What does "friends" means on the path of compassion?

In the path of yoga and meditation or Buddhism or compassion, friendliness is part of our practice. But we might get confused as at the same time, we also always read or hear about the practice of seclusion or retreat from active sociable lifestyle, for any sincere Sadhakas to be able to go deeper into our yoga and meditation practice.

At some stage in our life, we will need to let go of our worldly duties and live a secluded life to concentrate on our own Sadhana.

Being "friendly" towards all beings on the path of compassion, is different from the worldly perception of what "friends" means. In the worldly perception or understanding, "friendships" might means getting to meet up with other people, to know and interact with other people, making and accumulating "friends" with those who can share with each other, to care for each other, to support each other, to hang out with, to spend time with, to do some activities with, to eat, drink, play and chat with, to cry and laugh with, somebody to talk to, somebody whom we can count on and lean on, to help each other during difficulties, to be there for each other during good and bad times, to celebrate or to mourn together... Or we can only be "friend" with people whom we like and agree with, and we cannot be "friend" with whom we don't like and disagree with... Or "friends" means those who have similar believes, thinking, point of view that can "work" or "do things" together... And, anyone who are not in these "categories" or if they are very different from us, then they are "not friends" or they are "enemies". There are conditions in looking for "friends" or being "friendly" towards another being.

We have attachment towards "friends" or "friendships". We have so much expectation towards what a "friend" or a "good friend" or a "true friend" should be like... Such like when something not very nice happens, we would likely to say this, "You are "my" friend, why you treat me like this? You shouldn't do this to me..." We'll get disappointed by "our" friends many times, but that disappointment is coming from our own expectation towards how "our" friends should behave or treat us. It is not coming from "our" friends being not nice or not friendly to us or not being a "friend" for us... If we like "our friends" very much, we enjoy the times being together, we will generate clinging and craving towards this "friend" or this "friendship"... If we don't like "our friends", we didn't enjoy the times being together, we will generate aversion towards this "friend" or this "friendship"...

In the path of compassion, yoga, meditation or Buddhism (all these different names and forms are not different from each other - it's all about realizing egolessness or selflessness to transcend "suffering"), "friendliness" towards all beings means not having any ill-will or hatred or discrimination towards all beings whether "good or bad" beings, "human or non-human" beings, without judgment, expectation, likes and dislikes, agreement or disagreement... We are able to be kind and compassionate towards all beings...

In another terms, all are "friends" to us, we are "friends" for all beings, whether beings I like or not, whether beings I agree with or not, whether beings I know or not, whether human or non-human beings, whether "good" or "bad" beings, there is no difference... And not limited to social "friends" whom we like, whom we agree with, whom we know, whom we spend time with, share life with, do things with, hang out with, get together with, chat with, eat with, drink with, adventure with, growth with, enjoy with, suffer with and so on...

It also means, it is not necessarily that there have to be some people in our life whom we can hang out with, do things with, share life with and so on, to have "friends", to be "friendly"...

And there is a greatest friend or "being" for us to love, to share with, to be there for good and bad times, is ourselves... But, how many of us know about this friend... We keep looking out for another being as "friend" who will love and care for us... And when we try to "love" ourselves, we tend to become selfish, only think and concern about our own feelings, desires and benefits... We "love" ourselves with selfishness which is the cause of our own unhappiness...

If we know this selfless "friend" who is there with us all the time, there is no loneliness whether we have "friends" or not...

That's why being "friendly" to all beings and live in seclusion is not contradict with one another on the path of compassion...

Some people get confused with or reject towards some teachings or advice coming from some great Gurus or Yogis or saints and sages in the past telling us about practice "friendliness" and be "friendly" towards all beings, but don't "mix" with people or don't "make friends", live a secluded life concentrate on performing our own Sadhana... What it means is, treat all beings equally, respect all beings, have no ill-will or hatred towards any beings, no differences or separation between those I categorized as "my friends" or "not my friends"...

All these great saints and sages, those who were living in the world, doing a lot of karma yoga (selfless service) serving the world, being with and dealing with different types of beings, they were friends to all beings, but they "didn't" desire to make or accumulate "friends" to spend time with, to hang out with, to do things with, to chat with, to eat and drink with, to play with, to enjoy with, to share with, to practice with, and so on... And yet they are sharing with all beings all the time, they are "friendly" towards all beings, close or far away, known or unknown, be seen or unseen, in actions or in inactions...

The practice of seclusion, it doesn't mean that we have no more friends and be lonely being alone by ourselves without any friends... But there is no loneliness and all are friends, without the "necessity" of having a so called "social life" which means having some "friends" or people whom we missed without their presence in our life, whom we want to spent time with or hang out with or do things with, for us to attain some sort of excitement or to remove unhappiness or loneliness... There is no distractions of anything that can cause restlessness... There is no vain talks, gossips, slandering, back-bitting, criticisms, judgments, discriminations, complaints, hypocrisy, lies, untruthfulness, politics, exploitations, and etc that generate disharmony in ourselves and in others...

Our Guru Swami Sivanandaji told us to be "care-less" in order to succeed in our Sadhana, it doesn't mean that we don't care for other beings, but it means "Care for all beings without attachment, without being disturbed, nor distracted, nor affected, nor influenced by other beings and social activities, which derives from knowing what is real "friendliness"... He also mentioned in his books or teachings repeatedly many times, about don't make or accumulate "friends" or do not mix, as one of the important observations in order to be succeed in meditation, it is not contradictory with the practice of "friendliness" and compassion at all, as "friendliness" and compassion is not about having a social life or accumulating "friends"... It is free from ill-will or hatred towards all beings whether they are "good" or "evil", whether we like them or not, agree with them or not, or whether they like us and agree with us or not...

Evil is "evil" as it appears to be opposite to what is "good and kind" to allow us to be justified as good and kind, and so, "evil" is not really evil... And "good" is not really good when there is hatred towards "evil" as hatred is associate with "evil"...

Of course, there is nothing wrong with having a "social life" and involved with "social activities" as long as there is no attachment... As social life and activities don't give us "distractions" unless we (the mind) are being distracted and influenced by them...

As we can be having many "friends" in life, but not necessarily that we are completely be free from ill-will or hatred towards other beings... By making and accumulating many "friends" also doesn't guarantee that we will be free from "loneliness" or we are being "friendly"...

We might be "friendly" towards those whom we like and agree with, but we might not necessarily be "friendly" towards those whom we dislike and disagree with, especially those whom we "think" that they are "bad" or "evil" or "wrong", those who are not nice and not kind to us and others, and those who hurt us and others physically or emotionally... Look at ourselves, how often that we are easily being disturbed or angry with somebody that we don't know personally, nor who comes in contact with us personally, but whom we "think" or "heard" that they are "bad and evil" beings who perform "bad and evil" actions but it is not necessarily the truth as what we think it is...

Restlessness, anxieties, agitation, depression, fear, worries, disturbs, troubles, conflicts, arguments, debates, anger, dissatisfaction, disappointment, violence, ill-will, energy deprivation, jealousy, envy, desires, distractions or lack of concentration that derives from worldly "social life" and "social activities" which are the main obstacles in the path of yoga and meditation, can be reduced to minimum when we practice seclusion from "social lifestyle" and yet living in the world performing actions serving the world without attachment and distractions... Especially those of us who are still easily being distracted, or disturbed, or influenced, or affected, or determined by other beings and social activities due to lack of non-attachment or detachment, lack of wisdom and compassion... As we are still being over-powered by ignorance, desires, craving and aversion and all other impurities like anger, hatred, greed, dissatisfaction, jealousy, pride, arrogance, fear, worry, expectation, and etc...

