Beloved Community,
The new year carries the sacred call to be united to those who are like minded, to those who also wish to do the healing work of the world today. This is why we're here.
Someone asked me what dharma was, how would I define dharma. Dharma is your duty. It is a series of ethical goals that we are each and every one of us responsible for attaining. They include the goals of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing and generosity. The goal of not wasting our physical, mental, and spiritual energy on mindless pursuits, not grasping, and contentment. Cleanliness of the body, mind, action, and intention, as well as discipline, which should always be married to compassion. Then there is self-study, which is so important as to inform our relationship with all the other ethics. And then finally, the big one, Ishvara Pranidhana, devotion.
It's not enough, nor is it wise, to walk through this life unwilling to be devoted to anything. Whatever your tradition is, whatever your religious belief is, is not my business. That's your business. I'm not telling you to be devoted to God or Goddess, or to any particular name of That. But what I am saying is wouldn't it just be so deeply unfortunate, if in our humanness, we could not even devote ourselves to love. We could not devote ourselves to unity. We could not devote ourself to the work of healing what has been broken in our world. So, whatever your calling is, whatever your tradition is, whatever name you call that, or don't call that, don't let your fear or dislike for the word devotion push you away from your own inner work. Instead, understand that what we're really talking about here, on a very basic and necessary level, is the consolidated work that we all must do, individually and together, in order to heal this human made world and bring it to a place that's better for all the beings who inhabit it.
And that's really what New Year intention is about, isn't it? It's about saying, okay, 2023 had challenges. For sure... How many of you had no challenges in 2023? How many of you had at least 100? Yes, maybe hundreds of challenges throughout the year. But it's okay because we're all the stronger for those challenges - if we allow ourselves to see and access the truth of it. Even though events were inconvenient, aggravating, irritating, painful, at times perhaps greatly traumatizing, and not at all what we wanted. We're still all the stronger for the work of it. And now we have the opportunity to take those well-earned lessons forward into 2024. We get to remember the lesson, apply the knowledge, witness the result, and perhaps learn, yet again, what might be a more beneficial approach to dealing with the day in and day out stressors of this life, the injustices that so many face, and the tragedies and traumas that each and every human being and non-human being face. We get to take the cumulative lessons of the past, carry them into this new year, and then learn even more ways to apply a learned knowledge, a greater understanding, and a more complete intention.
Live, listen, and learn for the sake of alleviating suffering, both your own and that of all other beings. Without the ethics, self study, and devotion this is not possible. So take the time to invest in awareness and understanding in the coming year. Not only on Mondays during yoga class, or Sundays at church or temple, but each and every day. Allow yourself to learn about the ways you contribute to the problems of the world, and the ways you contribute to fixing them, and what compels you to choose one versus the other. Learn about your own personal and spiritual potential. Learn about the healing work needed in the world today and the role you can play in that.
Our New Year intention will usually start this way. "I want." "My 2024... I gotta let go of my 2023. Mine." It is the story of me. In yoga, we call that asmita. Asmita is the story of me ~ the me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me of the ego. The yoga teachings tell us, and the New Year invites us, to let go of asmita, to let go of the story of me and its selfish investment, and instead say "We. As in each and every one of us." So, look to somebody right now who you don't know. Look to somebody to your right, or somebody to your left, or behind you or in front of you. Go ahead. Go on. Don't be shy. Look with kindness and devotion and maybe put your hands together in front of your heart and bow to them and say, "May we. May we work together to come into a more profound existence together."
Om Sri Matre Namaha
With all the love & peace the universe can hold,
Swamini Shraddhananda Saraswati
The new year carries the sacred call to be united to those who are like minded, to those who also wish to do the healing work of the world today. This is why we're here.
Someone asked me what dharma was, how would I define dharma. Dharma is your duty. It is a series of ethical goals that we are each and every one of us responsible for attaining. They include the goals of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing and generosity. The goal of not wasting our physical, mental, and spiritual energy on mindless pursuits, not grasping, and contentment. Cleanliness of the body, mind, action, and intention, as well as discipline, which should always be married to compassion. Then there is self-study, which is so important as to inform our relationship with all the other ethics. And then finally, the big one, Ishvara Pranidhana, devotion.
It's not enough, nor is it wise, to walk through this life unwilling to be devoted to anything. Whatever your tradition is, whatever your religious belief is, is not my business. That's your business. I'm not telling you to be devoted to God or Goddess, or to any particular name of That. But what I am saying is wouldn't it just be so deeply unfortunate, if in our humanness, we could not even devote ourselves to love. We could not devote ourselves to unity. We could not devote ourself to the work of healing what has been broken in our world. So, whatever your calling is, whatever your tradition is, whatever name you call that, or don't call that, don't let your fear or dislike for the word devotion push you away from your own inner work. Instead, understand that what we're really talking about here, on a very basic and necessary level, is the consolidated work that we all must do, individually and together, in order to heal this human made world and bring it to a place that's better for all the beings who inhabit it.
And that's really what New Year intention is about, isn't it? It's about saying, okay, 2023 had challenges. For sure... How many of you had no challenges in 2023? How many of you had at least 100? Yes, maybe hundreds of challenges throughout the year. But it's okay because we're all the stronger for those challenges - if we allow ourselves to see and access the truth of it. Even though events were inconvenient, aggravating, irritating, painful, at times perhaps greatly traumatizing, and not at all what we wanted. We're still all the stronger for the work of it. And now we have the opportunity to take those well-earned lessons forward into 2024. We get to remember the lesson, apply the knowledge, witness the result, and perhaps learn, yet again, what might be a more beneficial approach to dealing with the day in and day out stressors of this life, the injustices that so many face, and the tragedies and traumas that each and every human being and non-human being face. We get to take the cumulative lessons of the past, carry them into this new year, and then learn even more ways to apply a learned knowledge, a greater understanding, and a more complete intention.
Live, listen, and learn for the sake of alleviating suffering, both your own and that of all other beings. Without the ethics, self study, and devotion this is not possible. So take the time to invest in awareness and understanding in the coming year. Not only on Mondays during yoga class, or Sundays at church or temple, but each and every day. Allow yourself to learn about the ways you contribute to the problems of the world, and the ways you contribute to fixing them, and what compels you to choose one versus the other. Learn about your own personal and spiritual potential. Learn about the healing work needed in the world today and the role you can play in that.
Our New Year intention will usually start this way. "I want." "My 2024... I gotta let go of my 2023. Mine." It is the story of me. In yoga, we call that asmita. Asmita is the story of me ~ the me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me of the ego. The yoga teachings tell us, and the New Year invites us, to let go of asmita, to let go of the story of me and its selfish investment, and instead say "We. As in each and every one of us." So, look to somebody right now who you don't know. Look to somebody to your right, or somebody to your left, or behind you or in front of you. Go ahead. Go on. Don't be shy. Look with kindness and devotion and maybe put your hands together in front of your heart and bow to them and say, "May we. May we work together to come into a more profound existence together."
Om Sri Matre Namaha
With all the love & peace the universe can hold,
Swamini Shraddhananda Saraswati