Redirecting Our Resolutions.…

 December 29, 2013

As we approach the New Year our tendency is to look forward with hopeful, positive thoughts. We smooth out the past and move into the future with a smile and a raised glass. The world will be better, we will do better, we will care and love more. And every year we approach this time with this same ritual. There is nothing wrong with being hopeful or positive, except that we are then also setting up the opposite. We live in a world of dichotomies. If we are hopeful, then we are also disappointed. If we are positive, then we are also negative.

We may retort with “No, I am always positive”. If that is the case, then we really do have a problem. Attachment to positive will throw us into a state of being out of touch and oblivious. The same goes for negative. If we are attached to being negative, we will occasionally find ourselves in the place of realistic and clear. So the seesaw is all we get, if we live on the surface of life. One man’s positive will be another’s negative. We are not universally in agreement.

Positive                                 Negative

Out of touch                           Realistic

Spiritual Practice is not about reaching the point where everything is positive and sweet. Spiritual Practice is also not about being a cold renunciate. Spiritual Practice will take us to an acceptance of what is. When we have negative thoughts, people will tell us to be positive. And when we are a Pollyanna, people will tell us to open our eyes and wake up. Neither the negative nor the positive is the right spot. We need to redirect to the center.

Good                                                           Bad

Burdened/Suffering servant             Free/Does what wants

Spiritual Practice is about redirecting our attention to the center of our soul. When we are focused on either positive or negative, good or bad, pure or impure, we are off center. We may believe we are centered on our authentic self but in fact, we are aligned not with our core at all. We are centered on an idea that will dissolve away as we delve into Spiritual Practice.

So as we move forward into the New Year let us align ourselves with Reality. Acceptance and surrender to the real Center, God, will bring us all to Love.

Redirect your attention….

 December 29, 2013

Redirect your attention to the Center of your soul, not to the center of an idea.

Positive….

 December 29, 2013

Positive                                                                   Negative

Out of touch                                                             Realistic

Happy Holidays….

 December 22, 2013

At this time when we celebrate two important Jews—Judah Maccabee and Jesus, the Christ—let us receive what each of them offers the world. Though I prefer to think of him as Scottish, Judah Maccabee campaigned bravely and sagaciously to regain and restore the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus also came to restore, but for him the goal was to restore the temple of the Heart to its rightful place at the center of our lives.

In a completely different tradition, but with the same goal, Swami Muktananda lived his life. Baba called Jesus the Incarnation of Love, and in the ashram we would celebrate his life and the lives of all great beings. So I wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukah, with the awareness that God dwells within you as you.

With love and best wishes for the holidays and beyond,

Rohini

Believing in Baba….

 December 22, 2013

Rohini speaks and answers questions about Swami Muktananda.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

If whatever God….

 December 22, 2013

If whatever God does He does for good, then be thankful for what you have.

Festive….

 December 22, 2013

Festive                                                         Grinch

Oblivious                                                     Realistic

Until you’re nondual….

 December 14, 2013

Until you’re nondual, you’re caught in a duel.

Believing in Baba….

 December 14, 2013

Let’s get this out on the table. There are people who received tremendous gifts from Baba, but once the “sex scandal” came out they left. These people say they cannot come to grips with what he did. What did he do? That is the question. Did he have sex? Apparently not: no one I know of has said he did that. What was it then? A tantric ritual?  It looks that way, but I was not there. I cannot say what happened because, when I was given the opportunity, I said no. Did Baba have a problem with my saying no? No, not at all. I took that experience as a test of where I was, not where he was. Some will say, and have said, that Baba was powerful and you could not say no to him. Not once in all my years of being so close to Baba did he ever make me feel that I could not say no to him. I did say no to him, many times. Did I know Baba had great power and was a true Guru? Yes, and I still would say no to him—and if I were wrong, we would find out.

Baba was a great being from a tradition about which most westerners have no idea. People who came to Baba thought they knew what all this spirituality was, but when they got close to the fire things were not what they expected. We do not “know” until we unknow; then, what once made no sense becomes clear. I went to Baba to get to the Truth. I was not looking for a lifestyle or some psychedelic experience. I wanted the bottom line of existence. From the first, I knew that Baba wasn’t just about the shakti and wild experiences; Baba lived the Truth. I wanted what he had. So I pursued him with all I had.

What I wanted was invisible, internal and eternal. The ashram dharma, the chants, the seva, the politics, even the people were not what I was interested in. I wanted what Baba had. Nityananda had manifested in a certain way. Baba manifested in a different way from his Guru. I manifest differently from each of them. The inner sameness is what I am after. The inner state, not the outward play.

Baba gave each of us what we wanted. He used to say, “I give you what you want, so that some day you’ll want what I have to give you”. He gave each of us what we wanted at the level where we were, and challenged us to go deeper. In my case, Baba showed me real internal practice, and I have not been disappointed or disillusioned, or in any way ever had the need to find another teacher. Baba continues to come and teach; he has never left me.

It has both bothered and saddened me to see the level of promiscuity in people’s spiritual lives. They move from teacher to teacher, tradition to tradition, cobbling together personal spiritual “journeys” that lead them nowhere. For many, spirituality is really just dressed up hedonism: they are looking for the ultimate pleasurable or aesthetic experience. I learned from Baba that sadhana is never about “experiences”, nor is it ever about patching together something called a personal spirituality. There is a reason to stay steady and to discipline ourselves internally as well as externally. We must create a strong vessel to receive what the Guru gives us, and then be able to dissolve that very vessel so that we can merge back into God.

Baba never let me down. He was always consistent. I trusted him because in part he had proven himself completely trustworthy. Was being with Baba easy? No. The Guru is here to drive us Home. We say we want to go there, and yet when things get a little uncomfortable or strange we pull back the reins and find ourselves back at the beginning, nowhere. Surrender is everything around a Guru. What do we surrender? Everything that is not Real. So we are no longer attached to our pride, self-esteem, intellect, and emotions. Scary? Yes, if you do not know whom you are with. I knew and still know that Baba was Real. Baba was and is a true Guru.

During meditation last week I got that Baba sacrificed his reputation and everything worldly for each of us. He wanted us to focus on the Truth, on God, not the comings and goings of an institution. I am sorry that there are people who feel hurt by his actions. I am sure there were many who felt wronged or hurt by Baba. I understand how hard it has been for them. They have to stay true to what they believe, and I pray that at some point they will have resolution in whatever form it may take for them.

For me, there is no conflict, so there will be people who think I am blind, ignorant, and deluded. Maybe I am. But as I move through this life, I find every day, whether life is easy or a struggle, that the practice and truth that Baba instilled in me grow stronger and brighter, and everything is clearer, calmer and filled with love. There is less of Rohini every day, and more of Baba, filled with love and peace in God. So if I am deluded, so be it. Call Baba what you will; for me he will always be Satguru.

Loyal….

 December 14, 2013

Loyal                                                              Disloyal

Blind/Gullible                                                 Discerning

Neglectful….

 December 8, 2013

Neglectful                                                                 Attentive

Respects space                                                        Controlling/Obsessive

I’m All for Nondualism….

 December 8, 2013

We have to die. Who has to die? The one that never existed. This seems unclear, but from the standpoint of the Self it totally makes sense. As long as the small self believes it exists, we are living a dualistic life, separate from God. Nondualism does not occur except in philosophy and theology class until we actually remove our ignorance of attachment from the small self. Then and only then can we express one voice, the one voice. We play at being connected to God, but real connection does not and will not happen until we give up our wrong understanding.

According to Henry Suso, “‘When the soul, forgetting itself, dwells in that radiant darkness, it loses all its faculties and all its qualities, as St. Bernard has said. And this, more or less completely, according to whether the soul—whether in the body or out of the body—is more or less united to God. This forgetfulness of self is, in a measure, a transformation in God; who then becomes, in a certain manner, all things for the soul, as Scripture saith. In the rapture the soul disappears, but not yet entirely. It acquires, it is true, certain qualities of divinity, but does not naturally become divine. ….To speak in the common language, the soul is rapt, by the divine power of resplendent Being, above its natural faculties, into the nakedness of Nothing’” (Underhill, Mysticism, 371-2).

All of us have to begin our walk home as dualists, but, like Plotinus, we eventually arrive at the place of Unity: “‘[H]e is become the Unity, nothing within him or without inducing any diversity; no movement now, no passion, no outlooking desire, once this ascent is achieved; reasoning is in abeyance and all Intellection and even, to dare the word, the very self: caught away, filled with God, he has in perfect stillness attained isolation; all the being calmed, he turns neither to this side nor to that, not even inwards to himself; utterly resting he has become very rest’” (Enneads 9.11, trans. Stephen MacKenna).

As we move toward Unity, we become purer expressions of Love. When people who have not practiced at all say that going within is selfish and neglectful of others, they reveal their ignorance. When we go into the Heart, we can finally care about others and love in a way that is not self-centered. As we can see with Suso and Plotinus and Swami Muktananda, being in the Heart brought them out of themselves and into God. The individual no longer was in the way. There was no chance of selfishness because All was All.

So in dualist sadhana, one voice has to die. Which one? We practice by disentangling from prakrti, only to find that the one who has been practicing is also prakrti and must in the end be let go of. The Heart is the cave, that still, luminously dark cave where All is. We are there, and we meet each other and ourselves as one there. There is no other purpose but this. Let go of all that is temporary and we put everything in order; all becomes clear. We are none of our vehicles, our instruments. We have an individual manifestation so that we can participate and act in the world. The only thing wrong is that we think this individual is us.

Only when we let go of all our vehicles can we be in the place of Love.

We practice by….

 December 8, 2013

We practice by disentangling from prakrti, only to find that the one who has been practicing is also prakrti and must in the end be let go of. The Heart is the cave, that still, luminously dark cave where All is.

Practicing for the Right Reasons….

 December 1, 2013

Are you practicing? No one has to know except you. Practice is done inside of you. What does it mean to practice? Being in the Heart. Staying in the Heart. Not straying. What do you do when going into the Heart is painful? You face the pain and burn it up. How do you burn up the pain? You burn up pain by being with your experience no matter what it is, letting whatever comes up come up no matter what the thought, and functioning appropriately on the physical plane. The pain will eventually dissolve.  If you do not do this, you get to keep the pain forever. How do you get to the sweet bliss in the Heart? You get to the Heart by burning up all obstacles that prevent you from being you.

Why are you practicing? Okay, really: why are you practicing? Do you want Love or power? If you want to be really powerful, then you have to give up yourself. If you want Love, then you have to give up yourself. Our small self cannot meet God. We have to leave in order for God to come.

If you think you can maintain yourself and be powerful, then you have no understanding. The only power you can have this way is petty and will disappear with one move. In order to have this shrunken power without Love, you have to have no core. Without a core, you will merely resonate with everyone else’s emotions and think you know both other people and yourself. If the goal of your practice is anything other than God and Love, then hopefully somewhere down the road you will see the error and make the proper correction.

How are you practicing? Good question. Are you surrendering to God in the truest sense, or are you surrendering to a nice idea you have manufactured and cultivated? As you practice, do you react and resonate to the world around you? If you do, then the outside is definitely in control and the world dictates your actions.

When are you practicing? Where are you practicing? Do you only practice in a prescribed place and time? Or do you practice all the time, in all places? When we are working intently, we need a place where the environment is conducive to turning inward. We need this especially at the beginning, because distractions take us off our purpose very easily. Gradually, we venture out into the world and practice no matter where we are or what we are doing. No one has to know we are practicing. If they are astute and also inwardly conscious, they may be aware, but because the practice is internal, unless you know, you will not know. So practice is to be done at all times and in all places.

Practicing all the time in all places, constantly redirecting your attention from the head into the Heart to draw nearer to God, will change our relationship with the world. We will have the distance to assess and then respond appropriately rather than reacting and resonating. Resonating and reacting to the world cause misery to us and those around us. When we resonate, we delude ourselves that we see clearly, but we are drowning in whatever feeling we are sharing with others. We may believe we are loving and sensitive when in fact we are unctuous or sentimental.

Do you want Love? Then practice.

Are you surrendering….

 December 1, 2013

Are you surrendering to God in the truest sense, or are you surrendering to a nice idea you have manufactured and cultivated?

Pathetic….

 December 1, 2013

Pathetic                                                           Alive/Lively

Nice                                                                 Violent

The False Idol of Self-esteem….

 November 24, 2013

Being strong-willed is not being willful, and freedom is not getting to do whatever you want. Our first lessons in these realities come from our first caregivers. These people demonstrate and reflect for us how to live. They both model and teach.

Good leadership is like good parenting. Both embody and encourage behavior that is healthy for everyone involved. This means growth without injury, and no discrepancy between what is modeled and what is taught. A good leader will model what he wants the disciple, the follower, to do. This is the difference between a tyrant or dictator and a good leader. A leader should not ask the follower to do anything he himself does not or would not do.

Dictator                                                                                                               Absentee/ Neglector

Involved/Directs/ Teaches/Challenges                                                                   Lets be/Gives freedom/Allows room to grow

Good parenting breeds good governance. What we do as individuals, we bring into the world; what we do as families we bring into our governments. The world is as we see it. We create our world. We create our problems. So much of what I am seeing in the United States and beyond is the outcome of bad parenting. People think being willful is having a strong will. So when their children act out of willfulness, the parents applaud the children’s strength. Children who actually obey and show discipline are thought of as weak-willed and brainwashed, as somehow unreflective and inhuman. We have gotten this whole thing wrong.

Strong-willed                   Weak-willed/Brainwashed

Willful                              Disciplined/Obedient

Leaders and authorities who were brought up this way—to be spoiled brats—are tyrants and dictators. These leaders are not strong willed; they are willful. We have lost sight of this truth in an environment where everyone is fixated on self-esteem. When we promote self-esteem over character, we get a society of citizens who are both willful and brainwashed. This is the American dream to be free to do what we want when we want.

Whatever happened to building character?  When my children were young, I read them biographies of great people. We also read a series of stories about values, which connected each value to an historical figure. Patience, determination, kindness, humor, truth and trust, caring, courage, respect, fairness, learning, responsibility, honesty, love, integrity, helping, dedication, friendship, creativity—these are qualities that come from a disciplined will.

The worship of self-esteem is destroying our sense of responsibility. The truth is, we validate our rights by our contribution to society. Democracy cannot happen with ignorant people. In our ignorance, we all want to be treated with kid gloves, and our children have become outgrowths of that desire. We can’t be happy if our children experience any discomfort. We are no longer educating our children, because when a teacher says a student got something wrong, the teacher has wounded the student’s self-esteem. We have come to a place where self-esteem is a weapon. So the child watching the adults in her world goes to school and figures out how to manipulate through being the poor victim of the mean leader who is making her feel bad about herself. The meanness cuts both ways.

Because there is less and less real reflection, we have forgotten that if we “think” well of ourselves then we also “think” poorly of ourselves. If the only way I feel good about me is when I get what I want, then I will be unhappy for much of my life. And if this is the pursuit of happiness, then my happiness will most definitely require someone else’s unhappiness. We are allowing mere desire without discernment to rule our lives.

A leader or a parent operating according to this model will be not looking out for others, but pursuing their happiness at the expense of everyone else. If I operate this way, then everyone else exists to fulfill my desires. If I am on top, you should be focused on my needs. If you ever get to be in this position then you will do the same.

Where does that leave our sense of leadership? In truth, only those who know how to obey can command. People who believe they are losing their will when asked to give up their willfulness have a difficult time seeing that obeying is an important step in learning leadership.

Freedom does not mean no discipline, no structure and no limits on doing what I think I want. Freedom means responsibility. Without a disciplined framework, we cannot have a civil society. Following a framework goes deeper than this as well. We can follow the framework of a spiritual or religious tradition. But without imbibing the essence of that tradition and practicing its disciplines, we will be neither spiritual nor free.

When we are disciplined, we actually open up options that we never had before. We have freedom. When we encourage freedom as indulgence, the range of activity is so limited. We are imprisoned in a chaotic world.

As we discipline ourselves or are disciplined, we do not lose our will but rather give up willfulness. With discipline, we are not at the mercy of distractions, and therefore we have freedom to act.

Free will is choosing to do it God’s way; surrendering to Love.

The worship of self-esteem….

 November 24, 2013

The worship of self-esteem is destroying our sense of responsibility.We have come to a place where self-esteem is a weapon and we attack God when He does not support our self-esteem.

Strong-willed

 November 24, 2013

Strong-willed                                                    Weak-willed/Brainwashed

Willful                                                               Disciplined/Obedient

War and Peace….

 November 17, 2013

Peace is something we all say we want—except when we want to fight. Yes, many a morning each of us arises to enter battle rather than face a day filled with harmony and joy. So what is this desire to do battle, to fight to go to war? It is nothing new. War is the counterpart to peace; we cannot have one without the other. For many, peace is boring; war provides exhilaration and an opportunity to rise above the mundane. Heroes tend to come out of war, not peace.

So why do we still long for peace? What is it in peace that we cannot find in battle? And how can we live without bouncing back and forth, never satisfied wherever we are at any given moment?

Let us look at why people go to war. For glory. For adventure. To prove our mettle and courage. To grow up. To have comrades.

Peace: why do we want this? For harmony. For quiet.

Can we have any of these without war or peace? Yes. These various goals are not achieved only by war or peace. And depending on his destiny, someone can feel harmony in war and glory in peace. So if we free these goals and qualities from being yoked to war and peace, we arrive at a different view. War brings destruction, distraction, death, horrific challenges. Peace, for many, brings boredom, complacency, passivity, apathy. War and peace produce chances for many people to face different types of karma at the same time.

The real question is, do we want only peace or only war, or do we face the reality that God is in charge and knows what is best for us at all times? War can be necessary when there is a tyrant. We then go to war to override the conflict the tyrant is causing. We will outwar the tyrant, either now or later. And we then work to have peace—not passivity, but a lively, active life filled with change and growth.

Both war and peace require us to give up our attachments. Attachment to peace will bring apathy; attachment to war will bring aggression. When we are nonattached, we face whatever is there for us, and neither peace nor war affects us. We are in the Heart, with God, living the destiny of the character we are playing.

Peace                 Aggression

Apathy                Just war

Owning all qualities brings us to where we are fighting no one. Even fighting for peace is a distraction. We fight or live in harmony with no attachment, which means we are always aware and willing to do it God’s way. We are not the doer, God is. We are actors on the world stage, playing parts that are all interconnected. If someone is attached to peace, then there has to be someone equally attached to war. If we are distracted by neither and instead focused on the Heart where God dwells, we then contribute selfless service. We play our part no matter what it is. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Ārjuna has to fight, but he resists that reality. Finally, after Krishna shows him the Truth, he plays his part without attachment. Bhishma, fighting on the opposing side, is already a great being; he knows the part he is to play in the drama. He knows Ārjuna will kill him. He does not shirk his duty. He plays his part to the fullest.

When we live from a place of nonattachment, war and peace are off the point. Whether in peace or war, we are to play our part to the fullest and with our focus on the source of all the play, the great director, God.

Attachment to conflict….

 November 17, 2013

Attachment to conflict will bring aggression; attachment to peace will bring apathy.

Peace….

 November 17, 2013

Peace                                                        Aggression

Apathy                                                      Just war

L&Q(11-16-13) Prayer as Listening….

