Guest guest Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Dr. Frank Morales' Dharma Journal ___________ January 9, 2008 - Founded in 1998 The Teachings of the Bhagavad Gita The one who controls the senses by the trained and purified mind and intellect, and engages the organs of action to selfless service is considered superior. (3.07) Perform your obligatory duty, because working is indeed better than sitting idle. Even the maintenance of your body would not be possible without work. (3.08) Work other than those done as a selfless service (Seva) binds human beings. Therefore, becoming free from selfish attachment to the fruits of work, do your duty efficiently as a service to Me. (3.09) ______ Question from one of Dr. Morales' students: Namaste, As so many of us these days seem to be doing much of this work all at once, how do we structure our spiritual practices to better fit in to this traditional model? Especially in the West, we tend to get a little overzealous about everything, almost looking at the System of Yoga as something to push through or conquer. I think it is wonderful that we get so excited about our spirituality, but do we need to slow down, back-up a little, and be on a more natural " schedule " ? Or can we just be fully aware of the Four Ashramas and All the Eight Limbs of Yoga and continue to pursue each one sincerely and with devotion recognizing this shift? Many thanks to Acharyaji Dr. Frank Morales. Om Shanti, Sita Dr. Morales' Answer: Dear Sita, Namaste. It does seem that there are an infinite number of demands on our schedules today compared to the past! People today are riddled with jobs, classes, active Internet lives, family, a barrage of information coming at us, etc., etc. To add Yoga, meditation and a satisfying spiritual life on top of all this often seems pretty daunting. The idea of spiritual life is ultimately one of balance. The path of Yoga teaches us that balance in all things is necessary to make spiritual progress. In the Bhagavad Gita, for example, Sri Krishna says: " One can have no success in Yoga if one eats too much or eats too little. Nor can one be successful if one sleeps too much or does not sleep enough. " (B.G. 6:16) We are meant to practice Yoga in a way that is healthy, realistic, and conducive to advancement. Thus, we have to avoid extremes in our life, and live our life in such a way that we can come to a happy compromise with A) our sadhana (practice) and B) our duties in life. As far as knowing where the line lies between balance and obsession, that will vary in accordance with the individual. A good indicator that you may be over-extending yourself in sadhana at the expense of the other important aspects of your life is precisely when sadhana begins to be seen as a burden rather than a joy, and to produce anxiety rather than peace. When we are performing asanas, for example, we know that we have pushed our bodies too far when an asana has gone from being merely challenging to being painful. At that point, we are being given a hint by our body that it is time to pull back a little, and if we go further, we may end up injuring ourselves. In the same way that we need to hear and respect what our body is communicating to us in asana, we also need to hear what our inner self is telling us with our sadhana practice. It is important always to challenge ourselves in a healthy and progressive manner. But if we go beyond that fine line from challenge to unhealthy extremes, then we need to adjust ourselves accordingly and reassess how much we can do in accordance with our capabilities, the time we have, our other demands in life, and our goal in spiritual practice. If, on the other hand, our problem is not just that we feel that we're pushing ourselves too much spiritually, but that we actually want to perform more sadhana but simply do not have the time, then this is a different concern. This is still a matter of balance, but it is now one of a balance of priorities. In this case, there are several options that one can follow. These include: A) reassessing just how important other specific, non-spiritual activities are to one's life. Are there some activities � even just one or two � that can be put on hold or scaled down to give you more time? Can you take one less class, work a few less hours a week, or make some other minor adjustments? B) Another course of action is maximizing the time you do have, doing things more efficiently as much as is feasible. What spiritual practitioners often find is that, interestingly, when we take somewhat of a leap of faith and put our spiritual life first, what then happens is that the rest of our life quite naturally becomes more balanced and efficient. When we make room in our lives for meditation, Yoga, and spirituality in general, we consequently find the energy, inspiration, focus, and determination to maximize what we're doing in the rest of our lives. While the four ashramas (the four