We can try to meditate everyday but still, our mind is restless, our ego is strong... We continue to experience suffering or unhappiness, and be miserable... We keep judging ourselves and others as good or bad... We keep having expectation towards ourselves and others about this and that... We still have ceaseless desires to be fulfilled, to be satisfied... Forever restless...

Until one day, when the ego and selfish desires have completely vanished, then there is no difference at all whether having an active social lifestyle or not, as by then we are no longer being distracted or influenced by anybody or anything, and we can mix freely with anybody whether positive or negative beings, active or inactive beings, wise or ignorant beings, happy or unhappy beings... We are always full of energy and yet be in calmness... We might be performing actions in life for other beings, but we also have time and space for our own Sadhana, not neglecting ourselves nor being distracted from perfoming our own Sadhana...

Not performing any actions for other beings doesn't mean that we didn't perform karma yoga as part of our practice. It's because by taking care of our own Sadhana is the greatest karma yoga selfless service being perform onto ourselves and will be benefiting other beings naturally, when we have peace and compassion in us.

Again, this practice is only an advice to those who are sincere to transcend "suffering", to be free from restlessness, discontentment, low self-esteem, anger, hatred, fear, worry, and etc...

Om shanti.

Be happy.

Free ourselves from anger and hatred, if we would like to contribute to world peace and harmony...

We cannot make or control or change the world to be peaceful as what we like it to be, but we can contribute to the effort for attaining/sustaining world peace and harmony, by having peace and harmony in ourselves, which means letting go of anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, dissatisfaction, disappointment, pride, arrogance, agitation, depression, fear, worry and all other impurities in ourselves and stop generate impurities into the world... The world will be in peace and harmony naturally when everyone is peaceful and harmony in themselves...

It is like, we don't like the environment to be dirty with rubbish everywhere, we want a clean world, but we keep generating and throwing rubbish into the environment and we complain that the environment is dirty, full of rubbish?

How can we expect the world to be in peace and harmony when we ourselves are not in peace and harmony?

Why are we not in peace and harmony? It is because our ego has likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, craving towards what our ego likes and agrees with, aversion towards what our ego doesn't like and doesn't agree with... When this craving and aversion is not being gratified, when our ego comes in contact with the things that it doesn't like and doesn't agree with, and when our ego doesn't come in contact with the things that it likes and agrees with, it gets irritated, frustrated, disappointed, dissatisfied, unhappy and angry... The mind is in a state of restlessness... There is no peace, no compassion, no wisdom... Due to ignorance (absence of wisdom), not knowing the truth of things, we allow ourselves to be disturbed, affected, influenced and determined by our experiences in the world that our ego likes and doesn't like, agrees and disagrees with...

To help and to contribute to world peace and harmony, it is not necessarily by performing "actions" that try to "clean up" or get rid of the existing happenings that we think and judge as "bad" and "evil", but most important it is, we ourselves purifying the impurities in our own mind, have self-control over our own thoughts, actions and speech, and stop generating "impure" thoughts, actions and speech through our own body and mind... It is not about try to stop other people from performing "bad" and "evil" thoughts, actions and speech, or try to control and change other people to behave the way that we think they should be behaving, or to be the people that we want them to be...

When we ourselves are full of impurities, are being over-powered by our own impure thoughts, actions and speech, how can we expect or try to change the world to be free from impurities?

It is like, we don't like it when our clean shirt is spilled with some curry sauce, we'll get frustrated and upset, and we'll react by try to get rid of the curry sauce by wiping it with a clean cloth, with the intention to remove the stain... But, what happens is, the curry sauce on the clean shirt spreads out to a wider surface makes it more messy, as well as the clean cloth that is being used to "remove" the curry sauce is also stained by the curry sauce...

To avoid this, either we eat the curry with full attention and carefully to avoid spilling onto ourselves or other people (concentration and mindfulness), or we can enjoy eating curry with an apron over our clean shirt or wear a shirt that we don't mind if it will be stained (wisdom), or we don't mind at all if the clean shirt will be stained by some curry sauce, it doesn't matter if the shirt will be stained or not (accepting the reality as it is and non-attachment), or we can eat something else that doesn't stain or wash the shirt later on without getting frustrated by it (adjustment, accommodation, adaptation)...

There's another situation is like, we didn't eat curry, but the person beside us ate curry and spilled some curry sauce over our "favorite" shirt whether intentionally or unintentionally, and that's the time for us to practice accepting the reality as it is, forgiveness, letting go and compassion... We cannot undo something that had happened... Even if we express our dissatisfaction and frustration with anger and hatred, it won't undo what had happened, it won't help to make the situation to become better, it won't benefit anyone, not us, not the shirt, not the one who had spilled the curry sauce over our "favorite" shirt...

What we can do is, without frustration and unhappiness, we can see if the stain can be remove by some washing liquids... If it is possible, good, we can continue enjoy wearing our favorite shirt... If it is not possible, either we can let go of the stained shirt or we can continue to wear it even if there's a stain on it, treat it as a special design... Or donate the shirt to many countries where people don't even have a proper shirt to wear... Why bother getting upset about it, harming our own body and mind, for somebody's ignorant action whether intentionally or unintentionally?

If we continue to be angry and unhappy about it, know that this anger and unhappiness is not coming from the action of that person, nor it is coming from the incident about the shirt is stained by some curry sauce... It is coming from our own ego attached strongly to that shirt, it is the attachment towards this is "my favorite shirt", that has caused that anger and unhappiness in us... Imagine if that shirt is just a shirt that we don't mind so much, we won't be as angry as the one which is "my favorite shirt"... It is our own attachment towards the things that we like, that causes us unhappiness, it is not what is happening, or what other people do...

If somebody's things are being damaged by accident or by carelessness or by natural disaster, we won't be reacting the same way as if it is "my" things that are being damaged... It is the attachment towards "I", "my" and "mine" that has caused us unhappiness, anger and hatred...

"This is my world, my country, my people, my family, my friends, my partner, my children, my house, my car, my shirts, my things, my jobs, my reputation, my feelings, my money, my effort, my intention, my students, my teacher, my practice, my achievements, my thinking, my opinions, my believe, my rights, my freedom, my success, my failure, my sadness, my happiness, my way of doing things, it's all about my, my, my..." But when come to something happens and we are not happy about it, it will become "You this... you that... he this... he that...they this... they that..."

Yoga and meditation practice is to allow us to realize the truth of what causes us unhappiness and suffering, and start to take full responsibility for our own happiness and unhappiness... It is not the world making us unhappy or unpeaceful... It is our own selves, our attachment, our ego, our pride and arrogance, our ignorance that cause us unhappiness and unpeacefulness...

The world is not a suffering place nor a happy place... The world is just being what it is... It is our own mind being in a state of suffering due to ignorance, and we project the world as a suffering place...

If everyone can look within ourselves and work on removing ignorance in ourselves, purifying our own thoughts, actions and speech, and stop trying to control other people's good and bad actions (you should do this and you should not do this), naturally the world will be benefited and be peaceful and harmony...

By stop generating impure vibrations into the world, the world will be free from impurities, and there is no need actions of "cleaning up"... As actions of "cleaning up" are not necessarily helping the world to be peaceful but it might be generating more unrest, anger and hatred... Especially "actions" that derived or motivated from anger and hatred towards the happenings and people that we think they are the cause for our suffering and unhappiness, will not help the world to be better but it generates more tensions and clashes into the world causing more anger, hatred and disharmony...