 November 17, 2013

Rohini encourages us to contribute to the greater good by stilling our own vibrations and listening inwardly.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

The Buck Stops Here….

 November 11, 2013

There is a hidden joke in the title of this blog. I approach the protection of my garden in very much the way Baba taught me to handle security in the Ganeshpuri Ashram. In Ganeshpuri there were walls with broken glass on the top. Intruders came in through the drainpipes or the front gates. After we put screens over the drainpipes, the only way in was the gates. People would come in and attempt to steal from the many fruit and nut trees.Always a great game. In the garden at my house, deer come in and devour our plants. Over the years, we have used repellents and most recently a barrier of live willows, but nothing has been successful. Until now.

We are now taking a tactic from The Seven Samurai; we are using bamboo. The bamboo on our property has provided amazing material to create an eight foot fence around the acre of landscape garden, except where evergreens have closed to form walls. There is one place where some evergreen trees have not yet grown together, and this is where the buck came in. A solitary buck came looking for female friends. He did not even eat anything. But he couldn’t find his way back out. He escaped by jumping through the fence in the back, taking it down. We have now fenced off the gap in the trees where he entered. The buck was a lone, not very bright enemy. He will not be back. The buck stops here.

How does this apply to anything spiritual? Very simple. Every project, every event, is facing the enemy. Who is the enemy? We are. But in order to understand this, we need to see how those we regard as adversaries actually reflect our own inner state. The buck stops here.

In my case, who appears as my enemy? My enemy is the “proudly inert”. The buck was “proudly inert”. Not being the most conscious of creatures, he just wandered into the area of play. Once something is in my field of play, that means I have an attachment of some kind that I need to confront. To resolve that attachment, I can use a foursquare.

The opposite of “proudly inert” is “consciously growing”. The positive of “proudly inert” is “grounded, down to earth”. And the negative of “consciously growing” is “chameleon”.

Proudly inert                                                           Consciously growing

Grounded/Down to Earth                                         Chameleon

My enemy arrives not only in the form of deer, but also in the form of a certain kind of student. With each of these, I am tempted to believe that “I cannot win”.  With the deer I did, by creating an environment in which the deer could not enter my playing field. I had to consciously grow and change in order to remove the deer. With people it can be the same, but if the buck does stop here then I am the enemy and will remove the outside agitation only when I face myself.

First, I have to create a foursquare about the enemy.

Second, I must get eight yeses consistently in order to own the enemy within myself.

Third, I am then able to see what I do and the universe reflects back at me. In order to get free of the battle, I have to neither resonate nor react. I have been dancing a beautiful foxtrot for too long. It is a set dance, my dance, which I get others to join. They may even think they are in charge, just as I thought they were in charge and I could not win. But at this point I see I was always in charge and could change the game at any time.

Fourth and finally, I can now get off the grid of the foursquare. I can now discern the appropriate action in any situation. The personal is removed at this point, and I can function for the greater good. The play and all the action moving forward are no longer personal.

The outside may continue to play the way it has always played, but now we no longer lose our Subject in objects. We can now stay focused on the Heart and are not distracted by the game. We can now win by acting appropriately. Many years ago, I wrote an aphorism: the only way to win is not to play at all. The only way not to play is to look in the mirror, see ourselves as the enemy, and stop the fight. Once we do that, we can act with an integrity that has no personal attachment in it. We are then acting in every way for the greater good.

Self-identified….

 November 11, 2013

Self-identified good people are the worst.

Proudly Inert….

 November 11, 2013

Proudly inert                                                              Consciously growing

Grounded/Down to Earth                                             Chameleon

Accepting Our Own Evil….

 November 4, 2013

From the standpoint of worldly existence, my vocation looks rather difficult to understand and even boring. My job is to guide people Home. My vocation is to be Home. Home is the Heart, where we meet God. In order to go there, we have to leave all our attachments behind. Among other things, we have to go through all our emotions, owning, mastering, and transcending them. We cannot pick and choose; we have to face them all.

As I guide people through this territory, each person has to feel what they have. It is not my fault if you are filled with hate and anger. Those emotions are yours, not mine. I am willing to walk through them with you to go Home. We cannot skip parts of the road because we do not like them.

As long as you are willing to let go of and move on from the emotions that arise, I am with you. Though I am willing to go through these with you, they are not mine. They are your attachments. You are the cause and effect of your experiences, and you are the only one who can let them go.

When you leave my class, you are by yourself with any vibration you may have.  I, too am on my own; I do not have “your” karma or feelings. Neither do I have your karma or feelings when I am working with you. In other words, from the standpoint of relative reality, we are each responsible for ourselves.

I understand and empathize with your feelings and situations, but I do not, nor should I, resonate or react. My job is to help you still these vibrations. If I resonate or react, then I am drowning with you. I am not to jump in and drown with you. My job is not to be distracted from being focused on God. My job is to help you not be distracted by your own false idols. To be focused on false idols is to be hollow at the core.

If you have no core, then you “live in the moment” in a destructive way. You have no memory. You believe that everything you do, feel, or say at any moment is equally valid and cancels out all contradictions. You rewrite the narrative at will. And you do injury—to yourself and then others.

Focusing on God will bring you back to the Heart, to your true core. It is crucial to remember, though, that constant devotion to God is not a relationship between equals. We are not colleagues of God. There is no dichotomy with God. If we create a dichotomy, then we are limiting God. God IS everything at ALL times and places. If we are made in God’s image, then in a limited way we have all that God has. We have all God’s aspects in a shrunken form.

In Sankrit, we say we are all made up of the three gunas: tamas (inertia), rajas (activity), and sattva (calm). In sadhana we have to overcome all three to go Home. Tamas causes reckless indifference or dullness. Rajas causes passion and pain. Sattva brings calm, light, and clarity. We are a combination of the three, and we must therefore accept all of them within ourselves. Depending where we are in the spectrum, we cause varied levels of injury to ourselves and others. It is only when sattva predominates that we begin to bring peace to ourselves and others. In a given situation, we may think we are bringing peace, but in fact we may be bringing inertia.

Tamas, inertia, is the source of evil. When we choose to commit to darkness, ignorance, and indifference, we choose evil. We identify with the quality of inertia, and our activity is then colored mostly by tamas. In order to overcome evil, we have to go from inertia through activity to calm. We cannot be a sattvic, truly good person until we accept our own evil. If we are not willing to be honest and traverse that country, we will never arrive at the Love we long for. This is an important part of the journey on which I guide you.

Remember, as soon as we are truly honest, we move forward. Here is a foursquare that will help us accept our own evil:

Evil             Grace

Self Reliant              Done for you/Magic/Easy/Codependent/Lack of Will/Absence of self-effort

If you refuse to accept your own evil, you will project it elsewhere and never get free of it. You will do untold injury and call it being good. You will see anyone who calls attention to your own evil, even in an effort to help you get clear of it, as judgmental.

Thomas Merton understood how this works, and expressed it clearly in New Seeds of Contemplation:

There is no evil in anything created by God, nor can anything of His become an obstacle to our union with Him. The obstacle is in our “self,” that is to say in the tenacious need to maintain our separate, external, egotistic will. It is when we refer all things to this outward and false “self” that we alienate ourselves from reality and from God. It is then the false self that is our god, and we love everything for the sake of this self. We use all things, so to speak, for the worship of this idol which is our imaginary self. In so doing we pervert and corrupt things, or rather we turn our relationship to them into a corrupt and sinful relationship. We do not thereby make them evil, but we use them to increase our attachment to our illusory self.

All sin starts from the assumption that my false self, the self that exists only in my own egocentric desires, is the fundamental reality of life to which everything in the universe is ordered.

There are two things which men can do about the pain of disunion with other men. They can love or they can hate…. Hatred recoils from the sacrifice and the sorrow that are the price of this resetting of bones. It refuses the pain of reunion.

Accepting our own evil is a vital step in this “resetting of bones”.

If you have no core….

 November 4, 2013

If you have no core, then you “live in the moment” in a destructive way. You have no memory. You believe that everything you do, feel, or say at any moment is equally valid and cancels out all contradictions. You rewrite the narrative at will. And you do injury, to yourself and others.

Poor Pathetic Little Child….

 November 4, 2013

Poor pathetic little child                              Strong successful adult person

“Loving”/sensitive/caring                            Cold and heartless

The Meaning of Stewardship….

 October 28, 2013

In church, I used to hear the word “stewardship” thrown around: “We need to be good stewards”. For most people, that did and does mean “give money”. The real sense of stewardship is to take responsibility for the care of something. So if we are stewards of something, then it is our job to make sure all is right with it.

We are stewards of what is in our world. We are responsible for what is in our possession and our vicinity. As we grow spiritually, our small self is diminished and our stewardship expands beyond very limited borders. We become more conscious of who we truly are, and our area of responsibility grows. The truth is, if we are to be good stewards then we are responsible for every person and everything. Someone else’s pain is our pain. As we dig deeper in sadhana, we come to know that everyone is us, no matter how different they may appear or how far away they are from us. We are us. So full stewardship means full responsibility for all.

This is why every tradition has observances and restraints, rules to follow so that we treat each other as we would like to be treated. We cannot serve two masters: it is either God or the ego.

The purpose of school is to discipline the mind so that our individuality has not gone astray. We are to learn to obey. When we are more interested in children feeling good than in their obeying and being disciplined, we are not being good stewards. Now, in the U.S., we have lost our sense of stewardship. We are wasting our resources. We now only tend to our own tyrannical individuality. We serve the wrong master, the ego.

The role of a spiritual teacher is to help us choose God over the ego. A dear and wise friend, Eddie Oliver, wrote this to me: “All” issues arise from minds that are not “practicing”. If someone is practicing with loving discipline, all problems that arise are dissolved back into consciousness. When someone withdraws their attention from practice, begins to feel unsatisfied and then turns their attention outside to locate and place the blame “out there”, [they] flip their complete devotion to their Master of many lifetimes…the ego.

So the true beginning of spiritual practice and a good life is to discern our stewardship and who we serve. Discipline and surrender, done for the right master, bring us to a place where we can then practice the third level, which is taught in every major religious tradition. We will then understand what it truly means to be good stewards, because everyone and everything will be Love and with God.

St Simeon the New Theologian, a tenth-century Byzantine mystic, wrote about the practice that will bring us to this place of surrendering to God and living life as a good steward:

Truly the third method is marvellous and difficult to explain; and not only hard to understand but even incredible for those who have not tried it in practice. They even refuse to believe that such a thing can actually be. And, indeed, in our times, this method of attention and prayer is very rarely met with; and it seems to me that this blessing has deserted us in company with obedience. –If someone observes perfect obedience towards his spiritual father, he becomes free of all cares, because once and for all he has laid all his cares on the shoulders of his spiritual father. Therefore, being far from all worldly attachments, he becomes capable of zealous and diligent practice of the third method of prayer, provided he has found a true spiritual father, who is not subject to prelest. For if a man has given himself up entirely to God and has shed all his cares on to God and his spiritual father, so that, in his obedience, he no longer lives his own life or follows his own will, but is dead to all worldly attachments and to his own body—what accidental thing could ever vanquish and enslave such a man? Or what worry or care can he have? Therefore all the wiles and stratagems used by the demons to entice a man towards many and varied thoughts are destroyed and dispersed by this third method of attention and prayer, conjoined with obedience. For then the mind of such a man, being free from all things, has the necessary leisure to examine, unhindered, thoughts introduced by the demons, and can readily repel them and pray to God with a pure heart. Such is the beginning of true (spiritual) life! And those who do not begin in this way, labour in vain without realizing it. (from Writings from the Philokalia, ed. Kadloubovsky, and Palmer, p. 155)

As good and true stewards, we want what is best for everyone. And what is best for everyone is for them to be truly who they are. That does not mean we should want them to live the same lifestyle as we do. Rather, the point is that each of us is very different on the surface; in the worldly sense, our likes and dislikes vary. It is at the core of the soul that we are all the same, and we as good stewards will support this. As we work to live there, our security will be clear, and we will feel safe to let others manifest in the manner they need to as long as we are all supporting good stewardship.

Adorable….

 October 27, 2013

Adorable                                                    Ugly

Seducer                                                      Authentic

No one’s small self….

 October 27, 2013

No one’s small self is ever the Guru. So why obey it?

When Are We Responsible?….

 October 20, 2013

What would happen if God decided He wanted to no longer be responsible? What would happen if God decided He wanted to be selfish instead of Selfish? Who would He be? He would be us.

That is how we got here; did you forget? For God to not be responsible He has to limit Himself and pretend nothing He does impacts on Him or others. He has to believe that others are not Him, that He is not whole. He has to think of Himself as separate, imperfect and the doer in limitation. He is then us.

It seems absurd, and yet this is how we play. We are One with everyone—on our terms. We are responsible when being responsible looks good and is easy. When All is working out for us, that is when we decide we are in charge and responsible. As soon our life is not “the way we wanted it to be”, we are blameless. We are victims. It’s not our fault. All of a sudden we have no say, no choice, no responsibility for whatever is happening. Others did this or God did it, but not us. We are spiritual and doing sadhana as long as it suits our worldview and our needs.

Thank God, God does not play according to these rules. Yes, God is everywhere, but we do not know it. We may think it, believe it, but we do not experience or live it. From the standpoint of the Absolute, God is All and responsible for All. But because we live in relative reality, we cannot see the greater Reality. We are in truth the many from the One. If we actually worked and did sadhana, then we would see the Absolute underlying the relative. But we tend to be so in love with ourselves and the diverse we are blind to Reality. We say, “It’s not my fault, I am human”. The truth is, “Yes it is my fault, I am human.” We are responsible for ourselves and each other.

How do we evolve back to being responsible and in harmony with God? We have to evolve from Inertia to Activity to Calm. These are the three principles of which everything is made. Everything is a combination of these three vibrations, including us.

We begin as inert: dull, and with nothing to offer except reckless apathy. When we are here, we are definitely not responsible for anything. All cause is outside. God is only outside. We are ignorant and believe we are smarter and clearer than anyone else. We barely impact the world in any way other than contributing resistance.

If we work at least some on becoming educated, if nothing else in order to have a job of some sort, we then begin to move toward activity. The problem here is that our activity is still colored by inertia, so we muddle through life not taking responsibility for anything.

As we let go and move forward, Activity becomes predominant. We run after the world outside ourselves. This process only brings us pain, and we refuse to acknowledge that we have any choice.

Only after we have disciplined our individuality and directed our attention inward does any possibility of real change occur. Turning inward and being responsible for all that occurs for us brings us to both peace and empowerment. We are now using Activity in combination with Calm. When this happens, we are bright and clear, and can see the approach we need to take in any situation.

We are now in harmony with the One. We are working toward a universal responsibility. With Calm the principle vibration, we are now clear that we are responsible for everything and everyone. We do not run from our job. It is here we contribute to the relative reality from the place of the Absolute. We have our attention on the Absolute in our own Hearts, and we do not run away. There is no place to run. We know who we are, and are with God.

Dissociative….

 October 20, 2013

Dissociative                                               Involved

Contained                                                   Intrusive

What would happen….

 October 20, 2013

What would happen if God decided He wanted to no longer be responsible? What would happen if God decided He wanted to be selfish instead of Selfish? Who would He be? He would be us.

Grace Personified….

 October 13, 2013

When I went to Baba I knew he had what I wanted. I did not want to be the person in the back of the Hall soaking in the shakti and learning nothing in the bliss of it all. I wanted all that Baba had to offer. I knew what I was looking for and knew he had it; I had experienced it. There was no stopping me, which meant I was going to force Baba to give it to me. How? By persisting. By being in his immediate presence as much as I could; by and through a personal relationship. Somehow I knew that the man Baba and the Guru were not different, and the closer I got to Baba the closer I got to what I was looking for.

Did I know about surrender? Some—not as much as I was to then find out. Did I know about obedience? Yes. I do not know if Baba liked me; it was off the point. I liked him and loved him. As abstract as I tend to be, I saw the abstract, universal Guru embodied in Baba, so there I was bowing down and surrendering to him. Did and do people see it as a cult? Sure. As giving up my identity? Sure. My voice? Sure. What I knew was that every time I did what Baba said, no matter how unexpected, I became more real and grounded in my Heart. “Rohini” was clearly not important, and to me it was amazing she had not gotten me into more trouble than she had. God and Guru were clearly looking out for me.

So as we approach Baba’s Mahasamadhi, I know the Guru is with me; what I miss is the manifestation of Muktananda. I loved and liked Baba the man as much as the Guru. Wrong? I never cared. I loved him with all my heart, both personal and beyond.

Baba laughed. His laugh was something that made my heart sing. People had to laugh when he laughed.

Baba played. When he played we all enjoyed and played. Baba played on all levels. We needed to be awake to grasp the whole game.

Baba cooked. When Baba cooked we may have been lucky to participate. Even if we did not we got to enjoy the fruits. Baba was a great cook.

Baba yelled. When Baba yelled, I pray I learned. Baba was teaching me.

Baba spoke. When Baba spoke, no matter what the topic, it was sublime. Whether mundane or universal, Truth came through his voice.

Baba walked. When Baba walked, the grace he embodied spread everywhere.

Baba drove a golf cart. When Baba drove, he spread his joy.

Baba carried a stick. He used it appropriately.

Baba had vehicles:

His personality was lively, hot, sharp, and so much fun to engage.

His intellect was fluid, agile, clear.

His mind was open, with a great memory.

His eyes were filled with unconditional love, and, though brown, looked blue even when he was angry.

His skin was luminous.

Baba hugged. When Baba hugged the bliss emanated and was felt from head to toe.

Baba sat on the back steps of his house and shared the universe, while speaking, eating, laughing, questioning, ordering.

Baba called on the phone, and this simple act conveyed a supreme spiritual experience.

Baba surprised us all. He had the ability to see the whole picture. We could only see a small area, so he surprised us by his actions and decisions all the time.

Baba showed the Truth through everything he did.

Everyday living with Baba was a gift I never took for granted.

Baba taught on all levels at all times. The Guru always shined through him.

On the lunar anniversary of Baba’s Mahasamadhi, I pranam to my Guru. Though my Guru dwells everywhere, he dwelled in the form of Swami Muktananda, the great, self-realized being. I miss my Baba.

Superficial….

 October 13, 2013

Superficial                                       Deep

Approachable                                  Pretentious

Don’t guilt trip….

 October 13, 2013

Don’t guilt trip yourself; that just feeds the small self. The best punishment for the small self is practice.

Mantra….

 October 13, 2013

Rohini explains what makes a mantra a living thing and how to practice mantra effectively.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Assembling the Puzzle….

 October 13, 2013

Rohini leads students in the process of forming a puzzle using their inner dialogue.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Practicing the Foursquare….

 October 13, 2013

Rohini guides students in how to construct and work with a Foursquare.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Right Effort and Grace Await Each of Us….

 October 7, 2013

The Guru is not a person. My Guru, Muktananda, became and embodied the Guru. So he was and is the Guru. There was nothing of Muktananda that was not the Guru. His vehicles were enlivened by the Guru. Muktananda, like any great being, had surrendered and become the Guru. So what he wanted was not personal. His wants were the Guru’s wants. For me, Baba never let me down; he was always directing me towards Guru and God. And since the Guru was fully within him and Muktananda surrendered to the Guru, he deserved the utmost respect. Baba gave me life, and kept on directing me to the Guru within; everything I have is because of him.

