Study Guide for
Real-Life Stories of Transcendence

How to Use This Course

This video is part of an ongoing monthly series in the teachings of Sri Eknath Easwaran. The talks on this tape, like all of Sri Easwaran's talks, are rich and deep in content. They shed light on many aspects of life, but their true value emerges as we try to apply their teachings in our daily lives. The Guide is meant to be used in conjunction with a daily practice of Sri Easwaran's Eight Point Program, based on passage meditation. We do not recommend following the Practical Exercises if you are not practicing this program according to the instructions given in Sri Easwaran's book Meditation, which can be found on our Web site, www.nilgiri.org. A brief list of those points can be found at the back of this Guide.

The Practical Exercises are suggestions for you to explore as they seem appropriate in your life. If you are already familiar with Sri Easwaran's books, you will have seen some of these exercises before. But we suggest that you take this opportunity to really put them into practice, and discover their great power to deepen your spiritual life. Try them in moderation, exercising your common sense and not taking them to extreme lengths. Sri Easwaran always emphasized the importance of the middle path.

Before or after watching each talk, we suggest that you read through the notes and the Practical Exercise. Then, after watching the talk, try to put the exercise into action in your life. A week or so later, you may find it interesting to watch the talk again, with the experience of the exercise fresh in your mind. You may want to note the results in a journal.

A week-by-week curriculum for studying this tape, in coordination with readings from Sri Easwaran's books, is available for use by Blue Mountain Center Satsangs and other interested individuals. If you would like to receive this curriculum via email, just let us know and we will gladly send it to you. A full listing of our Satsang groups is available on our Web site. For more information about this series, other publications of Sri Easwaran and Nilgiri Press, and a schedule of retreats based on the Eight Point Program, please contact

The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation
Post Office Box 256
Tomales, CA 94971
800 475 2369
www.nilgiri.org

The True Spirit of Worship

Introduction

This is an extraordinary talk given by Sri Eknath Easwaran in July, 1986. On the preceding day, he had undergone painful oral surgery, and he uses the story as an occasion to examine the life-transforming concept of yajna, a Sanskrit word which can be defined as "worship, offering, or sacrifice."

This ideal of offering the best of oneself to the world and to God is central to many of the world's spiritual traditions. Through it, all the activities of an individual's life can be brought into harmony with our underlying spiritual nature. Eventually, as our life reflects this ideal more and more, we come to see the world differently. As Sri Easwaran describes it in the second talk on this tape, we see ourselves in all and experience a deep and unshakable inner peace.

Our study guide for this tape will start with the challenge of kindling the spirit of yajna through the course of the day, and will conclude with an exercise to help us catch a glimpse of the unity of life which is its foundation.

Outline of the Talk

Sri Easwaran begins with a commentary on a famous verse from the ninth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, in which the Lord of Love says:

Whatever you do,
Make it an offering to me -
The food you eat or worship you perform,
The help you give, even your suffering.

- Bhagavad Gita, Chapter Nine

He comments on various opportunities for these daily acts of worship: selfless activities, such as those done for family, friends, or colleagues; beneficial habits such as healthy eating and vigorous exercise; and wholesome entertainment and artistic enjoyment. "These are all acts of worship," Sri Easwaran says, "when done not for getting some personal satisfaction but for inspiring us to lead a better life, a nobler life, in which we are able to make a worthy contribution to those around us."

How we face difficulties can also become part of our yajna. "Life is not only sunshine, life is also 'painshine.' Just as we need sun for life, we need pain for growth. We can cope with pain and even benefit from it."

Then he recounts his experience with oral surgery. His description brings out how his deep inclination towards yajna - his desire to offer his time and talents to benefit others - protected him from feeling overwhelmed by the pain. With characteristic humor, he even describes how he treated his body to some chocolate cake from a local bakery - "not out of a craving" but in appreciation for its faithful service. He draws the distinction here between such friendly support for the body and merely indulging a craving, which is detrimental to both body and mind.

Sri Easwaran quotes Mahatma Gandhi's definition of yajna: "An act directed to the welfare of others, done without desiring any return for it." Such action promotes health, freedom, and fulfillment for ourselves and others. On the other hand, Sri Easwaran says, actions that cannot come under the category of yajna promote bondage in the long run. "Whatever temporary benefits they bring," he says, "they will retard our evolution and imprison us in our own self-will."

True worship, or yajna, in this sense, also promotes faith. He quotes Mahatma Gandhi: "He who devotes himself to service with a clear conscience will continually grow richer in faith . . . If we cultivate the habit of doing this service intentionally to everybody, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger."

