We are now underway with Easwaran’s Climbing the Blue Mountain. This is our third-ever book study as an eSatsang, and we’re building an excellent habit of systematically reading whole volumes from Easwaran.
This week let’s begin the book’s first essay, “Taking the Plunge,” and read from the start on page 17 through the middle of page 22, ending with “…where is the room for boredom?”
As promised in the introduction, Easwaran is rousing us to pursue the spiritual journey:
“Here we have a uniquely human choice: shall we wait for millions of years, knocked about in the painful process of evolution, until we finally enter this sea of joy; or shall we try to enter now, in this very lifetime, by taking our personal evolution into our own hands? Whatever our past, whatever our condition, this is something that can be done by every one of us through the practice of meditation.”
The whole of life, Easwaran tells us, “is moving inexorably toward the sea of joy and fulfillment that we call God.” We are so glad to be continuing the journey with you!
This week we begin our study of Easwaran’s book Climbing the Blue Mountain, starting with his introduction on pages 9–15.
Easwaran uses the metaphor of travel: “you can look upon me as a travel agent for the world within.” He compares the spiritual journey – for which he is rousing our interest – with travel in the external world, for example using this marvelous stanza from the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita:
If a thousand suns were to rise together,
The blaze of their light would resemble a little
The supreme splendor of the Lord within.
“No external novelty is needed” Easwaran explains, for “when you travel within, every day is fresh with discoveries and challenges, inspiration and profound peace.”
May we progress together on this journey and see rising “a sun which will never set.”
To complete our study of The Mantram Handbook, this week we will read all of the final chapter, pages 179–190.
Systematically reading a whole volume from Easwaran is a great habit to practice together. As we complete our book study, we can appreciate our accomplishment and reflect on how we’ve grown. In this chapter Easwaran reminds us:
“From the very first day you begin to use the mantram, it begins to grow in your consciousness. It germinates like the tiny seed that will eventually grow into a magnificent tree, and as you repeat it often and enthusiastically, it sends its roots deeper and deeper. Over a period of many years, if you have been practicing all the other spiritual disciplines which strengthen your will and deepen your concentration, the taproot of the mantram will extend fathoms deep, where it works to unify your consciousness – resolving old conflicts, solving problems you may not even be aware of, and transforming negative emotions into spiritual energy.”
May we each make use of every opportunity to repeat the mantram!
“In the eight-point program I teach, the mantram plays a unique role as the bridge between the interior discipline of meditation and the other, external disciplines, for it helps greatly in applying the power gained in meditation to the other disciplines throughout the day.” – Eknath Easwaran
Easwaran completes his brief tour of the spiritual disciplines he teaches in chapter 11 of The Mantram Handbook with a fascinating discussion of their interrelationship. And he gives special attention to the role of the mantram as a bridge:
“In this way, the mantram can give the day real continuity. At the beginning, it may only extend your morning meditation a little into breakfast. You may have felt at peace with the whole world in your meditation room, but when you sit down to burned toast and cold coffee, that is the end of your patience for the day. Gradually, however, as your meditation deepens and you try your best to remember the mantram at every possible moment, it will extend your morning meditation into your mid-morning break, then to your lunch hour, and eventually into the afternoon. Finally, if you are practicing these disciplines sincerely, systematically, and with sustained enthusiasm, the mantram will enable you to take up your evening meditation exactly where you left off that morning.”
Our reading this week is pages 170–178. We are eager to hear what insights you gain for applying these comprehensive disciplines.
“If you find yourself getting speeded up, repeat the mantram as a reminder to slow down.” – Eknath Easwaran
Our reading this week from The Mantram Handbook is pages 164–172,* which includes Easwaran’s descriptions of slowing down, one-pointed attention, training the senses, and putting others first. Reading these eight-point program essentials is a valuable boost for us all, and often gives new insights.
For example, we found it very helpful to read this reminder from Easwaran about the damage hurry does to our relationships: “[H]urry makes for superficial relationships, because it deprives our family and friends of our time and attention so that we are not able to be sensitive to their needs.”
Let’s make the most of this opportunity and reflect on how to put these insights into practice in our lives!