Unfortunately, there are people who decide that the person who embodies the Guru is some form of an authority figure. If these people have something to work out with authority, they will focus on the outer form and miss the Guru. They want to play with the person, not the Guru. The true only reason to go to a Guru is for the Guru. Really, it is that simple. Sooner or later, the choice will have to be either God and Guru or this place is not for me.

In order to truly get what the Guru wants for us, we have to “know” our small self and let it go. We have to know our character’s system so that it does not run us. Remember, the Guru is the power that bestows the grace of God. If we want that power to shower grace on us we have to not be in the way. So even though the Guru keeps pointing us to the Guru, if we are not free we will keep focusing on the person. When the Guru points us to the Guru, he is pointing to the Guru, which is not only within him but within us as well.

This brings us to the only rule: right effort. What is right effort? The effort to stay focused toward God and Guru in the Heart. If we do this right effort, then grace will pour down on us. Bishop Ullathorne said as much in The Groundwork of the Christian Virtues: “Let it be plainly understood that we cannot return to God unless we enter first into ourselves. God is everywhere, but not everywhere to us. There is but one point in the universe where God communicates with us, and that is the centre of our own soul. There He waits for us. There He meets us; there He speaks to us. To seek Him, therefore, we must enter into our own interior”. Śiva Sūtras 1.5 reads, “Effort itself is Bhairava”. Baba’s commentary on that sūtra makes it clear: “Right effort is this: on attaining knowledge of the nature of the highest reality, one strives to remain constantly immersed in the awareness of the inner Self”.

If we can’t do right effort, then we can start where we are. We will need to understand our small self’s system and dismantle it. Our job is to find out what prevents us from right effort, root that out, and then go from there to “right effort”. If we have not done Algebra or Trigonometry we are definitely not ready for Calculus. And there is nothing wrong with that—unless we want and pretend to be somewhere we are not. If we do not accept where we are, then it is clear we do not know our system. Remember, until we are detached, everyone decides and proceeds according to what suits their system.

Last week I wrote this and did not post it. “You were focused on me when you were supposed to be focused on God and Guru. The joke is on you. Guess you don’t know who the Guru is.” We have to know, in every sense of the word, who the Guru is if we are going to go forth to God. We have to surrender to the grace bestowing power of God within and without, which then brings us Home to God.

My manifestation was the distraction some wanted so they did not have to focus on God and Guru. They refused to turn within. Their choice, not mine. So sad: we are always looking for distractions so we do not have to focus on God or Guru. Unfortunately, we want to maintain our sense of self. We believe we can maintain our individuality and be with God. Not one of us can. It is either our small self or God. That is just the way it works. Not my rule, God and Guru’s.

My goal is to live in the Guru, Baba Muktananda, the Bliss of Freedom, 24/7. That is what he wanted for me and everyone. Right effort and grace await each of us.

Stubbornly wrong….

 October 7, 2013

Stubbornly wrong                                     Open to truth

Committed                                                Impressionable

You were focused….

 October 7, 2013

You were focused on me when you were supposed to be focused on God and Guru. The joke’s on you.

The Seed Tool….

 September 30, 2013

Rohini takes us through how to use the seed tool.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Understanding Our Real Answers….

 September 30, 2013

Rohini answers a question pertaining to hearing the difference between our “sure” voice and our true voice.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Repackaging….

 September 30, 2013

Rohini discusses the problem with repackaging.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Committed to Guilt….

 September 30, 2013

Rohini explains how confusing guilt with awareness undermines our practice.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Stop Repackaging the Practice….

 September 30, 2013

Rohini explains the ways in which we lose the practice by repackaging it in our minds.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Which Voice is Authentic….

 September 30, 2013

Rohini clarifies the difference between the “sure” voice and our authentic voice.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

The Practice Is Not Complicated….

 September 30, 2013

Rohini clarifies that practicing is not about looking for reasons, but about going to God.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Unconditional Love?….

 September 30, 2013

Rohini discusses the different aspects of unconditional love.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

The Terrorist Within….

 September 30, 2013

The purpose of terrorism is to cause fear in people’s hearts and bring them to a place where they feel completely unsafe. Once a person, group or country is in this condition, they can be manipulated and overpowered. The sowers of discord then have control. Terrorists isolate their prey, destroy what is of value and attack at a basic level of life. Once they no longer go after symbolic targets but attack everyday arenas, terrorists’ power is difficult to overcome. Fear becomes stronger than love.

We are all terrorists. We must root that quality out of our system if we truly wish to contribute peace and harmony. As long as the vibration of terror still rests within us, we are going to manifest it in some form. If we already believe we are peaceful people, then we cannot change anything. The point is that if there is terrorism around us, then it is within us. We need to face it, own it, master it, and then transcend it. Only when we have dissolved the vibration of terrorism can we contribute peace.

Terrorist                               Peacemaker

Decisive/passionate            Complacent/ Inert

If we act and call it “decisive”, we can unwittingly be terrorists without even knowing it. Who is this terrorist that we are so focused on hating? If we are looking outside ourselves for the cause of our problems, then he is like us. Once we turn outward this way, we are at the mercy of someone else. We have no core. The terrorist has no core; that is why it is so easy for him to kill and destroy others and ultimately himself. For all of us, it is so easy to look outside and blame others for the wrongs of the world, but this strategy won’t change anything. Until we turn within and root out the terrorism within ourselves, we are still part of the problem. We are perpetuating it.

We cannot root terrorism out of someone else; it will pop back up. We can, though, root it out of ourselves. If we all root out the terrorism within ourselves, then terrorism will have no power to run our decisions, and it will disappear. Remember: terrorists are focused on you, not themselves. No matter how many they kill, the problem is not solved. Their final answer is suicide bombing, which they see as the ultimate sacrifice. They epitomize blaming the outside for what is wrong with one’s life. Terrorism is only the final consequence of their view of themselves as righteous victims. They have no inward awareness. They have no core. That is why they can commit suicide: there is nothing to kill.

We have to face our terror in order to get to peace. Owning, mastering, and transcending the foursquare below will help free us from the bonds of terrorism.

Terrified                          Forceful

Soft/innocent                    Hard/At fault

Imposer/enforcer           Good/soft/gracious/does not challenge

Assertive                       Enabler

Reacting puts us in relationship with the terrorist. We are “good” not cleanly, but in opposition, in relation. In truth, we have our qualities independently, not in relation with others. This is why turning inward is the true answer. We are to reflect, not react. We are not to stay in a foursquare, choosing only the qualities we like and requiring someone else to take the ones we reject. We must own them all and give them all up. Do we have to have a terrorist in order to be a hero? Can I be “good” only with someone “bad” around me? If this is the case, then I am at the mercy of my own desires, my attachments to certain qualities. Unconsciously, I am the cause of terrorists. I must let go of my attachments to the “good” and “bad” qualities.

When we accept the harsh qualities fully, then we can be aware and actually take care of ourselves. We see the whole situation, and we aren’t drawn to relationships that create the dynamic of terrorism.

We are all affected by the horror of terrorism. From the standpoint of Absolute Reality we are both the victims and the terrorists. All the players are providing lessons for us, as we provide lessons for others. The problem is, we choose to look only at the horror of the situation, not use the situation as impetus to turn inward and face what is there. In truth, we are all participants in the whole play. We are only harming ourselves. When even one of us works to root out his own inner attractions and repulsions, that person diminishes the amount of potential terrorism in the world. Are you willing to give up looking outside and blaming what you see there? Are you willing to be equal?

Joseph Welch, the man who finally stood up to and exposed Joe McCarthy, was not in reaction; he was not afraid. He was clear and clean and freely acted, speaking appropriately as a human being: “Have you no decency?” And he woke everyone up from their fear and their collusion with McCarthy—who was a political terrorist.

We are not all ready to face ourselves and the world cleanly. Many people don’t even know that turning inward and facing ourselves is possible as a solution to anything; they are, in that respect, innocent. But if we are capable of doing that work and choose not to, then we are contributors to the terrorism in the world. If we do not root out our own terrorist within ourselves, we are siding with the elements we say we detest.

We must choose life, but not in reaction to death. We must choose love, but not in reaction to hate.

Emotions….

 September 30, 2013

Emotions are enlivened by you.

Terrorist….

 September 29, 2013

Terrorist                                                           Peacemaker

Decisive/passionate                                         Complacent/Inert

The Business of All Businesses….

 September 22, 2013

St Bernard called this work we do here “the business of all businesses”. And it is. I am in the business of going to God; going home to God. That is my business, my profession. If you are looking for winter clothes, you came to the wrong store. If you are looking for a mommy, you came to the wrong store. If you are looking for a therapist, you came to the wrong store. If you are looking for a car, you came to the wrong store. I am in the business of God, period.

Who is this God that I am making available in my shop? God is the everything, the underlying fiber of our entire existence. Out of God everything on the physical plane manifests, including us. Therefore there is no place that God is not. God informs all. God informs what we call good and what we call bad. There is nothing, including evil, that God does not inform. Everything is God; that is why going to God is the business of businesses.

We may know this intellectually, but experientially not know it at all. When truth about God is just a belief, we are idealists, always thinking, believing, looking; we are not being. We are not with God. So no matter how beautiful these ideas are, we are always separate. We are a shadow of the Truth, so there is always a dissatisfaction; always a feeling that something is missing.

Here is where this business of businesses comes in. The purpose of this business is to bring you to God. If you walk in my store, I will offer you all kinds of tools that will help you succeed in this endeavor. There will be meditation, shaktipat, foursquares, the seed tool, scripture study, tools for removing obstacles, chanting, the Guru, three levels of practice, some external practices, internal practice. All is here at my store. If you only want to browse, then do it quickly and leave. I do not have time for window shoppers. This is a niche business, intended only for the people who know that they want what is offered here.

This business is not personal. If it were, then it would not be the business of businesses. Using tools you can find here leads you to the universal. They are designed to remove the personal. So if you want to keep your special, unique individuality, best not come to my store. You will get very angry if you buy these and use the products not knowing their real danger to the small self. If you are looking for a glorified small self, all pretty and up to date, definitely do not set foot in this shop. It is very hard to go back to where you were once you have used what is offered here.

The shopkeeper is someone who has used all the tools and is an expert, having been trained by a master of this business. The shopkeeper cannot just be anyone. He is there to show you how to use the tools, guide you with any difficulties and answer your questions all the way to the goal, the fulfillment of the store’s purpose and your purpose in using what is offered at the store.

I love my store. I love my work. I love my business. The lineage of this business is long and exalted. I apprenticed under the master Swami Muktananda. I bow to Baba Muktananda, the great Guru. He gave me life, fulfillment, and love, and taught me all I know. Everything in my shop follows and is informed by his teachings. I respect all that he taught me. I am proud to be of this lineage and dedicate this business of businesses to my Guru. For without him I would not have gotten anywhere and would have nothing to offer.

Do come to my shop if you are looking for Love. Come if you want the Truth, God. Come if you are ready to leave behind what is dissolved when using the tools here. Come if you want what this shop offers. Well come.

Personal….

 September 22, 2013

Personal                                              Impersonal

Petty                                                     Universal

The Business of All Businesses….

 September 22, 2013

St Bernard called this work we do here “the business of all businesses”. And it is. I am in the business of going to God; going home to God. That is my business, my profession. If you are looking for winter clothes, you came to the wrong store. If you are looking for a mommy, you came to the wrong store. If you are looking for a therapist, you came to the wrong store. If you are looking for a car, you came to the wrong store. I am in the business of God, period.

Who is this God that I am making available in my shop? God is the everything, the underlying fiber of our entire existence. Out of God everything on the physical plane manifests, including us. Therefore there is no place that God is not. God informs all. God informs what we call good and what we call bad. There is nothing, including evil, that God does not inform. Everything is God; that is why going to God is the business of businesses.

We may know this intellectually, but experientially not know it at all. When truth about God is just a belief, we are idealists, always thinking, believing, looking; we are not being. We are not with God. So no matter how beautiful these ideas are, we are always separate. We are a shadow of the Truth, so there is always a dissatisfaction; always a feeling that something is missing.

Here is where this business of businesses comes in. The purpose of this business is to bring you to God. If you walk in my store, I will offer you all kinds of tools that will help you succeed in this endeavor. There will be meditation, shaktipat, foursquares, the seed tool, scripture study, tools for removing obstacles, chanting, the Guru, three levels of practice, some external practices, internal practice. All is here at my store. If you only want to browse, then do it quickly and leave. I do not have time for window shoppers. This is a niche business, intended only for the people who know that they want what is offered here.

This business is not personal. If it were, then it would not be the business of businesses. Using tools you can find here leads you to the universal. They are designed to remove the personal. So if you want to keep your special, unique individuality, best not come to my store. You will get very angry if you buy these and use the products not knowing their real danger to the small self. If you are looking for a glorified small self, all pretty and up to date, definitely do not set foot in this shop. It is very hard to go back to where you were once you have used what is offered here.

The shopkeeper is someone who has used all the tools and is an expert, having been trained by a master of this business. The shopkeeper cannot just be anyone. He is there to show you how to use the tools, guide you with any difficulties and answer your questions all the way to the goal, the fulfillment of the store’s purpose and your purpose in using what is offered at the store.

I love my store. I love my work. I love my business. The lineage of this business is long and exalted. I apprenticed under the master Swami Muktananda. I bow to Baba Muktananda, the great Guru. He gave me life, fulfillment, and love, and taught me all I know. Everything in my shop follows and is informed by his teachings. I respect all that he taught me. I am proud to be of this lineage and dedicate this business of businesses to my Guru. For without him I would not have gotten anywhere and would have nothing to offer.

Do come to my shop if you are looking for Love. Come if you want the Truth, God. Come if you are ready to leave behind what is dissolved when using the tools here. Come if you want what this shop offers. Well come.

When did things….

 September 22, 2013

When did things go wrong? When they were going right.

The Gardener….

 September 15, 2013

Every tradition uses the gardener as an analogy for spiritual work. The garden is a place where everything grows within a prescribed area. We are gardens where everything grows, both beautiful and ugly things. And many times in a garden a beautiful plant begins to be seen as a weed because it has been allowed to grow to the detriment of the whole.

The garden must be tended carefully. If we do not do this then, as Kipling used to say, the jungle is allowed in. When tending a garden, restraint and discipline are vital to the garden’s life and longevity. If we do not exercise restraint and discipline, then the integrity and structure of the garden will be compromised. If our care is too tight, then we strangle the life from the garden; if we are too lax, we lose the garden completely.

The good gardener is like a loving mother: direct and soft, firm and caring, nurturing and critical. A good gardener or teacher is able to see the whole picture and discern the correct path to a fulfilled life. There will be times when the plants or students do not follow the path to their own success and fulfillment. This is where the gardener moves in with a firm and clear hand, able to correct the course, able to move everything and everyone back in line.

When a gardener neglects the garden, it is left to its own devices. The plants grow anywhere and propagate in places that hurt the feel of the garden. Plants grow into each other so that there is no clarity. The garden has no discipline, and even if there are great plants, they cannot be distinguished from each other or even from weeds. Everything becomes an expression of vagueness; the message of the garden is confusion and lack of consciousness.

The teacher of spiritual practice must be a consummate gardener. The student can also be seen as the plant. Constantly aware, the teacher knows the correct tools to use with a student. The teacher, seeing the whole picture, directs the student in the right course even when the student doubts or resists. Our qualities can also be seen as plants that are either allowed to grow or clipped back. Unhealthy qualities have to be pruned and hopefully rooted out. The teacher will see the student’s qualities and be able to encourage the good ones.

The teacher provides the fertile environment for growth. The student will decide whether he or she wants to grow or not. If not, he leaves, removed from the garden because he does not contribute to the whole.

Each teacher, like every gardener, has a particular style, so that students are attracted to the environment or repulsed by it. There is a mutual vetting. A student or plant needs a certain environment in order to thrive.

This reminds me of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Rappaccini’s Daughter”. Rappaccini created a garden filled with poisonous plants. He brought his daughter up in this garden exposing her to small quantities of these plants. She was then unable to leave the environment that she appeared to thrive in. She was a prisoner in her own home. A good teacher or gardener does not imprison but frees the student or plant to be capable of thriving when transplanted outside the initial garden. The teaching or tending moves the student or plant to thrive and share the life and love of the original garden. Beatrice could have figured out how to detoxify herself, but would she? Did she have the tools, did her father give them to her? And even with the tools, would she have used them? She was not nurtured to be alive and free.

A good teacher will share all that he has to share. The teacher wants a student to reach the goal of Absolute Freedom and pure Love.

Positive thinking….

 September 15, 2013

Positive thinking is not the opposite to perverse thinking. Reflection is the opposite to both perverse and positive thinking.

Secretly competitive….

 September 15, 2013

Secretly competitive                                                   Openly competitive

Cagey                                                                          Vicious

When you fight God….

 September 9, 2013

When you fight God, at least you are in a relationship with Him.

Sadhana Is Uncomfortable….

 September 9, 2013

We have been looking at how we repackage things to suit our small selves, and seeing that it is so sad. If we do not restrain our small selves, we only repackage. Repackaging is just another word for twisted love. We are unwilling to love openly and honestly, so we twist and repackage and then present that to the world. Yes, it is sad.

We repackage ourselves and then give that empty charade to others. We lie to ourselves first, then feed that lie to others. We perpetuate our own ignorance.

Sadhana is the practice that brings about removal of that ignorance. If we are ignorant and do not know who we are but believe we do, then sadhana is going to be uncomfortable. It is uncomfortable for the small self because this shrunken understanding believes it is the Self, who we really are. The irony is, this ignorance is enlivened by who we really are. Our wrong understanding actually has our consciousness informing it. That is why we are deluded into thinking that what we have enlivened is actually what we are. Our consciousness enlivens that which is not real.

Are you who you think you are? If yes, then…. Once we convince ourselves that we are this shrunken self, we do not want to be restricted. We want to be free. We want to be free to be “me”. No one wants to restrain the small self. We believe that the restraint of sadhana stifles who we are.

The truth is: sadhana is unsafe for the small self. When we practice there is no place for the small self. The shrunken individual wants to do whatever it wants. When we “just” practice by going into the Heart the individual feels like it is being punished. In Truth, though, there is no small self. We enliven this thing and then identify with it, so we believe we are being punished. If we had right understanding, we would know we were in fact being freed by practice.

If we believe we already know who we are, then sadhana is definitely not for us. Sadhana on all levels will feel like prison if we think we are who we think we are. In the ashram in India, when I would walk around to make sure everyone was at the chant, there would be people hiding as if the chanting were the most horrible thing they could be made to do. We were punishing these people by making them participate in activities they originally thought they wanted to do.

People ran away from the daily program; they most certainly ran from the internal practice. People thought bliss was just going to come spontaneously. After the bliss of the beginning subsided, people did not know or understand what they were supposed to do internally. The outer schedule was all they knew, and when this was not blissful then they avoided the practice, they ran from what they saw as restriction and imprisonment. So many teachers have been characterized as tyrants because they do not have their students in bliss all the time. Remember, the teacher cannot change the student. The student changes himself by following the teacher’s instructions. The practicing student is working to let go of being identified with his individuality, and so does not see practice as prison.