How can we expect the world to be a happy peaceful place if we ourselves are not happy and not peaceful, being over-powered and occupied by resentment, anger, hatred, dissatisfaction and disappointment?

We think and judge ourselves as "good people". We think and judge those who are different from us, who don't think and behave like us are "bad people". We have strong aversion towards all these "bad people" and "bad happenings". We are angry and hating these "bad people" and "bad happenings". We think we "own" this world, that this world "belongs" to us (the "good people") and we want "our" world to be free from all these "bad people" and "bad happenings"... And we try to perform some actions that can get rid of all these "bad people" and "bad happenings"... With the expectations that the world will become as "clean" and "nice" as what we want it to be...

We think that it is the world being not peaceful that makes or causes us disharmony and unpeacefulness, that our suffering and unhappiness is contributed by the "bad happenings" and "bad people" in the world. We think that we are "good people" who "do" many "good actions", "don't do" any "bad actions" and we deserve to be happy and peaceful, but those (the "bad people") who are different from us don't deserve to be happy and don't deserve to be in this world...

We felt disappointed, mistreated, betrayed, hurt, disturbed and threatened by "bad" people and happenings that we don't like, don't want and don't agree with... We think they (the bad people) should be punished or disappeared from "our" world, so that we can be peaceful and happy, or "our" world will be peaceful and harmony...?

All these "judgments" and "thinkings" coming from our own minds, make us not any different from the "bad people" who we think and judge that they are "bad"... What make us qualified to judge them as "bad people" when we are not different from them? And if we are perfect and qualified to judge anyone, we won't be judging anyone anymore...

We cannot change the world to be the way that we want it to be, but we can contribute to help the world to be a better place by changing ourselves...

Stop having anger and hatred, but fill ourselves and the environment with peace and compassion... Real peace and compassion is free from anger and hatred, free from discrimination, likes and dislikes, agreement and disagreement... If we think that we are compassionate people who try to make the world a better place, but we are angry and hating the "bad" people and happenings that we think they are the cause of the world's suffering and unpeacefulness, then that is not compassion at all...

Compassion is when we are aware of what is good and what is bad, we do good and don't do bad, but we accept that there are other beings that are different from us, who might not do good and might do bad... This doesn't mean that we agree with them or support them... But we don't have to be affected or disturbed by them... We don't have to get angry and have hatred towards them as this is only harming our own body and mind, but doesn't help to improve anything nor will stop them from doing what they are doing...

Out of wisdom, we know that some beings don't do good and do bad, are due to ignorance, and they are in suffering. They are not peaceful and not happy, that's why they reluctant to do good, and they do bad to try to attain some sort of excitement, happy sensations or satisfaction, to get rid of suffering, dissatisfaction and unhappiness...

Out of compassion, we are compassionate towards these beings that are over-powered by ignorance and who are in suffering...

We cannot change other people or control them to be the way that we want them to be, or to behave the way that we want them to behave... Everyone has to realize peace and compassion within themselves, remove ignorance and change themselves...

Ask ourselves, how do we feel and react, when somebody doesn't like us the way that we are, doesn't agree with what we think and do, and this person try to control or change us to be the way that he/she wants us to be? We won't be happy... Especially if this person is full of anger and hatred towards us, shouting at us, beating us, just because he/she wants us to be the way that he/she wants... We will fight back with resentment...

We can only change ourselves... When we ourselves changed and have love, peace, wisdom and compassion, then only we can help the world with this unconditional peace and compassion to help other beings to realize the unconditional love, peace, wisdom and compassion in themselves through their own effort and own will to change themselves, to free themselves from ignorance and suffering... When they are free from ignorance and suffering, when they are in peace and harmony, they will be naturally not doing any actions that will cause harm and disharmony into the world...

If we are peaceful and truly compassionate, we won't be affected nor disturbed nor influenced by other people's ignorance and suffering, and out of compassion and with wisdom, we can help them, by helping them to realize their own ignorance and be free from suffering... Without the expectation that they will be benefited by our "actions of helping", nor they will change due to our "actions of helping", nor they will be grateful or thankful for our "actions of helping"... Just perform our "actions of helping" and let go... Perform all our actions out of compassion, and not attach to our actions, not attach to the result or the fruit of our actions...

If we are being affected or disturbed or influenced by other people's ignorance and suffering, we cannot help anyone, as we ourselves are over-powered by ignorance and are in suffering... We cannot help the world to be free from anger and hatred when we ourselves is full of anger and hatred... We cannot help the world to be peaceful when we ourselves is not in peace...

When we are angry and unhappy, it is our own responsibility allowing ourselves to be over-powered by anger and unhappiness that derive from our own ignorance - not knowing the truth of things. It is not the people or the happenings out there that cause us anger and unhappiness... It is our ego, our pride and arrogance, our attachment towards the qualities of good and bad, our ignorance that cause us being miserable, upset, disappointed, frustrated, angry, hating, agitated, disturbed, depressed and so on... We were being conditioned and controlled by our own craving and aversion... It is this craving and aversion coming from our ego that causes us suffering, disappointment, unpeacefulness and unhappiness...

If we ever feel disrespected or insulted or intimidated by somebody's speech, actions, reactions, opinions, behavior, conducts, believes, performance or personality, it is coming from our own ego, pride and arrogance which exists side by side with low self-esteem...

For example, if i hear or read about some opinions that my ego doesn't like or doesn't agree with, there will be some reactions coming from my ego...

Either my ego will choose to :

- Attach to it and try to do something about it, but being unpeaceful, full of frustration and anger, be disturbed and affected by it...

- Or attach to it and try to do something about it, but peacefully without being disturbed by it...

- Or not attach to it and let it go, be in peace undisturbed by it, as everyone has their freedom to express their opinions which are different from or contradict with my opinions...

It is up to myself, my own choice and responsibility, if the ego choose to be disturbed and be unhappy or frustrated about something that it doesn't like and cannot agree with, and make a huge debate or drama out of it, trying to convince and prove that my opinions are superior, better and "right", and any other opinions that are contradicted and different from mine are inferior, less good and "wrong"...

Or I can be aware that my ego doesn't like it and cannot agree with it, I don't have to force myself to like it or agree with it, but I can respect and allow any other opinions that are different from mine to be co-exist with my opinions in this universe... I don't own or possess this universe, I respect and allow all and everything that is different from my way of thinking, opinions, speech, actions, reactions, behavior, conducts, believes, performance or personality to be exist in this same space of the universe along with "me" and "my" way of everything...

Or I can be aware that my ego doesn't like it and cannot agree with it, I don't have to force myself to like it or agree with it, but out of compassion, without getting unhappy or frustrated, I can do my best to share my opinions with the world, as I believe my opinions might can help the world to improve, to be better, but without the expectation that the world will be improved or changed to be the way that I think it should be...

Why upset ourselves, hurting and harming our own body and mind by somebody's opinions and behaviors that my ego doesn't like or doesn't agree with? I did the "good' and "right" thing and didn't do anything "bad" or "wrong" according to what I believe is good or bad, right or wrong, but why do I allow myself to be hurt and harmed by other people's opinions and behaviors that are according to what my mind believes is bad or wrong?

We cannot force anyone to be the same like us... We cannot expect other people to behave the same way like us... We cannot change or control other people to think, speak, act and react the same way like us...

If we ever felt angry and disappointed by somebody's behavior, we are actually being angry and disappointed by our own expectation towards other people, that we expect them to be behaving like this or like that... When they don't behave the way according to what we think they should be behaving, we get angry and unhappy... It is not the behavior of the people that has disappointed us or made us angry... We are selfish... We want to control everything to be the way that we like it to be...

