S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 3 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 1 7 4 9 Swami Veda Bharati 9 How to Proceed? How is one to succeed in practicing the principles suggested here? 1. Keep daily meditation. It will grant you insights and will verify the factualness of what is presented in these pages. 2. Keep your forehead relaxed in all situations, even when running from a fire or ire. 3. Every 2 or 3 hours, do 2 or 3 minutes of breath-awareness with mantra (even with eyes open when in a meeting where closing the eyes will be inappropriate) whether sitting, standing or wherever. Do keep doing it. It will change your temperament. 4. Self-observation. Observing, taking note, every time one has not quite managed to remain true to the principles (Was there a touch of unnecessary harshness in my tone of spoken/written word? Did I neglect the principle of non-anger, humility? Did I show off authority?) 5. Sankalpa. Resolve to do better next time. Not guilt, not self-condemnation, not “giving-up-on-oneself”. Just renewed sankalpa. 6. Select one principle you find the easiest to practice, and one principle you find most difficult to practice as totally against your habitual temperament. Start practicing. 7. Devise your own methods to apply these principles. 8. Note your successes in these practices mentally; let the moments of those successes be remembered and serve as inspiration for the future. These successes will show their benefits to you. 9. Do not let these successes become source of pride in you (how much I have advanced, or how humble I am). Let them only inspire you for the future continuity of their applications. 10. When you have changed your temperament, move on to other principles; those will now become much easier. 10 The Example of Two Festivals Of the many religions indigenous to India, three stand out as the most ancient: Vedic-Hindu, Buddhism, and Jaina. Of these the Jaina religion in the epitome of ahiṃsā, “non-violence” at all levels. It is the most pious and most ascetic. Its monks are still today masters of ascetic life. The religion was established a succession of twenty-four founding Masters, tirthankaras (fjord-makers) dating back to lost periods of antiquity. The monks of all three of the above religions wander and then take a period of sojourn at one place during the four months of the monsoons; it is called chaaturmaasya, “four months”. This is a time for contemplation, meditation, deep study and other observances. This is also the time when they take new initiates. For Jaina religion, the start of this period is celebrated with great devotion by the laity. It is called paryuṣaṇa, “fasting”. It is eight days of fasting, sacred readings, select recitations, listening to the monks and so forth. Ninth day is the day of seeking forgiveness. Kshamaapana or kshamaavani (these are other variations in various state languages of India). It occurs on 4th day of waxing moon in Bhadrapada month, approximately August/September. On this day, everyone grants forgiveness and asks for forgiveness. This includes renunciation of condemnation, judgment of others, irritation, anger. The word kṣama is derived from Sanskrit verb root kṣam. The verb root means to have capacity, to be capacious. This requires the ability to absorb and dissolve all assaults. The word kṣama is one of 21 names of earth in the Vedas. It means for one to be as forgiving, as all-absorbing, as the earth that withstands and forgives all out trampling and digging into. Here one may quote an oft-quoted Sanskrit proverb: “kShamaa veerasya bhooShanam” – “forgiveness is the adornment of the brave”. This concept is re-enforced in other human experiences such as: • in India, Holi festival celebrated as the day of forgiving the year’s aggressions and transgressions; • in Thailand’s culture every child is taught that anger is bad manners and the adults follow that in daily practical life and interpersonal relations; • in Africa, in the training and initiation of spiritual guides in traditional African religions it is essential for the guide to conquer anger – as per my personal investigations; • There are many such examples in world cultures that we all need to emulate.
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