Once we are no longer identified with our individuality, sadhana is no longer seen as a prison. The small self then embraces the practice and surrenders willingly to its own demise.

Obstinate….

 September 9, 2013

Obstinate                                                 Receptive

Principled                                                 Impressionable

Stop Repackaging the Practice….

 September 1, 2013

Be with your experience. This does not mean “in it”. This means “let it happen”. Always did. When I first wrote down the practice Baba taught me in A Spiritual Survival Kit, it was 1992. The truth is the truth and it has not changed. Be with your experience, whatever it is. This is so important. We are not to pretend something else; we are not to deny our experience. There is no need to judge your vibration. It is what it is and the only way to freedom is to accept that experience.

Let whatever comes up come up. Emotions come up as vibrations from the Heart. They are not who we are; emotions are enlivened by us. We should be with them – not attach –and let them subside into stillness. Instead we tend to attach letters to them, identify with them, judge them, and let them make the rest of our vehicles vibrate. We value them. Then we are lost in them. Because we enliven a vehicle, if we have not transcended it we are attached to it and then consciousness thinks we are it. We are then deluded and we believe we are what we enliven. Emotions are enlivened by us; that is the truth.

Wrong understanding is that the emotions come up within us as us. The belief is that if they come up within us, they are part of us. They are us. We then decide which emotions are acceptable and which are not. We decide whether we are good or not. We are then lost. Another wrong understanding is that emotions are caused by outside forces. First, emotions are outside who we are in truth. Second, the most the outside does is serve as a trigger for our emotions. If we are clear, then when the trigger occurs we will not vibrate the emotion.

Function appropriately on the physical plane. This means for us to act with integrity, without causing trouble inappropriately. We are serving the situation and truth in a manner that creates harmony rather than disruption. Don’t splatter on anyone. Don’t scream at people inappropriately, verbally or non-verbally. Don’t vibe. If we are vibing, we are not practicing. Don’t stifle it, bury it, or package it. Hold on to nothing. Accept and let pass. None of it is us. So relax and let go.

There is not a fourth step! Yet most people automatically add and repackage the practice with a fourth step. This step, which should not be there, is packaging, abstracting, figuring out, rationalizing, processing, finding causes, and mitigating.

Please stop defending your small self. We go nowhere when we pursue this fourth step. A decision is not the solution. We cannot decide our way to God. The small self as the decider will make sure it is the center of attention so we do not ever resolve anything. We leave practice completely when we move to this action of the small self. The decider will decide the wrong action. If we package or figure out we are vibing. Here, the decider is the Absolute in our minds. It is definitive, loud, solid, direct, sure, and WRONG.

The small self needs to be receptive in order to surrender—to merge with God. The small self has to become fluid, and that happens when we are willing to be with our experience, let whatever comes up come up, and function efficiently on the physical plane. When you honestly just be and do not repackage the practice into something your small self wants you to do in order to keep it alive, then you are actually practicing, and there is no place or corner for the individual to mislead you from our goal of returning home to GOD.

The love….

 September 1, 2013

The love that is the opposite of hate is not Love.

Guilty….

 September 1, 2013

Guilty                                                                          Okay

Aware                                                                         Unconscious

Are You Sharing or Reporting?….

 August 25, 2013

On a plane heading toward Florida. Reporting  or sharing? Just a fact. Do you need to know? Not really. What you need to know is there is a person in the seat in front of me that has not stopped talking for over an hour. She is reporting as if it really mattered and anyone would like to listen.  The person listening next to her is listening almost as if it were a television show and she could be passive as the show proceeded.

Do you report or share? What is the difference between reporting and sharing? When we share we are actually interested in the person we are speaking with. When we report, the recipient does not really matter. It could be anyone.

Do you believe that if you are emotional you are sharing?  Or are you just reporting your emotions and boring everyone? What is your purpose of expressing your emotions? Are your emotions the way you control your life? Do you use your emotions to manipulate everyone around you? Do you assume everyone does this? Do you do emotional competition?

Emotions are vibrations; they are vehicles we have to aid in our functioning here in these bodies. Emotions are tools that aid the soul to have experience and learning. If we use them to manipulate then we are probably not learning what we are meant to. We hopefully will see as we grow that we have identified and worshipped these vibrations. That makes us used by them rather than us using our emotions. False idols, and we are left empty. There is no satisfaction from this. And the people around us will be hurt and feel we never cared. We cared more about our emotions than anyone else.

Do you find the person reporting as bored as you are?

Reporting by most accounts is objective communication of facts. Is there anything wrong with that? Most people like reporting or objective communication, so is there a problem with it?  No—when we are looking at science, business or news. Good reporting can be sharing. There used to be reporters who reported the news with as little bias as possible and wanted us to understand and engage and wrestle and think for ourselves. Discernment was important. Now we have reporters who engage in hyperbole, and communicate it through false feelings. They “guide” us in how we should see what they are communicating. They are not interested in engaging us; they want to manipulate us. This reminds me of Fahrenheit 451, where all communication was about manipulation and maintaining life only on the surface.

However, when we are in relation with someone we hopefully want to share and have someone share with us. When we report we do not have to be present, we can be dissociated. We can speak remotely, as if reading a boring book with no awareness or consciousness. When we share we are participating and contributing consciousness to the communication. We are neither purely intellectual nor emotional. There is something deeper than the words themselves. We are sharing ourselves rather than sharing only our vehicles.

When people just want to report to me I tend to feel bored, because they are not interested in what they are saying. They are disembodied voices with no life. They are Prakrti, nature, in the form of inertia.

Let us go forth and share. Let us not share our tired reports of emotions, narratives, ideas that have not had any life in them for so long. Let us share us, truly us and not our angry, bitter, blaming self. Who are we? Love.

Stop defending….

 August 25, 2013

Stop defending your small self.

Patient….

 August 25, 2013

Patient                                              Intolerant

Enabling                                           Truthful

“Gee, Rohini, you….

 August 19, 2013

“Gee, Rohini, you only teach three levels of practice. I just took a weekend course where they taught us five.”

I Lost My Patience….

 August 19, 2013

In Orkney I cried, I laughed, and I finally gave up my attachment to patience. Thank God. I had been driven to travel to Orkney for the last two years, and on July 27th I finally arrived, not knowing what would happen or how, but knowing this was an important time. The quiet was amazing as well as the landscape. Unless we went well out of our way, there were no people. The sounds were the birds, the cattle and the ocean. Some days the wind was prevalent.

The two weeks were about stillness and listening. Orkney was not distracting in any way. The transformation occurred by Rohini allowing herself to be stilled. Fluid, less solid, not important. Then the laughter, freeing and endless. From there, just consciousness.

Once home, there was the question of how the manifestation would change. What had been left behind in Orkney? For me, Orkney had represented the landing place of the Vikings as they began to play their play through the Isles and across Europe. I had felt an affinity with them for a few years, and the visit to Orkney was to be a time of resolution. How, I did not know.

Even as I left Orkney, it was not clear what had happened. As I said before, the vibration during those two weeks was almost non-existent. That was not what I had expected. Peace, really? Yes, that was what came from the land, the water, the rocks.

Not until I returned home did it all become clear what had happened. I lost my patience. What a relief. Patience has been the quality that has held me down. People tend to love my patience, and then are horrified when I lose it. The problem is, I have been too patient. Patience can become an enabler. So by the time the student is seeing me as an mean teacher, I have already been too patient. I am okay with being called a mean teacher. If I am too patient, I am not doing my work as clearly as I should. So patience has left me, and I am on a magnificent tear. Could not be happier.

Patient saint                           Mean tyrant/teacher

Suffering servant                   Loving warrior/fighter for truth

People who leave my classes usually see me as the mean teacher and perceive themselves as the suffering servant. Have they ever thought that they have been mean and I have just been too patient, thus putting me in the role of the suffering servant? When I do not play the part of the suffering servant, they resist the teaching.

Orkney was a time to uncover the warrior and free the soul from the tyranny of patience.

Someone will surely say that this is not very spiritual. Oh, really? Why not? Attachment to anything is attachment, and attachment to a good quality produces pride and turns the quality into something negative. For instance, the person who is too patient can feel superior to others. They will enable someone in order to maintain the relationship. How spiritual is that?

Without question, there are people who will say I have no patience. They were too busy focused on themselves to see how patient I was with them, hoping they would wake up. When they did not, the mean teacher or loving warrior—however you want to see it—came forth.

I invite all of you to give up your patience. Give up attachment to it so that you can then use it appropriately. Give up your patience with yourselves, give up your patience with your wrong understanding.

A loving warrior is one who fights appropriately. That means he is riding the horse in the direction God is going. A loving warrior is focused on God only because he knows God is everything. From this a loving warrior and a patient saint work together within the same soul. And suffering the servant and the mean teacher or tyrant cannot and do not arise, no matter how many people project those labels.

Baba was for me the patient saint and the loving warrior. He modeled both perfectly. I have worked to let go of all qualities that have prevented me from being what Baba modeled, letting go of attachments to all qualities so that they can be used appropriately. And I have been patient in this process. Though my own sons have been annoyed with my patience, I did not realize how attached I was to this quality until returning home from the stillness of Orkney.

Join me in delving into the appropriate practice of patience.

Patient saint….

 August 19, 2013

Patient saint                                                              Mean tyrant/teacher

Suffering servant                                                       Loving warrior/fighter for truth

Twisted Love….

 August 11, 2013

Twisted love is still love. So everything is love in one form or another. The problem is, God is having to push through our ignorance. Manifestation is love; just twisted love; twisted because of us. If we give up our wrong understanding and let God be the doer, and we no longer believe we are the center of attention, then God will shine through each of us as pure love.

The question is: is the manifested world pure love, and we are just not able to see it? Or is it also twisted love as we are, because of wrong understanding? Are we just wrongly entangled in nature as we are in our lives? If we disentangle and non-attach, nature and all our vehicles will become clear and still and allow God to express through all of us and the material world as Love.

Are you not bored with your vehicles? Are you not sick of your narrative?

Are you not bored with your five senses? Living life at first level is going to be relating through your five senses only unless you move on. Relating with your life using the five senses, even with discipline, is functioning at first level. We are in a beginner ritual. This way of relating with life is no different than performing rote rituals.  Whether you are doing rituals like washing statues, singing hymns, or reciting prayers in different ancient languages, you are still practicing first level. There is nothing wrong with this focus as long as we realize we are not going to get to the final perfection if we only follow this practice.

So if you are approaching your life as an empty ritual without anything deeper, then it does not matter where you are. Whether you are in a monastery, an ashram, a city, or a suburb, your life and all your actions will remain without the richness of God. Do you report your life or live/share your life? Why are you so attached to just going through the motions? You do not realize it; you believe you are contributing to world peace, but you are really contributing to world inertia.

We should not be attached to our rituals or our lives. They come from the same place and our job is to transcend both. God should be our focus, and we should not be distracted by life, whether in the form of mundane or sublime activity. If we see either kind of activity as the pinnacle, then we have missed the point.

We may begin to ponder, question and study; this is better but still only second level.  Not until we are practicing the third level can richness be consistently infused into our rituals and mundane life.  Being still, resting in the Heart, and functioning in the world is how we live life to the fullest. We then live our lives, perform our rituals, but our focus is on God in our Hearts always.

Do you want to have and allow God to play or are you still so attached to being in control? The purpose of life is to have God play, and we so want to be involved and make decisions instead of God. We have forgotten our place. Someone, one of us or all of us, has to let God in on the game. As long as we are all involved in our lives, God is on the bench. And at the same time, no one is willing to step up to the plate and give it their all. We live as if our lives had some importance. If we were to give up our attachment to the part we are playing, we would actually have a chance to express the love of God in everything we do. Now that would truly be magnificent.

If I am trying to change the outside, then that effort is still just twisted Love. If I let God be the doer, then He can actually change the outside. We have to get out of the way to let God play. Let us work to untwist the love we share by having God share God’s love through us.

Relating with your life….

 August 11, 2013

Relating with your life using the five senses, even with discipline, is functioning at first level.

Inspire….

 August 11, 2013

Inspire                                                       Discourage

Delude                                                       Be real

If you are happy….

 August 4, 2013

If you are happy, is your small self miserable?

Low and Behold….

 August 4, 2013

Around our cottage in Orkney there are fields filled with cattle, sheep, wheat, grass pasture, or wild growth. The ocean, with cliffs rising from it, is within walking distance. Spotted around are farm compounds. No stores. Virtually no people for us to see or hear. The main landmark, high on the ridge two miles away, is Marwick Head. Entertainment is quiet.

So when a farmer arrived with two women right outside our cottage we went to see what they were doing. I watched the man attempt to herd cattle using a truck. The purpose was to get the twenty cattle, each worth around £1500, through a gate across the narrow road, down the road for ten yards and into a field adjacent to our cottage.

For forty minutes the man used his truck, driving back and forth, back and forth in the field. Rather than working with the cows, he was fighting them.  And the cows won. He kept pushing them one way, and they kept moving any way but the way he wanted. The man even hit the cattle with his truck. Frustrated, angry, he seemed sure that if he continued the way he was going he would force the cattle through the space down the road and into the designated field. The women stood in the road on either side of the gate, ready to direct the herd.

We watched this battle between animal and man with truck. I was sure there was a better way. Aaron, who has worked on a cattle farm, could name three better ways, all of which would not have entailed a fight. There was no question both parties wanted to fight. Finally, the cows looked like they had conceded when they went through the space onto the road—and then smashed through a barbed wire fence as if it were nothing and into the wrong field. They won. There was nothing more to do, except the man now had to at least fix the fence before the darkness settled in.

How many teachers and students have we all seen that work this way? What a great lesson.

And ‘low’ and behold, today, the cattle are back in the original field. The farmer opened the gate between the two fields and the cattle went back to where this present dance started. In the meantime, the field he wanted them to go to is empty and covered with lush green grass. The cattle never even saw that field. So everyone wins. The cows are back at their original place and feel smart. The farmer knows he is smarter than the cattle because he thinks he has now manipulated them. Nothing has changed.

Both have a poor sense of agency, though they each believe they are in charge. Neither made a conscious choice. Consciousness was in neither the farmer nor the cattle. Both were being instinctive, impulsive, and of course animal. No consciousness, no agency, no choice. All decisions and actions were based on reaction.

Yet we believe we are controlling the situation, don’t we?

If we are focused on God completely, then we know that we are not the ‘doer’. God is. We should just focus on God and be still; then, even if we are moving forward one inch, we are not the doer and movement is happening. We are moving forward. We are riding the cow in the direction it is going.

Neither the cattle nor the farmer moved forward. They danced the same dance and landed in the same spot. They were the doers. When we are the doers, this is what happens to us.

Stop the fight. The farmer did not ride the cow in the direction it was going. What could he have done? He could have coaxed the cattle with apples. Using instinct, they go for food. He could have gently herded the lead cow instead of chasing with the truck. We do not need to fight. And if fight is all the other person wants, then we can quietly walk away. The cattle wanted and were trained to fight with the farmer.

The Siva Sutras say that the three impurities are ‘we are separate’, ‘we are imperfect’ and ‘we are the doers’.  The truth is ‘we are not separate’, ‘we are perfect’ and ‘we are not the doers’. If we stop our small selves, our characters, from dancing the same steps, saying the same lines, feeling the same feelings, and let God be in charge, we will witness moving forward the way God wants for us, which is Love.

Communicative….

 August 4, 2013

Communicative                                                Closed off

Babbler                                                            Reserved

Vacations….

 July 28, 2013

Vacations are designed to help us. We say we need a break, we need a rest, we need to get away. Vacations can help us with detachment. When we go away or just stop our normal work or activity we are forced hopefully to disentangle from that very activity. We get to see how involved we were, which may not have been for our or anyone else’s good.

So vacations can be a good tool from the standpoint of spiritual practice. Perspective can arise when we have some distance from our normal life. This clarity will only come, though, when we do not take a vacation from our practice. There is never a time when we should take a vacation from our boring in and resting in the Heart.

Vacations can become a detriment when we do not practice and we just attach ourselves to our vacation environment. We are then perpetuating the practice of attachment; reinforcing attachment to what is temporary and always changing. If we practice going into and resting in the Heart, then whether we are in our normal life or on vacation we are focused on what is Real. This way we do not lose sight of who we are, and we can approach each environment appropriately.

Nonattachment is a skill we each need to develop and then constantly practice in order to live life to its fullest. This may seem strange, that nonattachment brings richness, but nonattachment is not apathy and not caring. Nonattachment means we are disentangled from what is not real so that we do not identify inappropriately. We can see clearly and remain calm when we are nonattached. We can see clearly enough to truly know when it is time to back off from a situation and give it a rest.

So a vacation is a way to make sure we see clearly. We can see how attached or not we are. We are not to replace one attachment with another. That is reducing life to a series of affairs. We go from repulsion to attraction. Not good. If we are not practicing, we are approaching our life from the standpoint of ignorance. We are taking our environment as Real. Once we believe that, then we identify with and lose our subject in the object of the environment. From there we are attracted to certain things based on our ‘identity’. We are repulsed by other things based on that same wrong identity. And because we are so sure that this is Real, then we are afraid of losing what we are, what we have. So we cling for dear life.

When we go on a vacation those bonds can loosen. We can really work to disentangle from the life that we are clinging to and see that we are something greater than any thing or lifestyle. But if we just jump into the vacation with the same ignorance then it really does not matter whether you are home or on vacation; it is all the same.

So wherever we are we need to practice. We can then actually be there for our life instead of being driven into or escaping from what we are here to learn from. Our task is to participate wherever we are, and not lose ourselves in the process.

By all means go on vacation; I am presently on vacation in Orkney. But we have to be present to be able to go on vacation. That means we neither take the environment we have vacated with us nor do we enmesh ourselves in the new one. And if we have gotten attached even though we practice, then we have to go on vacation. Through practicing, going into and resting in the Heart, we will find our Self, really vacating who we are not and returning to who we are. Love will be who and how life is, whether in daily life or on vacation.

Vacations can help….

 July 28, 2013

Vacations can help us practice nonattachment. There is never a time when we should take a vacation from our boring in and resting in the Heart.

Homeless….

 July 28, 2013

Homeless                                                         At home

Free                                                                   Chained

What is the best….

 July 22, 2013

What is the best gift we can give the Guru for Guru Purnima? Practice his teachings.

What Does the Guru Do?….

 July 22, 2013

The Śiva Sūtras say the Guru is the means (Sūtra II.6). For me, my Guru, Swami Muktananda, Baba, has been and is the means. In all the years I knew, studied and worked closely with Baba, he never let me down. He was and is always guiding me to the state of union with God.

If the Guru is the means and does everything, then what is my job, what is our job? Our job is to surrender and let the Guru do everything. We tend to want to remain in the mix. Big mistake. Right effort is having our attention on the Heart where the Self resides, where God and Guru speak to us. Our effort should not hinder the Guru; it should be in harmony with the Guru.

A great teacher like Baba is not personal. Great teachers discern and are able to give each student the teachings they need. Many times, however, the student does not want those teachings, and then the teacher will withdraw. If we are obedient to our teacher, we will gain what our teacher has gained. The teacher wants us to attain what he has attained.

When I received shaktipat from Baba, I had already surrendered to years of discipline and had had many experiences and breakthroughs. What I wanted from Baba was to live in the awareness of who we are even during my mundane life. From my shaktipat experience I knew Baba had what I wanted.