We were hurt, upset and disappointed by our own selfishness and ignorance, when we try to control or change other people to think, to speak, to behave, to act, to react the way that we would like or want them to think, to speak, to behave, to act, to react... And if they don't, we will feel hurt, upset and disappointed... And this turn into frustration and anger... We get frustrated and angry, being agitated and unhappy, thinking that it is other people's "misbehavior" that is disturbing us and is causing us unhappiness and unpeacefulness, and want to make or change or control other people to behave the way that we like and agree with... And we'll get more frustrated and unhappy as we cannot control or change anyone other than changing ourselves...

We are hurt and disappointed by our own selfishness as we cannot allow other people to be different from us... We want "our" world to be the way that we want it to be... We "expect" other people also will have the same ideas and desires for the world to be "the way that we like it to be"... When other people don't show co-operation to make the world the way that we want it to be, we get frustrated, angry and hating towards these people that we think they are "selfish" because they don't want to give support to our "mission", or they don't go along with our "brilliant" ideas and believes... We ourselves is being selfish but we judge other people who are different from us and disagree with us as selfish beings...

Do our best for what we think is "good" and "right", and let it go... Have peace, be in peace and share this peace without expecting the world will become peaceful... Allow the result of our "good" and "right" action to come by itself and to be what it is... Stop being angry and hating towards what we think is "not good" and "not right"... Peace will be there when we stop generating resentment and restlessness into the world... The world will be in peace by itself naturally, when we have peace in ourselves...

This is compassion... Just like the sun, the air, the water, the earth and the space... They are always performing the action of giving, providing and supporting to all beings to be exits in the universe... But they have no intention to be giving, no discriminations, no likes and dislikes, no craving and aversion, no anger and hatred, no judgments, no comparisons, no expectations, no identification as the doer of the actions and the enjoyer of the actions, no attachment towards all actions and the fruit of actions...

Real compassion is unconditional...

There's no anger or hatred, no disappointment or unhappiness, if we are truly compassionate...

We will be compassionate towards all beings whether wise or ignorant, rich or poor, good or evil, young or old, happy or unhappy, pure or impure, beings that we agree or disagree with, beings that we like or dislike, no differences...

Be kind and compassionate towards all beings including ourselves is also one of the beings...

Be free from anger and hatred is being kind and compassionate towards ourselves... If we can't even be kind and compassionate towards ourselves, how can we be kind and compassionate towards other beings, and how can we expect other beings to be kind and compassionate towards us?

Forgive ourselves and accept ourselves for being imperfect... Forgive others and accept others for being imperfect... This is compassion towards all beings...

We don't have to agree with "evil and wrong" doings... We are not supporting "evil and wrong" doings... But we don't have to be angry and hating towards evil doings...

Anger and hatred cannot dissolve anger and hatred... Anger and hatred can only be dissolved in compassion... Without compassion, there's no real peace and happiness as we will always be disturbed by what we don't like and disagree with...

Be happy.

Living in the present moment...

There were many times we were being asked this question, "What will you be doing when you are not teaching (yoga retreats or yoga classes)?"

I have no specific answer for that question. As I (the mind/the ego) am living in the present from moment to moment and allowing everything to flow naturally as it comes.

Ever since I practice being in the present moment until it becomes a natural way of life for me, I never think about what I "will" do "if" I am not doing what I am doing "now".

I let go of expectations or anticipations of what is coming, nor do I have to be doing "something" when I am not doing what I am doing now...

Once someone asked me out of care and curiosity, "What are you going to do when you don't or can't teach yoga anymore?" I said to her, "I never think about it. I don't have to think about it. But surely I will know what to do when that happens... One thing for sure, is that everything is impermanent..."

Our guests also liked to ask us out of care and curiosity, "What are you doing when you are not teaching?" I said to them, "I don't know. But surely there is always something to do when we are not teaching and it is not necessarily that we have to be doing "something" all the time..."

It is not like I can only do my own practice when I am not teaching classes, as teaching classes is also part of the yoga practice...

Some people asked, "What do you do when you are not practicing yoga?" For me, there is no separation of life and yoga... Everything that the mind perceives through the senses of what it sees, hears, smells, tastes, touches and thinks, is part of the yoga practice... Whenever the mind comes in contact with the objects of the senses, there is yoga practice... Letting go of craving and aversion, being at peace not being affected, nor disturbed, nor influenced, nor determined by all the experiences that the body and the mind is experiencing from moment to moment...

There is not a single moment that I am separated from yoga. Maybe I spent a few specific hours a day doing some asana and meditation practice, but there is no difference at all when I am not doing asana and meditation practice in the other hours... I am practicing yoga when I am driving, when I am walking, when I am eating, when I am resting, when I am playing, being in the present moment, accepting the reality of the present moment now as it is, from moment to moment...

Maybe I do have other things to do other than "teaching yoga" when my body and mind is not engaging in running and teaching yoga retreats and classes, but it all depends on that present moment what it will likely to be... There were times we wanted to do something but it was not possible at that moment, and so, we had to try again some other time... There were many times that we didn't plan to do anything special, but things happened accordingly and we ended up doing something unexpectedly... And we were enjoying every moment of it.

Ever since practicing awareness of being in the present moment, I stopped projecting or anticipating what I "will be" doing when I am not doing what I am doing "now"... Or what I "will be" experiencing, or what I "will" become... I am what I am, and every moment is changing... I don't even need to expect myself to be better than what I am now, or be more peaceful than what I am now, or be more strong and flexible than what I am now, as I accept myself as I am in the present moment now as it is, and I allow impermanence or changes to happen, and I accept all the changes as it is from moment to moment... I am not determined by the condition of my body or the state of my mind... I do not identify with the impermanent changing good and bad qualities of the body and mind... I am what I am. I don't have to look for peacefulness, as I am peaceful. I don't have to get rid of suffering, as suffering doesn't exist by knowing the truth of "suffering". I don't have to be good or bad, as I am neither good nor bad...

For me, "teaching yoga" is not separated from everyday life routines. It is like everything else that my body and mind might be experiencing in life from moment to moment, like seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling and thinking, it is not a "thing" that I do or don't do. Sometimes certain experiences are there and in other time these experiences are not there. And all these experiences are impermanent, constantly changing, including "teaching yoga" or myself "practicing yoga"...

It is like, the awareness is aware of the mind is now seeing and enjoying a beautiful scenery in front of it, and of course this will change, either the mind perception or position will change, or the scenery will change even if the perception or position still the same... And the mind is being in the present, it doesn't project what it is going to experience in the next moment when it is finished seeing and enjoying this scenery... If that is happening, it means that the mind is no longer being in the present, nor seeing or enjoying the beautiful scenery that is in front of it now, but being busy anticipating and imagining what is going to be its other "experiences" other than this one in the present moment.

And so, surely I can give any answers that I want to give, and don't mind at all if that is not really what I want to do, or whether it will be exactly what I am going to do or not... As I know about the law of impermanence. There is nothing wrong with giving an answer about "what next" with the perception of the present moment now and what I think that is going to be, and at the same time, allowing the reality to be what it is even though it is not what we thought it could be... This way, there will be no disappointment at all when things don't turn out the way that we would like it to be...

Whether I am "busy" with teaching yoga, or having the "free time" not teaching yoga retreats or classes, I still live life the same, and being what I am, how I am and where I am... Whether I am here or somewhere else, doing the same things or something different, I am what I am...

