Finding Easwaran & Establishing a Practice

This week our post comes from Laura, a young adult living in Denver, Colorado. Laura shares her story of finding passage meditation and her path to establishing a regular daily practice.

Finding Easwaran

When I was about 17 or 18, a lot of my inner thoughts and dialogue were consumed with questions about the nature of life. I was on my own small search for meaning, and for the most part I was disappointed by the lack of answers. The general plan or arc of our lives (school, work, family) seemed devoid of the richness and magic I craved from life.

When I started college, I began to learn about social and environmental injustices around the world. My studies made me wonder how I, one single human being, could possibly make any change for the better. I felt more and more anxious about the state of the world, and about the lack of meaning and purpose in my own experiences.

Amidst all these agonizing questions, my interest in mediation took root. Figures whom I admired such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.—who had changed the world in positive ways—appeared to be in on some secret together, and that secret I perceived to be the spiritual path.

I also felt that meditation could help me deal with the stress of living. Whether you’re working or studying (as I was) or both, life has its ups and downs. I felt immense pressure all the time—to earn good grades, find the right career path, even to enjoy the social aspects of college as much as I felt I was “supposed” to. It was all a bit overwhelming. I had recently taken up yoga and was simply amazed by how calm it made me feel. Mental and physical well-being started to become a daily priority, and I had a hunch that meditation was the next step forward.

My college offered a one-credit class on meditation, so I enrolled. The professor happened to be a dedicated passage meditator, and Passage Meditation was the assigned reading. Nowadays, I feel that it was a great stroke of luck to find Easwaran this way—it could have been any professor, and it could have been any book. To be honest, I don’t know that I would have picked up Passage Meditation on my own; my perception of what meditation was had nothing to do with passages or mystic literature. I had only read Buddhist books on meditating on the breath. Luckily, I was ever the good student and made sure to read every chapter as assigned.

Of course, I fell in love with Easwaran’s sensible, clear writing, his humor, sincerity, and compassion for the reader. I’m sure many passage meditators can relate to this part! Each of the eight points made so much sense. Easwaran’s assurances that we can all find unshakable security, better health, stronger relationships, and most enchanting of all, more meaningful lives, pulled me in at the introduction.

Now For the Hard Part

Laura's meditation spot!

When Easwaran said, “Meditation is the greatest challenge on earth,” he was not kidding around. After discovering the 8PP, I embarked on a journey to make it a daily practice, a journey of self-discipline that continues today. As Easwaran predicts for new meditators, I had a great burst of enthusiasm at the beginning and meditated regularly for about a week. It was downhill from there for a while.

Keeping a regular practice in college can be difficult, because schedules are constantly shifting from semester to semester. I was never rising at the same time each day, and I was always staying up late studying or writing papers. But I kept trying. I would reread Passage Meditation, and my enthusiasm would be renewed for a while. I would have weeks of solid meditation, and weeks of no meditation. It was only after I graduated and entered the working world when finally something clicked. Easwaran asserts that nothing in life—not sleep, not work, not the pleasures of the day—is more important than daily mediation, and this thought struck a deep chord. I finally felt the sense of urgency he talked about. Also, for me, it was much easier to integrate morning meditation into my day once I had a set schedule that was more or less nine-to-five.

What I’ve learned from the process of starting a daily practice is just that—it’s a process. It took me the better part of two years from the day I opened Passage Mediation, and there have been many bumps along the road since then. I have a long way to go in my “desire for perfection” (St. Catherine), and my practice of all the points. But by reflecting on my journey to this moment, I remember that the spiritual journey just takes time, a dash of divine grace, and faith in the process.

Easwaran: Thomas à Kempis Talk 1

There are many beautiful passages for meditation curated by Eknath Easwaran from the Christian tradition. Some of the best-loved among passage meditators are those attributed to Thomas à Kempis from The Imitation of Christ. If you’re unfamiliar with these passages, you can find some of them here. This week we’re pleased to share an hour-long audio talk of Easwaran’s commentary on The Imitation of Christ.

Many modern readers struggle reading The Imitation of Christ. With its 15th century Christian language it can sometimes be difficult to see how to apply its wisdom to our daily lives. In the Introduction to Seeing with the Eyes of Love, Easwaran’s written commentary on The Imitation of Christ, he explains the power of this text:

It’s difficult to say when I first came across the Imitation, but I remember the thrill of certitude that its composer was a man of deep spiritual awareness. I found it to be a practical guide to developing spiritual awareness. I could see right away why Swami Vivekananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and founder of the Vedanta Society, had traveled to the West with the Bhagavad Gita in one pocket and The Imitation of Christ in the other. It is the special strength of a few books, and this is one of them, that down through the ages they have helped bridge the gap between cloister and household. Though the Imitation was composed in a monastic setting, its teachings are universally applicable, and they have been treasured by Protestants as well as Catholics, laypersons as well as monastics.