Having studied with so many different kinds of teachers, I knew what I needed to do with Baba. My job was to not fight him, but to surrender and be open to receive what I knew he knew and what I professed to desire. Right effort was not fighting Baba. Every time I forgot this, Smack!  Accepting his direction even when I did not always understand always brought me to a greater understanding and a lighter sense of me. It was not personal. We wanted the same goal, whatever it took.

So when a breakthrough occurs, you need to know how to use it. First, you have to learn what and where you are internally doing during a breakthrough. What did you lose? What did you break through? And the most important question you should ask is this: why did I again pick up that which I had let go?

The answer to why breakthroughs tend to delude us is that most breakthroughs are unconscious. They happen to us; we have no control and then just go with them without any awareness. We may enjoy the moment, but usually we believe we have arrived at a new place from where we cannot return to the old. Even with shaktipat, Baba used to say the momentary experience is showing us a glimpse, where we want to go. But we will not remain there; our job is to practice in order to return consciously.

Śiva Sūtras I.5 tells us that when we are practicing right effort there will be an opening, an upspringing of the Truth—who we truly are. As I have said, that glimpse happens either consciously or spontaneously. When it happens consciously, I know I am practicing correctly. And what is this correct practice? Complete surrender to and complete awareness, concentration on God and Guru. Our direction, our attention, our perception is trained toward God and Guru.

When this opening occurs spontaneously, it is like magic, and we do not know how or why it came or left. We tend in this situation to find erroneous reasons for our experience. So even though we have breakthroughs, they do not aid our sadhana. The breakthrough is followed by a closing down. We remain unconscious and unaware of the right effort we should be applying.

The Guru is pointing us always toward God. And the Guru is both within and without. So when the true outer Guru points us in a direction, our inner Guru is pointing us to the same place. Remember, the Guru is not personal. The Guru is the Grace-bestowing power of God. The Guru works for God and brings us to God.

On this Guru Purnima I pranam with great respect to my Guru, who has been my mother and father these many years. May I always obey you and honor your greatness.  Sadgurunath Maharaj Ki Jai!  Glory to Muktananda!

Lamenting….

 July 21, 2013

Lamenting                                                          Shining

Deeply understanding                                         Insensitive

Instead of griping….

 July 21, 2013

Instead of griping, change.

Tyrant….

 July 15, 2013

Tyrant

Resistor

Challenging

Hostile

Resources….

 July 15, 2013

Resources. What are they? Resources are people and materials that aid us in our lives. These resources can be within us or outside us. We should know what they are and use them wisely. Our resources should be looked on as gifts. Do not waste or disrespect your resources, because if you do they may run dry, and you are then left empty.

None of us is alone, though we may believe that to be true. When we decide to be alone and lonely, the world becomes a reflection, and sure enough no one and no thing will be there for us. The truth is, our resources are there but become hidden when we reject life. Yes, we are the ones that reject, not the other way around. All are resources, waiting to be asked, summoned, called upon. Our resources want to help, want to assist, want to make it easier for us, want to be something we integrate into our lives.

Let us now name some resources available to us. First, we need to be able to laugh as a resource. Laughter serves a great function. Through laughter and humor we can separate and distance ourselves from something that has bothered us, something about ourselves or others. The joker in the king’s court would make people see truths through humor, so that, though things might hurt, people would be able to laugh at a situation or person or themselves. For the ones who could not laugh, life did not go very well. Without laughter and a sense of humor we remain attached and identified with something that is not us.

This brings us to the Foursquare personality game (see chapter seven of my book Walking Home with Baba). When we use this correctly and truly listen to our answers all the qualities in our game become neutral. We then feel light and are not attached to any of the qualities no matter how ‘good’ they may be.

If we cannot be clear enough to hear our true answers with the Foursquare game, then we should use the Seed tool (see chapter five of my book Walking Home with Baba) to trace our vibrations back to finally resolve.

Meditation is a great resource when properly used. The purpose of meditation is like that of what happens in a laboratory. We have eliminated the outward variables, and then work to still the inward distractions. All vibrations are to be stilled, so that who we truly are can shine forth.  This practice is not easy.

We need to acquire discipline and rigor in order to use these other resources. So discipline and rigor become great resources for our use in and of themselves. As we grow, we see how important discipline is.

Many people use mantra as a way to override their thoughts. This use can aid a person but tends to cause a fight between our thought forms and the mantra we are using. Mantra is a good resource when coordinated with our breath. Also we need to grasp the meaning of the mantra, so that we put in deep feeling and understanding when we repeat it.

This brings us to the resource of study and reflection to acquire context and vocabulary. When we apply ourselves to study and reflection, we become conscious. Consciousness shines a light, and as we study and reflect we are able to grasp things on deeper levels and express that understanding through language.

Listening to talks again through audio and video helps us to reinforce our understanding. Many times during a class we may experience something and then not be able to remember what was said because we were listening from a deeper place and our intellect did not comprehend consciously. So reading, listening, and also watching again help us further our practice. This way we are sharing within ourselves and integrating our knowledge.

Sharing is another important tool. Community supports and helps us reflect. Community is here for each of us—teaching us lessons, educating us and moving us toward liberation. Community shows us what we need to do; it guides us whether we are open or not. If we relate by fight-flight or appease-doormat, if we only have one function button, then we are in trouble. We are not using our resource of community to aid us.

Now, as always, is the time to stop the fight and laugh. Go ahead, use the resource: laugh at and with yourself.

We do not need….

 July 15, 2013

We do not need to stay with situations or people that are unhealthy. Walk away quietly and blissfully. If we believe we need to get along with everyone, we are in trouble.

Lighten Up….

 July 14, 2013

Rohini shares resources in spiritual practice that help us lighten up.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Whom Do You Serve?….

 July 7, 2013

This question is a difficult one because we tend not to be completely forthright with our answer. God, we will say. And yet the truth is we are idolizing our egos, our sense of self. We are in fact committed to serving the ego in everything we do and are not aware of this.

If it serves my ego to do it, then I do it. Are you egoing?  Do you know what that looks like? Here is a clue; if you take everything personally then you are serving your ego. All is about you.

Once we assume, we are cutting off reality. Our ego, our sense of self is telling us how to see the world, and our read IS the truth. No matter what is being said by anyone else, we know better because our assumption is as good as if not better than any other read.

The problem is, it never gets easy for the ego. Struggles, fights, fortifications, rationalizations, justifications are all we get and our poor ego never wins. There may be a momentary, apparent victory only for us to watch it get crushed in a flash. Encounter after encounter and we never win, we only struggle and fight. The elation of the apparent win drives us further down into the depths of despair.  We call this the ups and downs of life.

Acceptance means we do not assume; we accept whatever is. No matter how ugly, if it in front of us, we need to accept that it is ours. We then surrender, which is actually accepting life.  Refusing to accept does not bring us to independence.  Refusing to accept reality brings us to separateness and an internal death.

When we accept life as it is, we are alive; we connect, and are a part of everyone and everything.

When we avoid life and pretend that life really is our assumptions, our projections, we remain distant and are apart from everyone and everything.

What we each have to learn is that acceptance is what causes us to move forward to resolve. If we serve our ego, then the only way forward is to accept it. Do not fight it. Surrender to the reality of where you are and accept. Then the knots will begin to loosen. We can choose resolution for ourselves. We actually can choose to change no matter where we are.

Every level of nature is based on Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva. In nature, inertia, activity and calm are present in different combinations. Our level of discernment and ability to see what is and accept is based on whether we are tamasic (inert), rajasic (active) or sattvic (calm). As we become more sattvic we are less personal and not so solid.

For the person committed to their ego tamasic is the highest level. They do not see their actions, and they feel they deserve the most. These people do not see that they contribute to any of their problems. Inertia reminds us of Dante walking through Hell. No one knew why they were in Hell.

Rajas brings us to a state similar to Dante’s Purgatory. People are aware of their sins and are facing the consequences. The difference, however, is that rajasic people tend to oscillate between unaware action and conscious action. They are reflective some of the time and lost some of the time. This depends on whether they are closer to Tamas or Sattva. They are unsteady.

Sattva is likened to Paradise, but in the case of spiritual practice even this must be transcended. Sattva as a quality brings us clarity and peace, brightness and calm.

We live amid combinations of these qualities permeating all of nature, both within and without. Our job is to learn to discern on every level. So if we learn clarity on the mundane level, we are then ready to go deeper. We can and will move on to deeper and deeper levels and arenas. The tools we learn at the beginning of practice are the tools we use all the way through.

Yoga Sutra I.14 tells us: Practice becomes grounded and fully integrated when it is done for a long time with no interruption and with great reverence and devotion.

This practice is simple, yet not easy. To be who we truly are, our job in life is to move from serving the ego to serving and completely surrendering to God.

Useless….

 July 7, 2013

Useless

Helpful

Off the hook

Meddle

When we accept life….

 July 7, 2013

When we accept life as it is, we are alive; we connect, and are a part of everyone and everything.

When we avoid life and pretend that life really is our assumptions, our projections, we remain distant and are apart from everyone and everything.

You Are Perfect Just the Way You Are….

 July 1, 2013

You are perfect just the way you are. So, be where you are and accept it. That is the practice. Boring in toward the Heart does not mean you will feel good. It means you are heading in the right direction toward Home, where all vibration is stilled, and Love is.

In order to get there, we have to stop the fight. We have to know where we are at any given moment. We have to know we are in the swamp. If we are looking over toward the light, we are not accepting where we are. If we actually accept that we are perfect just the way we are, then we are moving toward no longer being identified with a particular experience. We then know the experience is a knowable and is not us. We are no longer looking for pleasure or pain. All is the same. We are perfect just the way we are— miserable, happy, sad, angry, whatever.

None of these attributes is who we are. “I am in truth not my foursquare, I am wherever I am and okay. Perfect the way I am. So stop telling me to be nice or something else you want me to be, because I am perfect the way I am, and so are you.” We can then not like the way someone does something and we can leave. We do not have to like the way someone is. However, we need to accept the way someone is.

You are perfect the way you are. I now can choose not to play with you, as you can choose not to play with me. That is okay. You are perfect just the way you are. You resist learning in my class. That is okay. Then you will no longer have to be in my class. Your choice, you are perfect the way you are. I am giving you what you want.

Let whatever comes up come up. This means we are not running from our experience. We are letting what comes up be where and what it is. That is what being with our experience is. And then we are able to function appropriately on the physical plane. We hear all that comes up. “I hate that person. I am angry with that person.”  Let whatever comes up come up. Be with it. You are perfect just the way you are. But then we need to be appropriate. Do not share it all; do not dump it. We can open our mouths and say whatever there is, but if it is inappropriate the next thing out of our mouths had better be “I am so sorry. Look what just came out of my mouth. It is hurtful, sorry.”

Functioning appropriately on the physical plane is the hard part of this process. If you say whatever comes up, then do not expect everyone to put up with you and take it. They can say you are perfect just the way you are. I am also perfect the way I am. So I now choose not to participate in your play. I withdraw happily. “It is not nice to withdraw.” “I am okay with it. I am not nice; you already said that. Now I confirm it. No excuses. I am willing to be where I am”. Don’t just say, “That is my small self”. No, it is you. It is where you are, and it is okay. Let yourself be where you are. Just accept it. “But I do not like that experience”. No, stop the fight. Be with it. Accept it. You are perfect just the way you are. Do not run.

Do not pretend to be somewhere other than where you are. That is what others are saying when they use the phrase: perfect the way you are. They do not mean it on the level of living; they mean it only on the level of the abstract. So we cannot really be ourselves and go through what we need to.   We are not personal, we are abstracts, so we never really can connect in the best sense of the word. We have to remain superficial because we cannot accept that where we are is okay, is perfect. If we remain as an intellectual idea we are then “All perfect just the way we are.” Reality will never touch us or our relations with others.

We end up being the only people with problems, because we cannot empathize with anyone. If I can be where I am truly and accept it, then I can understand where you are and accept where you are. If I am all about me, then I am not accepting. I am wallowing and complaining. I am then not perfect the way I am because I am not happy with where I am. But if I can accept it as no big deal, this is what I have today, then I am perfect the way I am.

I am perfect just the way I am and so are you. Accept it. So wherever I am, I am going to feel it. I am perfect feeling misery, sadness, anger, happiness, hurt, agitation. I am going to bore in. I am going to be with it. I am perfect. The perfection does not change, the experience changes. The experience is not us, experience is a vibration. When we accept ourselves for where we are in the moment, no excuses, no complaints, the experience changes and the vibrations still. I have not changed, my experience has. We then have distance from something that is not us. This distance comes from accepting all the knowables. Vibrations are knowables. Experiences are knowables, not who we are, just possibly how we are. I am okay with what I have. I am perfect just the way I am. And so are you.

You are….

 July 1, 2013

You are perfect just the way you are.

Surrenders / obeys….

 July 1, 2013

Surrenders / obeys

Resists / disrespects

Loses will / loses freedom

Examines / questions

We have to accept….

 June 28, 2013

We have to accept that in order to BE in the light we have to be willing to see the darkness and walk out of it.

Walking out of the Darkness….

 June 23, 2013

Who or what is the Guru? The Guru is the Teacher, the Grace and Guide that God provides for each of us to go Home. The Guru is not the person that It inhabits, but the purer the person the more there is the Guru and less the person. Then all the actions of the person will express the Guru, for the Guru will inform and become the person and all his vehicles.

How is the Guru a Teacher, a Guide? The Guru’s job is to bring us into the light. The Guru also guides us out of the darkness. Any teacher who simply points at the light is not providing the guidance we need. A true Guru knows the darkness and goes into it for the sake of the disciple. The Guru then guides the student out into the light. If we say we want this, the Guru is there with the disciple; the Guru and the disciple are in harmony. Some, though, only profess the desire for the removal of darkness. They do not want to face the truth of the darkness, of the ignorance. They want to believe they are in the light already and the Guru is there to support and maintain them.

We have to accept that in order to BE in the light we have to be willing to see the darkness and walk out of it. The belief is that we all want the light, and we do—until we realize what we have to give up in order to get it. The Guru will just keep shining the light, showing us the way out of the darkness. We get angry, resistant and fight. We are afraid to leave. This is like a person who is blind from living in the dark, trapped in a building without light. The person who comes to save him must see and know the ins and outs of the building. They must be comfortable yet not attached to the darkness. And because they know the darkness so well they are not afraid of it. They can then go into the darkness and guide the person out. If the person resists, the Guru will coax. But if the person is recalcitrant, then the guide will leave him there trapped. The guide is not attached.

The Guru does not do it all for us so that we just sit back drinking smoothies. We have to surrender to the Guru in order for the Guru to be able to guide us out of the darkness. That surrender is right effort. We have to be where we can hear the Guru. Right effort is remaining in the Heart no matter what, and facing and listening to what is there. What is the responsibility of the disciple or at the very least the student? Just hang out? No, our job is to surrender, listen and obey what the Guru tells us. We need to do what the Guru tells us. If we do not, then we need not to be surprised when we face the wrath of the Guru or, worse, the Guru lets us be in the darkness. It is always our choice.

How many movies have we watched where someone thought they knew better than the guide? How many times did it go well for them? Our choice.

Here is a Foursquare on the Guru:

Heals/ Guides

Harms/Misleads

Coddles/Carries

Challenges/ Tests

This is how people see the Guru depending on where they are. The Guru never changes; we do.

Here is a Foursquare on the disciple:

Surrenders/Obeys

Resists/Disrespects

Loses will/Loses freedom

Examines/Questions

We can choose to use the best guide to take us out of the darkness, or we can choose to remain in the Hell we work so hard to call something else. We look to experts for so much in our mundane life, yet we refuse the aid of the one that can walk us out of our darkness. We first have to accept we are in fact in darkness and can’t get out alone; then we must search for the best Guide to show us the way into the light.

“Walking Home with Baba” gets out there…..

 June 19, 2013

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

A Life or Death Choice….

 June 17, 2013

Rohini discusses that Love doesn’t hurt. Hurt hurts. Love loves.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Acceptance….

 June 16, 2013

We have to face the ugly truth and accept it before we can get to the beautiful truth. We have to surrender to the way it is, not the way we want it or imagine it is. Then, through acceptance, we and everything around us changes. No, it does not end up being the way we wanted it to be; it is the way it is, and we are okay.

We need to stop running away from the truth. Just accept and then you can move on. Do not accept and you are stuck forever. We stay in the same frame of a movie, the same scene in a play, and it never changes. Why do we run, avoid? We run from pain.

If we would just turn and face the pain, it would dissolve, and we would then be free. But we are attached to pleasure, so we will not go in the direction of the pain. We are looking outside, away from the solution and from life, for pleasure. We are running from the one direction that will give us joy and love. Looking for pleasure rather than love will take us far away from happiness and bring us to separateness. We end up with misery and hate, and believe we are entitled to whatever we desire.

Stop the fight. Do you want to be alive or dead? When we surrender and accept life as it is we no longer hurt. If not, then we are lost in a play where we numb away the days.

So: what hurts?

Love hurts. NO. Love does not hurt. Hurt hurts. Love loves.

Care hurts. NO. Care does not hurt.  Getting lost in others hurts. Losing ourselves is not caring, and losing ourselves does hurt.

Expectations hurt. Not accepting reality hurts.

Life hurts. NO. Choosing death hurts.

So how do we turn around? Desire is actually our will. What we desire, we then will to happen. That is why we feel surrender is the wrong direction. We believe that if we surrender, we lose. We do not ask the question to what or whom are we surrendering. Purifying the will purifies our desire. We will then find ourselves surrendering to going deeper and deeper inward toward the Heart. We are moving to where we live before pain manifests, before our love has twisted to pain. As we will ourselves deeper all becomes more subtle; our vibrations are more subtle until they are still, at which point we find ourselves at peace, free, and resting in Love, our true nature.

Baba used to say “I give you what you want so that some day you will want what I have to give you”.  For so many years I have pondered that phrase. My understanding now is that Baba saw reality and did not fight. I realize I have been fighting, not accepting that not everyone wants what I have to offer. So now I see I could not train them. I am thankful, because they have trained me. I get it. They did not learn anything from me, but I learned so much. They chose to turn from Love. I surrendered and accepted, which allowed me to still and not be distracted by a fight I could not win. I gave them what they want so that someday they might want what I have to give them. I understand. Baba saw so clearly; he was extremely patient.

By accepting and surrendering, then, I have been a good student. I have learned to be a good supporting actress for their play, and am in fact free. These people will move on because they do not want what I have to offer. For me that is totally acceptable. I want Love. Fighting people to get them to receive what I have to offer is hurtful. I then am causing pain, not helping cast out their pain.

This goes back to Ganesh as the remover of obstacles. Ganesh now has developed inner restraint so that obstacles can remain where they are. Not everyone wants love. Not everyone wants joy. We have different goals. That is okay. I surrender. Do you?

Love hurts….

 June 16, 2013

Love hurts. NO. Love does not hurt. Hurt hurts. Love loves.

Arrogantly separate….

 June 16, 2013

Arrogantly separate

Humbly connected

Self-possessed

Invasive

Act in Stillness Class….

 June 11, 2013

Rohini demonstrates how to be still even in our daily lives.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Act in Stillness….

