Tuesdays with Timji

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The last couple of weeks have been a real roller coaster ride, since my mom passed away May 1st. The next day I flew to Portland with my family for a weekend workshop. On Friday evening I taught a class called “The Physics and Metaphysics of Asana”. I always use my Matruska (Russian nestling dolls, five in all, that fit inside each other), to represent the Pancha Koshas—the five bodies: Annamaya Kosha (physical body), Pranamaya Kosha (energy body), Manomaya Kosha (mental/emotional body), Vijnanamaya Kosha (intellectual/intuitive body), and, my personal favorite, Anandamaya Kosha (blissful/spiritual body). The physical body is mostly Tamasic in nature, tending towards inertia, density, heaviness and toxicity. In the last two weeks I have been blessed by a monster cold that has unleashed great torrents of mucus. As I near the end of it, the mucus has turned a deep yellow, almost golden color, leading me to believe that something very deep is being dredged up. As stirred up as things have been in the Annamaya Kosha, the emotional storm in the Manomaya Kosha has been even more intense—there is flotsam and jetsam floating everywhere! I think the emotional release probably triggered the physical release. At any rate, it has been a time of great releasing on several levels. My mother’s passing coincided with the conclusion of my second Saturn Return, which stays in effect for several years, from the age of around 56 until the age of 62 or so, because Saturn moves so slowly. My second Saturn Return began just as Guruji’s health began to decline in 2007, continued with his passing in 2009, my father’s death in 2011, and now my mother’s departure. Saturn is known as the Great Teacher, but he is the Great Teacher only for those of spiritual bent, and the Great Tormentor to those with strong worldly attachments. Saturn teaches the futility of attachment to the material world by taking things away from us—our loved ones, our money and property, our health and livelihood, and, of course, our youth and, eventually, our life. Saturn offers us a crash course in the maturation process. The lessons stick because they are painful. You could say that Saturn is the “Greater Teacher “for those of us with the combined condition of both learning disabilities and spiritual aspirations.

Every Sunday morning at 8am I practice the Second Series, along with 20 or 30 of my friends/students. I don’t do the Second Series as well as I once did, but I experience the benefits more now than ever. All day Sunday I felt a part of the Great Oneness: Sunday brunch with the sports page and crossword puzzle, a little NBA playoff action (I loved watching the Spurs and Coach Popovich give the Grizzlies a tutorial on the art of team basketball!), periodic checks of the Padres game (they won 13 to 4!) About 3:30 my daughter Leela and I headed for the beach. We played smashball until we were hot enough to go in the water for a cool and refreshing dip. Warming up in the sun afterwards, it was like old times as I read Leela the beginning of the Panchatantra, an ancient Indian collection of teaching stories, composed by the sage Vishnusharman, who was given the task of educating the king’s three blockhead sons in six month’s time. After the beach, Leela and I headed for Carlsbad to meet my son, Eli, his wife, Jamie, and their two kids, Jade and Taj. I know I am a little biased, but I truly believe I have the most beautiful grandchildren in the Universe. We topped off the day with dinner at our favorite Sushi place. Home for a little bedtime reading and a much anticipated and treasured date with the Sand Man.

Tuesday May 14, 2013

My mother was laid to rest yesterday in Riverside National Cemetery, alongside my father, who passed away two years ago. Hopefully, they are reunited now and Dad is showing Mom the ropes in the afterlife. It is always difficult to lose a parent, no matter what kind of a relationship we had with them. I was very close to my mother and I greatly appreciate all of the condolences I have received via email, facebook, and cards, both hand delivered and sent by snail mail. One of the messages I received on facebook used a phrase that I had never heard before to describe my mother’s life and death. The phrase is “compression of morbidity”—which means that one has lived a long, healthy, and fulfilling life, sustained a sense of self-sufficiency and mental clarity until the very end, and then died quickly and peacefully without any prolonged suffering, and a lengthy period of “morbidity”, where there is a protracted process of erosion of physical, mental, emotional, and financial resources. As an exit strategy, compression of morbidity is definitely the way to go. Congratulations, Mom, on both a beautiful life and a beautiful death! My dear friend Meir Lesham in San Francisco sent me this poem by D. H. Lawrence:

When the Ripe Fruit Falls
When the ripe fruit falls its sweetness distils and trickles away into the earth
When fulfilled people die the essential oil of their experience enters the veins of living space And adds a glisten to the atom, to the body of immortal chaos.
For space is alive and it stirs like a swan whose feathers glisten,
Silky with the oil of distilled experience.