The point is, when we (the mind/the ego) stop project into the future and stop limiting what we should be doing and not doing, the opportunity for doing anything is so unlimited, it can be anything beyond our knowledge, imagination and expectation... Why do we limit ourselves by restricting ourselves to some fixed "ideas", "plannings", "schemings", "anticipations" and "expectations"?

I am not a different person or am I doing something different whether I am being busy with teaching yoga retreats and classes, or not. Every moment, I am practicing yoga. I am teaching yoga, I am sharing yoga, whether I am teaching yoga retreats or classes, or not. Peace and compassion is not just exists in certain conditions or time and space. Peace and compassion exists everywhere and every moment. Whether towards other beings or towards my own self (this body and this mind)... Peace and compassion is here every moment...

I (the mind/the ego) don't think or feel that I need to do something different or special when I am not teaching, nor I can do certain things only when I am not teaching. Maybe the body and the mind can only be engaged with certain activities at one time, but I am appreciating every moment that the body and mind is doing and not doing at that moment... Such like, I am not able to be in another place when I am being here. But I accept that in this present moment now, I am here and not somewhere else...

And this is yoga. This is meditation. Training the mind to be in the present moment. Accepting the reality of the present moment now as it is, not necessarily the way that we want or like it to be, or the way that we think it should be... And not attach to this present moment either as even this present moment now, is impermanent, it is changing, and we allow impermanence or changes to happen, and accept all the changes as they are, accept the reality of everything as it is... And without the identification as the doer of the actions or the enjoyer of the fruit of the actions. It is just the body and the mind experiencing all these experiences. But "I" (the observer or the witness) am aware of the body and the mind is experiencing impermanent qualities of names and forms from moment to moment, and this awareness of being the observer or the witness is not being affected nor contaminated by all these impermanent experiences...

It is not about being a superhuman that have superpower to control things or to change things to be the way that we want or like it to be...

Even the enlightened beings didn't try to change the world... If they did, the world would be free from suffering and be in peace now...

I don't need to be intentionally plan to teach anybody at what time and what place... But it will come into an organized time and place naturally, without expectations, if that is suppose to happen, it will happen...

Every moment, "I" observe or witness what the body and the mind is experiencing, whether it is seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, thinking, teaching, practicing, eating, drinking, driving, cleaning, writing, reading, organizing, sleeping, walking, sitting, standing, playing, bathing, shitting, and etc... "I" am not looking forward for the body and the mind to experience something that it is not experiencing now... But "I" allow all the experiences to come naturally by itself as it is... "I" am not associate with the body and mind, nor controlling what the body and mind is experiencing from moment to moment....

Even if I (the body and the mind) have the time to go to the toilet now, but I still have to wait for the body to be ready to pee or pass motion naturally... If there is dis-functioning of the elimination system, even if I want to pee, it won't happen...

If I planned to do something next week or next month, bought a ticket to go somewhere, but if there is some changes in the present moment now that the plan needs to be changed, I allow that change to be what it is according to the present moment now. Maybe it will change back into the original plan or change into something else or it won't happen at all... I just let it be...

Maybe in certain moments my body and my mind is engaged in certain activities, and in some other moments there are no activities at all, but there is no differences whether my body and mind is being busy with many activities or being free without any activities... I appreciate when there are activities as well as when there are no activities. I don't have to be "doing" something when I am free, and I am not looking forward to be free by not doing anything when I am busy...

I don't complain when I am busy nor when I am not busy...

I don't need to wait until holidays to enjoy my life nor I cannot enjoy life without having any holidays... I don't need to do something special or go somewhere special to enjoy life... Everything that I do or don't do, wherever I am or am not, I enjoy every moment of it...

I am content and at peace wherever I am and whatever I am doing and not doing.

Maybe in this present moment now, I might need to organize some activities for the upcoming retreats. But that "action" of organizing something for the upcoming retreats, is in the present moment now... I am still living in the present moment, from moment to moment.

If my mind starts to think about "What I am going to do next if I am not doing what I am doing now", then my mind will be projecting into the future, imagining and anticipating what I shall be doing or not doing in the next moment... The mind is wandering to the future projecting "things" or "actions" that don't exist at all. If I have no awareness of what is happening, and if I identified with the thinking process in the mind, then I am no longer being in the present moment anymore. I will be lost in the projections, imaginations and anticipations of something that is not existing at all.

It is the same when our mind is thinking about something that had happened in the past... If I identified with the thinking process in the mind, I am no longer being in the present moment, but I am lost in the past memories, and continue being affected, influenced, disturbed or determined by something that had happened in the past but doesn't exist in the present moment now... For example I might be thinking about somebody's hurtful actions in the past, and start to feel angry and upset for that past experience that doesn't exist in the present moment now, and making myself miserable and unpeaceful in the present moment... Merely wasting energy drowning ourselves in past experiences or memories...

That's why if we (the mind/the ego) are able to live in the present moment now, nothing can continue to upset us or make us unhappy. It is our own responsibility if we allow the past memories or experiences to continue to affect us, disturb us, influence us or determine us...

By having the awareness that is being aware of the mind is wandering to the future, projecting, imagining and anticipating about this and that, that awareness is in the very present moment. This awareness is different from the thinking process. It is observing or witnessing the thinking process... It is observing or witnessing the mind is thinking about something in the past or the future. The objects of the thinking process might be something coming from the past or the future, but, this awareness of being aware of the mind is thinking about something in the past or the future, it is not in the past nor in the future, it is in the very present moment now. Unless I haven't developed or connected with this awareness yet, then I am not being in the present moment whenever my mind starts projecting into the next moment, being lost in the imagination towards the future, or has gone to the past memories, being lost in the memories of the past... Constantly being determined, affected, disturbed or influenced by something that doesn't exist in the present moment now, and full of fear and worry...

Living in the present moment, I am allowing everything to be existing and non-existing whether it is something that my mind agrees or disagrees with, likes or doesn't like. I am allowing everything to come and go naturally...

Just like watching the sky, allowing all the changes in the sky to happen from moment to moment, without craving or aversion towards something that is not existing in the present moment, nor clinging or aversion towards something that is existing in the present moment. If it is sunny, let it be sunny... If it is cloudy, let it be cloudy... If it is rainy, let it be rainy... And not try to control or change sunny day to be cloudy day, nor change rainy day to be sunny day... As we (the mind/the ego) are never satisfied with what it is... We are always looking for something that is different from what it is...

I stop saying to people, "How did you feel?", "How was the class?", "This will be what you are going to become...", "This will be how you are going to experience and feel...", "This will be where you are going to be..." but in most conversations, I am more likely to say, "This is what we are doing now...", "This is how we are now...", "This is where we are now...".

Just take a look at our usual conversations with anybody that we come in contact with. Except for the first universal greeting sentence, "How are you?" which is being in the present, and the rest of the conversations are about the past or the future...

It seems like our mind is being conditioned by what the world has been "teaching" us. Whether it is to show interests or care towards other people, or mainly being busybody, it has became a social interaction, politeness or culture to ask anybody about "What have been happening to you, what have you done, where have you been, how did you feel, how and where did both of you meet, when did you start practicing yoga, when did you start teaching yoga, or what you are going to do, where you are going to, what you are going to become in the future, what is your future planning... and etc", to show that "I care about you", "I want to know about you", or else if we don't ask these questions when we meet somebody, it is being perceived as "impoliteness or rude or unfriendly or insociable" or "I don't care about you", "I don't want to know about you"...

