PranaBeing blog: Now

The ancient Vedic texts containing the oldest sources of knowledge from India—and some of the oldest in human history—were preserved for thousands of years by chanting and memorization until they were finally written down.

Vedic texts are composed of rhythmic verses (in Sanskrit, shlokas), or sutras. Sutra means “thread.” Just as we can take hold of a thread and pull, each sutra acts as a handle for an entire line of thought, access into a rich tapestry of understanding. The potency of these teachings acts like a sort of compressed file; multiple dimensions of meaning can be unpacked from a single terse verse, a single word…even a single syllable.

In keeping with the holographic and fractal nature of the universe, the first verse of a text is considered to be an encapsulation of its entire teaching. Likewise, the first word of the first verse is deliberately chosen and revelatory. It offers a hint as to the entire teaching of that text.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is one of the main references I’ve learned to consult in regard to the practice of Yoga. The first word of the first sutra is atha: now.

Atha yoganusasanam - Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras 1:1

The entire teaching, and the entire practice of Yoga, unfolds from this moment’s experience. Now.

Now begins the discipline of Yoga. Now the practice of yoga begins. Yoga happens now.

All that has happened up to this point has led us to here and now. Now is the only place we can practice. Now is where we live and breathe. Reality is accessible only now.

When I realize I’ve gotten distracted or confused, whenever I’ve lost my way, this single word can bring me back, like a beacon signaling me where to focus.

Now is eternal, omnipresent.

When we bring attention into the present, suffering dissolves and resolves. Judgment transforms into appreciation. Anxiety shifts to awe. The mind quiets and the heart opens.

Whenever we find ourselves out of sorts even slightly, we can be sure that our attention is engaged more with thoughts of past or future, or with thoughts about what is happening, rather than being directly engaged with what is happening as it is, now.

Come back to now. And watch your world blossom.

PranaBeing blog: No End in Mind

I studied avidly with Gurudev Shri Amritji for 17 years and worked closely with him on his writings for seven years. For me, the Integrative Amrit Method, a system unpacked from Gurudev’s pivotal awakening experience in 1970, is a vehicle for transmitting the experience of Yoga as well as understanding key principles that guide ever-deeper exploration. These teachings are foundational to my own approach to life.

One morning we were working on a piece of writing together. The desk his office looked out through floor-to-ceiling glass doors onto massive live oak trees and enchanting gardens in the Ocala National Forest. Suddenly, Gurudev paused and looked outside for several moments.

“Look at that squirrel,” he said finally. We watched the animal leap and scurry about high up in the oak canopy. “No end in mind.” Gurudev said, with delight in his voice. He promptly returned to dictating.

He was offering me a clue.

The squirrel was simply being. It did not have an agenda; it was not stressing to get done with leaping so that it could do something else. The squirrel was the embodiment of pure life expression, doing what it was doing “with no end in mind,” just for the pure joy of it.

Another dear teacher, friend, and colleague of mine, Hansa Knox of Prana Yoga and Ayurveda Mandala , says it this way:

In the being, the doing gets done. - Hansa Knox

One powerful hypothesis proffered by Yoga is that by learning to gather and focus attention in the present moment, fully experiencing what is unfolding from moment to moment and releasing concern for the end result, we can experience bliss even when we are engaged with an activity that we don’t especially like.

This is true freedom. Detrimental stress comes from comparison and anticipation, from being divided in the moment. To the extent we can be fully where we are, doing what we are doing, without concern for past or future…we are happy and we are free.

Try it. See what you discover.

When is the last time you attempted to do something solely for the sake of doing it, with “no end in mind?”