Jealousy, depression, and despondency cannot come to us if we occupy ourselves with wide horizons. Thus Sri Easwaran's broadened definition of worship in this talk leads naturally to remarkable health benefits that often result from selfless living. "The immense desire to give and give and give draws upon deeper levels of energy. That is the secret of health, strength, energy, vitality."

It is worth mentioning here that Sri Easwaran is not implying that health problems signify a lack of spiritual growth. He is simply expressing his own faith, based on personal experience, that dedication to the spiritual life will help us live at our best, regardless of any health problems we may face. Our practice of meditation and use of the mantram enables us to face all such difficulties constructively.

Finally, Sri Easwaran asks us to turn our whole life into one continuous act of worship, including "every act we do, every word we speak, and every thought we think."

Practical Exercise

In this exercise we will try to experience the "true -spirit of worship" or yajna, by experimenting with actions based on Gandhi's definition of yajna: "An act directed to the welfare of others, done without desiring any return for it."

Once or twice this week, or even every day, do one small anonymous task that helps others. Some examples to give you ideas (you will probably think of more yourself): Cleaning up the kitchen at home or at work. Picking up litter at the beach or park. Turning off lights that are not in use. Making an extra effort to recycle materials rather than throw them away.

Try to perform the task without any desire for recognition or personal benefit, simply for the joy of benefitting others. It is helpful but not absolutely necessary to do the task without others noticing. While performing it, give all your attention to doing it well, so that it is pleasing and helpful to others. Pay special attention to the feeling of working without desire for reward. Reflect on how you might bring that feeling into more of your life, through the practice of the Eight Points.

Recommended Reading

Eknath Easwaran, commentary on Chapter 9, verses 22-27, in the Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living.

Passage for Meditation

"Whatever You Do" in God Makes the Rivers to Flow.

Love at Its Highest

Introduction

This talk, given in March, 1986, is part of a series in which Sri Easwaran explores the fundamentals of mysticism and their implications for daily life. He calls it "pure mysticism," or "the art of union with reality," terms which can sound abstract and removed from daily life when taken out of context. In Sri Easwaran's exposition, however, we see that they arise from a living experience - a discovery that brings remarkable benefits to the individual and the world.

During the course of the talk he draws on several writers and mystics to convey the elusive experience of being one with all of life. In the end, he says, the joy and fulfillment of this discovery are beyond words, but not beyond expression. "It is beyond thoughts because it is beyond the duality of subject and object. The only way I can convey it is by working on my life. That is the supreme art form."

The compassion, wisdom, and inner peace we see in the lives of great mystics is the best description of the "union with reality." As we absorb those qualities through the practice of meditation, we gradually wake up to our real Self. And as our lives are slowly transformed we realize that the spiritual legacy we can claim "is vast, a legacy that will benefit the whole world."

Outline of the Talk

Sri Easwaran begins by summarizing the theme of the spiritual life: "What matters in the world today is what I have. What matters on the spiritual path is what I am. That is the stark distinction. Whatever I may have, if I don't know who I am, I am likely to run into trouble all the time."

In the course of this talk he describes many fruits of "discovering who the Self is."

The first is that we become a stranger to loneliness. "I enjoy being with people" he says. "It is a kind of enlightened rapture of being one . . . always." Yet, once you have discovered the Self, "when you are alone, too, you are at one with the world" and therefore fully at ease and joyful regardless of circumstances. To illustrate, he recounts an outing with a group of friends to the nearby city of San Francisco to see a play, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.

Another result of discovering our real Self is a transformation in our vision of the world. "When you come out of meditation you find everything luminous." Here he is not speaking about a sensitivity to natural beauty, such as the arts may try to capture. "I am talking about an inner radiance," he says, "that speaks directly to the mystic, as the reflection of the glory of the Lord of Love. It is not a reaction, however beautiful it is. It is a union. It is a total identification with the whole of the universe."

As a direct consequence of this union with all, we lose the capacity to be disappointed. "It means nothing can disturb you. Nobody's vituperation, vilification, nothing can disturb your state of love. That is the kind of peace that, as Pascal also says, brings with it its own joy and certitude. All this sets the whole being ablaze."

"Union with reality" also brings "a knowledge beyond reason." Yet Sri Easwaran says "I haven't lost my reason, but I use reason to check my intuition, to weigh my insights. That is the purpose of common sense."

Finally, union with reality brings profound peace, a peace that nothing can disturb: "Infinite in peace and infinite in love, always extending more and more, it is the peace born of faith, the peace born of love, the peace born of trust in the Lord of Love."

Other kinds of happiness in life come and go, but this
"always comes. It grows in richness. It never leaves me at all."

And we too are destined, finally, to attain this exalted state. If we continue our effort on the spiritual path, he says, "practicing meditation regularly, following the Eight Point Program diligently, one day we are sure to discover our own real Self."

