Relating Mind And Body: A Dialogue With Death

 Meet Gary, a YA living in Santa Cruz, California. Gary first learned about Easwaran through the book Dialogue with Death (now Essence of the Upanishads). Gary shares here what captivated him about the book.

It was September 2006, I was a student at San Francisco State University attending the first class of the semester on “Holistic Health: Western Perspective.”  The Professor Dr. Erick Peper had us start the class by closing our eyes.  Painting a detailed picture for us, he asked us to imagine an orange, how it felt in our hands peeling it, how tasty it looked and fresh and full of juice it was.  Then he told us, “Open your eyes… whose mouth is watering?”  It took a second, but almost everyone raised his or her hands in the entire class.  This little lesson/experiment described essentially what the class was all about; the connection between mind and body, and why Dr. Peper had Easwaran’s book Dialogue With Death on his required reading list.

To be honest, I was a little turned off at first with the opening story about Nachiketa, I had no idea where this was going or why on earth in a “Western Perspectives” health class we were required to read a book on Indian spirituality, but I read on, and it was quite possibly my most valuable exercise of will ever.  Little did I know that that very will I was exercising was going to be the same subject that would grab my attention like nothing had ever before.

The chapter, “Will and Desire” simply captivated me.  As I read through Eknath Easwaran’s writings, I felt as if he was talking to ME!  His perspective on WQ (will quotient) vs. IQ is brilliant; “In every endeavor it is the man or woman with an unbreakable will who excels.”  This was exactly what I needed to hear at the time, pure empowerment.  Having this new perspective on will and IQ gave me great confidence, motivation and trust, especially with my studies.  Although lessons like those in this chapter are extremely valuable, I believe Dr. Peper added this book as a required reading for the connection between mind and body and how it relates to health.

Easwaran addresses the mind/body connection in Dialogue With Death: “I would go so far as to say that every movement in the mind has a physiological component. . .  It follows that every chronic or habitual mental state includes effects on health.  Often these effects include the stress response.”  I currently work in the health field as a strength and conditioning, fitness and nutrition coach; there is no doubt that in order to achieve full health of the body, we must also cultivate a healthy mind.  It’s all about stress, and there is nothing more stressful or unhealthy than a negative mental state. Easwaran talks about these negative moods, “all these mental states impose stress on the mind and body. . . affecting for example, how the immune system functions.”

Maybe the saddest part about this is that we impart this harm on ourselves, we create these mental states based on our response to our environment, even if what we perceive isn’t reality. Easwaran describes, “What Subtle (mind) sees is what Gross (body) responds to – even if what she sees is not really there.”  We’ve all been in a situation like this, say for example you get angry because your sister didn’t turn the dishwasher on, only to find out the dishwasher had broken down.  You created a false situation with your mind that your body has to negatively respond to.

Easwaran spells it out for us, “we do not need to change our environment to solve personal problems; all we have to do is master our thinking process and change our response to the environment.”  That is the key to the orange experiment, it was not to just show that there is a connection between mind and body, but also to open us up to the idea that we have to learn to, as much as possible, cultivate a positive mind to produce a healthy body.  I leave you with a quote from the Buddha, “You can have no better friend than a well-trained mind – and no worse enemy than an untrained mind.”

Gary at a recent YA retreat in Northern California 

I currently practice passage meditation daily and follow Easwaran’s eight-point program.  My practice of meditation and the eight-point program, created by Easwaran, has been hugely beneficial, positively influencing every aspect of my life.  It is a journey that I have learned so much from and continue to learn from on a daily basis.  Easwaran’s writings are a source of constant inspiration and guidance for me.  I am enthusiastic about this path I consider myself blessed to be on.

A Passage For October

Here at the YA Blog Team, we are always so pleased to hear about your favorite passages, how the passages impact you, and how you memorize passages. We've loved hearing from our YA audience, and are also grateful for the not-so-Y-A's who've written in their thoughts – it's almost as if we were all able to be together in the same room!

Though we've talked mostly about passages strictly in the context of passage meditation, this week we wanted to consider the passages as they apply to all of the eight points (passage meditation, repetition of a mantram, slowing down, one-pointed attention, training the senses, putting others first, spiritual fellowship, spiritual reading). In the midst of our busy YA lives, we need all the help we can get, so we've been thinking. . . how might we use a passage to support our practice of all of the eight points, not just meditation?