 June 9, 2013

We speak so many words, and then how much do we practice them? When I say practice, I do not mean “trying”; I mean actually “being “ them. Yoga Sutras II.18 says Prakrti (Nature, material) exists for the experience and liberation of the Seer. The Seen exists for the sake of the Seer. Experience and liberation are then knowables. When liberated, the Seer has no need of gunas; all vibration (experience) is stilled.

So what are we doing here? This is a game God plays with God. It is not worth it to fight God. God wants you to win. So stop the fight. We are not here to fight God. God wants us to be happy, to be who we really are. Isn’t that what we want? Or is it? That depends on who we think we are. If we believe we are the series of thought constructs that are constantly being expressed, then we will be fighting God all the time. We will not want to be in harmony with God.

We may ask who is God anyway? God is not any idea that comes into our mind. God is, period. Everything is within God. There is nothing that is not God. “So if that is the case, then why should I change? All is God, even the me that is not me”. Fine, do not change; you are no different than a gnat. You are then just blowing in the wind with no awareness, bumping into objects that bring pleasure or pain. You have no control over your universe because you do not know where you actually live.

We reside in the Heart. That is where God intersects with us. Is God in my big toe? Will I meet God there? No. In the Heart. Our job is to disentangle out of our vehicles and return to the Heart, which is where we started. We are to return to the stillness of knowing who we are. From there we then enliven our vehicles while remaining anchored in the Heart. We need to be still.

“But I need to pay my bills and do my job.” No one said not to. We are all to do our mundane tasks, our obligatory actions. Do those tasks, all activity and stay in the Heart. This is not about being still in the laboratory and then leaving to go back to normal. This is not about the body being still and then active. This is not about the mind being still and then active. This is not about being in the Heart one moment and then in the head the next, being in the Heart one moment and doing actions the next. This is not one and then the other. This is about both at the same time.

We are to live in the world perceiving the unity in diversity always. We are to be in the Heart all the time not just at moments, glimpses, or in times of crisis. All moments reveal the unity as well as the diversity. Every moment, every second, and when we forget we should then remember and turn back immediately. We are not to wait for a “good” time to practice. All times, all places are good times to practice.We are to focus in to the Heart and be aware of the outside at all times. When we rest in the Heart and look out from there, we have right effort.

If when we meditate with eyes shut we are focusing out, we are promoting a focused mind and the acquisition of power. Then when we open our eyes we are focused intently on the physical and we can easily become seducers or be seduced.

Meditation practiced with eyes closed focusing in toward the Heart brings us to calm and promotes surrender—surrender of what is not real. So that when we open our eyes we are still connected to the stillness and we can function appropriately with a sense of detachment rather than dissociation.

Practicing correctly and continually brings us to live in stillness with God even while we perform our daily activities. There is no outside activity that cannot be performed while we are resting in the Heart; that means all activities can be performed while being still in the Heart. This is about choice not about whether it is possible. If we choose to turn in, yes, for a time it will be difficult, but God wants us to win. God wants us to be in harmony with God while we act in the world.

Adolescent….

 June 9, 2013

Adolescent

Adult

Alive / joyous

Dead / killjoy

Not worth it….

 June 9, 2013

Not worth it to fight God. God wants you to win. So stop the fight.

Qualities of a Student….

 June 2, 2013

Rohini discusses the qualities that will make a student either a good one or a poor one.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Baba Muktananda’s Birthday….

 June 2, 2013

Rohini shares the core of what Swami Muktananda taught her.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Importance of Silence….

 June 2, 2013

Rohini reads a Hasidic story about the power of silence.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Putting Self-esteem in Its Place….

 June 2, 2013

Rohini discusses how self-esteem is not the goal.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Baba’s Greatness….

 June 2, 2013

Rohini tells stories of her time with Baba. She recalls his greatness as she directly experienced it when he was in his body.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Qualities of a Student….

 June 2, 2013

Doubt

Certitude

Contradict

Agree

Promiscuous

Loyal/dedicated/faithful

Worry

Be at ease/be at peace

Willfully obtuse

Receptive

Questioning

Dogmatic

Examine

Stooge

Free/open/searching/experimenting

Fanatical

Aware/concerned

Blasé/oblivious/asleep

Self protective

Vulnerable/impressionable/gullible

At some point we have all been in the role of student. We have all had teachers from whom we have learned. Sometimes we have learned what the teacher wanted us to learn; other times we have learned lessons the teacher had no idea he was teaching. The teacher is a person or a situation, and we relate with them according to our temperament. Many times as students we at first say we want to learn but then move into the realm of the above foursquare. This foursquare has qualities that most people bring to the table in various situations. The problem is, most of us are not aware of our negative qualities and project those onto our teachers.

Only when we begin the process of truly listening do we see what our part is. We may have thought we were examining, but we were really contradicting. Because we believe we are just questioning, we cannot understand why the teacher is acting the way she is. We are unaware that the teacher is reacting to the way we are approaching the learning.

“We have been listening”, we say. To what are we listening? Such an important question; this is where discernment comes in. We tend to agree with the teacher when she says what we want to hear and disagree when she says something we do not like. Our selective hearing occurs because we believe the teacher is just another opinion and not the expert—that our read and the teacher’s are equal. Actually, no, they are not. Our limited truth and the understanding of the expert are not equal.

If the teacher is a good spiritual director, then the teacher’s read is actually our honest read, though we may not be willing to listen. So when the teacher yells, it is usually because we are refusing to listen to ourselves. The teacher has listened to us, but we will not agree because we are not listening to ourselves. We are listening to our narrative, our creation. We decide that the teacher is just giving us her opinion, but no. A good spiritual teacher is a mirror for us and is giving us our real answers. We are just rebelling against ourselves.

In this situation, the teacher is looking at a fight that can become not worth the effort. The student is actually sabotaging himself and the teacher finds herself fighting the student in order to fight for the student. In truth, the student is fighting himself in the form of the teacher, who is fighting for him. We convince ourselves we are speaking our truth when in fact we are running from the truth.

I read the other day on the internet the statement that our own experience will always be our truest and best teacher. This was a sad comment on the state we have come to spiritually. When we have an experience, is it not the discernment that will decide the lesson? And if we have no discernment, aren’t we then at odds with the spiritual teacher who sees clearly? We will then decide that our read on our experience is equal to if not better than the teacher’s read. So the child that is afraid of the bathwater learns that her read is true and the best teacher, and no one can change her read. We are in trouble as students if we rely on our read before we have acquired discernment. Her “truth “ is her interpretation of her experience, which is her best teacher? Danger.

Discernment does not just show up. We as students have to work to clean our vehicles so that we can see clearly. Until we see that the teacher wants the best for us, the teacher wants Love for us, we will be fighting against what is really healthy for us. Working with the above foursquare will help us move toward the discernment we need. Then we will actually agree with the teacher and the teacher will be in harmony with us. Then we will no longer fight ourselves

Lost little child….

 June 2, 2013

Lost little child

Self-mastering adult

Free

Imprisoned

Shame, embarrassment….

 June 2, 2013

Shame, embarrassment and guilt are weapons of the small self.

Work Is Fun….

 May 26, 2013

As a child I was active; I had “productive” and “work ethic” all over me. My girl classmates in the sixth grade would say, “We like boys, we carry pocketbooks, we cut our hair. You are so different than us”. They were right, I was different.  I was boring in that I danced every day after school with a prominent dance teacher in Boston, taking a bus downtown and coming home late. I loved those classes; I loved dancing, the discipline, all of us together working for the same purpose. That was where I lived. That was my fun.

In the eighth grade, my one year at Fort Lee, NJ, I was in a class for gifted kids. The lessons were stimulating, and I so enjoyed school. The kids in my class worked hard and were good kids. We were not, however, part of the popular crowd, the crowd that partied and did no work but appeared infinitely more fun than my classmates and me. At graduation, for some reason, I was included by this crowd. So excited to be “in”, I was embarrassed about my other classmates. I played a part with the popular kids in order to fit in. This play luckily only lasted for a couple of days. Boredom set in; they thought of nothing but instant pleasure with no discernment. Done.

High school brought me back to Boston, where I kept more to myself. Sports occupied much of my after-school time. I participated on a varsity team every season. I did not hang out with kids that went to parties or were “fun”. I did not know whether I was experiencing sour grapes about not being a popular girl or it was just not “me”. Because of this, when I got to Washington U I went out for cheerleading and a sorority. I went full out, and became the president of my pledge class and a Washington U cheerleader. The next year, as a varsity cheerleader, I became a cheerleader for the St. Louis Cardinals Football team. I now knew I could do it. I also knew it was not “me”. This was not where I wanted to live forever. Fun, yes, but for only a short time. I definitely grew bored. There was nothing wrong with the people or the activity, I knew that from experience. I was neither repulsed nor attracted. It just was not my path.

I wanted to return to the discipline of dance. This is where I started heading more and more inward. Dance took center stage at Washington U and then Mills College. I built my life around hard work, focus, and people who shared the same vision. But life is a treasure hunt, and with a hundred percent commitment we can move quickly from clue to clue. By putting all the effort into dance I seemed to complete my relationship with it and the next step showed up. I moved from dance to Tai Chi Chuan, where I applied the same commitment in a different venue. I delved deeper inwardly than I had with dance. Again, I deeply enjoyed the work.

Each of my teachers, whether they knew it or not, handed me off to the next teacher. Looking back, it makes sense, but in the midst of it there were times of confusion when I questioned where I was going. Tai Chi Chuan led me yet again to a point where I knew I needed something more. There was a sense I could not get to the bottom of understanding. Tai Chi Chuan made way for Swami Muktananda,  and that is where I have stayed. The outside may have changed, but the focus remains the same: looking inward to God. Does this mean I have no fun? Not at all. I love to play, but my focus is on the goal of life; moving from hell through purgatory to paradise.

Love is our birthright. I know this cannot be achieved by living only on the surface and fitting in. We each have to follow our dharma and accept it. I love to work and share in that work with others. If we look back at all the different events in our lives, we can see that we have always been directed toward what will bring us to God. The problem is discerning correctly and then persevering. No matter what we are doing on the outside, inwardly we must be boring into the deeps. That is where the real fun is.

Yeller….

 May 26, 2013

Yeller

Understated

Emphatic

Invisible

“I am a….

 May 26, 2013

“I am a mess.” No, you are just having an experience you won’t detach from.

Surrendering to Growth….

 May 18, 2013

I am in the middle of a change. Change is never pleasant, no matter how positive it is. Throughout my life, there have been times when I was heading in a particular direction, only to find I was being guided to a place I had never thought about. So periodically I reach a place where I say I want to quit, I give up. From there, I then see that I have no idea where I am going. Here I am in the midst of a change. Surrendering, accepting, going down the road to the next way station, with no idea what it will look like.

Clues? Only what I know I have to leave behind. I know I have to let something go; it has to happen. I do not know where I am going, but I trust it will be better than what I am leaving, no matter how good it may be. Having been through this so many times, I know the steps and know that the outcome will be good. I just have to be willing to go down the path set out not by me but by God and Guru.

Have any of you ever been coached? Been on a team or somewhere where you have had to surrender to authority? By the time I got to Baba I had been coached by so many people. They helped me see my good qualities and flaws, and they gave me tools for discerning these traits and correcting them where necessary.  My teachers and coaches have been straight, sharp, kind, direct and for the most part available. Baba had those traits heightened to a supreme degree. I did not always like the way they spoke to me, but I hung in there and found they were almost always right. So one thing I learned was not to jump to the conclusion that I was good and they were wrong. With Baba, he never missed. He was always there, loving me enough to scold me instead of coddling me. He continued to give me what I had asked for: the Truth.

I was not always so surrendered; it took me a while to learn to discern good authority. I stood up in my sixth grade class, told my teacher, a former Marine, that I had had enough, and walked out, going straight to the principal’s office. Years later, this teacher said I was the most independent student he had ever taught. So I was not a pushover, obeying everyone who was given a position of authority. I learned to respond and relate with authority figures, and seek out the most competent in the field I was entering. If we want to function at a high level, we need not to relate with authority as if we were two years old.

My job was and is to receive whatever is given and learn. My early coaches and teachers shone a light on my small self; they did that so “I” would not get in the way of the activity we were pursuing. I wanted to be successful, so eventually I gave in and won. This prepared me for mundane life and, more importantly, readied me so that when I got to Baba he could do more advanced surgery. Each of my coaches and teachers yelled and berated. Each of them helped me get a little more distance. They did so in order that I not think that my small self was so special and worthy of being adored. I learned to laugh at my small self, to have a sense of humor about the character I am playing this lifetime and not be so attached. If I was identified with my small self and having “good self-esteem”, then everything was personal and humorless. Not much fun.

Humor, then, was and is so important. Baba was great that way; he would laugh. We laugh at all kinds of things; why can’t we laugh at ourselves? Without this kind of humor that is able to put some distance between us and the small self, we get nowhere. Baba would laugh, and hopefully we could join in. If we refuse to laugh, then we are uncoachable.

I am still Rohini the meanie, a phrase I coined in a talk I gave in Miami while with Baba in 1980. I was sharing how I had gotten to where I was at that point. I was and am direct and straight. My “part “was formed in Boston, where flinty is normal. I do not coddle or stroke; I respect you too much. But that means if you have no distance you will see me as harsh and judgmental. In reality, I am harsh and judgmental when it comes to your small self. So you are correct in calling me that if you are identified with your small self. I can be harsh when I see refusing to learn. Trash the authority if you must, but first look at why the authority is so mean. Look at your actions. Ask questions; reflect on your choices first. Then see whether the tools I’ve used are the only ones that will cut through the resistance and the only way you might listen. Without Baba’s uncompromising directness, I know I would not be where I am today.

Whether I accept it or go kicking and screaming, the change will come, because I want it. My sadhana is not abstract; it is alive in everything I do. God is not isolated to corners of my day; I know God informs all of my day to a greater or lesser degree depending on my veils.

I will continue to do my work, focusing on God and Guru. Both will guide me through this change to a manifestation I do not know. But I trust my authority figures to wake me up, berate me, laugh at and with me, and guide me to the goal of Love, which is where they come from.

We have to be….

 May 18, 2013

We have to be willing to own the ugly truth in order to reach the beautiful Truth.

Arbitrary….

 May 18, 2013

Arbitrary

Rational / reasoned

Intuitive / spontaneous / free

Stern / severe / inflexible / unbending

Mother’s Day….

 May 12, 2013

Today in the States we celebrate Mother’s Day. Baba was for me both my mother and father. He brought me up; he cleaned me up. My first mother and father were my first teachers. They continue to teach me my life lessons. I owe them much, since they introduced me to the part I am playing and helped reveal the “tools”, so to speak, that I am using. From an early age, though, I knew there was more to life. But could not find it on my own, and surely could not figure out how to change on my own.

The great beings come in and free us from the repetitive soap opera, the boring drama where we repeat the same lines and never are free. Baba was willing to provide for each of us the framework that would free us from the tyranny and monotony of our small self. I am most grateful for his parenting, because I was sick of my drama and wanted to grasp what rests under all this. Like any good parent, he used everything he needed to get through to me. Sometimes it looked ugly—not because of him but because of me. I required him to appear as the harsh parent in order to get through my stubborn ego.

As a teacher, I play a similar role, and I am not arbitrary. Baba modeled teaching each individual appropriately. Each of us has a different play, though our roles may intersect or appear similar. So I am listening for what is right for you. If I tell someone to do something, I mean it. If you want to know why I say what I say, then ask me then and there. Deciding not to do what I say and then sneaking around really does not work. Be straight with me and then we can move forward; deviousness undermines everything.

If you want to see me privately, you need to be practicing throughout the week. We cannot have the same class again and again and again. That is inappropriate. If you are working, we can grow; otherwise, we are wasting time. It is okay: I will still like you, I will love you, I just won’t see you privately. There are plenty of ways to ask me questions, if you have them and are working.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the treasure hunt. The clues are everywhere; we have to see them and then discern appropriately. There is nothing that cannot be used as a lesson. When we see the world this way everything becomes heightened and amazingly alive and vital. Every event with Baba, no matter how mundane, was a lesson to be pondered.

We tend to focus on the dramatic moments in life and look to them for teaching. Living with a great saint showed me in truth there are no such moments if I am awake. Since everything is God, all events are designed for each of us to learn. The simplest event around Baba could have the greatest import for those of us willing to learn something. Daily life with nothing for the small self to grab onto was where the work really happened. The routine wore the ego down, so that then Baba could easily chop it off. Isn’t that what a good parent does?

Running away from lessons never helps. We then find ourselves stuck and unable to free ourselves. Honest answers are the only way to unlock whatever is preventing us from moving forward. Running away allows us to continue sitting in the same mire. We are left to repeat the same dramas again and again. We can sit there and believe that we do not need to change, that everyone outside needs to.

Spiritual teachers remove our identification with the original part we play and bring us back to who we really are. We are then in right relationship with the universe. Just as a child must be taught that they are not the center of the household, we must be taught that we are not the center of the universe. A good parent or teacher will discipline us and provide the appropriate lessons and tools to establish ourselves in right relation. And then they send us out able to be free and not dependent on them. We should know that our teacher has our best interest at heart. We do not run; we respect the one that gave us life.

So today I acknowledge my mother for giving me life and being my first teacher. And I acknowledge and honor Swami Muktananda for giving me my life and showing me the way Home.

Dominant….

 May 12, 2013

Dominant

Dominated / doormat / victim

Tyrant / bully

Team player / humble

Everyone is….

 May 12, 2013

Everyone is nuts. Do you think you are sane?

Ganesh….

 May 5, 2013

Baba used to call me Ganesh. At the time, the name did not bring joy into my heart. What am I supposed to learn from this? Why is he calling me Ganesh? These were my questions. Yes, I was in charge of security for the ashram. Yes, Ganesh was the guard at the door for his mother, Parvati. Yes, I was Baba’s appointments secretary and therefore was guarding access. Is that all? Baba was never that simple. Everything had such a depth of import, if we were willing to see and listen. So here I am thirty years after Baba left his body, looking at this, just as every interaction I had with him was a clue in my treasure hunt.

A statue of Ganesh is usually placed at the entryway to a house or building. His image is that of a human male body with the head of an elephant. Ganesh both protects and is the remover of obstacles—hence head of security. So for Baba, I did what I was supposed to, and the qualities of Ganesh were appropriate.

As a spiritual teacher, I have continued to use these qualities. What could be more perfect than to remove obstacles for my students? Worth asking. It appears I do my job relentlessly and all too well for some people. Not everyone wants their obstacles removed. Outside my teaching, I am very aware of this. I can speak appropriately and let people be where they are, even when I am looking at the elephant in the room. However, when people come to study with me privately, I sometimes make the mistake of removing obstacles when all they want is to be coddled. Sorry to anyone for whom I have committed this error. My own lack of discrimination has caused that mistake. What I should have done was be quiet and not see you again. You could have come to my group classes, where I am less specific.

This brings me to Australia in 1978, when Baba yelled at me for allowing people to see him privately when it would have been appropriate for them to see him in the darshan line. For years I pondered this event. Why shouldn’t they have seen him? What was the problem? Now it is so clear. These people did not understand the gift; they were wasting his time. So sorry, Baba, for that mistake; I completely understand what I did wrong.

