Could it really be necessary to speak about Asteya, (non-stealing) when the ones present has everything they need?

Unfortunately the answer is yes.  The desire to possess more than we need, to enjoy even what is not ours (in a sacred contract), the stealing of ideas that is driven by a hungry ego- these are the very actions in society that we deal with daily.  The ever-hunger urge “to have what is mine and what is yours is also mine, is also what I want or want to become” is a common mindset amongst us.

The yogi gradually reduces physical needs to the minimum and gathering what is not needed compares to the actions of theft.  The world is in a constant crave for power, enjoyment and indulgence.  This urge for satisfaction only separates one from tranquility.  Life becomes a battle with frustration and endless wanting.  Holding on to more than what is your share cripples one.  Your possessions becomes who you are, your power, your walls of protection, your weapon against the simple man or woman, it becomes your crutches and it consumes the Light inside you.  It becomes suffocating.

No one should go without the basics – a home, a warm bed, food, healthcare – but this happens in all walks of life far more than what we would like to acknowledge or know about.

May we become less and less the slaves of our desires, cravings and a false sense of power.

May everyone have the wisdom to find balance in their needs.  May there be a flow of what is needed to all beings.

May we become real about ourselves and our actions, real about what we take for ourselves.

The one that is free from greed, becomes the trusted with all treasures.

Let go of the hunger for more.  It is a false hunger.  See how wonderfully you are taken care off already.  Work to have just enough to have the freedom and time to develop spiritually and intellectually.

Blessings is ours.

How many of our actions goes without fruits?  And why does this happen?  How is it possible to stay trapped in the state of a puzzled human being when one is giving all of ones actions, physically, mentally and the deeds of the spirit in a situation, yet, it stays barren land?  For how long will this continue?

Here is the Universal Truth – this happens when we are working where there is a lie present.  We might be in denial, blinded by the dishonesty of another or really without the ability or past experience to identify what the lie is and how to fix it.  If we continue on this path, we will find ourselves in a barren land, planting trees that never bear fruit.  More than this, the lie will manifest in our bodies on a cellular level.  Our success in all aspects of life, from relationships, with self and others, in our careers and spiritual development is directly related to Truth.

We are each born with a Dharma – an aptitude, we can call it, of what is within our means to be and become.  Secondly, there is the direct fruits of our actions.  Both Dharma and Karma and the way we take our genuine onus in this, ripples out from the self on a cellular level, to affecting our families, work colleagues and society as a whole.

Untruthfulness traps one in a physical form of labour and greed, lust – an ongoing sowing of seeds in barren land.  The bliss lies in darkness within and we steal from our own lives and the lives of others.

The biggest quest and the only mystery to unravel is the mystery we hold within.  Liberation can only come once you have faced the truth.  Listen to your body, it holds many answers.  Observe yourself and your actions.  See beyond what is clear, as the lie is always concealed.

Be ready for your own personal truth no matter at what earthly price it may come.  Liberation awaits and the fruits will come.  We can only be happy where there is an ethic of non-violence and genuineness, honesty, truth and sincerity.

The wheel of life continues. We affect each other, life after life. Truthfulness is the field to labor with Love and Consciousness. May all individuals be Blessed with Dharma and righteous action.  Start today to live in truth, and truth only.

The first yama, (social norm of action and behavior) is to stay clear from harmful behavior, in thought, speech and action against any form of life.

Ask yourself:  “What would be the cause for me to act in violence, ignorance and harmful towards others.”

In observance and in self-reflection, the answer would be that violence comes from a lack of Respect and a lack of Love.  Other causes are fear, selfishness, anger and a lack of confidence.  These underlying currents within will be the very tools one use to create a personal culture, a personal refinement or lack thereof, towards oneself and towards Nature – all living beings with us, on this journey on earth, and even towards Earth.

Non-violence, harmless living, is the opposite of these tendencies.  Non-violence and living free from harmless action onto the self and others comes from Respect for others.  When a person lacks respect and have a distorted view on self this reflects in behavioral patterns of harmful actions. 

It is for everyone to observe their own actions, thoughts and words and to create a personal ethic to not cause injury, harm or violate anyone’s rights in this world.

Cultivating of a culture is a process.  With time and devotion can we grow and refine our personal ethics.

Grow in this consciousness and make it part of your asana practice.  The practice should not bring injury or violate breath-stability.  Become aware of the way you treat yourself, the asana and the breath on the mat.  Keep this reflection in your daily actions.  Alignment in body bears fruits in life with the integration and alignment of all the levels of our existence and consciousness (the five koshas).

See all living beings as equal.  Show and give respect.  Show and give love. When we ourselves becomes whole and integrated in our personalities, it becomes our knowing that we are one.  By harming self, we harm others.  By harming others we harm self – we harm our true nature, we inherently harm Nature.  Every action, spoken or unspoken, contemplated or executed, contributes to the escalate residue of harm and disrespect that is so prevalent on a global platform (nations, race, religion) and also in the micro cosmic cell (families, inter-personal, towards our pets, animals, exploiting nature).

If there are three things we could want for ourselves, let it be Serenity of Mind, Clarity of Words and Keeping the Body Clean and Healthy.