But all these conversations are nothing but talking about the past or the future, empowering the past experiences or memories which are not the reality of the present moment now, clinging onto the past experiences, and projecting, imagining and anticipating about the future, which they both don't exist at all in the present moment. There is not a moment that we are being in the present moment, enjoying what is here in the present moment... The action of the conversation is in the present moment, but the subjects of the conversations are always from the past or the future... And the more we involve with such conversations, the harder it is for us to be in the present moment, to be free from anxiety, fear and worry that arise when the mind wanders to the past memories and future projections, anticipations and imaginations...

It seems like there is nothing to talk about without talking about the past and the future... That's why silence is the ultimate truth... Meditation is the mind entering silence. There is no past, no future, no dualities, no perception of names and forms...

If we had a strong heated conversation in the day, then at night when we want to take rest, all the contents of the conversation will bubble up on the surface of the mind making the mind restless and difficult to fall asleep...

Thank you for those who care and ask us this question as this inspires me to reflect upon the teaching about "living in the present moment"... And share this blog post with you who are reading this now.

In most time, there is nothing more to say, just being in the present moment... Whatever we are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking are just being what they are... There is no judgment, no comparison, no expectation, no craving, no aversion... Peace in ourselves and peace to all...

This might seems to be "anti-socialism" in the eyes or the perception of the society, but take a look at the truth in most conversations, which mostly generating most of the restlessness, misunderstanding, complications, gossips, slandering, criticisms, judgments, comparisons, expectations, exploitations, disappointment, anxiety, fear, worry, depression, anger, agitation, hatred, jealousy, back-bitting, and etc..."

Speak less if possible, conserving energy for contemplating upon the truth and higher realization... If we need to speak, may it be speech that leads towards the truth, peace and harmony. Even though most of the time, truthfulness is not welcome, and the truth is not something that our mind or ego can agree with, nor something that our mind or ego likes and wants it to be...

Sometimes we are exhausting ourselves by engaging in too many activities that we think we should be doing for the sake of yoga, humanity or compassion. But by the end of the day, we are exhausted by too much worldly activities and neglecting our own over-all well-being... Even Buddha also would have his own time, not going out on the street to spread Dharma all the time, not meeting anyone, not talking, not performing any worldly activities or so called duties and responsibilities, and take rest... Even Guruji also will have time to play and rest... Who says playing and resting is not part of yoga and meditation practice? Being present while playing, being present while resting... Those who don't know about this, they are always "doing" something to keep themselves busy, but not necessarily being in the present...

Again, this practice of living in the present moment (non-attachment, letting go of the past and the future) is only an advice for those who are sincerely in search for peace... Anybody can do what they want to do, say what they like to say and be happy with the way that they are...

Be happy.

Intensive Yoga Retreat in Tamilnadu South India with Marc and Meng Foong from December 1 - 9, 2012

We will be running an intensive yoga retreat in Tamilnadu South India by the end of the year from December 1 - 9, 2012. 

Limited to maximum 12 participants only.

Anyone who is interested please contact us for more details at yoganow@hotmail.com.

Please click on this link to our website for more details http://www.yoganowmalaysia.com/yogaretreatinindia.html

Om shanti,

Marc and Meng Foong 

欢迎你们参加马克和明凤在印度南部塔米尔纳杜12月1 - 9日所举办的南印度瑜珈之旅。任何有兴趣的人，请与我们联络yoganow@hotmail.com以了解更多详情。
只限制最多12人。

Mahishaasura Mardhini

A very peaceful piece of chanting to share with you...

 

महिषासुरमर्दिनिस्तोत्रम् Mahishaasura Mardhini


Ayi giri nandini, nanditha medini, visva vinodini, nanda nuthe , Giri vara vindhya shirodhini vasini vishnu vilaasini jisnu nuthe , Bhagavati he shiti kanta kutumbini bhoori kutumbini bhoori kruthe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 1


Suravara varshini durdhara dharshini durmukha marshini harsha rathe , Tribhuvana poshini shankara toshini kilbisha moshini ghosha rathe , Danujani roshini ditisuta roshini durmada shoshini sindhu suthe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 2


Ayi jagadamba madamba kadamba vanapriya vaasini haasa rathe , Shikhari shiromani tunga himaalaya shringani jaalaya madhya gathe , Madhu madhure madhu kaitabha ganjini kaitabha bhanjini raasa rathe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 3


Ayi shata khanda vikhandita runda vitundita shunda gajaadhi pathe , Ripugaja ganda vidaarana chanda paraakrama shunda mrigaadhi pathe , Nijabhuja danda nipaatita khanda vipatita munda bhataadhi pathe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 4


Ayi rana durmada shatru vadhodita durdhara nirjara shakti bhruthe , Chaturavi chaara dhureena maha siva duta krita pramathaadhi pathe , Durita dureeha duraashaya durmati daanava duta krutaanta mathe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 5


Ayi sharanaa gata vairiva dhoovara veerava raabhaya daaya kare , Tribhuvana mastaka shoola virodhi sheerodhi kritaamala shoola kare , Dumidumi taamara dundubhi naada maho mukharee krita tigma kare , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 6


Ayi nija hunkriti maatra niraa krita dhoomra vilochana dhoomra shathe , Sama ravi shoshita shonita beeja samudbhava shonuta beeja lathe , Shiva shiva shumbha nishumbha mahaa hava tarpita bhuta pishaacha rathe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 7


Dhanuranu sanga ranakshana sanga parishphura danga natat katake , Kanakapi shanga prishatkani shanga rasadbhata sringa hataa batuke , Krutachatu ranga balakshithi ranga ghatadbahu ranga ratad batuke , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 8


Suralalanatha tatheye tatheye kritabhinayodara nrityarate, Ritakukurat kukutogadadhi katalakutohala danarate, Dhimikitadhi kitadimidhnidho mridanga nidarate, Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 9


Jaya jaya japya jaye jaya shabda parasthuthi thath para vishva nuthe , Bhana Bhana Bhinjhimi Bhin kritha noopura sinjitha mohitha bhootha pathe , Natitha nataardha nateenatha naayaka naatitha naatya sugaana rathe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 10


Ayi sumanah sumanah sumanah sumanah sumano hara kaanthi yuthe , Shritha rajanee rajanee rajanee rajanee rajanee kara vakra vruthe , Sunayana vibhramara bhramara bhramara bhramara bhrama raadhi pathe, Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 11


Sahita mahaahava mallama tallika mallitha rallaka malla rathe , Virachitha vallika pallika mallika bhillika bhillika varga vruthe , Sita krutha phullisa mullasi thaaruna thallaja pallava salla lithe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 12


Avirala ganda galanmada medura matha mathangaja raaja pathe , Tribhuvana bhooshana bhootha kalaanidhi roopa payonidhi raaja suthe , Ayi suda theejana laalasa maanasa mohana manmatha raaja suthe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 13


Kamala dalaamala komala kaanthi kalaakali thaamala bhaala lathe , Sakala vilaasa kalaa nilaya krama kelicha latkala hamsa kule , Alikula sankula kuvalaya mandala maulimi ladbaku laali kule , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 14


Kara muralee rava veejitha koojitha lajjitha kokila manju mathe , Militha pulinda manohara gunjitha ranjitha shaila nikunja gathe , Nijaguna bhootha mahaa shabaree gana sadguna sambhrutha keli thale , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 15


Katita tapeeta dukoola vichithra mayookha tiraskritha chandra ruche, Pranatha suraasura mauli manisphura damshula sannakha chandra ruche, Jithakana kaachala mauli padorjitha nirbhara kunjara kumbha kuche , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 16


