May 5: Special Satsang with Dayamrita Chaitanya
August 31, 2019 — Toronto, Canada
Spring is an opportunity to clean our minds - Notes from Dayamrita Swamiji's discourse
After a long and dreary winter, spring comes, and along with it the thought of spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is an opportunity to rid ourselves of so many things that we have accumulated but actually don't need, and to clean our surroundings. While this sort of external cleaning is beneficial, it does not touch the clutter that we have accumulated in our minds. How does this kind of internal spring cleaning occur? Amma always gives us pointers during her New Year's message. In Her 2019, Amma gave us some questions that we need to ask ourselves.
The first question is: "Am I being steady in my spiritual practices?" There are many excuses for not being steady and regular in our spiritual practice. A common excuse is: "I lack self-discipline." We often give greater priority to our worldly life than our spiritual life, thinking that matters in our worldly life are more important or urgent than those of our spiritual life. We tell ourselves that we can do our spiritual practices later, either at the end of the day, or the end of the week, or even at the end of our life (i.e. after retirement). It is unwise to postpone our spiritual practice in this way because even our next moment is not in our own hands. At the end of our day - let alone the end of our lives - we often lack the energy and strength to complete our spiritual practices. We may be overwhelmed with physical pain, exhaustion, illness or even just life's demands. Spring is a time of new beginnings. Use this very day to start or restart your spiritual practice. Make a firm resolve to stick to doing 10-15 minutes of spiritual practice each day, without fail, no matter what happens. Do not begin by trying to meditate for 2 hours each day - that will not work. Start with 10-15 minutes each day, and then gradually add 5 minutes every month or every week. Taking this resolve and sticking with it will greatly increase your self-discipline.
You may wonder: "Why should I do this?" We often regard spiritual life and worldly life as totally separate from one another. Amma does not see it like that. Spiritual life and worldly life are like the two banks of a river: if the water of the river is drained away, one sees that the two banks are not two distinct pieces of land but one unbroken piece. Whatever you do in the spiritual plane will affect the worldly plane and vice versa. Your spiritual practices will impact and uplift all aspects of your life. Once a man came to Amma saying he could not complete his work well at his office due to innumerable noises and distractions. Amma told the man to meditate for 10-15 minutes a day. The man, though skeptical, followed Amma's instructions. Thereafter, he realized that the trouble was not the distractions in the office, but rather his lack of self-discipline and his mind's tendency to wander. Regular meditation checked these habits, and the man became happy and productive at work.
Another common excuse for not doing regular spiritual practice is: "I am too busy." In today's world, there is no lack of busy-ness. Nowadays, even small children are too busy. We are so busy that we don't even have a moment to take stock and ask ourselves: "Why am so busy? Why can't I slow down? Where is my time going?" If we stop and take stock, we may realize that our priorities are not in line with our goals and values. We may be ignoring certain aspects of our lives that need attention. If you give priority to your spiritual practices and make them the first thing that you do each day, that will change the whole course of your day. Before doing anything else, and before anyone else in your household gets up, you can take 10-15 minutes for yourself and do your spiritual practices. Instead, what are we usually doing first each day? Checking our smart phones for messages. So before you go to bed, put your cell phone far away. Then you will sleep well. The next morning, you can wake up, do your spiritual practices, and start your day. This will have a huge impact on your whole day.
Once there was a business man who complained to his Guru that he had no time for spiritual practices. The Guru gave the man a mantra to repeat. Sadly, the man showed his Guru a big ring full of keys, explaining: "See all the things that I am in charge of? I cannot get even one minute to sit and repeat the mantra." The Guru replied: "What do you do when you get up in the morning and walk to the bathroom?" The man replied: "I don't do anything in particular." The Guru said: "So while you walk to the bathroom you can repeat your mantra. What do you do while you brush your teeth or shower?" Again, the man replied: "Nothing." The Guru answered: "So can't you chant your mantra at these times?" In this way, the business man began repeating his mantra during these seemingly insignificant times. Gradually, he realized that he had been wasting so much time. He got more insight into his activities, and his priorities shifted. He became more efficient, and actually gained more time for his spiritual practices. In this way, by adding a small amount of spiritual practice to your day, you can actually gain time.
