her. During her work hours, Lisa still has to deal with the cycles that are integral to the pursuit of excellence. Sometimes I find results I m really excited about, and I go show my adviser. He says, Well, of course. That s not interesting. Then for my last paper, I plotted out some data I wasn t at all thrilled about. He pointed to one plot and said, This is a real find! Don t you see how amazing this is? But when she remains steadily engaged with her work, no matter how it is faring, at the end of the day when she leaves campus physically, she can leave it mentally as well. This way, she protects her off-hours from being haunted by oppressive, energydraining concerns about work. It has helped me a lot that when I get home in the evening, I m done, says Lisa. I can do something else without residual guilt or anxiety. It s a simple approach, but not easy to implement. It requires the steady supply of willpower. Every morning when her alarm clock goes off, no matter what her energy level, mood, or workload, Lisa climbs out of bed and meditates. Even when I m really busy, I always go to bed at a reasonable hour and get up early to meditate, she says. I don t always feel like it, but I always feel better afterwards. Maintaining this discipline has helped her build the willpower to stay steadily engaged with her studies through highs and lows. Also helpful in protecting her priorities and evenness of mind was learning not to overcommit herself. When I first started school, people would ask me to do all kinds of things, and I always said yes. There was no job too big or too small. I would accept an invitation to dinner when I needed to go home and go to bed, she says. I would get really busy, really stressed. Now she considers how her schedule and mind will be affected. With work requests, if I m not sure if I can take something on or am feeling pressured to make a decision, one thing really helps. I ve trained myself to say, Well, I need to think about that. At first I worried that I d offend people, but they really haven t minded. On the contrary, she says, they tend to appreciate that she is seriously considering their request. And with social invitations as well, Lisa has learned to strike a good balance. One night when I was invited out with friends, I just decided to say no. I had the best night ever, at home alone, with no obligations. My mind had a little power-down-and-reboot session I felt so good after that. Since then, it s pretty easy to be unashamed about protecting the time I need for myself especially after seeing how much more I can be there for people by not getting too stressed. When her mind isn t agitated, she s better able to be supportive, even in trying times. If I m dealing with someone who s overwhelmed and not able to be kind, it s easier to remember to take the time to find a helpful, nonjudgmental response. That has a big influence on how I, too, feel afterwards. 3. Make the most of your mind. Maintaining a regular commitment to her schoolwork has been important for Lisa, but it s not enough. She wants to make an original contribution. As an undergrad, Lisa majored in music as well as math, and after years of training she became an accomplished vocal performer and composer. I love 8 music, she says, but I saw I could make a bigger difference through advanced mathematics. In her current research, for example, Lisa is developing mathematical models of how biological cells send and receive communications, knowledge which could have broad applications. The latest math models are shedding light on how to improve wound healing, tsunami prediction, earthquake-proof construction, and countless other topics. To penetrate complex problems such as these requires lengthy periods of deep and sustained concentration, what Easwaran calls the capacity for one-pointed attention that is the mark of genius in any field. The challenge, of course, is that sooner or later the mind will start resisting this exertion. How this resistance is dealt with determines to a great extent what a person will achieve. One extreme is to bore through the resistance for so long, overriding the legitimate demands of the mind and body, that the nervous system shuts down to repair the damage the backlash effect she has seen many peers suffer from. After several days of working in super-intense mode, they disappear from the office for two weeks, she says. The other extreme is to ricochet off the mind s first push-back and head for the vending machine or Internet. Instead, Lisa aims for a level of effort in between at the outer edge of her capabilities but not beyond. In the last year, I ve worked really hard to figure out when I m capable of pushing more on a problem and when I m not, she says. I m now much better at understanding levels of concentration. In the process, she has discovered why Easwaran calls one-pointed attention a skill that anyone can develop. In his passage meditation program, there are seven other tools, each of which deepens concentration. Lisa