Mom would have liked the idea of the distillation of her life joining and feeding the collective--the most unselfish person I ever met. She lived her life in total service to her family—waiting on my father, my two brothers, and me hand and foot. I, being the youngest of the sons and the only one to produce any grandchildren, was probably doted on the most. My mother turned me into what my wife refers to as “an Entitled Prince”--she could write a book about it. It’s a persona that works much better in a “doting mother”/”pampered son” relationship than it does in a marriage. One of the things I’ve been reflecting on these past two weeks is an interesting puzzle from my Horoscope. It involves the planet Saturn occupying the Fourth House, called Matru Bhavana—the house of the mother. Saturn’s presence here indicates some difficulty. My mother loved me so much and treated me with such tenderness and strength that I became very attached to her, idealized her, and made it difficult for any of the other women in my life to measure up to Saint Selma. As a result there have been some domestic challenges—the fourth house is the house of Home, and Heart. My mother’s death signals the ending of one cycle and the beginning of another for me. As I infuse myself with the distillation of Mom’s essence, I’m poised to take the step from “Entitled Prince” to “Magnanimous King”. The fourth house is also the house of Moksha, Liberation. I feel that, with Mom’s help, good things are coming for all of us. She was a very powerful person in her quiet way. When my dad retired from the air force and suddenly became ill, the military doctors could not determine what was wrong with him. As he continued to get sicker by the day, my mother obtained a medical encyclopedia and began researching dad’s symptoms. She told the doctors to give him a urine test for diabetes. Duh! Mom, you rock!

Tuesday, May 7th

Two and a half weeks ago I received a Happy Anniversary card from my 94 year-old mother. Enclosed was some cash for a “special anniversary dinner”, and a note saying she had just spent ten days in the hospital after experiencing some difficulty breathing. She asked my brother Rick, who lives with her, not to call me because she didn’t want anyone to worry about her. To my recollection, this was the first time that Mom ever had an extended stay in the hospital, so I called Rick to get more details. He told me that mom was suffering from congestive heart failure and some related problems. I admonished him a little for not letting me know and asked him to please call if there were any further problems. A few days later Rick called to say that Mom was back in the hospital with pneumonia. I drove up to Riverside to see her a few days later and was shocked to see Mom, who up till a few weeks ago had always been strong and healthy (except for a severely arthritic hip which required her to use a walker), lying in bed with a respirator, a feeding tube, and IV’s. She was sleeping when I arrived, but woke up a few times during my visit, smiled and tried to say a few words. It was difficult to understand her through the respirator, but she obviously knew who I was and was happy to see me. She seemed peaceful and was not in any great pain. Rick told me that when he was taking her to the hospital she said, “Boy, I really went downhill fast.” On the evening of May 1st I was having dinner with my daughter Leela and my mother-in-law Jetty when the phone rang. Normally I don’t answer the phone during dinner, but when caller ID identified my brother Rick, I picked up the phone. I had spoken to Rick earlier in the day and he said that Mom seemed slightly improved, so I was quite surprised when he told me she had passed away that afternoon. When I hung up the phone I sat in stunned silence and let the waves of emotion wash over me. Leela got up from the table and retrieved a questionnaire that Mom had returned to her a few weeks earlier, detailing her personal history. The questionnaire was part of Leela’s fifth-grade “Memoir Heritage Project”. In her attempt to comfort me, Leela gave me the completed pages, as if to say, “Here’s a little bit of Grandma we will always have.” In that moment, I saw my mother’s kindness shining through my daughter (maybe it skipped a generation).

Selma Miller was born in Montrose, Colorado on January 20th, 1919. She grew up on a ranch on the outskirts of Perris, California, about a mile from her closest neighbor, and attended a small, rural school with one teacher for all eight grades. She was a good student and went on to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara, earning a BA in Home Economics. She married my father in 1944 and had three sons. Mom was totally devoted to her family, content to fulfill her dharma through service to her husband and children. She and my father were married for almost 67 years! In India, they say that your mother is your first guru. I was fortunate to have a guru who embodied the qualities of love, kindness, thoughtfulness, patience, and unselfishness. I remember getting the mumps and measles simultaneously when I was in kindergarten and then passing both of them on to my two brothers, and the mumps to my father as well. My mother took care of us all tirelessly, without complaint, remaining strong and even-tempered throughout it all. Mom lived by the mottos, “If you don’t have something nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all”, and “Be happy for what you have.” I thank God that she had a long and fulfilling life, and passed peacefully, with her mental faculties intact. If there is any justice in the afterlife, she is in a good place. Thanks for everything, Mom—you’re the best!