Another common excuse for avoiding spiritual practice: "It takes a long time to see results." Nowadays, people want self-realization in ten days, or preferably ten minutes. They expect to see lights or levitate during meditation. If they do spiritual practices regularly for a month or two and see no results, they get discouraged and quit. The results of spiritual practice are definitely present, but they very subtle and take a long time to manifest. In order to achieve them, you have to be patient, persistent, and regular in your practice. The real signs of spiritual progress are greater control over our minds, fewer thoughts, less mental disturbance, greater peacefulness and contentedness, and greater kindness towards others.
This leads us to Amma's second and third reflection questions for 2019: "Am I living for myself alone or am I doing something selflessly for others each day?" and "Am I able to maintain self control at all times or am I overcome by anger jealousy and lower emotions?" By asking ourselves these questions, we can determine whether we are progressing spiritually. Your spiritual progress does not benefit you alone; it also benefits those around you. Once a lawyer learned IAM (Amma's meditation technique). For a few months, he practiced diligently. Then, seeing no results, he became irregular in his practice: he would practice one or two days in a row, and then stop. Finally, feeling guilty, he confessed his lack of steady practice to his wife. His wife said: "Who says that your practice has no results? I can tell you that you did not meditate last Tuesday or Wednesday. You practiced on Thursday and Friday. You didn't practice on Sunday." The lawyer was startled and answered: "How did you know?" The wife replied: "The days you did not meditate, you were irritable. You blamed everyone else for the difficulties you were having. At work, you were unfocussed. When you came home, you shouted at the kids. In the evening, you were so tired. On the days that you meditated, you were more peaceful, happier, calmer and more compassionate. So please meditate everyday. It is better for us!"
Some devotees complain that when they try to meditate they fall asleep. This is quite understandable. During meditation, relaxation occurs. Since we associate relaxation with sleep, we tend to fall asleep once we feel relaxed. In a sense, this is not a bad thing since we are getting rest that we need, yet we nonetheless need to break out of this pattern. Once a Guru had a disciple who attended morning meditation each day without fail, but always fell asleep 15 minutes into the meditation session. The other disciples complained about this to the Guru. The Guru replied: "At least, he comes and tries to meditate each day. What are you doing? You are watching him and criticizing!" If you are falling asleep when you meditate, do not get discouraged. Keep trying. When you wake up, you will feel refreshed, you can try again to meditate for 10-15 minutes. In time, this tendency will pass.
Other devotees complain that when they try to meditate, so many thoughts arise and disturb them. This is experience during meditation is unavoidable. Imagine you enter a dark room that has sat unused for years, carrying a flashlight. You see dust and cobwebs on every surface. Did the dust and cobwebs appear because you entered the room? No, they have been there for years. Only now you noticed because you entered the room. In the same way, the mind is a machine that endlessly generates thoughts. It has been doing so non-stop for years. When you attempt to meditate and focus the mind on one thought, the mind naturally resists and wanders. When this happens, do not berate yourself. Understand that this is the mind's natural tendency that has run unchecked for years. You may try to calm the mind before meditation through breathing or rhythmic walking. If you persist in the meditation practice, the thoughts will gradually thin out, and the mind will settle more and more on the object of meditation.
Amma's final reflection question for 2019 is: "Am I playing my part in the protection of the environment?" Many people wonder what they should do. They live in cities, and have difficulty taking certain actions, like planting trees. Even if you live in an apartment, you can grow some vegetables and herbs in pots on your deck or in your home. This will benefit your health and the health of the Earth. We all can take measures to conserve water, which is extremely precious and growing scarce. Once Amma saw me (Dayamrita Chaitanya) leaving the bathhouse before bhajans. She asked me: "How many baths do you take a day?" I replied: "Two and sometimes three." Amma said: "If you love Nature, from today onwards you will take only one bath per day." I have tried to follow that since then. We can reducing water consumption by shortening the duration of our shower from 15 minutes to 5 minutes. We can turn off the tap while we apply soap or shampoo, or while we brush our teeth. Each of these steps saves water. We can avoid using harmful chemicals in our cleaning products, fertilizers, and insecticides. These steps may seem very small but each and every action matters. If each of us lights one candle, we will have enough light to move forward in this time of darkness. Let us remember Amma's instructions for 2019: prioritize spiritual practices, help others daily, be in control of (rather than controlled by) our lower emotions, and take action to protect the environment. If we can do these four things each day, we will certainly be more peaceful, happier, and more selfless.