Baba used to say, “I give you what you want so that someday you will want what I have to give you”. He was a great Guru, and this statement shows a Guru with great patience.

I am not a great Guru, and I lack Baba’s patience. Remember, my role is that of Ganesh, the remover of obstacles. My manifestation is not so friendly towards the small self.

The time has come for Ganesh to go out to pasture, so to speak. I am tired of having some students fight me while I am fighting for them. If you want to remove obstacles, you need to know that they are in fact obstacles, and you have to work with me to remove them. Otherwise, I will remain quiet. I, too, have foursquares, and here is one:

Bulldozer

Detached

Ganesh

Apathetic

We all need to decide whether we want Ganesh in our lives or not. Sorry, Baba, for not learning this sooner.

“If I tell you….

 May 5, 2013

“If I tell you what you want to hear, I am an authority. If I tell you what you don’t want to hear, I am just another opinion.”

Vain….

 May 5, 2013

Vain

Egoless

Good self-esteem

Low self-esteem / unimportant

The Treasure Is Not in the Swamp….

 May 4, 2013

Rohini explains that the treasure is Love and cannot be found by sulking.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Clues in the Treasure Hunt….

 April 29, 2013

Walking the path of spiritual practice is like a treasure hunt. Each clue will lead us down the path closer to the goal. The problem is, will we see the clues? Will we discern the clues properly? And finally will we follow the clues?

Clues on this treasure hunt are always showing up. God does not want us to lose. Though we are challenged, the answer is always embedded in nature. The small self, however, misses the clues, and will pass them without even realizing they were clues. So we need to be vigilant. We need to want to discern what is in front of us. The truth is, everything is a clue. So do not worry about missing clues.  The answer is embedded in all our life; it is everywhere.  If we open our eyes and see the world this way, then we will be approaching Prakriti as the Yoga Sutras teach; Nature is here for our experience and liberation. So all is here for our education. Our life is actually designed magnificently to bring us to liberation. We have to be willing to see that this is the real purpose of our life: to go Home. Then we will see all our actions and situations as clues to take us to the treasure.

The next question, then, is what am I to learn from these clues? Here is where discernment plays a most important part. I may see all the information or clues but be unable to access and analyze them clearly. I can then make decisions that are completely erroneous. I can miss the mark completely. So even though I have seen the clue, I then have to read it correctly. Without discernment, I will be moving away from the treasure. The problem with the small self is that it is so sure of itself. We can discern correctly, and the small self can be sure of doubt. Its purpose—until it is purified—is to cloud our discernment. We will call a feeling something it is not and then proceed from that erroneous assessment only to find ourselves going deeper into darkness rather than into the light. So if I have a feeling that I am sure is reflectiveness, I will believe my thoughts to be insightful. However, if in fact the feeling is just sulky, then my great insight is actually a whiny complaint and I will be caught in a swamp rather than moving down the path. Once in this swamp, I will linger there for long periods of time and miss the chance to find the treasure.

I need to be asking myself constantly what am I supposed to be learning from this. True reflection is very important.

So once I have seen the clue and have now discerned the clue, will I follow it down the path? Most people will say of course they will follow it, but in truth will they? Will we have the courage to actually follow the path that is laid out for us? The clues on the path that guide us to the next clue may be fraught with pain and danger. We have to have the courage to face what this clue is telling us about ourselves.  This is not always easy. We need the strength of character which means we are not attached to what we have to give up in order to move forward. The goal for us has to be more important than our small self and its ideas. No matter what our temperament, whether a lover, a hermit, a warrior, a scholar, or whatever, we have to have the courage to face the truth.

Know that everything is a clue. Discern the clues. Have the courage to face the truth the clues reveal. Then the treasure of Love is there.

We can’t heal….

 April 29, 2013

We can’t heal if we keep picking and opening our wounds. Only through proper attention and care can we heal.

Sulky….

 April 29, 2013

Sulky

Cheerful / joyful

Reflective

Superficial

Spiritual Practice – Why?….

 April 21, 2013

Rohini discusses why we should pursue spiritual practice and what the practice is.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Respect (Just a Little Bit)….

 April 21, 2013

Rohini takes us through a foursquare on respect.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Heart of Darkness….

 April 21, 2013

Rohini discusses the spiritual implications between the moral, the immoral, and the amoral.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Constancy in Practice….

 April 21, 2013

Spiritual practice is not a crisis intervention to use only when we are in trouble. It is to bring us to peace not only for a moment but for all time.  So we practice and get to a state of peace and then we go about the business of life. When we walk into the world somehow we lose this peace. How can we maintain it? This is the question so many of us have.

If we just let go to a nebulous state with no consciousness, we will be lost quickly. However, if we are able to reach this peace with an awareness of going to the core of our being, to the Heart, and use our will to stay there, we can then engage with the world and not lose ourselves.

Sahaj Samadhi is the state of being in the Heart and acting in the world simultaneously. We live then from the Heart. We are conscious of acting from the Heart and respond to the world rather than react to it. Again our will has to be honed to keep our awareness in the Heart. This is the work at hand.

We tend to find peace and then go back to normal, not aware we can maintain the state we had in the wonderful meditation. What did Ido in that meditation? What did I do internally to be at peace. I let go of my attachments and rested. Who was aware of that stillness? I was. Where was that I and am I willing to consciously remain there?  What did my five senses do during this time? They were inverted toward this I awareness. Can I engage in the world and keep the senses restrained, looking in and yet functioning?  Can I keep my mind and attention turned inward and yet still relate with the world? Yes.

So the consciousness when we are at peace is disentangled and deep within. Our vehicles are turned inward to maintain restraint, and then we relate with the world from there. We come to ourselves in our practice and then never stop practicing. It is the practice that is so important: knowing what to do and then doing it all the time. Are we multitasking then? Looking in and out simultaneously. Or are we moving closer to Home and relating from there?

The Katha Upanishad uses the image of a chariot to make the practice clear. The Self is the lord of the chariot. The chariot is the body. The intellect is the charioteer and the reins are the mind. The senses are the horses, and where the horse goes is the objects of the senses. The body, the senses, the mind and any other venue from which to experience are all just vehicles for the Self. Without imbibing this understanding we live the life of one with no restraint.

To live in peace we have to practice and live where peace actually comes from. We must return to the Self and rest there. Resting and living in the Heart, we then can act from there. Peace is then the awareness of our daily life.

Sneaky….

 April 21, 2013

Sneaky

Transparent

Discreet

Indiscreet

The danger….

 April 21, 2013

The danger during the purifying stage is “I quit”. The danger during the illuminating stage is “I am done”.

Spiritual Direction v. Conventional Therapy….

 April 17, 2013

Rohini explains how spiritual direction goes beyond conventional forms of therapy and counseling, and how its stages work.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Stress and Appropriate Relaxation….

 April 17, 2013

Rohini explains how to relax without going inert.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Understanding Mantra….

 April 17, 2013

Rohini explains how mantra works.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Is There an Objective Force of Evil?….

 April 17, 2013

Rohini discusses the true origin of human evil.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Authentic Prayer….

 April 17, 2013

Rohini explains the different levels of prayer.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

How Spiritual Practice Unfolds….

 April 15, 2013

All is misery. This is because of the kleshas, the afflictions spoken of in the Yoga Sutras. Our ignorance of who we are is what causes our misery. There is always a sense of missing something, of not being true, of not feeling fulfilled or experiencing Love. We can have moments and then say we are fulfilled in our work or have great relationships, but always sitting around the corner is the pain, whether we admit it or not, that we are just not ourselves. When we have had enough of this nagging feeling in the background of our lives, we may start our search. This will be the search for deeper meaning, more fulfillment, authentic voice, true happiness. In the world today there are many circus barkers selling the solutions. And for them their solution is the solution. They have come up with an easy new way that will get you there in a heartbeat with no work. Magic.

Sorry, I do not hawk magic. This is not an easy path. It is very steep. So if you are not up to the task, that is okay; you can tune out now. If you want the Truth, however, the path that has been traveled for thousands of years and that brings you to the goal, then listen up.

Ignorance according to Patanjali is taking what is not real to be real, what is impermanent to be permanent, what is impure to be pure, what is not-Self to be Self. Once we do this, we lose our subject in the object with which we have mistakenly identified. After this, we are then attracted to certain things because of our wrong identification; we are also repulsed by certain things because of this identification. Finally, we cling to this identity because we have fear of death. All the writings of all traditions and schools of thought say we can be freed from this wrong knowledge.

The first step is for us to be able to listen to and hear our honest answer. Our honest answer is not the true Self; it is just our honest answer. But it is our honest answer that runs us, that controls us, that keeps everything going. So if we do not hear our honest answer, we do not know what we are actually doing. We may intellectually have really good ideas, but it is the honest answer sitting underneath that runs us. So what we need to do first is be able to hear our honest answer. We may think there should be no reason why we would not listen to ourselves. But our honest answer is not always the answer we want to hear. And if it isn’t what we want to hear, we may deny it. Therefore, step one is to hear and then accept our honest answer. The foursquare game is a way of developing this hearing and acceptance. The seed exercise will help with seeing and acceptance. Until we get to and accept our honest answer, we cannot move. If we are tormented by our answer, then obviously we have not accepted it. We have somehow run away. Our job is not to judge but to accept. Once we have continuously listened to our honest answer and accepted it, we can then move. We can actually start working.

Second, we need to be with our experience, let whatever comes up come up, and function efficiently and appropriately on the physical plane. It is better to be with whatever our experience is than to deny what we do not like. Being with our experience is, again, not wallowing or tormenting. We have to accept. Everything in the world comes from us. If we do not accept this we unwittingly end up perpetuating pain when we believed we were acting out of love and compassion. We have to own the truth of our motives, and we cannot until we are willing to live, being with our true experience of the moment and not denying it. We have to be strong enough to look squarely at what comes up and accept all qualities. Not functioning appropriately is one way of not accepting our honest answer. By the way, if we do not allow ourselves to be with our honest experience of the moment, we may believe we are only avoiding negative experiences that we call bad. In fact, we are also avoiding true positive feeling, like actual joy or love. We will only be allowing the shadow or the distant iteration of the true experience. For instance, if we are committed to positive sentiments, we will just manifest as sappy, which will then annoy many people. So we have to be willing to be as true as we can be in the moment and function appropriately.

This third step is where we are no longer in the territory of the therapeutic model. Most of the work in the early stages of sadhana, which can take years, is about cleaning our vehicles, so good therapy can be very helpful. During these early stages, people may think that therapy and spiritual practice are the same thing. It is in step three that the two schools separate very clearly. Therapy wants me to be the best “Rohini” I can possibly be. Spiritual practice knows that I am not Rohini, because Rohini is a knowable. The goal of spiritual practice is to disentangle from Rohini. So step three is letting go of perceivables. Our task is to keep withdrawing the line of demarcation between who we think we are and what we perceive. We are disentangling what we perceive from “I”.  Eventually, we will get to pure Subject, with no object.

When we get to pure Subject with no object, we will Know who we are. We are the Perceiver, not the perceived. We are the Seer, not the seen. If we can know it, perceive it, see it, then it cannot be who we are.

What is the means to get to pure Subject? According to all the schools and traditions: discriminative knowledge. How do we acquire this knowledge? If we return to step one, we will see that from the very beginning we have been practicing and developing this means. Being able to hear our honest answer rather than the “right” or “good” of the small self is an early form of discriminative knowledge. If we can accept this answer, then we are not running away from ourselves, even in our shrunken form. Then, as we proceed, we can discern who we are not from who we really are. Discriminative knowledge is being able to tell the difference between the Real and the not real.

Who are we? We are the Self of All, Pure Love. Practice, and then be your Self. And remember: this takes many years.

Be Good, Be Bad or Be….

 April 17, 2013

Rohini discusses going beyond our delusional ideas of good and bad.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Your honest answer….

 April 15, 2013

Your honest answer is not your true Self. It is your honest answer of the moment.

Adore….

 April 15, 2013

Adore

Defile

Box in / trap / deaden

Make real

We are our own worst victim…..

 April 8, 2013

It is not my fault. It is your fault. This view works for me. The only time this does not “work” is when both of us claim the role of victim. Then we have a competition. When this happens we can have a standoff for hours or even days. We are committed to our small self as a victim, and we will not give up. We win.

What do we win? When we are the victim, we get to be right. We get to have people feel bad for us. We believe people understand and care about what is going on in our life. We are the center of attention. What more can our small self wish for? We definitely win.

The only problem is the misery. Why is it that when I win I am still miserable? My small self has all it is looking for, and yet pain is the experience instead of joy. Maybe the role of victim is not as good as I think it is. Where is this misery coming from? These are the questions I need to ask when, after labeling myself the faultless victim, I am in pain.

My very commitment to being a victim is the cause of the misery. I have willingly stuffed myself into a box that imprisons and belittles. The cause of this choice is ignorance. “Victim” looks like a great explanation and solution to my problems; it seems so natural and true. How can this be ignorant? I have taken “victim” to be me; I have believed in the superiority of victimhood. So I have taken the not-self of victim to be the Self, the impermanence of victim to be permanent, the impurity of “victim” to be pure. Once I choose “victim” as the pinnacle of life, I lose my subject in the object of “victim”. Now, as a victim, I am attached to certain things. As a victim, I am repulsed by certain things. Finally, I cling to the life of my victimhood.

Seeing all this, we can understand the real solution of our misery to be giving up our identity with “victim”. How do we do this when we believe being the victim makes us the winner, the good person? We have to see that “victim” is not who we are. We have to see that “victim” is not universal. And since we are not the victim a hundred percent of the time, we prove that victimhood is a temporary state. Also, we are not universally seen as victims, so it cannot be our identity.

I want to be happy and love my life. The role of the victim requires misery. As a victim, I am not myself. I am not my true nature: Love. Being on the other side, as the aggressor, also has not worked. Neither brings happiness or love. Once this has been revealed to us we have the opportunity to choose something different. But what? If we remain in our small self we will unwittingly choose the same thing. If we surrender and let go of this small self that always leads us astray, we then can put our attention back into the Heart, where true discernment can occur.

The truth is, we are the perpetuators of our identity as victims. We choose to relate to our circumstances in the role of victim. We interpret the circumstances of our life as defining us as victims. However, we could always respond differently if we so wished. By doing so, we are no longer victims, no matter the situation. We are our own worst victim. It is not the winning ticket, so let it go and take responsibility. Then Love rather than misery becomes a choice.

Stress is….

 April 8, 2013

Stress is a lot of work. Surrender to God is easy.

No boundaries….

 April 8, 2013

No boundaries

Appropriate boundaries

Free / open

Imprisoned

Victim-Bully/Rest….

 March 30, 2013

Rohini discusses the reality of the victim/bully dichotomy. She also explains appropriate rest.v

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Jesus had to….

 March 30, 2013

Jesus had to die so that Christ could rise.

We Are Not as Good as We Think….

 March 30, 2013

We cannot go forward without first bringing down our small self. What is the small self? Simply, it is who we think we are. It is not who we are. The small self is just a set of ideas, but we then believe those ideas are who we are. Our true Self actually enlivens these ideas, but our small selves forget the Self and decide those ideas are alive and who we are. Who we think we are and how we act may have no similarity; for when we are deluded imagination runs us. Reality may not even come close. One of the first steps in spiritual practice is to bring into harmony our actions and our ideas. Then, when we shine the light of consciousness, we call our actions, ideas, attitudes, motivations what they are, not what we would like to call them.

We must own that we are sinners. That we do not do only good. That we are not innocent. Isn’t that what Christ was modeling? Jesus had to die as a criminal in order to have Christ rise in glory. The Passover narrative also does not depict everyone as either good or bad. Pharaoh wanted to let the Hebrews go, “but God hardened his heart”. Life is a play in which each character has to know the part he is playing and the lines that go with it. It is a play in which we are all the characters, both the victims and the bullies, and we must embrace this fact if we are to own our connection to God. Who we really are is all; we are all as God is All. It is losing our subject in the object of the small self, the individual, that causes us to be blinkered and miss the Truth.

Yes, there is relative reality, and each of us sees the world through a different individual’s eyes. However, there is also Absolute Reality, where the Truth is the Truth. We have the same Truth if we are looking from Absolute Reality. The Self is the same for All. God is God. Do you believe that evil is in fact separate from God? There is no place that God is not. From the standpoint of Absolute Reality, evil is a part of God. In relative reality, we distinguish between God and evil, which in itself limits God. This limited view comes from our being identified with the small self. We believe we are the sun when in fact our small self could not survive or shine without God, the Self. We are the moon, not self-illuminating but illuminated by the Self, but we will not face that Truth.

If we can accept that our small self as an independent entity has nothing to be proud of, then we can begin the work of disentangling and turning inward to the sun, the true Self.

Spoiled Brat….

 March 30, 2013

Spoiled brat

Mature / responsible

Self-directed

Oppressed

Dismantling the Victim and the Bully….

 March 24, 2013

We have become a nation of victims and bullies. Everyone is encouraged to adopt one role or the other. We seem to have lost our sense of character and of the honor of taking responsibility for our actions. Our media and public officials have taken to name-calling rather than discerning what actually may be going on. We are all so sure that we see everything correctly. We are good and right; they are bad and wrong. And everyone is saying the same thing. Each person is looking to usurp the role of victim.

Victim

Responsible/Leader/In charge

Nice/Innocent

Bully

Looking at the foursquare, we see that if we are a bully then we are also responsible and in charge. The problem that I see with the victim is that the victim believes he is powerless, at the mercy of the bully. The bully will often say that it is not his fault and even feel victimized by the victim. Everyone is looking to be powerless and not responsible. Everyone wants not to be accountable.

The fact is, we are all responsible. Both the victim and the bully cannot say that they have no responsibility. How we act is totally our fault because we choose to be entangled in these attachments. We will claim that we don’t participate; we will say “I wasn’t planning on this”. And though we say God is everywhere, we also say God wouldn’t do that. What? God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present, and He wouldn’t do something that you decided he shouldn’t do? So the God who does all is only responsible for what you decide? Who then is God? Your small self has set itself up as God—do you trust in that God?

Baba used to say, “Love everyone, trust no one”.  From the standpoint of Absolute Reality we should love everyone; and from relative reality we should trust no one. We do not know someone as much as we would like to think we do. Going back to the Christ narrative, we see Christ followed this creed. He was not surprised by what occurred. He was not a victim; Christ knew what was going to be played out and surrendered to his role and everyone else’s. After Gethsemane there was no victim or bully—only God.

Baba also said, “Strange are the ways of karma”. We are never sure where we stand in any given situation. We may be creating karma when we think we are reaping it, and vice versa. The answer for all of us is in the way the great beings have modeled for us. They were detached, and uninterested in taking on the identity of either victim or bully.

Ramesh Pattni on “Walking Home with Baba”….

 March 24, 2013

When I heard that Rohini Ralby had written a book about her spiritual journey, I was immediately interested.  I became even more engaged when I learnt about her commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, as I was then working on my dissertation on the same subject.  Rohini’s husband generously handed me Rohini’s book, which I went on to read with resonances throughout, bringing memories of my own journey of Self discovery.

The core of any spiritual journey is a quest, the seeking of something that transcends the boundaries of our normal day-to-day experience. It is a voyage of discovery about who we truly are, our identity which goes beyond the realms of the body, mind, intellect and our ordinary limited sense of who we are.