B E Y O N D T R A D E - O F F S draws on them to build a balanced, prolific partnership with her mind, a process which is part technique, part willpower, and part artistry. If, for example, her mind is racing from one thought to another, the mantram is very useful, she says. Repeating it to myself for a few minutes calms me down. At other times, worries about her workload fragment her focus. If I have too many tasks to do, even if I m trying to work on them one at a time, the mind knows that the waiting list is too long. I ll start feeling stressed. This division in her attention will continue to cause tension and undermine her efforts. Rather than forcing her mind back to the present task, she pauses to slow down to stop and rebalance her workload. The most powerful way she builds concentration, however, is not during work, but beforehand. Throughout her thirty-minute morning meditation, Lisa keeps her focus on the words of the inspirational passage as much as possible, bringing her attention back when it wanders away. Then, when I m at school, if my attention strays, it s easier to choose to keep concentrating on my work. It s also easier to spot when she s getting into the red zone. If I m asking my mind to work too far out of the range of its abilities, it will get stressed. I can sit and stare at this math for hours, but if I m mentally wearing myself out more and more, that will stop being productive. There are days when by 3:00 p. m. my mind is done with that kind of intense work. If her attention is not too frayed, switching to less brainintensive work is a good option. If she has pushed herself past her limits, however, going for a swim may be the most productive choice. I used to feel guilty about that, she says. But I ve seen that the next day my mind will be more powerful, and I ll make a lot more progress. 4. Find effective, enjoyable ways to take care of yourself. Share them with others. As Lisa became more aware of the workings of her mind, she was able to diagnose imbalances in her life by observing the effect on her concentration. Around the beginning of this year, I could tell I was kind of stressed and unmoored, and it was harder to focus, she says. The main problem, she saw, was a need to take better care of herself. The convenience of take-out food was taking a toll, and overreliance on TV for entertainment sometimes left her more scattered and overstimulated than relaxed and restored. I knew I needed to train my senses. I decided to eat healthier food and to exercise five days per week. But I m not someone who has ever found exercise fun, she admits. So how do I make that happen? My roommate and I got a bunch of workout DVDs from the library, not just difficult ones but fun ones too from ballet to Bollywood, she says. I found that exercise could be a destresser something good for me and actually entertaining. I also started cooking more, to know what I was eating and eat better. That began with another trip to the library, for cookbooks. Then my friends got interested too. We took an inexpensive cooking class together at the supermarket, and my roommates and I threw a dinner party where everyone came over and prepared their contributions. We hadn t realized it was such a fun group activity, she says. And a good way to show caring for others. By changing her food and exercise habits, says Lisa, I felt better, and my will to stick with difficult problems improved as she expected. But it s surprising that many things I now find a lot of fun actually stemmed from that need to train my senses. 9 5. Strive for a higher goal. Three years have passed since Lisa began her experiment. The comments I receive show that people think I don t ever get stressed, she says, and that s not true. But when the pressure builds, she has a strong source of support. The eight points are the baseline of everything they ve given me a sense of security. Last spring I had a big exam, and I got so stressed thinking, What if I fail? But then I could say, Well, I ll go do something else. Of course I would be upset if it didn t work out I love my work and put everything I can into it. But I m not all-encompassed by it. If for some reason I couldn t do it any more, I d still be okay. I d look for another way to help people. In other words, she says, Math isn t my highest goal. The aspiration that brings her back to meditation, morning after morning, is the desire to remake herself in accordance with her highest ideals. Making a difference through my career, doing my best in all the little everyday interactions they re expressions of that higher goal, she says. The best way the only way to reach this goal, is through a calm mind. And her life is organized in such a way that, whatever pressures arise, she can find her way back to the calmness she first experienced with Easwaran. If I m having a conversation with someone who s stressed or angry, or I m stressed myself, repeating the mantram helps me remember who I am at my best and who I m trying to shape myself into. Then I can try to be that person kind, loving, accepting in every interaction, she says. I m not there yet, but every reminder helps me keep a good perspective. For inspirational passages to use in meditation, full instructions, and more, visit www.easwaran.org
