In This Issue
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Freehold Satsang:
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Spend the evening getting in touch with the joy that
is in you as your True Nature and in the company of
like-minded seekers.
On this evening, we will
light the Chanukah candles, retelling the story of the
miracle of lights and repeating the traditional
Chanukah blessings.
We are also collecting
gifts for the Toys for Tots program. Bring in a toy
and attend the evening's program for free! Bring
more than one toy and you'll help bring more smiles
to
more children this holiday season. Toys need to be
new, unwrapped and in their original packaging. We
suggest keeping the cost down do that more toys
could be bought. More toys=more
smiles.
You can bring in your toys anytime
before and including the night of the satsang. Just
drop off the toys at the Freehold Yoga Center. We
will deliver all the toys after the satsang to Toys for
Tots.
Donation: $15 or toys!
Dec.
8th 8pm - 10pm
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Happy Holidays!
Special Holiday Satsang with Rev. Jaganath: Joy
is Your Nature Experience it Now!
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Princeton Satsang:
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Sunday Satsang at Integral Yoga of
Princeton
December 10th from 10am to Noon
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Quote of the week:
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"Keep your meals simple. Each meal should consist of
foods simply prepared. The best diet for yogis is
vegetarian. Meat and fish agitate the mind and
create toxins that disturb the body. A little dairy is
fine if your body can handle it without creating too
much mucus. And don’t be overly concerned about
getting protein. Most people don’t require that much.
A good typical meal should have a whole
carbohydrate, a protein source (such as legumes or
tofu), and one or two vegetables."
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Last Satsang Update: Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Loving kindness
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Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Loving kindness
I sat on a cushion on the floor. I was to
push the record button. I was to make notes on
Guruji’s talk for this very essay. The room settled.
The microphone was in place. The energy in the
room was high, giddy; we were so delighted to be
there. So delighted to hear what Guruji was to say
about Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Loving Kindness.
And I anticipated the start. Objectively, I was ready
to make a note of how I could possibly forgive all of
the people in my life who had hurt me and who
continue to hurt me.
Then Guruji said, “Forgiveness. Has anyone
ever not done something they needed to have
forgiven?” In that moment it was quite clear that
myself and every other person in that room had done
something hurtful to someone else that they needed
to have forgiven.
Guruji spoke about ways we could ask
others for forgiveness. He gave four steps which
make up a sincere apology. The first step is to admit
that we have done something wrong without trying
to find the reason why we did it. The second step is
to accept your wrongdoing or own up to our own
weakness. This is the part in the apology where you
recognize that you caused the other person pain.
Then ,it is important to realize that the other person
is the only one that can forgive you. So, here is
where you say, “Please forgive me.”
Step one, “I’m sorry,” step two, “please
forgive me,” step three, if you really want to help
erase the weakness that lead you to do wrong is to
humble yourself even more. Guruji recommends that
you prostrate and touch the other person’s feet as
this reinforces their power to forgive. Also, since
the
ego is not fond of humbling itself before another, the
ego itself will shy away from repeating the hurtful
behavior. Lastly, ask: how did this happen? Try to
see how you made this hurtful mistake. Ask the one
who you hurt to help you. “Help me. How do I
prevent this from happening again? How do I not do
this again?” Sometimes, even with all this, the other
person simply will not forgive. In that case, Guruji’s
advice is, “Forgive yourself, forgive them, or find a
group of spiritual people that forgive you; accept
you” and, “do not hold resentment.”
The night transitioned at this point in the
talk. Our talk of forgiveness evolved toward the
subjects of Loving Kindness and Gratitude. We all
knew now how, sincerely and with humility, we could
and ought to ask for forgiveness. Now Guruji gave
us a simple way of becoming forgiving. He
recommended a simple phrase that could start us
putting the Yogic philosophy of forgiveness into
practice. “OK, I forgive you.” And we smiled
because it was so simple, then Guruji said, “we are
called to and built for forgiveness,” and I heard it as
quite true.
Our eyes sparkled. Ananda or Bliss looked
completely attainable from those cushions we were
seated upon. An ideal of forgiveness and loving
kindness was materializing before us. The world was
a better place for us after only an hour with our
beloved Guru. The light softened, an audience
member sighed, another sipped tea and another
asked about people who refuse to acknowledge the
wrong they committed, something we were all now
so ready to do ourselves. In response Guruji
said, “Some people are stuck in their anger and
violent feelings..” Forgive them, don’t hate or resent
them. And yet, you can’t act as if everything were
peaceful and loving. Be practical in how you treat
them. Use your common sense. Yoga means knowing
how to move in the world. “Wisdom,” for example,
knows that you “can cuddle a kitten; not a tiger.”
We should be idealistic about our own relationship
with forgiveness yet still be wise enough to
understand that others still have to learn and grow
from their pain.
I should mention our brief discussion about
pain and the hot pot metaphor. It was proposed
that those who choose to hold resentment and elude
forgiveness hold onto a hot pot. It burns very much
but they refuse to let go. They have not suffered
enough to let it go. Gratitude can unlock that pain
and suffering and encourage a release of
forgiveness.
Guruji said, “The most freeing thing is to
express gratitude.” Gratitude and thankfulness
complete the ideal picture of forgiveness we painted
that night. It brought the discussion to service.
First Guruji suggested that each human being was
given a body that belongs to Mother Nature and not
to us. He also suggested that we could show
gratitude by giving back. He said, “Learn to be a
giver, forgive, and give. When you give, love comes,
you be the giver, don’t wait for someone to give
first.”
By the end of the talk I felt like I had
received the stealth guide to becoming forgiving,
kind, loving, grateful and free. Indeed I had. How
simple is it? It is not simple at all. Most people,
myself included, have learned different ways of
expressing love. Some of them are not as effective
as the ones we discussed that night in the context
of Yoga. Some ways in which we love, forgive, hold
resentment, and act as though we are greatful are
ineffective and habitual. It could take many years to
even begin to change ways of being that define who
you are. It could also happen very quickly.
Refinement and a lighter life; an easeful, peaceful,
useful existence; is what we are after. This spiritual
community makes for sincere support toward a goal
of transformation. There is no self lost in the
pursuit
of authentic happiness.
Rhiannon Mukti Morgan
11/08/06
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