For more information, email mrityunjaya dot mantra at gmail dot com.
We will be following roughly the same program. Hopefully my cow dung will have arrived from India, and we will be able to perform Mrityunjaya as a havan!
As this is the first time we'll be doing the 'reading circle', I've taken the liberty of choosing the passage for the this meeting. I have chosen Bhagavad Gita, 3.27-35.
From Juan Mascaro:
27. All actions take place in time by the interweaving of the forces of Nature; but the man lost in selfish delusion thinks that he himself is the actor.
28. But the man who knows the relation between the forces of Nature and actions, sees how some forces of Nature work upon other forces of Nature, and becomes not their slave.
29. Those who are under the delusion of the forces of Nature bind themselves to the work of these forces. Let not the wise man who sees the All disturb the unwise who sees not the All .
30. Offer to me all thy works and rest thy mind on the Supreme. Be free from vain hopes and selfish thoughts, and with inner peace fight thou thy fight.
31. Those who ever follow my doctrine and who have faith, and have a good will, find through pure work their freedom.
32. But those who follow not my doctrine, and who have ill-will, are men blind to all wisdom, confused in the mind; they are lost.
33. 'Even a wise man acts under the impulse of his nature: all beings follow nature. Of what use is restraint?'
34. Hate and lust for things of nature have their roots in man's lower nature. Let him not fall under their power: they are the two enemies in his path.
35. And do thy duty, even if it be humble, rather than another's, even if it be great. To die in one's duty is life: to live in another's is death.
From 'Walking with the Gita' (MacCuish et al):
27. He whose mind is confused by egoism imagines 'I am the doer', whereas in fact all actions are carried out by the three qualities of nature.
28. But those who know the truth, O Arjuna, understand the relationship between the gunas and action, and are not attached.
29. Those who are deluded by the qualities of material nature become attached to material activities.
30. Dedicating all actions to Me, meditating on the Supreme Spirit, becoming free from the wising and selfishness fever, you must fight!
31. Whoever constantly practices tis teaching of Mine, with pure faith and without complaint, is released from karma.
32. But those who, out of envy, disregard these teachings and misunderstand everything, become lost and are the cause of their own suffering.
33. All beings act according to their own nature, even the wise. Why try to force anything to be otherwise?
34. It is natural for the sense o be attracted to that which is pleasant and to reject the unpleasant, but you must not come under the power of these two forces, because they are your enemies.
35. It is better to perform your own duty imperfectly, than someone else's perfectly. In fact, it is better to die in ones own duty, because following someone else's path is dangerous.
realising one's dharma may be a lifelong journey don't you think? yoga may be useful in quickening this realisation and the luxury of devoting ones life to practice would quicken it further maybe. Or maybe the work toward a deeper awareness of every moment, and hence the recognition of what it is that keeps returning, and gives a peaceful state will work? How do we know when the pleasure we feel is good or attachment? By knowing the peaceful state. The peaceful state found by practice.
ReplyDeleteHi Karon,
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe realising ones dharma can indeed be a lifelong journey.
In fact, I believe tat by definition it is a lifelong journey!
Have you read Illusions: The adventures of a Reluctant Messiah? If not, then please do.
On phrase from that book is this:
"How do you know if your work here on Earth is done?
If you are alive: it isn't"