Audio Excerpts from "Passage Meditation"

This week we're sharing more excerpts from the audiobook version of the new edition of Passage Meditation released last month.

This latest edition includes a new Q&A section with Easwaran's answers to commonly asked questions from his students and retreatants. The first of our excerpts features questions and answers on meditation.

We've also included excerpts from the chapter on Slowing Down, and the entire chapter on Spiritual Fellowship.

We're eager to hear your thoughts on the audio – please share in the comments below.

Slowing Down in a Busy Workplace

Meet Merritt, a passage meditator living in Avon Lake, Ohio. Merritt shares how her practice of the eight points, specifically slowing down, has helped her handful difficult conversations .

“Thanks, again, Laura, for letting me know. Although I am her principal, I honestly had no idea she had decided to retire. It certainly will be a big change for our school when we return in the fall.” I hung up the phone, ending the unexpected conversation with our school district’s Director of Human Resources. It was 4:15 pm on the last day of the school year, and I looked out the window to see bright sunshine and a nearly vacant parking lot.

Stepping out of my office, I was startled to see the retiring teacher standing at the reception desk with her laptop computer in hand. “I came to return this in person,” she explained. “May I come in?”

“Of course,” I agreed. “I’ve just heard the big news.” As I turned to re-enter my office, I had time for a few silent rounds of my mantram.

She handed over the computer and situated herself uncomfortably in the chair across my desk. “I’m going to talk to you like a Dutch uncle,” she began. I wasn’t familiar with the concept of a Dutch uncle, but I guessed that the honest feedback I had been requesting for several years was about to be forthcoming…

I guessed right. We spent about 45 minutes together in my office, more one-on-one time than we’d spent together all year. She had collected her thoughts to present me with several knife-edged points of advice about how I could be better at my job, without any compliments or affirmations to coat the pill.

***

When it was over, she left the room (no hug, no handshake, not even a little wave goodbye), I sat down and gazed at the small photo of Easwaran tucked at the corner of my desk where only I can see him. I opened my heart and alternately whispered “thank you,” and “Om namah Shivaya” (I bow to the Lord within) for a minute or two, with tears welling up in my eyes. I noticed the notebook of passages I keep in my office for afternoon meditation, and felt humbled by the gift of detachment I had experienced during the conversation, as well as the surge of joy that was following--in spite of the content of the conversation--that was undoubtedly the fruit of my meditation practice.

 Of all the things she said, the one that really hit home was that the teachers in our school (including her, up to this point) are not going to say things to me if they anticipate I will disagree. She explained that they might subtly share a suggestion, but would not challenge my way of approaching an issue. As a leader who deliberately attempts to be collaborative, this was quite disappointing to hear. It also sparked my thinking that I must find a way to really hear what teachers are saying; to sense the strength of their feeling even if they don’t convey it in an obvious way.

While all of the eight points work harmoniously together to support us in any situation, this felt like a job for Point #3: Slowing Down. If I can slow down my pace of work, slow down my mind while listening to teachers, and slow down my eyes and ears while observing situations, I just might have a shot at better understanding the teachers, subsequently opening the honest dialogue I believe is essential for a healthy school.

***

Slowing down is an elusive point for me. I’ve been rewarded on the surface of life for being able to do things quickly and accomplishing many things, both large and small. Perhaps this can be partially attributed to the Army recruiting TV ad from my childhood, “We do more before 9 am than most people do all day...Be all that you can be…” Or maybe it is related to being the oldest child in a single parent household, or maybe it is simply my karma. Probably some combination of all those things, right? I’m relieved Easwaran deemphasizes finding the “why” to questions like these, focusing, instead, on the work of making our lives a work of art.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux vividly described the deeply ingrained compulsion to achieve with a few lines from That Wondrous Star: “When the waves of pride or ambition batter your soul, of slander or jealousy, anger or lust...” The episode with the retiring teacher was a tsunami on my ego, the part of my being that had been rewarded for achievement. I can’t imagine a better prompt for reflection and planful action.

***

Even before this interaction, bolstered by years of spiritual practice (including the invaluable influence of satsang with other meditators and reading Easwaran and other mystics), I had already been experimenting with a few strategies for slowing down, for example:

• Driving slower, limiting myself to 5 miles over the posted speed limit -- no matter what the circumstance.
• Consciously not pursuing new opportunities in order to have more free time to “allow good things to come in” (as a fellow Cleveland satsang member suggested).
• Reducing the number of trips to the grocery store, facing down my irrational fear of running out of certain items I like (such as Greek yogurt -- mmmm!).
• Bypassing self-checkout lanes and not scheming for the fastest line at the store, choosing instead to have a brief interaction with whichever clerk I end up with.
• Trying not to interrupt others, and pausing to let others speak first, even if it means shutting my mouth mid-comment and gesturing for the other person to “go on.”
• Accepting gracefully a moderate (trampoline-induced) knee injury, respecting my (apparently temporary) reduced physical capacity.

The goal of all this is, of course, to reduce my ego to zero so that I may be a better servant of the Lord, living calmly, patiently, and joyfully, (not only as a school principal, but also in other areas of my life). Emphasizing this as my goal (rather than prior goals of gaining power/prestige at work, being physically fit for the sake of appearance, or earning accolades for scholarly pursuits), is helping me to slow down by taking on less. I am learning to pass up activities that are not directly aligned with my goal. I have full faith that any effort I make toward discrimination in my choices (that is, how much to do and at what speed I do it) is progress on this path.