This month we invite you to study, memorize, and meditate on the passage "The Power of the Holy Name" by Meera, copied out below. We chose this passage because we've found it useful in building our use of the mantram (check out Easwaran's recommended mantrams, and Sarah's post about using the mantram). Even though the passage specifically references the mantram "Rama", we think meditating on this passage can build our relationship with our own mantram (even if it's not "Rama").

In the comments below we'd love to hear from all of you: 

1. Which passages do you use when you're looking to strengthen your practice of one of the eight points?
2. If you meditate on this passage, how might this support your use of the mantram? 

Finally, make sure you check out Derek's mantram art in his recent post, maybe it will inspire you to try some mantram art of your own!

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The Power of the Holy Name - Meera

If you want to know the power of the holy name of Rama, spend your time with lovers of God. 

To repeat the name constantly may be hard and bitter at first, but don't stop until it becomes sweet like the luscious mango to the taste. 

When the time comes for the body to be shed, the name of Rama will take you safely through death's door. So keep singing Rama, Rama  in your mind, and the Lord of Love will take you safely from this shore of death to immortality.

One Of The Many Reasons I Attend YA Weekend Retreats

Meet Isaac, a YA living in San Diego, California. Isaac shares how YA weekend retreats inspire his meditation practice.

I was going to write about living a balanced lifestyle and how an active YA life can be beneficial for meditation. However, currently I am not leading a very balanced life and as a result my practice has been suffering. I have been working too much, not dropping work at the end of the day, doing too many things, and staying up too late. As a result, I have been having a hard time getting up early enough to meditate before work, and not meditating every day as I strive to.  So, instead of writing about how a balanced lifestyle can benefit meditation, which I have experienced and know to be true, I will write about how I get re-inspired and reinvigorate my practice -- thus getting back to a balanced, active lifestyle that is integrated with the eight-point program.

The number one way for me to get a boost of enthusiasm and deepen my commitment and practice is to attend a BMCM YA retreat. There are lots of strategies that I use to help refresh and renew my practice, but when I’m having a particularly tough time, like right now, there is nothing like attending a retreat. There is nothing as effective as spending time with other YAs who are also striving to meditate regularly and follow Eknath Easwaran’s eight-point program in the midst of our multi-tasking, faster-the-better, technology-soaked culture.

Isaac's meditation corner at home. 

It is a refreshing and unfortunately unique experience to work on slowing down and one pointedness amongst others who are also trying to do the same. Talking to other meditators, I frequently pick up tips and tricks that help me get over roadblocks. For example, I struggle with continuing to memorize new passages, but have received many helpful hints, tips and tricks from others at meditation retreats who have come up against the same wall.  Many of these tips, tricks and strategies have turned into faithful tools that I now use to systematically chip away at my samskaras (habits). When I feel like I’m not making any progress, even though I’m trying, and even when it feels sometimes like I’m moving backwards, I think of what Gandhi said: “I know the path: it is straight and narrow. It is like the edge of a sword. I rejoice to walk on it. I weep when I slip. God's word is: "He who strives never perishes." I have implicit faith in that promise. Though, therefore, from my weakness I fail a thousand times, I shall not lose faith.”

Scenes from recent YA retreats where, as Isaac mentions, you can pick up great tips and ideas from both formal workshops and casual conversions. 

The progress that I make in re-dedicating and deepening my practice during a retreat helps me to be at my best when I go back to work and everyone is running at light speed and expects me to keep up.  As Easwaran says, we need to learn to swim against the current, but in order to do this we must become strong swimmers. I like to swim and I am a good strong swimmer, but swimming laps can become boring and mechanical, so every once in a while I need the boost of some good coaching, some tips to help me improve and get over plateaus. That is exactly what attending a retreat does for me. I get a shot of enthusiasm, and drive a little deeper the instructions I know so well but sometimes let become too mechanical. I come away knowing that there is no hurdle in meditation that I can’t tackle and with the reassurance that there are many other young meditators out there that have many of the same challenges I face, but also all have endless potential. After each retreat I see this potential more in myself and in everyone around me.

If you're interested in learning more about a YA passage meditation retreat, check out our flyer, and our website. YA retreats are open for everyone in their late teens, 20s and 30s, and no experience is needed. (There are two workshops: one for experienced meditators like Isaac, and one for those who are exploring the practice.) If you have any questions about our retreats feel free to email us at young.adults@easwaran.org!