Thanks to all who joined in this year’s Celebration of Easwaran’s Life and Teachings, including last Sunday’s culmination! Taking part in that five-week program with you was a joyful and inspiring experience. Let us each continue our united effort to infuse the spiritual renaissance with a little more life, a little more love. We have Easwaran’s support in this. Our daily meditation and our mantram are healing forces in the world.
Our shared study here in the eSatsang each week supports this effort as well. Now we return to The Mantram Handbook. This week we begin chapter 11 of The Mantram Handbook, which puts the mantram in the context of the other spiritual disciplines Easwaran teaches. Easwaran tells us that the disciplines he presents are comprehensive, providing the tools to transform our lives into the highest form of art, in which we make “our every word and deed an expression of the unity of life.”
And he emphasizes that “these disciplines are suited for life in the modern world.” With these disciplines we too can follow the approach of his beloved granny, “in which we live in the midst of the world but never take our eyes off the supreme goal of life.”
This week let’s read pages 157–164, which include Easwaran’s introduction and his descriptions of passage meditation and repetition of a mantram.
We have arrived at the week of our Celebration of Easwaran’s Life and Teachings! You can read details of how to participate this Sunday, October 23 at www.bmcm.org/celebration.
Here in the eSatsang, our study of the Fall 2019 Blue Mountain Journal Seeing the Lord in All has been abundant with inspiration. Let’s finish with the brief final article from Easwaran on pages 58–61 and the beautiful passages included in this issue on pages 25, 30, 31, and 55. Here are the final words from Easwaran on the journal’s back cover:
“I don’t have to close my eyes in meditation to see God. I see nothing else. And I see, at the same time, that not only every human being but every living creature, the mountains, the rivers, the seas, the skies, the forests and the earth, are all one indivisible whole.”
We are now one week away from our worldwide celebration of Easwaran’s life on Sunday, October 23 – we hope you will join us! You can read details of how to participate at www.bmcm.org/celebration.
Here in the eSatsang, we have been preparing by studying the Fall 2019 Blue Mountain Journal Seeing the Lord in All. This week we’ll pick back up with Easwaran’s article “Remove the Veil of Self-will,” reading from the bottom of page 35 to the end on page 44. This section is full of tips for reducing self-will. And in practical language Easwaran describes the exalted state to which this work leads:
“Through sheer exercise, over a long, long period, we do not just love Jonathan or Josephine; we become love itself. Our love radiates to anyone who comes within our orbit; we simply lose the knack of doing otherwise. It does not matter whether the person seated beside us has been unpleasant to us for years, perhaps has even opposed us; that is immaterial. What matters is that our very nature now is love. At all times, in every situation, we are at our best with everybody. This is the answer to our most profound prayers.”
We are continuing our preparation for Easwaran’s life celebration on Sunday, October 23. In the meantime, we have a precious opportunity. Every day, we each can infuse the spiritual renaissance with a little more life, a little more love. Let’s all focus on what we are certain of, what we can do from day to day, and how we can join together to strengthen our unity. By giving our best to this five-week program, we can all join hands and build intimacy with our teacher to respond to these compelling times. In all the ways you participate, you are strengthening your own practice as well as supporting our beloved community. Your daily meditation and your mantram are healing forces in the world.
This week in the eSatsang, we’ll read the short articles from Easwaran on pages 26–27 and 28–29 of the Fall 2019 Blue Mountain Journal, and also start his longer article “Remove the Veil of Self-will,” reading from page 33 to the end of the section on page 35. Throughout, Easwaran helps us see past our differences. He writes, “All our greatness comes from this common humanity, and when we constantly keep our eyes fixed on it, we discover the unity of life which is divine.”
“Only when you have lowered all the barriers between yourself and others will there be no barrier between you and the Lord within,” Easwaran explains in this week’s reading. “Deliberately, then, from the very first, you begin to chip away at those walls in consciousness. You do it in little ways, throughout the day, by trying to see the needs of others as clearly as your own and to act in harmony with them.” We are studying the Fall 2019 Blue Mountain Journal in support of our annual Celebration of Easwaran’s Life and Teachings. Let’s pick back up on page 12 of this article, titled “Seeing God Everywhere,” and read to the end on page 22. May we each be inspired to follow his example, realizing this truth in our own lives!