Tuesday, April 30th

We are currently under the influence of sinister planets. Saturn, the “Great Malefic” stands in direct opposition to Mars, “the Lesser Malefic” at 10:12pmPDT this evening. This is one of the most challenging of all planetary aspects. Some of the difficulties that we may have at this time are: a general sense of irritability, annoying ego conflicts, and a general sense of inadequacy. This tends to be a time when we are feeling more vulnerable psychologically, easily wounded, and more likely to stuff our feelings rather than express them. We may need to send a May Day distress call out tomorrow because Mars opposing Saturn tends to make us more accident prone and is also related to diseases associated with the hardening processes of the body— abnormal bone formation, arthritis, arteriosclerosis and high blood-pressure. It’s not all bad, though (maybe 95% bad). The upside of this opposition is that it is a time when we can do work that requires great energy, concentration, and attention to detail. It is a good time to lose oneself in some important project, lay low on the social front, take really good care of ourselves, and practice our yoga diligently. As with any challenging Saturn aspect, one of the best remedies is singing the Hanuman Chalisa. We sang eleven of them to celebrate Hanuman Jayanthi last Thursday. It was, by far, the most Chalisas I have ever done at one time and I was surprised how easy it was to sing it that many times, the energy building behind each completed Chalisa. At the end I felt like Hanuman! Thanks to all who came and participated in the celebration.

Tulsi Das, composer of the Hanuman Chalisa, also wrote a folk version of the Ramayana, called Sri Ramacaritamanasa. For the past month my early mornings have been filled with Tulsi Das’ beautifully devotional version of the story. This morning I finished chapter three, “Ayodhyakanda”. The final scene involves Rama’s younger brother Bharata, who has come to the forest seeking Rama to ask him to forsake his fourteen years of exile and return to Ayodhya to rule the kingdom that is rightfully his. Bharata’s mother Kaikeyi schemed to have Rama banished to the forest and her own son placed on the throne. Bharata wants no part of this and is ashamed of his mother’s vile and malicious actions, yet, at the same time feels implicated in the events that have transpired, and desires to clear his name. He journeys into the forest with his brother Shatrughna, his mother Kaikeyi and King Dasaratha’s other two wives, the sages Vashishta and Visvamitra, and many of the citizens of Ayodhya, who, feeling bereft of their beloved Rama, have come to the forest to bathe his feet with the tears of their devotion and beg him to return. Sita’s father, King Janaka has come with his wife and his spiritual preceptors as well. Every one is eager to convince Rama to come back to Ayodhya. Bharata’s pleas are the most heart wrenching of all and attest to his great devotion to Rama. Rama is steadfast in his resolve to be exiled to the forest for 14 years and assures his brother Bharata that he bears him no ill will and doesn’t hold him responsible for the chain of events. Bharata’s devotion to Rama and Rama’s kindness and compassion to his brother are quite moving. In the end, Bharata returns to Ayodhya, places Rama’s wooden sandals on the throne, “After bowing his head at the feet of Rama’s mother and the guru and receiving the commands of his Lord’s sandals, Bharata, the staunch upholder of righteousness, made a hut of leaves at Nandigrama and took up his abode there. With his hair gathered up into a knot on his head and clad in hermit’s robes, he dug the earth and spread thereon his couch of kusha grass.”

Tuesday April 23rd

The full moon on Thursday April 25th—12:57pmPDT—occurs in the Nakshatra called “Swati”, meaning self-going, tender and delicate--like a young plant shoot blown by the wind. The presiding deity of Swati is Vayu, the God of the Wind and Hanuman’s father. The full moon of Chaitra (April) is celebrated in India and elsewhere as Hanuman Jayanti—Hanuman’s birthday, five days after Ram Navami—Ram’s birthday. A divine contract was negotiated in the heavens --Vishnu, the Preserver, would incarnate in human form as Rama, and Shiva would incarnate as Hanuman, born for the special purpose of serving Rama with unfailing strength, wisdom, and devotion in his quest to rescue Sita and kill the demon king, Ravana. Ravana had become too strong by virtue of his tapas to Lord Shiva, sitting in worship for 10,000 years and every thousand years offering one of his ten heads to the sacred fire. At the end of 10,000 years Ravana had only one head left and was about to offer that to the fire when Shiva said, “Wait, you have shown great diligence in your tapas. What is it you desire from me?” Ravanna asks for a boon of protection from, the Devas and other immortal beings. He thought so little of humans and animals that he sought no protection from them. As a result Vishnu had to be born as a man and Shiva as an animal in order to kill Ravanna and end his reign of tyranny. Ravanna had been trampling all over Dharma. Ramesh Menon, in his translation of the Ramayana, writes, “The Sun and the Moon go in fear of Ravana. The planets spin into sinister orbits at his will, and all the world has become a dangerous place. The yakshas and gandharvas live in terror. No sage dare pronounce a curse on the Lord of Lanka, because he is such a powerful sorcerer himself. Vayu the Wind blows softly, lest he ruffle Ravana’s hair.”
Ravana is the embodiment of what are called the six enemies—Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, and Matsarya—lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and envy. Rama is the representative of Dharma—strong, honest, fair, open hearted, and wise beyond his years—severely tested by fate by being banished to the forest for 14 years and having his wife kidnapped by Ravana, but still always able to do the right thing. Why do bad things happen to good people? In Rama’s case everything had to go down exactly as it did in order for him to fulfill his Dharma by killing Ravana. He would never have been successful without the unwavering devotion and service of Hanuman. Hanuman is called Sankata Mochana, the dispeller of distress. When he first meets Rama, Hanuman is greatly moved by the utter devastation that has befallen him. Hanuman immediately recognizes Rama as Vishnu incarnate and falls to his feet, offering his humble service in the quest for Sita. Hanuman subsequently finds Sita in the Ashoka grove of Ravana’s palace, weeping, emaciated, and filthy. She has steadfastly refused the affections of the demon king for months and Rama has grown impatient. He has just left her with the ultimatum that if she doesn’t become his wife in one months’ time, he will chop her into little pieces and eat her for breakfast. At this point Sita is sure that Rama has forgotten about her and abandons all hope. Hanuman witnesses this scene and feels great compassion for Sita. He shows her Rama’s ring and says to her, “The Lord (Rama) and his brother (Lakshmana) are both well, except that the All-Merciful (Rama) sorrows with your sorrow. Yield not to remorse, mother; Rama loves you twice as much as you love him.” Thus, Hanuman dispelled Sita’s distress, and brought Rama and his army of monkeys to Lanka to defeat Ravana. Hanuman is called, Mahaprabhu, the great friend. I will be honoring Hanuman with a short puja-- Thursday 6am at the Ashtanga Yoga Center, and then again at 7pm with 11 Hanuman Chalisas and some special guests, including the sublime Naren Schreiner.

Tuesday April 16th

Greetings from from Columbus, Ohio, recently named “America’s smartest city.” I’ve been here for six days and feel much more intelligent already. For the past 16 years I’ve been teaching an annual workshop at Yoga on High and always seem to arrive just as Spring is bursting forth in all its glory. My hosts, Martha and Jerry Marcom, have graciously offered me their hospitality for each of those 16 years and have become like family. I have seen their kids grow up and leave home over those years, their two beloved border collies--Ranger and Lilly--live out their lives, and witnessed the sale of the old family home in Bexley after the kids were gone and the move into an apartment right in the heart of Columbus. This year I arrived a day before the birth of their first grandchild, Margaret Susan. Since I already have two grandchildren I’ve been schooling them on the art of grandparenting. One of their current dilemmas is to figure out what they would like to be called by their grandchild--the current favorites are Oma and Ziggy. They have been a little preoccupied this year with their new granddaughter, but have still managed to provide me, as always, with comfortable lodging, good food, and reliable transportation. Tomorrow will be my sixth and last day of teaching here. I have been gradually preparing the students for the most difficult practice of the week, a full second series class. Fortunately their will be a highly energizing Sun and Mars conjunction on Wednesday to help us get through it. Some of the local students have returned year after year for a decade or more, and I can always count on seeing a contingent of students from Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. My long standing tradition with the Marcoms is, at the conclusion of the workshop we drive down to their country house on lake Logan, an hour south of Columbus. We have a little celebration of the completion of the workshop on Wednesday evening in the pristine and peaceful surroundings of Lake Logan and the Hocking Hills. Weather permitting, we’ll take a hike in the hills on Thursday and maybe go kayaking on the lake. It’s one of the highlights of my time here.

