Ritual

this is an edited version of the "sponge bob" post from last night.

"To our ancient mother, India – origin of civilization long before our written history dawned, abode of the noble ones (aryas), land who brought forth an endless stream of sages and liberated ones (rishis), who produced the manifold sciences (vidyas) and the language of wisdom (sanskrita), and who does not cease to provide paths for those who dare. May there dawn a new age that reveals again your original splendor. "

This is the dedication to Gregor Maehle’s new book on the Intermediate Series that I brought with me. I love this but if I was to write this I would change the last line to “May there dawn a new age that reveals your effulgent spiritual knowledge to all."... or something like that - because all you need to is come to India and you will see the original splendor is a living thing here - it's in other places maybe that I hope will learn from this place and integrate it's bountiful offerings.

Everywhere you look there are offerings, in sight, smell and sound, little details everywhere depict the stories of luminosity and divinity - and in nooks and crannies, in the weirdest dirtiest places you will find a statue of Ganesha, or a few flowers, a little spot for puja. The "call to prayer" coming from the mosque nearby is eerie sounding, and well... loud, way louder than the Rocket Market, and at 5am no less, and not to mention the other morning a band of kirtan carolers complete with cymbols were strolling down our street at 5:30am, singing a song to Sita and Ram. As a child here in India you would be as familiar with devotion, ritual and the teachings associated with spiritual knowledge as my kids are with Sponge Bob,the Disney princesses and how to work On Demand!

Here, these simple acts are tokens of devotion and aids to meditation which can be performed by anyone of any age at any time. Last night Jennifer told me that Richard Freeman used to talk about reaching down for flowers and offering them up toward the heavens during utkatasana in the sun salutations, she was using this beautiful image to try to help me understand how to extend my chest upward, not just in utkatasana but throughout, so this morning every warrior, or upward dog was an offering of my heart, and the physical action required, the energetic action, was profound. I finally started to feel like I was coiling my spine, and really lifting, and that my head was extending rather than falling back onto my trapezious muscles. It became part of the ritual of my practice - and it was much more than deepening my back bend for the sake of having a deep backbend. It was just like lighting a stick of incense, or singing a beautiful song, or placing flowers in a bowl of water, each successive time recalled my mind to the thought behind the act. Even in a busy day this simple method is especially accessible for the beginner or those who don't know what to think of God or spirituality talk. Thank you Ma India for this teaching.