Our worldwide celebration of Easwaran’s life is coming Sunday, October 23. You can read details of how to participate in the Life Celebration at www.bmcm.org/celebration.
As we do each autumn, we are now entering into our annual Celebration of Easwaran’s Life and Teachings. You can read details of how to participate at www.bmcm.org/celebration.
Here in the eSatsang, to deepen our connection with Easwaran, we will be studying the Blue Mountain Journal Seeing the Lord in All issued in Fall 2019. We’ll thus pause our book study of The Mantram Handbook, and resume after the Life Celebration. Let’s begin by studying the short articles on pages 2 and 3 and starting the first extended article from Easwaran, reading pages 5–11. Here Easwaran writes:
“In all the world’s great religions, this is the purpose of human life: to realize God in the depths of our consciousness. It means discovering that we are not physical creatures that can be satisfied with physical gratifications, but spiritual beings made in the image of God. This supreme discovery brings a complete transformation of personality that cannot help making profound changes in the world around us.
“That is why I say that as I present it, religion is the solution to all the problems that burden us today. In a truly religious country we would have no wars, no violence, no exploitation, no pollution of air and water — for the simple reason that when you realize God, you see God in everyone.”
“[W]e can learn to deepen our will, to strengthen it immeasurably,” Easwaran assures us in this week’s reading, pages 151–155, to close chapter 10 of The Mantram Handbook. And our desire to achieve this is itself a sign of grace:
“The desire to go beyond desire is the longing for freedom rising from deep within us. In the language of Sri Ramakrishna, the Divine Mother has looked upon us from the corner of her beautiful eyes, filled with love for us. When that glance falls on us, there comes the desire to be free, and the will to practice the disciplines which will set us free.”
Easwaran explains that in the early days grace may come as restlessness and dissatisfaction. “If any of this kind of dissatisfaction leads us to turn inward and take up the practice of the spiritual life, that is a sure sign of grace.” Indeed, we feel sure that practicing together with you and this strong community is testimony to that grace.
Note that next week we’ll pause our book study and begin a special curriculum in preparation for our annual Celebration of Easwaran’s Life and Teachings.
Welcome back after our pause to celebrate the life of Christine Easwaran. If you haven’t seen it yet, you might take a look at this special message honoring Christine Easwaran to learn more about Christine and her contribution to Easwaran’s work.
Here on the eSatsang, this week Easwaran highlights the necessary role of detachment for attaining the goal of life, as we continue chapter 10 of The Mantram Handbook, reading pages 144 to the top of 151.
The topic of detachment continues a theme from earlier in this chapter, titled The Goal of Life: “When we overcome our identification with the body, the mind, and the ego, we are living in freedom.” Now Easwaran describes those stages of detachment from body, mind, and ego as a progression, and gives fascinating details of the tasks and rewards at each stage.
Here is one clue that inspired us: “[W]hen we turn our will against the ego, taking advantage of the innumerable little opportunities throughout the day to reduce self-will, then the will is helping us to grow to our full stature.” May we each learn to turn our will against the ego!
Dear eSatsang members,
In honor of Christine Easwaran’s recent passing on Sunday, August 28th, the BMCM will be holding an hour-long special Satsang Live at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on September 4th. We are temporarily pausing our eSatsang curriculum until September 10th when we will return to our normal schedule and format.
We look forward to seeing you on September 4th.
Warmly,
The eSatsang team
Easwaran addresses some of our biggest questions in this week’s reading, pages 139–144 of The Mantram Handbook.
What does spiritual experience of the ultimate reality mean in practical terms? Easwaran gives an infallible test:
“You may have a bumper sticker that says All Life Is One, but if you do not have some measure of control over your thinking process, if you cannot drop a job at will or juggle with your likes and dislikes, if you cannot bear patiently with those who oppose you, then you have not yet realized the unity of life for yourself.”
What is the goal of life, and what is its realization?
“What we are all looking for, even though we may be searching in the most improbable places, is infinite wisdom, infinite joy, infinite love. And this is our real nature. At the very core of our being is a spark of purity, of perfection, of divinity, because the Lord is enshrined in the heart of each of us. When we learn to identify less and less with that which is subject to change and more and more with this core of perfection, we are gradually waking up to our true nature.”
