I have not written in three weeks! I have been swept up in reviewing and updating my website and planning the next few months of yoga and life. I’ve decided take a break from blogging till the end of the year, because of a project I want to undertake. If all goes according to plan, it will be done by the New Year, and weekly “News & Inspirations” will resume in January. The project, in brief, is a booklet about Kirtan and yogic mantras. It will cover general questions like: what is kirtan? how is it a form of yoga practice? why sing mantras? how do the mantras “work”? and so on… It will also cover specific mantras – particularly those that we sing at Monthly Kirtan. If there are questions about Kirtan that you’d like to see answered, please let me know. It will help me with my project!
In the meanwhile, I do have some yoga-related “Inspirations” to share with you:
We celebrated Thanksgiving recently, which, for me, is a celebration of “the harvest” – of earth’s bounty, and of friendships and community, and of generosity. The word “harvest” echoing in my mind these past days, it occurred to me that in yogic philosophy, there is more emphasis on “seeds” – not “harvests.” The concept of “seed” pops up everywhere in the yogic texts, and depending on the context symbolizes different things.
The Sanskrit word for seed is bījā. One concept in the yogic texts is that there are seeds lying dormant in our mind, and that in different situations, these seeds sprout, giving rise to thoughts, feelings, reactions…
Our suffering arises from certain seeds deeply embedded in our subconscious mind: ego-identification (the sense of “me” and “mine”), attachment or desire (wanting to have certain things), aversion (wanting to avoid certain things), and fear of death. These seeds are called the kleśas, and their fruit, or harvest, is suffering.
Grim as that sounds, we can choose which seeds to plant and water, and which to let dry up. It is possible to even to “roast” troubling seeds through the fire/heat/concentration/intensity (tapas in Sanskrit) of yoga practice.
Some mantras are called seed mantras, or bījā mantras. These are single-syllable mantras – sounds that contain a particular essence or quality – sounds that produce powerful vibrations in the body and mind. Repeated with intention, concentration, faith, and consistency over time, they create a state of calm, balance, courage, stability, health, creativity, etc., depending on the mantra chosen. Repeating the mantra is like watering the seed.
All we can do is to water the seed – regularly, with our commitment, love, and patience. Eventually, of its own will, the seed takes root and grows. Yogic teachings tell us not to worry about the harvest. What will be, will be. All we can do is to water the seed to the best of our ability – to nourish the qualities we wish to develop in ourselves and in our world. The “seed” can be a new habit, a new thought, an affirmation, a prayer, a mantra, a friendship, a project…
I came across this prayer recently. It also contains this same imagery of sowing seeds:
… Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is error, truth;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy …
– excerpt from the Prayer of St. Francis
We can think of “sowing” these seeds not only in our interactions with the world around us, but also within our own minds. Within our own minds – our own thoughts – we may find hatred, injury, error, doubt, despair, darkness, sadness… May we sow, and water, the seeds of love, pardon, truth, faith, hope, light, joy… I think it’s just amazing that yoga philosophy covers all this stuff, and that yoga practice gives us the tools to actually do it!
If you’re curious to learn more on this topic, I encourage you to come to Monthly Kirtan, and also to consider attending a yogic meditation class. I will be offering my next meditation session in January at the Meredith Centre (4 consecutive Wednesdays, 7:30-8:45pm). Please contact me with any questions.
In the “News” department:
- Friday, October 25, 7:00-8:15pm: Candlelit Yin Yoga at Vraie Nature Yoga. Enjoy a slow, meditative practice to relax, open and gently energize the body from head to toe. You can pre-register through the Vraie Nature website, or simply show up.
- Saturday, October 26, 4:00-5:00pm: Monthly Kirtan at Vraie Nature Yoga. This is followed by a Sound Bath (with gongs, singing bowls, etc – led by our friends Cory & Val) from 5:00-5:30pm. Come for one or both parts. Free, and open to all, including children. Come sing and be merry 🙂 Potluck snack follows – contributions are welcome.