E S TA B L I S H I N G A P R A C T I C E Establishing a Solid Meditation Practice When the alarm clock goes off, how do people day after day, decade after decade get up and meditate? We asked a few close friends how they have sustained a deep commitment to the daily practice of passage meditation. Each of these longtime meditators also coordinates a Blue Mountain Center Satsang, or fellowship group. They share their observations and insights below. What helped you get a regular practice going? What might help others through the first thirty days? One thing that helped was having a very inflexible schedule. I found myself in a car pool that required getting out of the house very early. To meditate in the morning meant getting up even earlier about 4:30 A.M. but that was a blessing, because there was nothing to think about: I had to get up on time and sit right down to meditate. Also important was accountability. Having a partner who was also meditating meant I couldn t just roll over and go back to sleep I didn t want to disappoint her or undermine her determination. So I had to grit my teeth and get up and meditate. So perhaps one piece of advice would be: find someone who can help you hold to your commitment, even if they don t meditate with you. A third thing that helped was hearing over and over from Easwaran, Put your meditation first. Over the years I have seen many facets and layers to this advice, but at the beginning, I took it literally in two ways. First, put my meditation first by making it my highest priority. Second, put it first in time each day meditate right now when I first get up. *** Read Chapter One of Passage Meditation over and over again. [Editor s note: The contents of the book are currently available for free at www.easwaran.org/passagemeditation] It provides instruction and will remind you about important things you may have forgotten. And, perhaps most importantly, it will motivate you. Meditation strengthens the will but we need willpower to start meditating in the first place. Isn t there a Catch-22 here? There is a Catch-22. And a certain toughness or self-awareness is needed. Our culture encourages us to think that what we like, what makes us feel good, is the standard by which we should make decisions. But setting out on the spiritual path isn t like that. It s quite possible to get out of bed full of enthusiasm for meditation, and then go to brush your teeth and find yourself distracted by the thought of breakfast or the sight of the front page of the newspaper. And suddenly only ten minutes after you were so enthusiastic your mind is saying, Oh, let s meditate later. You ll feel like it later. The toughness needed is that feeling like it is not what is required. As much as I dislike slogans, Just do it is about the right attitude. What if we are still having trouble establishing a regular practice? Remember the other seven points. When meditation is hard or seems not to go well or even if you skip a More than 100 local Satsangs are meeting regularly around the world. Anyone who has been practicing passage meditation for thirty days is welcome to join.
E S TA B L I S H I N G A P R A C T I C E day you can still work on your mantram, still put others first, still slow down, still read the mystics. Anything you can do which goes against the tug of self-will will help your determination and your practice. How long before benefits appear? You ll start reaping benefits immediately. But you may not see them for a while. Constantly looking for the benefits is a sure way of missing them. Some trust in others experience is useful here: reading the mystics should tell us that perceived benefits are often long in coming, and that benefits come in surprising and unexpected ways. Further, I think there are layers of benefits: feeling calmer is sort of on the surface. Being more patient, more kind, more slowed down is deeper. After a couple of years, I realized that way down deep in me was a wellspring of vitality and joy that had subtly infused my life. I remember saying at one point that where before I had sometimes been happy with my life, now I have a happy life. A joyful life. What motivates you to meditate every day even when your life is hectic or tumultuous, or your meditation seems dry? When life brings trouble, turmoil, or sorrow, how a person faces it has a lot to do with how diligent their spiritual practice has been during easier times. I see this in myself and others: if I am putting in my best effort all the time, even if it feels like I am not making progress, when a crisis comes along I have resources of patience and compassion and energy that I hadn t suspected were there. *** One thing that has helped me a lot is following through on a commitment I made several years ago to keep memorizing new passages. *** What motivates me is knowing where I started: when I began meditating I was struggling with an addiction. The eight-point program enabled me to be free of that compulsive behavior and of compulsive thinking about it. That freedom is such a great gift that everything else, in some sense, is just gravy. *** I have found it particularly helpful to always be reading one of Sri Easwaran s books; i.e., read at least a page or two from one of his books every day. This is an excellent reinforcement for what we re trying to do. I imagine the same could be said about the DVDs or audio recordings. *** These thoughts and paraphrased quotes are my ammunition to keep my meditation strong and regular: 1. When you want it the least, you need it the most. 2. Miss one day and it takes seven to make it up. 3. Miss meditation, skip breakfast. [Editor s note: Easwaran suggests, Strike a bargain with yourself no meditation, no breakfast and you won t forget to meditate. ] I cannot imagine starting my day without breakfast, my physical fuel for the day. How can I start without my spiritual fuel? Continued on next page
E S TA B L I S H I N G A P R A C T I C E Are there important crossroads in a meditation practice points at which a person must renew his or her commitment? It s like that saying that s so popular these days It s not a sprint; it s a marathon. You have to recognize that mastery of the mind doesn t happen in a day or a week or a year or a few years. It s a lifetime commitment. For most people there is a honeymoon period, a time in the beginning where you have tremendous enthusiasm and optimism, and you think, This is wonderful. I can really do this. I m going to become perfectly concentrated, perfectly kind, perfectly wise. But then, after a while, you realize that it s harder than you thought, and doubts begin to creep in. That s the real danger period. For some people that could be a month or two after beginning, for others maybe six months or a year. But, whenever it occurs, it has to be overcome. You overcome it by persisting in the practice. The mind does not want to be trained. It will use every trick in the book to stop you from doing it. It will say, You can t do this. You re not the meditating type. Maybe others can do this, but you can t. Who are you pretending to be, some kind of saint or something? Get real! Don t listen. The mind has a million reasons and excuses for not meditating. You re too sick. You re too excited. You re too tired. You re too busy. Again, don t listen to any of them. Put meditation first. As long as you are conscious, you can meditate! Don t judge your meditation. There s the old saying It s always darkest before the dawn. Sometimes a socalled bad day of meditation (where your mind keeps going off the passage, where you can t get past one or two lines for the whole thirty-minute session) may be followed the next day by a so-called good one (where you glide slowly and steadily from word to word for long periods at a time). It s quite possible that sticking through the bad day gives you the willpower you need in order to experience the good day. If that s the case, then maybe the bad day wasn t so bad after all. Both the good and the bad day are part of the process. We lose faith in our practice because of doubts. Doubts are distractions. And we should treat them the same way we treat distractions during meditation. Don t resist them. Don t fight them. Ignore them. Place your attention on something positive: the mantram, a passage you ve memorized, Easwaran himself, or another great mystic that appeals to you, etc. Even after you ve been doing this practice for many years, it s easy to become complacent and to just go through the motions. When you detect this in yourself, it s good to stir things up a bit. Go to a retreat. Learn a new passage. Make an extra effort to attend Satsang. Watch a talk by Easwaran. Read a book by one of the great mystics. Do a special act of selfless service. What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting a practice? Yes, do it! Be kind to yourself, but be firm with yourself too. Don t expect that developing a practice will always be easy or fun, and don t fret about it when you are less than perfect. But don t let yourself have much slack either you have to say to your mind, Yes, I know it s hard. Yes, I know you don t want to do this. But we are going to do it, so let s get to work. Start today. There is no good time to begin meditating in the sense of not having obstacles. Don t wait for a better time begin right now. It s the best thing you will ever do! To find out more about local area Satsangs or the esatsang, our email-based fellowship group, please visit www.easwaran.org/fellowship
Why a Blog? To offer you fresh inspiration from Easwaran A blog is a Web page designed to be regularly updated with short entries, or posts. Every week we will share new content: a video or audio clip, or an extract from Easwaran s writings. If you sign up for our blog, once a week you will be emailed a list of new posts. The Timeless Wisdom of Eknath Easwaran More from Easwaran, and from the Center, in our new blog Even if you are busy, you can enjoy a stream of fresh inspiration from Easwaran. To share stories We ll pass along some of the interesting stories we hear about how Easwaran s teachings are being used by people all over the world. To share our news with you Friends have told us that they would like to know more about the Center about our mission, our work, our events, our programs and books. To deepen our conversation with you We always appreciate hearing from you, too, and our new blog will give you an easy way to talk to us. Under each post on the blog you will find a comment section. You will be able to see comments from other readers and post your own if you would like to join in a discussion. We hope the blog will help us all to feel that we are members of Easwaran s large family. Visit our new blog blog.easwaran.org Visit this blog from our Web site Go to www.easwaran.org and click on this link in the left column: Follow Easwaran on Twitter Subscribe to twitter.easwaran.org to see the new posts from our blog, and you ll automatically receive Thought for the Day as well. Watch Easwaran on YouTube Visit youtube.easwaran.org to watch the video clips on our blog. If you subscribe to the Eknath Easwaran channel, you will receive email notification each time we upload a new clip.