I am encouraged by early results of experiments in slowing down, with less agitation in situations that used to get under my skin, increased energy for relationships, work and recreation, and an optimistic feeling that the little victories are bellwethers for future freedom from deep-seated conditioning. It feels good to have a “spiritual-level plan” for appreciating the teachers’ perspectives, even as I continue to build those relationships using mainstream leadership strategies. I also have begun to write my mantram for the teachers in my school, specifically to help me gain new vigilance with listening to them and perceiving their true thoughts and feelings.

***

According to Wikipedia, a Dutch uncle is an informal term for a person who issues frank, harsh, or severe comments and criticism to educate, encourage, or admonish someone. The retiring teacher’s use of the term was perfectly accurate. I’m not sure how Dutch nieces and nephews usually feel when this happens, but I am grateful that (at least from my point of view) I was able to listen actively, did not feel the need to defend myself, and still felt like I had something to offer in the field of education when it was over. I attribute this to passage meditation, the allied disciplines and Sri Easwaran’s grace. The concept of Slowing Down earns a special gold star in this particular challenge, because it is the strategy that allowed me to see the space between my thoughts, enabling me to remain secure, disconnecting my real self from the comments offered by the outgoing veteran educator.

Fortified by the constant gentle, insightful, considerate guidance of Sri Easwaran, passage meditators are well-prepared to withstand occasional interactions with the “Dutch uncles” of the world. The equanimity I felt in the moments with the retiring teacher has given me even more determination to work on slowing down, for the greater good of all.

Spending Time With My Spiritual Teacher

Meet Ken, a passage meditator living in Grass Valley, California. Ken shares how he uses photos to remind him of Easwaran's presence in his daily life.

Photos of Easwaran are very central to my sadhana. I have photos around the house, on bookmarks, on my computer desktop and mobile devices.

I was introduced to passage meditation by a couple friends at a time in my life when I was experiencing some serious medical problems. One friend gave me Words to Live By, which I started reading every day. These thoughts for the day resonated so deeply with me, that I made one of those vows that if I made it through this, I would try meditating. A few months later, as I began to heal, I attended a four-week introduction class and started attending the local Blue Mountain Center of Meditation meditation group.

I meditated every day and began to learn to use my mantram and the other points in the eight point program. As Easwaran says, “this is a come as you are party” and that allowed me to move closer, at my own pace. This was perfect for me because I was more than a little skeptical and had some doubts. I began to see benefits of meditation and gradually wanted to experiment more.

The meditation group displayed a photo of Easwaran at every meeting and I decided to get a photo when I attended my first retreat in Tomales. The first photo I chose for my home was one of him smiling encouragingly. I placed that where I could see it from my meditation corner, as well as from the living room. I began and ended meditation by looking at EE and saying my mantram. I could see him from all parts of the living room and would often sit and look at him and say my mantram.

I lived alone at the time, ate alone and had a habit of reading at meals. I heard EE say that eating and reading at the same time divided attention and that anything I could do through the day to lessen this division, would help my meditation. I pretty quickly experienced how meditation and the mantram helped slow down my runaway thinking and actually changed my life, so I became very motivated to improve my meditation.

I put another photo on my table and said my mantram before starting to eat and often while I ate. I developed an affection for having meals with EE and often looked at him as I ate. Having EE there also helped remind me to keep my mind quieter, bring my attention back to the meal and not just space out or automatically let my mind go off thinking. The mealtime really started feeling like quality time with my teacher.

Now, living with Stephanie, my partner in dharma and fellow passage meditator, we say our mantrams before eating and have our meals together with the same Easwaran photo. These days, I mostly work from home and have lunch alone, so several meals a week I am still lunching alone with EE.

We have several photos of Easwaran around the house; on the bookcase, under the video monitor; in our meditation space (along with Granny) in the corner of the bedroom; and a few smaller ones in various locations. I still begin and end meditation with looking at Easwaran and Granny.

The latest addition is on the kitchen/dinning room serving counter, facing the kitchen sink. We put this one there after hearing that a friend has an EE photo in his farm’s tractor shed. Easwaran continues his rounds of the workplace and kitchen, where once in awhile, a glance will be a mantram reminder or help pull our mind back from the brink.

I love having the photos around the house and catch glimpses through the day. Sometimes seeing his photo sort of jogs my memory of what is real or reminds me of my mantram. I remember hearing Easwaran say something like the purpose of his talks, books and stories was to encourage us to continue meditating. So, perhaps, this is what EE’s photos are doing for my sadhana, in all the little ways through the day, seeing him is a reminder of the real goal in life and to keep practicing passage meditation.

A few weeks ago, the eSatsang had this inspirational quote from God Makes the Rives to Flow, speaking about meditation: “As you sit, you will have in hand the supreme hammer and chisel; use it to hew away all unwanted effects of your heredity, conditioning, environment, and latencies. Bring forth the noble work of art within you! My earnest wish is that one day you shall see, in all its purity, the effulgent spiritual being you really are.” I believe that seeing Easwaran’s photo every so often through the day, cleans away just a little of those unwanted effects and fills my life just a little more with his wish for me.