MenoSunday; Live Lived Lovingly.

The question often asked is, 'how to bring that capital 'ell' Love into daily living?' Yes we have all the wonderful expressions of love from our family and friends and even through the friendly, funny and funky words shared from afar. The thing is, there is One Love which conquers all, permits all other love to live within it and stretches the hearts and minds of those who seek it. Not everyone does seek it. The physical presence of love is enough, why go looking for a Love which can't be touched, smelt, tasted, heard or seen? