Month: July 2015

What is the Soul?

 What is the Soul

What is the soul and can we see its beauty. Do we recognize that the essence of our soul is the same essence in everyone’s. Do we sit with it. Do we silent our minds so that we can hear…

There is no duality where the knower and the known are as one.

The Song of the Soul sung by Sankaracharya in his Atma Satkam, as printed in Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar

Atma means the true self that is known after enlightenment.  Satkam is a song written in a six stanza form. So after Sankaracharya reached enlightenment this is what he wrote about the soul.

Song of the Soul

I am neither ego nor reason, I am neither mind nor thought, I cannot be heard or cast into words, nor by smell or sight ever caught: In light and wind I am not found, nor yet in earth and sky – Consciousness and joy incarnate, Bliss of the Blissful am I.

I have no name, I have no life, I breathe no vital air, No elements of have molded me, no bodily sheath is my lair: I have no speech, no hands and feet, nor means of evolution – Consciousness and joy am I and Bliss in dissolution.

I cast aside hatred and passion, I conquered delusion and greed; No touch of pride caressed me, so envy never did breed: Beyond all faiths, past reach of wealth, past freedom or desire, Consciousness and joy am I and Bliss is my attire.

Virtue and vice, or pleasure or pain are not my heritage, Nor sacred texts, nor offerings, nor prayer, nor pilgrimage: I am neither food nor eating, nor yet the eater am I – Consciousness and joy incarnate, Bliss of the Blissful am I.

I have no misgiving of death, no chasms of race divide me, No parent ever called me child, no bond of birth ever tied me: I am neither disciple nor master, I have no kin, no friend – Consciousness and joy am I, and merging in bliss is my end.

Neither Knowable, knowledge, nor knower am I, formless is my form, I dwell within the senses but they are not my home: Ever serenely balanced, I am neither free nor bound – Consciousness and joy am I and Bliss is where I am found.

The Big Wave – Bimini Bahamas!

  The big wave happened in Bimini Bahamas, and no I’m not talking about surfing waves, but in true unbridled happiness extended out to me in the form of a gesture and wave of hello.  A wave so big and genuine by strangers that seemed to be coming from the heart center of their being. Which reminded me of a time when years ago I moved from South Florida, where I was raised, to Western North Carolina where I went to college.  

In South Florida there were so many people that I felt a little anonymous. I’m not sure anyone particular person taught me this but, it seemed to me that everyone was just moving with their head down and doing their own thing. That I was to be cautious around strangers, always lock my doors, and to be mindful of what situation I was walking into.  In Western North Carolina, people would wave to you when you drove by them and greet you when you were walking by them.  It made me feel for a long time on edge, like…what do these people want from me – are they trying to tell me something. When in reality, they were just being polite and spreading good cheer. Now, that I’m back in South Florida I don’t find that to be true, everyone I meet tends to be generally nice and friendly, so it was probably a culmination of many factors that made me feel that way.  But here I am again many years later faced with a similar situation in Bimini Bahamas. While riding around on a golf cart, and met by Bahamians on theirs, I would do my familiar finger tip up wave that I learned while in North Carolina without too much thought but trying to be friendly, and they would outstretch their arms as if they were reaching out to touch me, and wave there hand energetically side to side, with the biggest grin on their face. They were fully present and mindful of the wave. Their gaze was fully on me, and I felt it. It’s something I would do if I unexpectedly saw my best friend, and I was trying to get her attention, after years of not seeing her. This time however I wasn’t scared or uncomfortable, I just smiled and truly embraced the greeting. It brought me a lot of joy.

It made me want to bring the big wave back to the states and into my daily life. Being in Bimini Bahamas made me think of the many ways that we can be kind to one another without much effort but in just creating new habits. I felt it also in the kindness of my host Kenny and Pauline, Bimini Bahamas Rental , who I witnessed not only treat me with the utmost kindness, but selflessly serve the Port Royal community with gatherings, and in continuing service. Anything anyone needed in supplies or in repairs they would contact Ken. So much so that Kenny claimed that this was the Summer of Ken, and that he was taking it off. You could see the panic in everyones eyes, but he still compassionately served. I could barley keep up, but learned many great lessons of kindness and compassion this summer in Bimini Bahamas, and hope I take them with me for many years to come. 

So if one day your driving around and you see a person with an outstretched arm, energetically waving to you, don’t get scared it may just be me saying hello!