The practise of yoga is entered into by developing personal and social norms, followed by the repetition of asana practise until stability, strength and flexibility, poise in daily posture is developed.  Soon the voice becomes soft, as the glandular system becomes balanced and with this a level of self-restraint and a general state of dispassion for what was previously so important to the ego.

Yoga is a tool towards wholeness.  A way to collect ourselves.  It forms a backdrop, a once-melody, to which we can dance a thousandfold dances, in expressing and the search of knowing oneself on deeper levels.  It is in these deeper levels of understanding of self that we develop true self-compassion and true self-love.  This enable us to give to others from a deeper place without any expectations or attachments.

There certainly is many forms or ways to come closer to oneself.  Yoga is free from religion or dogma and renders tools towards all levels of personal well-being, the structure of a healthy society and towards harmony and peace.  It is the ancient documentation of how to make life, every breath, every motion an expression of art – conscious and liberated at the same time.

yogena cittasya pdena vacam

malam sarirasya ca vaidyakena

yo’pakarot tam pravaram muninam

patanjalim pranjalir anato’smi

abahu purusakaram sankha-crakra-asi-dharinam

sahasra-sirasam svetam pranamami patanjalim

When things get worse

When stars collide

When peace falls upon

When oceans seize their ohm

When exquisite is stepped upon

endurance prevails

whilst

the open heart bleeds

It is Devali – fireworks and families gathering for the festive season. I sit on my bed in padmasana. It is time to go to sleep, but impossible with the deafening noise of fireworks. Had a practise and pranayama, followed by back bending at the Shala this morning. Sanskrit and Philosophy has been cancelled. Tomorrow we’ll be back to a full day schedule ending with an observation on Acharya Venkatesh, as he teaches a class. Must say, being in a room where yoga is happening, is my favourite place to be……no matter how long the day was, I love sitting there on the cotton mat watching……it is like drinking sweet water…..Today, I had the most awesome day in the streets of Mysore. On returning home, a feeling of joy, enough to last me for another two lifetimes, is what I felt. The origin of this joy belongs to my children. I am the mother of the three most beautiful spirits. My joy is that their spirits chose me to be their mother. As I’m writing, memories flash through my mind of our times together. They have shaped me and loved and confronted and protected and…and .. and… never have we been uninvolved or un-loved with one another. Yet, there is so much space between us and also no space at all. It goes beyond the relationship or impact we had on each other. Or the fruits of us ever meeting. It is purely about honouring them for who they are. That is my Anahata Nada on this day.And my wish for my children: “To those who worship with a single-minded devotion, who are in harmony with their Creator every moment, I bring full security. I shall supply all their wants and shall protect them forever.”

In the words of BKS Iyengar: “The life of an ordinary man is filled with an unending series of disturbances and frustrations and with his reactions to them. Thus there is hardly any possibility of keeping the mind in a state of equilibrium. The sadhaka has developed the capacity to remain satisfied with whatever happens to him. Thus he obtains peace to take him beyond with what our world is saturated. Everything he really needs will come to him by itself at the proper time.”

All great people had a single-minded devotion.

May Tapas never burn out for anyone of us…

Asmita – am I this am I that who am I if I no longer do the things I used to do?

In modern society we often find ourselves having to market oneself for just about anything and everything that we aspire to do. Be it professional, physical, mental or even in finding love – you have to show yourself. Rip and analyse who you are. Is this the modern idea of self-knowledge? I believe it is. Pull labels out of a hat that suits your appearance – ones that validates the lines on your face and the clothes your wear, the food you eat and the entertainment you enjoy. And don’t forget your intelligence, after all – who wants to be dull in the eyes of the judgmental beholder! Remember that you are always fun to be around………truthful and ever graceful just to put the cherry on top!

The above is the dense thought patterns that we sometimes fall trap to. It is limiting the Spirit that is whole and everything. This causes pain and submerges the mind. The clear Self reflection that reflects back at the Self from a calm, clear lake becomes rippled and distorted. Thought patterns and analysis like this is mostly driven by fear or the search for love and acceptance and opportunities in a materialistic world.

Only when the mind is stilled can one reflect on one’s own beauty.  It is not about labels in a hat.  Rather about dropping down into your own darkness, finding the seed of nothingness inside – the zero point of infinite possibilities, infinite compassion, infinite vibration.  The yogi is in constant self-study; in constant reflection. It takes discipline, a physical and spiritual fitness, to stay clear from chitta vrtti, from limiting oneself. By visiting the pain that Asmita (klesa) brings the knowledge becomes the known. All lessons in life are valuable.  Experiences, the understanding and knowing is what lessens the ego and breaks down the walls that prevents clear compassion, for ourselves and others.  We are all on this journeys, individually and collective.

Fill the seat (asana) of your own nature – the Omni-Nature that is Prana, the Oneness that connects us all. Only then can Spirit be free to manifest from a Higher Consciousness. For we are Everything! I am not this (a South African, British, French…) nor that (a receptionist, lawyer, agent..),

I am willingly nothing

I am the world and I am not this world.  I am part of a collective play without becoming the story told.

(Photo by: Lettism, Little Theatre Yoga, 2012)

If ever you go

To Champs Elysees

Or plan to cross

The English Channel

Or just go for a stroll

Or even stay home

Let me know

I want to go with you

For now

In my mind, heart and soul

For now

In your mind, heart and soul