Easwaran on Gandhi

This week we’re pleased to share an mp3 talk which Easwaran gave in 1983 on Gandhi. Gandhi is a favorite source of YA inspiration, both because of  the work he accomplished, and because he was so human.

There are many aspects to Gandhi’s life, but what we find so special about Easwaran’s talks and writings on Gandhi is his focus on Gandhi as a spiritual figure, whose bedrock was his spiritual practice.

In the talk Easwaran describes how he visited Gandhi’s ashram and heard verses from the Bhagavad Gita being read during a prayer meeting. Easwaran also writes about this in his book Gandhi the Man, and this short excerpt from the book gives you a glimpse of his view of Gandhi:

After the walk it was time for Gandhi’s prayer meeting. By this time it was dark, and hurricane lanterns had been lit all around. Gandhi sat straight with his back against a tree, and I managed to get a seat close by, where I could fix my whole heart on him. A Japanese monk opened with a Buddhist chant and then a British lady began one of Gandhi’s favorite hymns, John Henry Newman’s “Lead, Kindly Light.” Gandhi had closed his eyes in deep concentration, as if absorbed in the words.

Then his secretary, Mahadev Desai, began to recite from the Bhagavad Gita, India’s best-known scripture, which is set on a battlefield which Gandhi said represents the human heart. In the verses being recited, a warrior prince named Arjuna, who represents you and me, asks Sri Krishna, the Lord within, how one can recognize a person who is aware of God every moment of his life. And Sri Krishna replies in eighteen magnificent verses unparalleled in the spiritual literature of the world:

They live in wisdom who see themselves in all and all in them, whose love for the Lord of Love has consumed every selfish desire and sense craving tormenting the heart. Not agitated by grief or hankering after pleasure, they live free from lust and fear and anger. Fettered no more by selfish attachments, they are not elated by good fortune nor depressed by bad. Such are the seers.

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These verses from the Gita are the key to Gandhi’s life. They describe not a political leader but a man of God, in words that show this is the very height of human expression. They tell us not what to do with our lives but what to be. And they are universal. We see essentially the same portrait in all scriptures, reflected in the lives of spiritual aspirants everywhere. 

We hope you enjoy the talk. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

2 Years Later: How Does Community Help You?

"Wherever people gather for selfless ends, there is a vast augmentation of their individual capacities. Something wonderful, something momentous happens. An irresistible force begins to move, which, though we may not see it, is going to change our world. In this lies the power and the meaning of spiritual companionship." – Eknath Easwaran

In December of 2012, the BMCM formed the Young Adult (YA) Outreach team and tasked that group with reaching out to new audiences and supporting current YAs. During our early planning we tossed around a lot of crazy ideas, did a lot of sky's-the-limit thinking and one day we said "what about a blog?" In April of 2013, the blog was launched!

Originally, we thought this would be a 3–6 month endeavor, but this month marks our two-year anniversary and we are so pleased to be able to continue to share stories from YAs around the world as well as content from Easwaran on YA topics.

Our goal with this blog is to share the YA community with a broader audience, and to provide support and inspiration for passage meditators of all ages (though especially for YAs). Easwaran has always been clear about the important role that spiritual fellowship plays in our practice and in our interaction with the wider world – re-read the top quote for a thrilling reminder. In the spirit of this quote, we want to gather stories about spiritual community. To celebrate, this week we're asking to hear from you! 

In the comments below, tell us about an instance where spiritual community has impacted your life. This could be in-person fellowship, online interactions, retreats, or even just reading the blog. We encourage YAs and non-YAs alike to comment below. (You can expand the comment section by clicking on "Comments" at the very bottom of this post and scrolling down.)

We're eager to hear about you and your community!

A Passage for April

This month we'd like to share the passage "Only God I Saw" by Baba Kuhi of Shiraz, an eleventh century Sufi poet. What we love about this passage is the idea of seeing God everywhere, in every aspect of our lives.

Many of us have certain associations with the word "God" which can make memorizing passages with that word kind of tricky. Luckily, we can turn to Easwaran for some clarification:

When I use words like “Lord” or “God,” I mean the very ground of existence, the most profound thing we can conceive of. This supreme reality is not something outside us, something separate from us. It is within, at the core of our being – our real nature, nearer to us than our bodies, dearer to us than our lives.  

Thinking about this quote from Easwaran's book Passage Meditation and this month's passage, it helped us to realize that Baba Kuhi of Shiraz wasn't talking about seeing a figure "God" in the market or the mountains, but about seeing that which is best and most holy in each situation.

We'd love to hear from you! In the comments section below, share your thoughts with us:

• Is there a line in the passage that stands out to you?
• What qualities might you gain by meditating on this passage?

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Only God I Saw – Baba Kuhi of Shiraz

In the market, in the cloister – only God I saw.
In the valley and on the mountain – only God I saw. 

Him I have seen beside me oft in tribulation;
In favor and in fortune – only God I saw. 

In prayer and fasting, in praise and contemplation,
In the religion of the Prophet – only God I saw. 

Neither soul nor body, accident nor substance,
Qualities nor causes – only God I saw. 

I oped mine eyes and by the light of his face around me
In all the eye discovered – only God I saw. 

Like a candle I was melting in his fire:
Amidst the flames outflashing – only God I saw. 

Myself with mine own eyes I saw most clearly,
But when I looked with God's eyes – only God I saw. 

I passed away into nothingness, I vanished,
And lo, I was the All-living – only God I saw.