On Friday morning I’ll be headed home, just in time for the start of the NBA playoffs this weekend. As a Laker fan for the past 50 years I can say without hesitation that this has been the most challenging season yet. After acquiring Dwight Howard and Steve Nash in the off-season--two future hall of famers--people were predicting that the Lakers would be a shoo-in to play the Miami Heat in the Finals. It hasn’t exactly worked out that way, with the Lakers struggling just to stay above .500 and make the eighth and final spot in the western division playoffs. With their season on the line and finding themselves shorthanded by injuries, their best player, Kobe Bryant, was playing heavy minutes and ruptured his achilles tendon with just two games left in the regular season, both against very good teams. The Lakers managed to squeak by the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday without Kobe and play the Houston Rockets at home on Wednesday evening. If the Utah Jazz win their game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday then the Lakers must also win or their season is over. The Marcoms don’t have cable TV in their country house so I’ll miss the game and just have to hope that the guys can pull themselves together, salvage their season, and win one for Kobe and Jerry Buss, their former owner who passed away a couple of months ago.

There are a couple of special events coming up next week at the Ashtanga Yoga Center. Thursday April 25th is Hanuman Jayanti and we will be celebrating by singing eleven Chalisas beginning at 7PM. On Saturday April 27th from 2-5PM I’ll be teaching a special workshop called--”The Marriage of Shiva and Shakti--Finding Harmony in Duality.” All of the revenue from the workshop will go to The Sean O’Shea Foundation a wonderful local organization that is bringing yoga into public schools throughout San Diego County. This is a grass roots organization that relies on charitable contributions to fund their programs and I am thrilled to be able to offer a benefit workshop every year to support their efforts.

Tuesday, April 9th

The New Moon on Wednesday April 10th at 2:35amPDT occurs within the lunar asterism known as Revati –meaning “wealthy”, or “ transcendent.” This is the 27th and final nakshatra, representing the culmination of all the signs of the zodiac, and a sense of completion and dissolution. Revati falls at the end of the sign of Pisces, represented by two fish swimming in opposite directions—a symbol of the soul’s journey in the Sea of Being.

The particular quality of Revati is called “Kshiradyapani Shakti”—the power to nourish through milk, symbolized by a calf sucking its mother’s udder. It relates to the assimilation of life experiences from many lifetimes and the ability to discriminate and take nourishment from those things that we have found to be helpful in our life’s journey, as we each endeavor to find our particular path back to the source. Pushan—the “one who lights all paths”, is the presiding deity of Revati. He is associated with safe travel in all realms—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual—and is said to give wealth, completion, and liberation. Revati is one of the most pleasing and benevolent of all the nakshatras, helping us to see things in a positive light and bestowing faith, equanimity, and kindness, making us soft and polite and tenderhearted. This tenderness of heart lends itself to being vulnerable and easily heart, but also to being good listeners and counselors. Revati represents collective consciousness, the final merging in the Ocean of Being and the experience of Moksha (liberation). The key here is letting go of outmoded ways of being that no longer serve us and surrendering to the path that Pushan illuminates for us.

The Sun, Moon, Venus, and Mars are all close together in Revati at the time of the new moon, creating a powerful environment for faith, completion, surrender, and new beginnings. It is the end of the astrological year in the Jyotish (Indian) system and the beginning of the new-year as the Moon and Venus both enter Ashvini, the first of the 27 Nakshatras, later in the day on Wednesday and the Sun and Mars do so over the weekend. The opportunity that is available for us now is to suck the teat of Kamadhenu, the “cow of plenty”, a symbol of the Divine Grace that is effortlessly available to us now if we surrender to it, to nourish us for the new cycle. This is prime time for Isvara Pranidhana, devotion and surrender to the Universal Intelligence. Patanjali says in Sutra II.45, “Samadhi siddhi Isvara pranidhanat”—Self Realization is attained through devotion and surrender to the Great Spirit. Patanjali describes Isvara as: I.25—Tatra niratisayam sarvajna bijam,” the unequaled source of all knowledge,” and I.26—Sa esa purvesam api guruh kalena anavacchedat, “The eternal Guru, not subjected to time, who was the guide even for the ancient ones.” It all sounds so simple—simply surrender to the Big Guru and we will attain perfect serenity, oneness, and bliss. Obviously this kind of surrender is not as easy as it sounds, otherwise we would have done it long ago. We are highly conditioned beings who are prone to believing in who we think we are. What’s happening now is a chance to look at ourselves from a more universal perspective, to recognize the places we are stuck, and to let go and move forward with faith in Divine Providence. Patanjali says in Sutra I.12—Abhyasa vairagyabhyam tannirodhah—“ Through persevering practice and non-attachment the mind becomes quiet and we experience the state of union”. Normally we practice things to get better at them. With yoga the notion is that we practice to help us let go of the attachments that bind us in order to penetrate deeper and discover the light already present within us. May Pushan illumine our journey.