To explain its appeal is not simple. The autobiographical elements that make Augustine or Teresa of Avila so accessible are absent. Though the language is very apt and dignified, there are no poetic or visionary flights like those we find in John of the Cross or William Blake. For theological brilliance you would have to look elsewhere. Much of The Imitation of Christ is no more dazzling than a manual for woodworkers. But then, if you really want to know about carpentry, you don’t want a manual that will dazzle; you want one that will tell you how to make a miter joint, how to use a skill saw, and what the best finish is for a tabletop. The Imitation of Christ is just that kind of book – an entirely practical manual for sincere spiritual aspirants.

Between 1970 and 1972, Easwaran gave regular talks on The Imitation of Christ, and these were published as audio tapes in the 1990s. This week we share the first hour-long talk in the series. Easwaran places both the text and the author in context, and shows how we can apply the teachings from this 15th century masterpiece in our spiritual practice today. Using examples from many of the world’s religions, Easwaran also highlights the universal nature of spiritual truth.

If you'd like to comment on the blog, click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. The page will expand to show a comment box below the blog post. Note that your email address will not be shown if you comment. We're looking forward to reading your thoughts on this talk!

Eight-Point Grandparenting

This week we meet Laura, a long-time passage meditator now splitting her time between the Bay Area in California and Illinois. Laura shares here how the eight points have helped her spend quality time with her granddaughter, and she also shares the "Granny Project" collection of Easwaran stories, ideal for anyone raising a child.

Being a hands-on granny to our 16-month-old granddaughter Rosalie has been a high point in my life. I have the good fortune to be her granny/nanny two full days a week, and my husband and I see her on weekends as well. We moved across the country to be near her, bought a condo and now spend six months a year in her neighborhood. What joy!

As a longtime 8-point practitioner, it comes naturally to use the practice with Rosie. She was given a mantram by her parents from day one (my son Adam and daughter-in-law Emily also follow Easwaran's teachings), so chanting Rama at various times throughout the day is a staple. Rosie calms down quickly to the tune of Rama, and putting her to sleep for naps or nighttime is now easy (it wasn't easy the first 4 months of her life, but that's another story). This lucky little lady is getting a jump start in falling asleep in the mantram!

On those occasions when I put her to bed for the night, I follow the ritual that the kids have set up. Just before sleep, we pay a visit to her puja table and say goodnight to the holy figures assembled there: mother Mary and baby Jesus, Sri Krishna, the compassionate Buddha, and of course teacher Easwaran. This Jewish granny also says goodnight to King David via a miniature Book of Psalms on her table, and shalom to the little dreidel that sits next to it. Sometimes I recite a stanza of the Prayer of St. Francis as well, or the Shema (in Hebrew) or another short passage. Wide-eyed Rosie drinks it all in.

Adjusting my pace to Rosie's rhythms means that slowing down is part of the package. She has her own ideas of how long things should take, and I follow suit. It's nice to be on "Rosie time" and not worry too much about the external clock. I love putting her first, and have never found it easier to practice that discipline (wish that were so with others in my life)! So if she wants to play peekaboo repeatedly for 15 minutes, or go through the tickle tunnel for what feels like endless rounds, granny complies. Hearing her laugh is reward enough for repetitive activity. And she used to require me to read the same story over and over again, which I did dutifully and cheerfully, such that I now have quite a repertoire of children's books thoroughly memorized.

Which brings me to one area of challenge in this otherwise idyllic picture. In the earlier days of Rosie's career, she had what I considered to be an extraordinary attention span. This was particularly so in relation to books, and I loved reading to her while she listened with rapt attention to quality children's literature, even to relatively lengthy and wordy books. But that was in her sedentary days. Now that she is Ms. mobility, she doesn't want to sit for stories, and even when she brings me a book, she's off and playing with something else after one or two pages. That frustrates me!

In my zeal to encourage one-pointed attention, I sometimes continue reading the book aloud and complete it, even though she is engaged in other activity. But I am beginning to think that this strategy is flawed. Perhaps the best tack is to drop the book reading when she's no longer interested and attend to her one-pointedly. Then I'm practicing what I preach.

It is interesting to note how we become attached to things being a certain way, and when that changes, we feel dismayed or irritated. And how likes and dislikes enter into that equation: I like reading stories to Rosalie; I dislike her current tendency to be distracted and to move from thing to thing. But the bottom line is that I adore Rosie, and trust that she will find her way back to enjoying whole books again if I am patient and present. Perhaps a few mantrams at the appropriate time wouldn't hurt either.

Spiritual reading is part of the grandparenting package as well, and I find particular inspiration from the Granny stories assembled by Adam in the Granny Project: bit.ly/GrannyProject. These stories are drawn from Easwaran's books and talks, and they are a treasure trove of wisdom. Granny was Easwaran's spiritual teacher, and turning to her for advice and support (as Easwaran did) is a helpful tool. When in doubt, I ask, "What would Granny do?" 

Meanwhile, I exult in Rosalie's utterly enchanting ways: the way she wiggles her little body to the music, tries to say "granny" (alongside many other more pronounceable words), twirls around to "Twinkle twinkle little star," blows kisses, lights up when I sing her theme song ("Now my life is rosy, now that I've found Rosie..."), eats her lentils and rice with gusto, exclaiming "Num num num!" Ah, she is a cornucopia of delights, and I am the luckiest granny in the world. And a better one, thanks to Easwaran and the eight point program. Baruch HaShem!