Imagine that you’re a branch in a tree. Does it make sense that you fight with the other branches of the tree? Does it make sense that you try to keep the water and sunlight to yourself and yourself only? We know it doesn’t. If we were one branch of the tree, we know that the other branches are part of who we are, we know that we are all connected and rooted in one source. We are part of the tree of life, and in this we are connected to other humans, other animals beings, other beings. When we have this understanding, we would have no desire to hurt other beings. We would have no desire to kill and eat animals. We would lose interest in trying to compete with our fellow humans. We would preserve instead of destroy our environment because we know this is the same world that we share and thrive in.
0 Comments
Who am I? This consciousness, this voice that thinks, and acts, and discerns— where was this before I had this body and where will this go when this body dies? How does space exist? How do I grasp the concept of space if not through infinity? How can I begin to understand infinity? Is there a God? If there is, is there a form?
I’ve been asking these questions since I was a child, but for many years, those questions were only in my head and I didn’t get to talk about them with anyone. Then, in my twenties, I somehow found out that two of my friends and I read a lot of the same books like Conversations with God and The Power of Now, and we had the same questions recurring in our minds. We began to meet regularly, usually on a Friday night, and we’d spend the whole night talking, and we’d go home at 5am next day. We’d talk about many things, and for sure, our own spiritual quest and understanding was part of the topic. We joked about how people our age would also go home at 5am in the morning from a night out. But whereas they’ve been partying and getting drunk, we talked about books like the geeks that we are. That was my first satsang, even though I didn’t know the word then. Sat means truth, and sang is from the word sangha which means community. When we find people who are seeking the truth, we are in good company. Do you know why birds form a V when flying? Apparently, they do this so they can sync their flapping, then the bird behind can catch the updraft of the bird in front, and they all save energy during flight. This saving energy as a group also applies to humans cycling. A study found that if you’re at the back of a group of 8 riders cycling at 40km/hour, you save up to 39% of your energy. What these phenomena are telling us is that if you join a group who’s doing exactly the same thing as you, you’ll get to where you need to go with a lot less effort.
The focus of the month is gathering of the tribes, its basis is a concept called “satsang” or a gathering of like-minded people. Satsang refers to good company, not just any company. If we keep “bad” company and we spend our time and effort on pursuing sensory pleasures, that is precisely where we will be stuck and inevitable suffer. But if we keep “good” company and together we seek the truth, as sincere yoga practitioners do, then liberation will come to us with less effort. |
Archives
March 2020
|