Tuesday April 2nd

It’s that time of year again, the annual meeting of Venus and Mars—the archetypal Feminine and Masculine (“Men are from Mars and women are from Venus.”) On Saturday April 6th they will be exactly conjunct at 9:58pm PDT. This is a conjunction that is particularly fascinating to me because I was born with Venus and Mars one degree apart. In a sense, that means that I experience this conjunction all the time. For the next couple of weeks, while Venus and Mars are very close together everyone gets a chance to experience the kind of energy that I am faced with daily. Venus is associated with emotional sensitivity and refinement and is considered benefic, while Mars relates to emotional excitability and expression, which, taken to extremes could lead to accidents or violence. Because of this potential for disaster through misdirected Martian energy, Mars is considered malefic. Venus is known as the Goddess of Love and Beauty and is associated with affection and harmony and the development of our aesthetic sense through the appreciation of art, music, dance, poetry, fine food, and sensual delights. Venus gives vitality and delight, an aspiration to embrace the good, the pure, and the beautiful. These, of course, are the more spiritual effects of Venus. At the physical level Venus seeks pleasure, comfort, and luxury. This is Venus as the seductress, who can catch us like a spider in her web, draining our life force as we pursue something that is both fickle and unattainable. Venus can control us with her fascinating allure and become the indulgence that dissipates us. Venus also has the capacity to be vain, superficial, and affected. Unfortunately, the close proximity of Mars seems to activate some of these less desirable attributes of Venus, causing an excess of passion, emotionality, and sensuality. On the positive side, Mars gives us power, strength, and courage to be assertive in life. On the negative side, assertiveness can turn to aggression and lead to competition, argument, and conflict. One thing that all astrologers seem to agree on is that when Venus and Mars get together, a lot of passion is generated between the sexes. How we channel this passion will determine whether this conjunction is invigorating or draining. Will we take the high road or the low road?

Speaking of the high road, this morning I was reading the passage in the Sri Ramacaritamanasa , describing the first meeting of Rama and Sita—“Hearing the tinkling of her bangles, the small bells on her girdle and anklets, Rama thought within himself and then said to Lakshmana, ‘It sounds as though Kamadeva has sounded his kettledrum, ambitious to conquer the universe. So saying, he looked in that direction, and lo! His eyes feasted themselves on Sita’s countenance even as the partridge gazes on the moon. When he saw Sita’s beauty he was filled with rapture; he admired it in his heart but utterance failed him. He felt as though Brahma the Creator had put forth all his creative skill in visible form and revealed it to the world.” “Then Sita shyly opened her eyes and saw before her the two lions of the house of Raghu (Rama and Lakshmana). Surveying Rama’s beauty from head to foot and remembering her father’s vow (only the one who broke Shiva’s bow could marry Sita), she was greatly troubled. When Sita’s companions saw her thus overcome they all cried in alarm, ‘We are late already! We shall come again tomorrow at the same hour.’ So saying, one of them smiled within herself. Sita blushed at this clever hint. It was late and she feared her mother. Then summoning up resolution, she received Rama into her heart and, conscious of her dependence on her father, returned home. Pretending to look back at a deer or a bird or a tree, she turned again and again, and each time she gazed on the incomparable beauty of Rama, her love ever greater.”

Tuesday March 26th

I think the Universe should issue a high-surf advisory for the coming week. Wednesday morning at 2:27am PDT the Full Moon will occur in the Nakshatra (lunar mansion) called Hasta, “The Hand.” Hasta provides us with “Hasta sthapaniya agama shakti”—the power to put the object of desire in one’s hands. It is ruled by Savitur, the “Rays of the Morning Sun”, a deity who symbolizes the generative energy of the Universe. Savitur has a jovial, light-hearted persona—he is often portrayed laughing. He is a playful deity interested in all kinds of tricks, amusements, and games of all sorts—mind games and physical sports—who is extremely clever with his hands. Hasta falls within the sign of Virgo, which is ruled by Mercury, exalted here in this nakshatra. Savitur is thought of as a combination of the vitality of the Sun and the cleverness of Mercury. The word “Has” means laughter, something that Savitur is fond of doing. Under the influence of Hasta we feel playful and want to have fun. Just as our fate is written in our “hand”, we also have the ability to determine our fate, to some extent, by taking matters into our own “hands”. Hasta stimulates a desire to change and grow and provides the necessary energy and playfulness required to confront the resistance that rears its ugly head when the status quo of our lives is challenged.