My First Passage Meditation Retreat Last year, 450 people attended their first passage meditation retreat, either at the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in Northern California or in their region. Most of them came after reading a book by Easwaran or this journal; some came on the recommendation of a friend or found us on the Web. We asked one of them about her experience. Why did you attend the retreat? I had some experience with other forms of meditation, and I wanted to learn a new method, from people who knew it really well. I had read several of Easwaran s books and had questions about the practice itself: How do you memorize a passage? How do you use it in meditation? How was your arrival at the retreat? It s normal for me to worry about what a new place and experience will be like the accommodations, food, presenters, other participants. By the end of the first night, everyone was relaxed and I knew it was all going to be fine. We reviewed the schedule on the first night, which was really helpful. Were your questions answered? Yes. We focused on the first two points meditation on a passage and repetition of a mantram, with an exposure to the other points. Everything was explained so clearly that the program now seems quite practical. I understood better how the mantram is used and fits into daily activities. There was a useful memorization clinic where we learned different memorization techniques. It allowed everyone to succeed. We all felt by the end, I can do this! What was your favorite part of the retreat? The mantram walk on the beach it was so invigorating. The pacing of the whole retreat was very good. There was neither too much nor too little of anything. What did you bring home? This was the first retreat I ve been to where there has been practical instruction in how to calm the mind. I chose a mantram, and I m memorizing passages. The mantram is new to me and doesn t come naturally yet, but I have been noticing more times when I can use it when walking, as I go to sleep, or when I m upset. There is a steadying force from this practice, which you get a taste of at the retreat. Attending a passage meditation retreat is like tapping into something completely separate from your regular life. Instead of thinking about your to-do list, which is exhausting, you have a place to rest. There is a soothing effect it s a gift you can give yourself. Photos from our recent Senior and Young Adult retreats. Sliding Scale & Other Information A sliding scale fee structure, as well as financial aid, is available. For more information, write to financial.aid@easwaran.org or call us at 800 475 2369. The passage meditation retreat calendar is available at www.easwaran.org/retreats and on the back cover of this issue. For questions or registration, please contact us at 800 475 2369 or info@easwaran.org
Nilgiri Press Books & Audios Special Offers With My Love and Blessings Meet Eknath Easwaran in his teaching years through photographs and his own words, collected by his longtime students. $40.00 The Making of a Teacher: Conversations with Eknath Easwaran This biography explores Easwaran s early life and spiritual training and recounts the transformation that led him to develop his method of meditation. $14.95 w i t h t h i s s p e c ia l o f f e r, receive both books for $44.00 (20% off) The Undiscovered Country: Exploring the Promise of Death Shows what we can do now to fully understand life s last great change. $4.98 (50% off) w i t h t h i s s p e c ia l o f f e r, you receive all three volumes of The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living. Meditation: A Complete Audio Guide (2 CDs) Step by step, Easwaran shows us how we can practice the eight-point program of passage meditation and begin leading fuller, healthier, happier lives. $12.95 (⅓ off) The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living Three-Volume Set India s timeless and practical scripture