We are so happy to be studying Easwaran and his lofty message with you.
The mantram at the time of death is our focus this week, with implications immediate and profound. Last chapter Easwaran instructed us to conserve our energies and harness the power underlying our desires, to realize the indivisible unity of life. Now he elucidates how that realization can enable us to go beyond death.
“[A]s long as the mind has not been stilled through the practice of meditation and the repetition of the mantram, consciousness will remain in the mind at the moment of death. We will still be identified with the ego, and our last thought will be I, I, I. To repeat the mantram at this stage is impossible if we have only been saying it on the surface level of consciousness, for there is no surface level any longer. To be able to repeat the mantram at the actual moment of death, the mantram must have sunk very, very deep into the mind – so deep that instead of our last thought being I, I, I, the last thought will be of God, whose symbol is the mantram.”
We look forward to hearing your comments on this week’s eSatsang reading, chapter nine of The Mantram Handbook, pages 129–138.
Over the past several weeks as we’ve studied chapter 8 of The Mantram Handbook, “Harnessing Fear, Anger, & Greed,” we’ve seen Easwaran move from detailing the specifics of transforming those negative emotions, to the nature of desire itself, which underlies them.
Now he leads us to a forceful conclusion:
“Desire is power which we can harness or let go to waste. We have all been given this power for one purpose: to realize the indivisible unity of life; as the Buddha would put it, to cross from this shore of separateness to the far shore of unity.”
Easwaran tells us, “Begin conserving your energies to undertake the really big adventure we were all born for. Don’t postpone a day.”
As we read pages 125–128, let’s draw on the support of our teacher and the strength of this group to renew our enthusiasm for this adventure.
“Burgundy Cherry Ice Cream” is the heading of Easwaran’s section on the dynamics of desire in this week’s reading, pages 121–124 in The Mantram Handbook. And he uses that delicacy to show why satisfying the desire for something physical cannot lead to lasting happiness.
“It is the nature of a desire to exhaust itself, the mystics say. Even if eating that burgundy cherry cone gives you satisfaction – and no one is denying that – how long does this satisfaction last? More than that, if you keep on eating ice cream, cone after cone, satisfaction soon turns to satiation, and then eventually to revulsion. But this hasn’t helped to get rid of the desire: when you are hungry again, the desire will be back, and no amount of indulgence on the physical level can root it out, because desire is in the mind.”
We look forward to hearing about the insights you gain from this week’s reading, and how you put them into action.
“The simple solution I would suggest to the problem of anger is repetition of the mantram,” Easwaran affirms in this week’s reading, pages 117–121 from The Mantram Handbook. “This is how we can become slow to anger and quick to forgive.”
As usual, along with this simple solution, this section is replete with specific suggestions for how to put the mantram into action. And Easwaran gives us the quiet assurance that we can do it.
“Here it is that I value Gandhi’s example very much, because it shows that we all have the choice to undertake this transformation ourselves. This was pointed out with keen insight by the Compassionate Buddha. When people used to go to him complaining that they were upset, telling him, ‘Our children upset us; our partner agitates us,’ his simple reply would be, ‘You are not upset because of your children or your partner; you are upset because you are upsettable.’ The choice is ours to make ourselves unupsettable.”
So let’s keep our mantram on our lips, and keep building our determination to become unupsettable.
In this week’s reading, pages 113–117 of The Mantram Handbook,* Easwaran describes how the mantram can help with our litany of worries and anxieties, as well as our bigger fears. Here’s an anecdote he shares that inspired us:
“A friend of mine works as a doctor in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, and she had as a patient an elderly woman who was seriously ill, so ill that she wasn’t even able to breathe except with the aid of one of those breathing machines, a respirator. The patient was a Catholic, so my friend suggested that she repeat Hail Mary. She began doing it and her condition improved considerably. In this case, the mantram helped more than anything else that had been tried, because it helped the patient deal with her fear.”
Let’s continue working together to transform these negative emotions and drive the mantram deeper into our consciousness.