Vijitha sahasra karaika sahasra karaika sahasra karaika nuthe , Kruta sura thaaraka sangara thaaraka sangara thaaraka soonu nuthe , Suratha samaadhi samaanasa maadhi samaadhi samaadhi sujaatha rathe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 17


Pada kamalam karunaa nilaye vari vasyati yonu dinam sa shive , Ayi kamale kamalaa nilaye kamalaa nilayahsa katham na bhaveth , Tava padameva param pada mityanu sheelayatho mama kim na shive , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 18


Kanaka lasat kala sindhu jalai ranu sinchi nute guna ranga bhuvam , Bhajathi sa kim na sachi kucha kumbha thatee pari rambha sukhaanu bhavam , Thava charanam sharanam kara vaani nataa mara vaani nivaa si sivam , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 19


Tava vimalendu kulam vadha nendu malam sakalam nanu koola yathe , Kimu puru hootha pureendu mukhee sumukhee bhirasau vimukhee kriyathe , Mama thu matham siva naama dhane bhavatee kripayaa kimutha kriyathe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 20


Ayi mayi deena dayaalu thayaa krupa yaiva thvayaa bhavi thavya mume , Ayi jagatho jananee krupa yaasi yathaasi thathaa nubhi thaasi rathe , Yadu chitha mathra bhavathyu raree kuruthaa duruthaa pama paa kuruthe , Jaya jaya he mahishaasura mardhini ramyaka pardhini shaila suthe 21


Thank you for the nameless one who has posted the words on the internet where I copied from...


Om shanti.

About yoga teachers and teaching yoga...

"Yoga teachers" are those who had found the inner teacher within themselves, and are free from ignorance and restlessness, and are sharing the path of unconditional love and peace with other beings, out of compassion, without egoism of attachment, identification, craving and aversion, and expectation. They don't need to tag themselves as "yoga teachers" or "certified yoga teachers" or "certified yoga teachers with many years of experience" or "yoga teachers who came from which yoga school" or "yoga teachers who learn under which Guru". As all these names and forms and qualities are irrelevant. There is nothing wrong or bad with all these worldly perception of names and forms and qualities for "sharing" the path towards unconditional love and peace, but they mean nothing to those who have gone beyond names and forms and qualities.

The worldly minded need to see or hear all these names and forms and qualities about such and such, about this and that, but all these names and forms and qualities are meaningless on the path towards unconditional love and peace. Even though all beings have different backgrounds or experiences, and have different levels or degrees of ignorance or realization, but the unconditional love and peace in all beings is the same, no differences. It doesn't change, or increase, or decrease, or disappear due to the different degrees of impurities or ignorance. It is unaffected or uncontaminated by actions and inactions in different life experiences. And hence, there is no judgment towards anyone or anything. As even a so called "good person" who did a lot of good actions and didn't do any bad actions, it doesn't guaranteed that this person is in peace and happiness, or is free from ignorance, anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, pride, arrogance, dissatisfaction, disappointment, animosity, hurts, offensiveness, defensiveness, fear and worry.

It is about unattached towards what the mind believe as "good" and "bad".

It doesn't mean that we can do a lot of "bad" actions but will be free from the consequences. Some people misunderstood this teaching and take it as an excuse to justify our wrong doings that will hurt ourselves and other beings, and do whatever we feel like doing but being irresponsible for our actions. But what we didn't know is that we did all the "good" or "bad" actions with the identification as the doer and the enjoyer of the actions, and we have selfish intentions coming from the ego with attachment and expectation towards our actions and the result of our actions. "I did this." or "I didn't do that." or "He/she/they did this." or "He/she/they didn't do that."

Whether our intention or expectation to perform or not to perform any "good" or "bad" actions is to attain some sort of good feelings, or excitement, or satisfaction, or pleasant sensations, or to express unhappiness, dissatisfaction, anger, jealousy, disagreement, or due to reactions out of fear and worry, we are still being affected and disturbed by our/other people's actions and inactions, and the result of our/other people's actions and inactions.

That's why even though if we did a lot of good actions, try to be good and do good and try not to do any bad actions, we can still be not peaceful, unhappy and constantly being disturbed by anger, hatred, jealousy, pride, arrogance, greed, dissatisfaction, disappointment, restlessness, fear and worry that arise in our own mind, which has nothing to do with all the qualities of names and forms that we perceive through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind.

We "expect" that, if we do good, we will "receive" something good in return, and we will not "receive" any bad in return. But when this is not happening according to what we think it should be, we will be so disappointed and unhappy. We identified ourselves as "good" people who do good, and being proud and arrogant about ourselves for being good, and we might also expect other people to do good, and if other people don't do good, we'll get unhappy and frustrated, and judge them as "bad" people, and we are "good" people who do good, and we deserve to be here, and those who are "bad", they don't deserve to be here. And so on. Being so unhappy being disturbed by what other people do (bad actions) and don't do (good actions).

Just like in a yoga class while everyone is doing the same exercise but not everyone will be looking the same as everyone has a different body type with different degrees of strength and flexibility and different types of physical limitations. But all these differences of qualities and names and forms cannot determine whether one is peaceful and another one is not. Love and peace is nothing to do with whether we can perform all the yoga exercises in a "perfect body alignment" or not. It is not about if our feet is pointing at certain degrees and angle, and we will be guaranteed peace, or else if our feet is not pointing at that certain degrees and angle, and we will not have peace.

Teaching yoga is sharing the wisdom of yoga with anyone who is looking for unconditional peace, and guiding other beings on how to find the inner teacher within themselves and be free from ignorance and restlessness. If we haven't realized our own inner teacher yet, and have not found peace and are not free from ignorance, then how can we "teach" or "guide" other beings to be free? Even if we have an enlightened Guru sitting in front of us, to teach us or guide us, but it is still our own effort to realize love and peace. If we are reluctant to let go of ignorance, there's nobody can remove ignorance for us, not even an enlightened being can take away another beings suffering or ignorance.

Real yoga teachers don't need the title of "yoga teachers". They don't need to be "trained" to "become" "yoga teachers". They don't need a specific time and space to share and teach yoga. They are naturally "yoga teachers" when they are in peace and they have the "opportunity" to be there guiding other beings towards unconditional love and peace.

Out of compassion, it is a very natural action to share and guide other beings onto the path towards unconditional love and peace.

It is not so much about "I want to be a yoga teacher and I want to teach yoga." or "I want to teach these people and these people will learn from me and will be benefited from my teaching and sharing." and then we go to a yoga school, to learn how to do some yoga poses and some other yoga practice, and learn how to organize a yoga school or to teach a yoga class, and then pass the exam, get one or many recognized certificates, and start teaching yoga or run a yoga school.

There is nothing wrong or bad to have a specific time and space for people to participate in yoga classes performing yoga practice, as the "conditioned" lifestyle in the world nowadays, as well as the "limited" time and space that people have in their working and living conditions, there is a need to have some sort of organized time and space for people to come together to learn and practice yoga. But love and peace is beyond that conditioned and limited time and space of the timing and the hall for performing yoga practice. Yoga practice is happening in our mind wherever we are, at anytime, in any situations and conditions, every moment.

It is not so much like "Oh, it's a one hour class, and it is a "certain style" of yoga, and so, I have to teach this class with these certain practices in such style within an hour." or "Oh, it's the day for "particular" practice, and so, today I perform this "particular" practice." or "Oh, today our intention/Sankalpa is forgiveness, and let's practice forgiveness today."