Practical Exercise

In this talk, Sri Easwaran describes his experience while "people watching," jokingly referring to some of his friends as computer freaks:

"When I go to the city, for example, I relate to everybody. What I like best is to sit in a corner of the St. Francis Hotel, and just watch 'me' passing in many disguises. I can't tell you the joy of this. Computer freaks passing by - that's me, dressed up as Stuart, as Bob, as Greg. It is not that I look upon them as computer people. I look upon myself as playing this part. That's how the joy comes."

Next time you have an opportunity to sit for ten or twenty minutes in a busy place, try to watch the passing crowd in this way. Can you see those people as yourself? Don't do anything different outwardly, but try to identify inwardly with all those who are passing by.

Then, bearing this in mind, look for an opportunity in your daily life to do the same thing. Make a special effort to see things through the eyes of someone else. Examples: a mother might try to see things through her child's eyes as they play together; a friend might try to step out of a misunderstanding and see the issue through her friend's eyes; a father might try to see life through the eyes of his teenager.

Then, stepping back into your own perspective, try to act in a way that takes the other person's perspective into account, but also reflects the wisdom you can bring to the situation. How does it change your feelings and re-sponses?

Recommended Reading

Eknath Easwaran, commentary on Chapter 9, verses 28-34, in the Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living.

Passage for Meditation

Songs of Sri Ramakrishna, "I have joined my heart to thee."

Terms & References

Allen, Woody American comedian and filmmaker. One of his films is Hannah and Her Sisters.

Andrews, C.F. A close associate of Mahatma Gandhi.

bindery party A gathering at the Blue Mountain Center where volunteers bound the books sold by Nilgiri Press.

Blue Mountain The Nilgiris, a range of mountains in South India where Sri Easwaran lived for several years.

Carol's Column A weekly newspaper column written by Carol Flinders, a member of the BMCM and a coauthor of Laurel's Kitchen.

Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) Catholic saint. See her passage "The Way of Peace" in God Makes the Rivers to Flow.

Christie, Agatha (1890-1976) English mystery writer.

Cocolat A bakery in Berkeley, California.

Eliot, T.S. (1888-1965) American poet, author of The Waste Land.

Ganesha A dog who lived at the Blue Mountain Center.

Laurel's Kitchen A vegetarian cookbook written by members of the Blue Mountain Center community. It was originally published by Nilgiri Press. A second edition is now available from Ten Speed Press.

mahayajna Great sacrifice or offering.

Monterey Market A vegetable market in Berkeley, California.

The Mousetrap A famous mystery play by Agatha Christie which ran for over fifty years.

Nachiketa The main character of the Katha Upanishad, who learns the secrets of life from the King of Death. See Eknath Easwaran's Dialogue with Death.

Pascal, Blaise (1623-1662) French mathematician and writer.

Radhakrishnan, Sir Sarvepalli (1888-1975) Hindu philosopher, statesman, and India's second President.

Ramagiri Ashram The headquarters of the Blue Mountain Center, and Sri Easwaran's residence until his passing in 1999.

Ramakrishna (1836-1886) Bengali mystic who was deeply devoted to God as the Divine Mother.

Rumi, Jalaluddin (1207-1273) Persian mystic poet.

sadhak One who practices sadhana, or spiritual disciplines.

sadhana Body of disciplines which lead to Self-Realization.

samadhi [sam 'with'; adhi 'Lord'] Deep concentration in which the mind becomes still and is transcended.

satsang Association with spiritually oriented people.

Shankara A Hindu saint and philosopher of the sixth or seventh century ad.

Shatsie A dog who lived at the Blue Mountain Center.

Shaw, George Bernard (1856-1950) English playwright.

Shiva One of the Hindu Trinity; he who destroys the ego and conquers death.

Sierras Mountain range in California.

St. Francis Hotel A famous hotel in downtown San Francisco.

Tagore, Rabindranath (1861-1941) Indian poet and Nobel laureate.

Ten Speed Press The publisher of The New Laurel's Kitchen.

walls of Jericho A reference to the battle for Jericho described in the book of Joshua. Sri Easwaran makes a pun here: "the walls of jer-ego."

Western Union A joking reference to the telegraph and communication company. Sri Easwaran was unable to speak that night, and so wrote notes to communicate.

Wordsworth, William (1770-1850) English poet.

Vishvanatha The Lord of all.

yajna (pronounced yatña) Worship, sacrifice, offering.

Note: The quotations from Mahatma Gandhi are from vol. 50, pp. 160ff of the Collected Works. They are probably taken from a letter to the members of his ashram, on October 21, 1930.