successive stages of life in Hinduism: a) student life, b) married life, c) retired life, d) a life of complete dedication to spirituality) are certainly excellent guides as to how we should structure our lives in accordance with where we find ourselves in the ashrama time-frame, as people living in the modern world, we also have to make whatever adjustments are necessary giving thought to our present demands and lifestyles. For many of us, for example, we might be in the grihastha (married) stage, but also find ourselves as students (brahmacharya). Or some might be in the student stage, but also be married and having to work at least part time. So, ideally we are meant to follow one ashrama at a time, but if we need to make some adjustments for our own situation, that's fine. The best way to see stages and categories in Vedic culture (whether ashramas, varnas, yugas, etc.) is to see the boundaries between each to be somewhat fluid. Rather than seeing such stages as strict, compartmental categories where one ends and the other abruptly begins, the following might be a good analogy to understand these stages better: Such stages are similar to the area between the land and the sea on a beach. While one can clearly distinguish land from water, at the same time it is difficult to say exactly where one begins and the other ends. In the same way, if we find ourselves clearly in one ashrama, while still performing some duties of another ashrama out of necessity, that's fine. Guidelines like ashrama are meant to enhance our spiritual life, and not hamper it. For the eight limbs of Yoga, in the beginning stages we often have no choice but to incrementally add one limb after another over a period of time�again, mostly do to a lack of time in our lives. However, it is not the case that we need to perfect our practice of one limb before proceeding to another. Rather, we're meant ultimately to be following all eight limbs simultaneously � from Yama/Niyama to Samadhi. I hope this was helpful. Take care. Om Shanti, Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya ____________ Announcements: New Article by Dr. Morales in Hinduism Today Magazine Dr. Morales' powerful and inspiring article, " Sanatana Dharma: Embracing an Infinity of Possibilities " , is currently published in the Jan/Feb/Mar, 2008 issue of Hinduism Today, the foremost periodical on Hinduism in the world. Please to Hinduism Today. http://www.hinduismtoday.com/ Do You Live in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, or Kansas? Join Midwest Dharma! midwest_dharma/ The purpose of Midwest Dharma is to provide announcements about the classes, seminars, pravachanas (spiritual talks), and satsang schedules of Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (Dr. Frank Morales, Ph.D.) in the states of Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. Dr. Morales serves as the Resident Acharya (Spiritual Preceptor) of the Hindu Temple of Nebraska, and as the Founder-President of the International Sanatana Dharma Society. Currently, Sri Acharya Ji conducts two weekly Satsangs in Omaha, Nebraska (Every Wednesday, 7:30 - 8:30 PM at the Omaha Healing Arts Center; and every Sunday at noon at the Hindu Temple of Omaha). In addition, Sri Acharya Ji conducts a full schedule of classes at the Hindu Temple in Omaha. Please Join Now: midwest_dharma/ __________ The Spiritual and Empirical Realities " Our perceptions of the empirical reality that we experience around us each day are real only in a secondary, derivative sense. While it would be foolish to deny the actual existence of empirical reality, it is even more foolish to claim that empirical reality is the foremost or only reality. Rather, what we experience through our senses � while real on the material level � is only a pale shadow of the spiritual Reality that is our home and that is the basis of our true being. While the objects, situations, and causality of this sensory realm are all temporary, the nature of the highest, spiritual Reality is eternal � being a Reality that transcends the element of time, and that finds its center in the Absolute. Know and experience that foundational spiritual Reality first, and everything about this secondary material reality will consequently be revealed to you. " - Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya __________ For further information about Dr. Frank Morales, please visit us on the web: http://www.dharmacentral.com drmoraleslist/ yoga-spirituality/ midwest_dharma/ http://www.cafepress.com/supportstore http://www.drfrankmorales.sulekha.com http://www.dharmacentral.com/Store/Shakti_Principle.htm http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=DharmaNation http://www.myspace.com/dharmapravartaka http://dharmanation.blogspot.com/ © 2008, Dharma Journal. Volume 10, issue 1 Welcome to the Dharma Revolution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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