Speaking of challenging the status quo, we have a very interesting triple planetary conjunction on Thursday, when the Sun, Venus, and Uranus get together in the Nakshatra called Uttarabhadra. Located in the sign of Pisces, Uttarabhadra is associated with the deity known as Ahir Budhnya, “Serpent of the Depths”, the ruler of the celestial ocean and a symbol of wisdom much like Neptune. Ahir Budhnya relates to varshodyamana shakti—“the power to bring rain”--spiritual rain from the celestial ocean of consciousness with the opening of the crown chakra. The Sun and Venus together give us a desire to express ourselves through creativity and relationships. We want to be noticed and put ourselves out there in warm and friendly ways to attract the attention of others. Everyone gets a little more charming under this influence, but we may be susceptible to over indulgence and believing that we are the most fascinating beings on the planet, when others are thinking that we are incredibly vain and foolish. When Uranus joins the party, all hell breaks loose as we are given a jolt of liveliness intended to shake us out of our dreary, lifeless routines. Uranus is the planet of rebellion, striving to free us of whatever shackles we feel are binding us. Our samskaras (inherent tendencies) will be very much in evidence now and we will be faced with the choice of riding this big wave of electric and transformative energy, or trying to ignore it (not recommended). The close proximity of Mars (five degrees away) may make us headstrong and impulsive, striking out against resistance and authority figures in ways that invite conflict. We can only hope that the presence of Venus will help us sustain at least the veneer of warmth and charm so we don’t invite unnecessary conflict from others. With Venus and Mars close together we have a strong interest in the opposite sex that could lead to new relationships. The influence of Uranus suggests that these new relationships will be exciting, but unstable. As Mars and the Sun get closer and closer over the next three weeks we should feel very vigorous. Best to use this energy by engaging in lots of physical activity. Our egos can get a little inflated under this influence--we want to be recognized and appreciated and may get upset if we are not. A great way to channel all of this energy, of course, is into our yoga practice, and especially in trying some slightly or radically different approach.

Tuesday March 19th

Tomorrow morning at 4:02am PDT the Sun will be directly over the equator, marking the Vernal Equinox and the first day of spring. All over the planet tomorrow there will be roughly equal parts of day and night. The Sun will rise directly in the East and set directly in the West. Some say that on this day the cosmic forces are so balanced that you can stand an egg on its end. Others say any one gullible enough to believe that you can balance an egg on its end at the Vernal Equinox should suffer the fate of wasting the day trying to do just that. The egg, of course, symbolizes new life and springtime itself—a time of rebirth and renewal when we all feel more vital and energetic. I’ve been feeling it in particular since St. Patrick’s Day this past Sunday, coinciding with Mercury turning direct. Some strong practices this week and large classes—it seems that everyone is feeling it, the Sap of Life flowing more strongly through the veins. I find that the more energy I give to my yoga practice, the more it gives back to me. This is a great time for Tapas—the Sacred Fire that removes impurities and brings us to our senses. For myself, I’m hoping to burn off the extra two kilos that I put on over the winter so I can do poses again like supta kurmasana, pashasana, and tittibhasana. Of course this will also require me to be more conscientious about my diet—avoid those empty calories, eat plenty of greens to make my liver happy, and spend more time outdoors walking, biking, and body surfing. The days are getting longer and warmer so it is a pleasure to be outdoors to see the springtime perennials blooming. Two of my favorites are nasturtiums and sour grass, both edible and good for the liver. The ocean is getting warm enough that I have thoughts of donning my spring wet suit and diving in. I think it might just be the rite of renewal I need to celebrate the Vernal Equinox tomorrow. There are many Holy Days in different cultures that are celebrated around this time—Passover and Easter, for example. The origins of Easter are linked to an ancient pagan festival celebrated on the Vernal Equinox called Ostara, named in honor of the Goddess Eostre, who symbolizes the passage of time as well as new life and fertility. Eostre was once rescued by a bird with frozen wings that was magically transformed into a magical , egg laying hare. There is a particular type of rabbit known as a March Hare, who has his mating season at this time of the year. Normally these hares are nocturnal, but during the mating season they are so crazed that they barely sleep. The female hares are capable of conceiving again even while they are pregnant. Both the rabbit and the egg are symbols of fertility and new life—a hare that lays eggs is a particularly potent symbol for the energy of the season.