It is put plainly in the Mundakopanishad (II:3):

‘The Self is not attained through discourses, or through memorising scriptural texts, nor through much learning. It is gained only by her who wishes to attain with her whole heart. To such a one, the Self reveals Its true nature’

Here is the paradox of the spiritual journey. On the one hand we are compelled as it were to act, to ‘do something’ about realising our true nature. This results from our misidentification with the lower gross personality, which leads us to believe that we are the ‘doers’ and we are the ‘enjoyers’. The ancient sages realised that, from this starting point, we will need to ‘do something’ and hence gave various guidelines for the journey. On the other hand, realisation is here and now, it is in the sense of Being the sat or Truth of our Existence. What this verse in the Upanishad is telling us is that when the mind and intellect attain a certain state of ‘purity’ – chittasuddhi – the Self reveals itself. This is the essence of Patanjali’s method of establishing oneself in the Self, the Purusha, by ‘Yogaschittavrittinirodha’ (‘Yoga is the cessation of the modifications of the mind’).

In this book Rohini has given us a fascinating and wonderful insight into what constitutes a spiritual journey, the ‘Walk Home’. My guru, Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji, used to say ‘Hurry Home!’ as a twist on the greeting ‘Hari Om!’. He would urge us to spend every conscious moment in the journey, not wasting any time, working through the stream of our daily experiences to guide ourselves, constantly striving for the Changeless Pure Awareness. Throughout this book, Rohini makes it amply clear that the journey is not about sitting in meditation in a remote location. It is in the dharmakshetra, the field of action, where the Self is found, just as Lord Krishna exhorts Arjuna not to shrink back from his dharma but act in the world with the right thinking, feeling and attitude. Rohini describes this spiritual practice – sadhana – as being ‘no more and no less than the moment-to-moment, day-to-day grounding of your awareness in the Heart’. In the journey, ‘Being’ and ‘Doing’ have to come together.

In every chapter, Rohini has given many practical pointers for the spiritual seeker. These are lessons learnt by a seeker on the journey through a process of reflection and introspection. In fact, daily introspection is essential for everyone on the spiritual path. It not only gives insight into one’s own ego identity but shows how the issues arising from one’s attachments can be dealt with according to the prescriptions of the scriptures. Rohini mentions, for example, that the basis of spiritual practice is self-surrender. This is a vital pointer, as it is one of the principles of Karma Yoga, the other being consecration of all actions to the Lord. This and other vital signposts on the journey will help seekers as they make choices about their sadhana. Two chapters in particular give precise and clear instructions to the practitioner. In Chapter 5, Rohini uses her own experience to give us insight into how to recognise and still vibrations in consciousness that make us miserable. She charts the entire process in such a precise way that there is no doubt about what needs to be done. Another important concept she has developed is the Foursquare personality analysis. It is a powerful tool to identify how the ego has learnt to function and then finding a way beyond this limited identity. There is no doubt that readers have much to gain in their own journeys through these techniques and insights.

Whether as head of security or appointments secretary, her relationship with Swami Muktananda, Baba, is the crucial element of her journey. As Rohini says: ‘You need the guidance of a good teacher and support of a practicing community.’ This is indeed true of almost all journeys of Self discovery: the need for a Guru who takes us from the darkness of ignorance to Enlightenment. It is said that when the disciple is ready, the master appears. It is not that he ‘appears’ out of nowhere but that sincere practice of purifying the ego leads to the recognition of the teacher. After her missed encounter with Baba in Boston in December 1974, Rohini dreams repeatedly of a ‘little Indian man in an orange robe’. The teacher ‘appears’ at the moment when Rohini is ready for the next phase of her walk home, and through the next eight years, her close encounter with the tremendous radiation of shakti from Baba, along with his continual instruction, takes her through hills and valleys of experience culminating in a transcendent experience beyond any sense of identity.

The spiritual journey is often compared to the purification of raw gold. One is subject to flaming heat, melting, and beating again and again until the Self is revealed, pure and self-effulgent. Anyone who sincerely treads on the spiritual pathway needs to remember that it is not going to be an easy walk. Many obstacles, problems and painful experiences will arise as we struggle with our false identity and disentangle ourselves from the thraldom of prakriti—the world of gross matter—to reach the ‘one place where the Self dwells in us: the Heart’. Rohini here offers us many instances where she struggles with the misery and pain created by her own false identifications, and with courage and conviction ultimately learns to let go and surrender, taking steps towards the Truth. It is this process of surrender of the ‘me’ and the ‘mine’ which is central to the spiritual journey.

Adi Sankara, the proponent of the Advaita or Non-Dualistic Hindu tradition speaks of the four qualifications of the spiritual aspirant: Viveka (discernment or discrimination), vairagya (detachment) shatsampati (the six disciplines of sense control, mind control, withdrawal, forbearance, faith and equanimity) and mumukshutva (burning desire to know the Truth). Throughout the book we see Rohini actively cultivating these in order to step forward on the path: knowing what is True and what is False, what is Real and what is Unreal, being guided by Baba, who puts her in various situations which enhance her sensitivity to the Essence, and step by step letting go of the falseness of the ego. In a similar vein, Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras says that spiritual practice consists of abhyasa (deep experiential study) and vairagya (detachment). Again Rohini, through being wholly present to her moment to moment experiences, reframes them in the spiritual context, making it possible for her to move on in her journey through letting go.

On the spiritual journey, we need a guide – those who have made the journey and who know which paths to take and which to avoid, where the pitfalls are and where to be particularly careful, where to take your time and enjoy the experience. Of course each journey is unique, but there are certain factors that all spiritual journeys have in common.  Rohini, in this book, has done much to help others make a successful journey Home.

Ramesh Pattni

Trustee of Chinmaya Mission UK and Teacher of Advaita Vedanta

Chair of Interfaith, Hindu Forum of Britain

Co-Chair of Hindu Christian Forum

Trustee, Faith Based Regeneration Network UK

Trustee of Faith and Belief in Further Education

Currently researching Yoga Psychology at University of Oxford.

9th September 2011, Oxford

Victim….

 March 24, 2013

Victim

Responsible / leader / in charge

Nice / innocent

Bully

We need to….

 March 24, 2013

We need to give up stress and rest in the Heart.

Appropriate Rest….

 March 18, 2013

Sometimes, when pursuing the Truth, the best thing we can do is: rest. This may sound strange when we are intensely determined to stay on track. Are we on track or are we driven? Though we say we know the goal, we may be just driven to be driven. We may have “forgotten” the goal of Home, Truth, God, the Self. Our new goal is “driven”. When this occurs, self-effort has hijacked the practice and become the goal. We may believe we are working, but our small self is working, making decisions, and directing our course, which will be anywhere but near the Self.

Rest is exactly what is needed in this case. It goes against our idea of sādhana, spiritual practice, and therefore stymies the small self. Confusion will come to our small self because rest stops it in its tracks. So “sure” of action and direction, the small self would never lose control by resting. And yet if we really are pursuing the Truth, rest is definitely required. Rest can help us detach from our concepts.

We tend to be identified with our concepts, and with this identification comes a rigidity or tightness. Rest loosens the bounds enough for us to free ourselves. The very act of holding on quiets when we rest. Rest can be defined as relaxing, letting go, refreshing ourselves, and recovering strength. There are times when this is totally appropriate, not lazy. We are not running from “productive” or maybe even “workaholic”; it is just appropriate to rest.

We have been pushing very hard these last two months. Now is the time to take a breath, rest and assess how and where we are. Some of us feel we have not moved at all, that we are stuck in our misery. This means we are attached to our misery. We have not been able to detach. But if we are willing to back off from the battle and rest, we may actually detach from the importance of the battle and the object we are attacking. Remember, we want not to fight, for that will keep us in a repulsion relationship and make it quite difficult to free ourselves.

At these times rest becomes the best tactic. By resting, we are saying this very vibration we are working to overcome does not run us; we can back off and we do not need to engage with it. Ah, a moment without the pressure of purification, purgatory, a quiet moment. We are quite capable of these quiet and peaceful moments, though we may have forgotten that because we have been so committed and driven to remove our impurities from our character that we believe that is all there is. This focus on purification without perspective is also wrong understanding. We are meditating on something that is not Real. We have to come back to what the goal is and is not. Pride of work does not move us in the right direction. The goal is to give up our attachment to the small self, our individuality, and return to union with our true nature, God.

How the Levels of Spiritual Practice Work….

 March 18, 2013

Rohini explains how one moves through the three levels of spiritual practice.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Nobody Has Control….

 March 18, 2013

Rohini discusses how control is an illusion.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Real Leadership….

 March 18, 2013

Rohini discusses the nature of true leadership and why so many people get it wrong.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Impressionable….

 March 18, 2013

Impressionable

Self-possessed

Empathetic

Self-absorbed

Spiritual Practice is not….

 March 18, 2013

Spiritual Practice is not like a track meet where each lane is equal and finishes at the tape. Each level leads to the next until we are practicing Being, resting in the Heart.

Better to follow….

 March 9, 2013

Better to follow one’s true dharma poorly than to follow the small self’s well. A little twist on a great saying from the Bhagavad Gita.

Determined / decisive….

 March 9, 2013

Determined / decisive

Wishy-washy

Rigid / set

Flexible

Foursquare Politics….

 March 9, 2013

Government leaders should be working for the betterment of their constituents, and of the entire country. However, if leaders really just want to be the center of attention, even though we elected them they will not be working for our good; we are paying them, but they will be working for themselves. All that interests leaders like this is their small selves being the center of attention and in charge. When we get a group of people all acting this way with the same self-interested goals, nothing ever gets done. We need to remember that these people would deny they are operating this way, because they are unconscious of their underlying motives. They usually believe they are working for the good of all.

This is where our federal government is right now. Everyone is interested in being the center of attention and maintaining their own power and control. The people we elected are unwilling to let go and be the team called United States government. Nearly no one is asking what is really best for all the citizens of this country. Most everyone is just interested in keeping their small teams called the Democrats and the Republicans in the forefront.

One of the techniques I have developed as a spiritual director is the Foursquare Personality Game. It allows us to see where our attachments are and free us from them. In class the other day we made foursquares for President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell:

President Barack Obama

Nice Guy/Reasonable

Mean/Irrational

Weak/Aloof/Legalistic

Forceful/Strong/Creative

Speaker John Boehner

Forceful/Deal Maker

Obsequious/Insipid/Wishy-washy

Obnoxious/Operator

Pleasant/Compromiser

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

Determined/Decisive

Wishy-washy

Rigid/Set

Flexible

As we look at each of their foursquares, we can see these men are perfect for each other. They just feed each other’s small self. Where President Obama sees himself as reasonable and a nice guy, Boehner will see him as weak, legalistic and aloof. Boehner sees himself as a forceful dealmaker, while others see him as an obnoxious operator. Obama doesn’t want to be mean and irrational, so he will not be forceful, strong and creative. Boehner doesn’t want to be seen as too pleasant and too quick to compromise because he’s afraid he will be perceived as insipid and wishy-washy. McConnell is just rigid but sees himself as determined and decisive. McConnell would never be flexible because he would then think he was being wishy-washy. These men all complement each other’s foursquare, just like a strange marriage.

As long as we operate within our foursquares, our small selves take center stage. Being in the Heart eliminates the influence of the foursquare; our attention is in its proper place, and it is not our goal to be the center of attention anymore. The small self will resist this experience; it is not strong enough to be truly equal and has no desire to do that. A good leader, however, is strong enough to leave ego behind and work for the greater good.

Unfortunately, we no longer have statesmen; we have politicians. Politicians are small selves looking to be leaders. They speak up from where they are. They can be after nothing but attention and control, but we begin to believe they are only forceful dealmakers and determined, decisive and reasonable nice guys. They are also weak, aloof, legalistic, rigid, obnoxious operators who can also be insipid, wishy-washy, irrational and mean. We are all of those things, and until our leaders each get into their Hearts, stop being so committed to their own individual interests, and give up their smallness, there will be no hope for anything happening in Washington. Remember, when we are in the Heart we are not the center of attention; no one is, which is actually a really good thing. At that point we care only for the betterment of all because, whether follower or leader, we are All.

Real Leadership….

 March 4, 2013

A leader can be defined as someone who one or more people authorize to guide toward a particular goal. In this situation we may intellectually believe we share a common goal, and we even speak of this common goal; however, not until we start the process of leading and following do we actually see if we do have a common goal.

Many people believe that the person who demands the most attention is and should be the leader. The problem with that is that if all the person does is be the center of attention, then that is what ends up being the common goal. The followers will probably not have designated this as their goal. This form of leading or leadership is simply control. If the follower confronts or criticizes the leader, the leader is still in control. As long as anyone pays attention to the leader everyone unwittingly supports his goal of being the center of attention.

People who need to be the center of attention are the worst people to be leaders. They are not interested in any activity that would deprive them of the spotlight. All that the followers do is feed the small self of the leader. The leader is then able to say “I am leading you around,” and “If you do something for me, the leader, I am just getting my due. I am always the center of attention”.

A good leader who wants everyone’s well-being fulfilled does not necessarily have perfect followers. Sometimes the followers just want to be the center of attention and do not want what is best for them. A leader may have to say, for instance, “You and I had different goals for you. That is why you did not obey me. I wanted you to be happy, but you didn’t want to be happy”. The irony is, these followers just want to be in charge. When these situations occur, everyone is frustrated.

Whether the leader or the follower, the small self that has to be the center of attention is weak and therefore will not let go. The person is not healthily self-contained. Because of this, no matter how much we discuss concepts, intellectual ideas and goals we are going nowhere with them. The goal will always end up being the same: someone is the center of attention. Also this person, whose small self cannot handle not being the center of attention, can easily be manipulated. They can purposely be given tremendous attention and then maneuvered. It is not until we give up our need to be the center of attention that we can actually be of help to others and ourselves; then we can lead toward the common good.

A true Guru will guide disciples through the journey from apprentice to master. That is the purpose of the Guru/disciple relationship. If the guru is not truly a Guru but only wants to be adored, then the disciples will always remain beneath the guru and will be told the guru has secrets that cannot be revealed. Only by focusing on him can you get anything; there is no other practice. This kind of guru will always be superior, and everybody is just to adore and admire him. Hopefully, the followers will wake up and then there will be a disagreement about the goals.

When we are in the Heart we are not the center of attention. No one is. And many people do not like this experience. People who do not have the strength to be equal will not like being in the Heart. For when we are in the Heart it is just us. There is no more me, no more I, just us. This is so important to grasp. A leader must have the strength to let go of their ego and not be the center of attention and look and act for the greater good.

If you are in the Heart, there is no “center of attention”. You are the Subject with no object. Everyone and everything is One.

Nice Guy….

 March 3, 2013

Nice guy

Mean

Weak

Forceful / strong

When we are in the Heart….

 March 3, 2013

When we are in the Heart, we are not the “center of attention”. No one is.

Magic is Illusion….

 February 25, 2013

Magic is Illusion.

The Goal is Magic.

Therefore the Goal is Illusion.

Unfortunately and unknowingly, many people seeking “the Path” are following the above logic. The promise of power, wealth and supersensuous abilities entice people to pursue what is called spiritual practice but is really just magic. In just two weekends, you will be a master of this or that; you will be free from all that prevents your utmost happiness and power. And who listens to this? The very one that has to be dismantled in spiritual practice. The very idea of an enlightened small self is a sad joke for all of us.

This is where magic comes in. Magic exists. But, as Evelyn Underhill writes, it is the wrong goal:

[M]agic is a pathway to reality; a promise which it cannot fulfill, for the mere transcending of phenomena does not entail the attainment of the Absolute. Magic even at its best extends rather than escapes the boundaries of the phenomenal world. It stands, where genuine, for that form of transcendentalism which does abnormal things, but does not lead anywhere: and we are likely to fall victims to some kind of magic the moment that the declaration “I want to know” ousts the declaration “I want to be” from the chief place in our consciousness….[M]agic is merely a system whereby the self tries to assuage its transcendental curiosity by extending the activities of the will beyond their usual limits; sometimes, according to its own account, obtaining by this means an experimental knowledge of the planes of existence usually—but inaccurately—regarded as “supernatural.” (Mysticism, p. 151)

So magic at its best shows us that there is something beyond the merely concrete. The problem as I see it is that such experience becomes the end in itself. People get caught in the trap of psychic as spiritual, energy as spiritual, knowing as spiritual, and they stop there. These abilities are just that—powers—and they are never the final destination of the true seeker.

I usually explain this in the following manner. Let us suppose Boston, Massachusetts is our goal and we are in Baltimore, Maryland. We are driving to Boston, and as we go we come to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia represents “magic”. We stop there and get fascinated by all we discover and all we can do. We are so enamored of what there is that we forget our original goal and remain in Philadelphia. We then believe this is in fact the goal. So much for Boston.

We delude ourselves into believing that, since there is so much more in Philadelphia than where we have been, we must have arrived. But who has arrived? The small self has just expanded its territory. We have given nothing up. We have gained great things. And how can we delude ourselves this way? Easy. The small self does not discern; it is not pure. As the Yoga Sūtras state, the small self takes misery for happiness and the not-self for the Self. When we begin walking the path we make decisions based on what we call our “love”, our “truth”. This bottom line is not the real bottom line because it is based on the above ignorance. The vibration we are calling “love” is something else. For each of us it is different based on our destiny; but for each of us it is still twisted love not real Love. Delusion is then thinking our “loving” is the bottom line.

The truth is that Love is underneath all these other vibrations. Love is the bottom line; we just do not know the bottom line. So we come to power and magic and energy and call it love. We see this is better than what we have. However, the power, energy and magic are informed by our “loving” vibration. We swim in the vibration, so we think it is us. But the fact is, it is just a vibration that in truth has a different name. We are in fact living and loving based on illusion. Our narrative becomes something to hide behind, and we then miss the truth of life. The small self has created an illusion of love; therefore, it is the magician. It has convinced us that it is who we are. But the small self is not self-illuminative; sometimes it appears as subject and sometimes as object. Therefore there are times we can perceive it. We forgot that if we can perceive it, it is not us. And if it is not us, then it is not Love.

How do we choose to leave the magic and get back to the real goal? Using a wedge to get rid of a wedge, as Munenori says, means getting the small self to dismantle itself. By convincing the small self to practice shining a light on itself and letting go, we convince the small self it is heading in the right direction—and it is; toward its own demise. Only when it is too late, when the true Self is shining through and Love is there, does it then give up and surrender to the truth that it is not a great magician!

Exclude….

 February 24, 2013

Exclude

Inclusive

Special / exclusive

Ordinary

If you can perceive it….

 February 24, 2013

If you can perceive it, it is not you. If it is not you, then it is not Love.

Practice Isn’t Magic….

 February 24, 2013

Rohini discusses the real work of spiritual practice. It unfolds over a long period, and if we work diligently, Grace will be there. If we look for shortcuts, we will get nowhere.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.

Working With a Foursquare….

 February 24, 2013

Rohini and students work through the Foursquare Personality Game as mapped out in her book “Walking Home with Baba: The Heart of Spiritual Practice”.

For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription. 

Call It What It Is….

 February 24, 2013

Rohini discusses how we call a vibration something it is not. When we experience the vibration and call it what it is, we begin the process of freeing ourselves from the vibration. Then we can work to still it.