presented as a manual for everyday use Easwaran s magnum opus. This price covers volumes 1 and 2. Volume 3 is free. It is slightly imperfect: the center margins are extra wide. You save $21.95 off the full price of the set. $43.90 Title Paperback Hardcover Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living The End of Sorrow $21.95 $30.00 Like a Thousand Suns $21.95 To Love Is to Know Me $21.95 $30.00 Classics of Christian Inspiration Love Never Faileth $10.95 $22.00 Original Goodness $10.95 Seeing with the Eyes of Love $10.95 $22.00 Set of above 3 vols. $30.00 Classics of Indian Spirituality (translations) The Bhagavad Gita $10.95 The Dhammapada $10.95 The Upanishads $11.95 Set of above 3 vols. $29.95 Climbing the Blue Mountain $14.95 The Compassionate Universe $13.95 $22.00 Conquest of Mind (2nd ed.) $12.95 The Constant Companion $14.95 $22.00 Title Paperback Hardcover Essence of the Upanishads $14.95 Gandhi the Man $15.95 God Makes the Rivers to Flow $17.95 The Making of a Teacher $14.95 The Mantram Handbook $14.95 The Monkey and the Mango $10.00 A More Ardent Fire $14.95 $22.00 Nonviolent Soldier of Islam $16.95 Passage Meditation $14.95 Strength in the Storm $14.00 o r d e r * on the Web: www.easwaran.org/store * by email: info@easwaran.org * by phone: 800 475 2369 * by mail: Box 256, Tomales, CA 94971 Free Media Mail shipping in the US on orders of $25 or more. If shipping to CA, add 9% sales tax. Thank you! Title Paperback Hardcover Take Your Time $15.00 Timeless Wisdom $14.95 The Undiscovered Country $4.98 $22.00 With My Love & Blessings $40.00 Words to Live By $16.00 Your Life Is Your Message $3.95 Pocket Wisdom Series Patience $9.95 Renewal $9.95 Cookbooks Laurel s Kitchen Bread Book $21.95 New Laurel s Kitchen $22.95 Audio Talks on CDs Meditation, Audio Guide (2 CDs) $12.95
B L U E M O U N TA I N P a g e h e a d i n g M E D I TAT I O N R E T R E AT S Blue Mountain Center of Meditation Nilgiri Press Box 256, Tomales, California 94971 Nonprofit U.S. Postage pa i d Santa Rosa, CA Permit #191 A J O U R N A L F O R S P I R I T U A L L I V I N G B A S E D O N E K N A T H E A S W A R A N S E I G H T- P O I N T P R O G R A M O F P A S S A G E M E D I T A T I O N To receive this journal electronically, please visit www.easwaran.org/bluemountain or contact us at info@easwaran.org or at 800 475 2369. Retreats in Tomales, California; across the U.S.; and in the U.K. Spend a day, a weekend, or a week learning how passage meditation can help you to increase your concentration and meet life s challenges more effectively. We offer programs at our retreat house on California s beautiful North Coast and at various locations around the U.S. and in Europe. Weekend retreats run from 4:00 p.m. Friday to 2:00 p.m. Sunday. Retreats in Tomales, California July 10 16: In-Depth Weeklong (Full; commuter only) July 24: One-Day (For beginners & returnees) July 31 August 6: In-Depth Weeklong with Young Adult section (Full; commuter only) August 6 11: Young Adult Internship August 20 22: Introductory Weekend August 27 31: Senior Half-Week (Full; commuter only) September 11 17: In-Depth Weeklong October 9 15: In-Depth Weeklong November 5 7: Introductory Weekend November 12 14: Young Adult Weekend (For beginners & returnees) December 3 5: Inspiration Weekend Visit us at www.easwaran.org/retreats for more information or to enroll. Or contact us at 800 475 2369 or info@easwaran.org Retreats in the U.S. & U.K. One-Day or Weekend August 13 15: Denver August 14: Denver September 24 26: Chicago September 25: Chicago September 25: San Diego November 5 7: Floyd, Virginia November 6: Floyd, Virginia November 13: Sacramento (Auburn) November 27: Lewes, East Sussex, U.K. Retreat Themes New to passage meditation? Finding Strength in Life s Stormy Seas Experienced in passage meditation? Living in Wisdom (Retreats across the U.S. & in the U.K.) Building the Will (In-Depth Weeklongs) Untying Our Wings (Inspiration Weekends)