I always reread the Ramayana in the spring. Rama and Hanuman were both born in the springtime and Rama and Sita were also married in the spring. Rama is associated with the sign Aries (Mesha in Sanskrit), the Ram. Over the years I’ve read many versions of the Ramayana. This year I have just started the Ramacharitamanasa (translation by R.C. Prasad) by Tulasi Das, the great 16th century poet who wrote the Hanuman Chalisa. Inspired by Valmiki’s Ramayana, the Ramacharitamanasa is Tulasi Das’ gift to the common man, written in the language of the people—a dialect of Hindi called Awadhi—rather than the more scholarly Sanskrit. Tulasi Das writes with great devotion to his subject. In India it is commonly believed that anyone who reads this divinely inspired text will receive a great spiritual blessing—something we can all use!

Tuesday March 12th

In case you missed it, this past Sunday evening, just prior to the New Moon on Monday, was Shivaratri, the auspicious night of Shiva. In some parts of India, Shivaratri is observed to celebrate the drinking of the halahala (poison) by Shiva during the churning of the Ocean of Milk. By doing so he saved all of existence from destruction, turned his throat blue and earned himself the name, Nilakanta—“the blue necked one.” The Ocean of Milk symbolizes human existence, where there is a constant tug of war happening between the Devas and Asuras, the beings of Light and Darkness. As we are pulled back and forth by these forces, sometimes something vile and poisonous emerges from the depths of ourselves that threatens to consume and even potentially destroy us. These self-destructive tendencies often take the form of what are called the “six enemies,”—kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, and matsarya (lust, anger, greed, delusion, hubris, and envy). Collectively we could call the six enemies Halahala. The one deity powerful enough to quaff these poisons without succumbing to them is Shiva, “the Auspicious One.” When we practice yoga we initiate this churning process and are sometimes surprised by what surfaces as a result. Shivaratri is Shiva’s favorite night of the year and also the time when He is most benevolent and merciful. It is a time when, like it or not, we all get a taste of Shiva’s medicine as he pushes the reset button to get us to stop for a moment and reassess ourselves.

Shiva is sometimes known as the Destroyer, which can make Him seem like a fearful deity, but ultimately He is the Destroyer of ignorance and attachment to form. He is also the Lord of Yoga. One of the great symbolic images of Shiva is Nataraja, the “King of the Dance.” Nataraja represents opposing energies in perfect equilibrium. One hand holds a drum, representing sound and creation, while another holds a flame, symbolizing destruction and transformation. Nataraja’s upraised palm reassures us to “fear not, I am with you” with the gesture of abhaya mudra, while his downward pointing hand offers the key to our liberation-- surrender to the feet of the Adi Guru, the First Teacher. One foot stands on the prostate body of the Apasmara Purusha, the “demon of forgetfulness” who symbolizes ignorance of our true nature. This foot represents sthiti, the power of stability. The other, uplifted foot symbolizes sristi, the pouring forth or unfolding dynamism of the Universe. A ring of flames surrounds Nataraja, indicating the intense tapas (heat) created by his dance. In the midst of this fiery dance, Nataraja’s face is completely composed, the eyes half closed and a hint of an enigmatic smile. On the one hand He is total tranquility, on the other He is total activity. As the King of the Dance, Nataraja is master of all forms of dance. The type of dance most commonly associated with Nataraja is called the Tandava, a fierce, violent dance of ferocious energy that uproots all tamasic tendencies and creates havoc in our lives. Another dance of Nataraja is called Lasya, a gentle, lyrical dance characterized by sweetness, tenderness, and love. This is the dance we can look forward to after submitting ourselves to the harsh but healing flames of the Tandava.

Shiva represents primeval qualities like wildness, earthiness, and spontaneity, qualities that are sometimes sadly lacking here in our highly civilized, button-downed, technologically addicted, rigorously scheduled lives in the 21st century. Shiva encourages us to remember that Life is a Dance, to let down our hair a bit and be natural and fluid, and to not be so attached to who we think we are.