Beside having a fixed "routine" that we perform everyday to gain maximum result by performing repetitive practice of the same "routine" and to develop continuous and steady mind concentration, to make it into a natural habit for yoga practice regularly, yoga practice is being performed according to the present condition and situation of what the body and mind need in this present moment. It can be very different from moment to moment. If we have nose blocked now, we stop performing heavy asana practice, do some light practice and maybe perform neti kriya to help to ease the nose blocked. And if we are low energy now, we can perform some asana practice that will boost up our energy level. If we are agitated now, we can perform some yoga practice that will calm down our mind and balance the energy field. Maybe in the same class, some people need to do more forward bends, and some people need to do more backward bends, and some need to perform longer relaxation, in that present moment. And all the yoga practice is to develop non-attachment towards the body and mind by letting go of the ego, develop mindfulness, concentration and steadiness, to allow the mind to be quiet to meditate upon the Truth. And this is not limited by specific time and space. It is happening from moment to moment, continuously.

It is also not so much about going to one particular yoga centre and attending one specific type of yoga class, nor it is about going to different yoga centres attending different types of yoga classes, follow whatever the teacher/teachers tell us to do in the class, but it is more about getting to know the practice through our own experience, to know what is going on in this mind and realize the inner teacher within us (The mind is its own highest teacher), and know what we are doing and what we suppose to do, without the need of following instructions from the teacher for us to perform our practice. This requires inner strength and flexibility like self-discipline, patience, perseverance, determination, adjustment, adaptation, acceptance, accommodation, tolerance, cheerfulness, truthfulness, solitude, silence, and etc.

It is not about "I can only practice yoga in a particular yoga centre, in a particular yoga class under the instruction of a particular teacher, or in certain type of comfortable condition and environment, or else I can't practice yoga, or I don't know what should I do by myself."


A real yoga teacher is allowing the students to learn to be their own teacher and stop depending on him or her to practice yoga. This might be contradicted with the policy of many yoga schools and yoga centres as that is part of their source of income, sustaining people to keep coming back for the classes, as well as attracting new people to join the classes and continuing to come regularly. And some might bring up more different types of  new "yoga practice" or "yoga classes" to make more "interesting" courses for attracting more people to "invest" into ongoing refresher courses or further studies. And some like to use the phrase of "There is no ending of learning, and we need to keep learning until our last breath." Well, there's nothing wrong with keep learning, but it doesn't mean that there has to be in a classroom with a teacher giving instructions and a group of people follow the instruction of a teacher to do the yoga practice. And if the mind is free from ignorance and suffering, this mind doesn't need to learn anything or practice yoga or meditation.

Teaching yoga is to allow people to come to a point where they can stop "learning" and "practicing", when the mind is free from ignorance and realize unconditional love and peace.

We need to look for peace and happiness (for example, performing yoga practice), because we are not peaceful and are not happy. If we are peaceful and happy, we don't need to do anything to be peaceful and happy (the end of yoga practice). We are peaceful and happy as we are. It is our true nature. It is not coming or accumulating from doing something or not doing something. It is by stop attaching or identifying with the body and mind, which is not "I".

Teaching yoga is the person himself or herself has realized the Truth about unconditional love and peace from within, and be free from ignorance, and naturally he or she knows what and how to share with other beings who are looking for unconditional love and peace, by guiding them on how to realize the inner teacher within themselves that will lead them towards unconditional love and peace. Yoga teachers cannot "give" love and peace to the students, or "make" them peaceful and happy.

Maybe by showing loving kindness to people can "make" them feel good and being loved, but it won't take away their root cause of unhappiness - ignorance. Everyone has to remove ignorance through their own effort and be free from unhappiness that derives from ignorance, and realize the unconditional love and peace within themselves, and be truly happy as they are. When a person is truly happy from within, then whether other people are nice to him/her or not, he/she will still be happy. Because his/her happiness is not coming from the conditional impermanent objects of names and forms from the outside. When a person has not found the happiness from within, even when other people are nice to him/her, even though he/she is "smiling" and "laughing" in front of other people, he/she will still be unhappy, being dissatisfied or disappointed with himself/herself, or with other people, or with life, or with the world, and so on.

Some people might think that only those who have been practicing yoga for some time and they already know about yoga, and are having a strong and flexible physical body to be "good" in performing most of the yoga poses, are qualified to attend yoga teachers training course. But it's not really like that. Anyone who doesn't know anything about yoga, or have never done any yoga practice before, or doesn't have good physical strength and flexibility, can go to a yoga school or ashram and participate in a yoga teachers training course, as the objective is not about trying to become a yoga teacher, but to learn more about yoga and its practice, and devote ourselves into the practice and realize the effects or benefits of the practice through our own effort and realization, and to realize unconditional love and peace from within, and be free from ignorance, and then naturally we'll know how to guide other beings on how to be free form ignorance and realize unconditional love and peace.

We don't "learn" to "become" yoga teachers, or "learn" how to teach yoga, or "learn" how to "become" a "good" yoga teacher. We don't need to call ourselves "yoga teachers", or judging/tagging ourselves as "good" or "bad" yoga teachers. If we still have doubts in our own practice, then obviously we are not ready to "teach" or "guide" others towards liberation from ignorance, but of course we can still teach other people to perform some yoga exercises for attaining health and fitness benefits. If we know what we are doing, then even though we are not "perfect", we can share our knowledge and experience with others, as we are walking on the path of yoga together, learning, practicing and sharing at the same time. At one moment, one might be the teacher of the others, and vice versa. There is no superiority or inferiority.

Everyone and everything is our teacher to teach us about the universal truth of impermanence and selflessness, it's not only human beings in a specific manners and background can be our teachers, nor only things that are in specific conditions can teach us something. But above all, look beyond all these qualities of names and forms, and find the inner teacher (the higher Self) within the mind (the lower self), who is the only one and always there every moment with us, for us, guide us towards unconditional love and peace. When we realize this inner teacher within us, all and everything is our great teacher (including the people and things that we don't agree with and don't like).

It is not about teaching a yoga class according to the guidance and information written or printed in the yoga books, or teaching the class by imitating some other yoga teachers' styles of teaching, but teaching the yoga class with the wisdom that we realized from our own sincere practice, knowing what are the effects of the yoga practice through our own direct experience, and how these yoga practice can help us in realizing the unconditional love and peace that is already there in us. It is not about "Well, according to what the teachers said or what the books told us, and this is the Truth we should all believe in and follow and practice."

If we still need to rely on doing something, or experience something, or possess something, or attain something, or eat something, or drink something, or smoke something, or see something, or hear something, or smell something, or taste something, or feel something, or think about something that we like and agree with, for us to feel good, or to be happy, or to be confident, or to feel meaningful, then know that we still need to keep practice or keep purify the mind to realize the wisdom of unconditional love and peace that is not coming from all these external worldly names and forms with different qualities that our mind likes and dislikes, agrees and disagrees with.

Teaching yoga and practicing yoga is not about to feel good, or to be happy, or to be confident, or to feel meaningful. It is going beyond the attachment towards the yoga practice with intention and expectation to feel good, to be happy, to be confident and to feel meaningful. The one who needs to feel good, to be happy, to be confident and to feel meaningful, is the ego. And yoga practice is to free the mind from this ego and egoism.

Here is a link to a blog post written by one of the students who is now teaching and sharing yoga with many others - http://yogakee.blogspot.ie/2012/06/becoming-yoga-teacher.html

Om shanti.

Having fun in the French Alps - Samoens

I was enjoying my time here in the French Alps with some fun practice at the retreat centre Dojo de La Piaz in Samoens while all the others went out...

French Alps - Chamonix

 

In the French Alps running a yoga retreat... Breath taking scenery and fantastic weather... Love and peace from France, be happy.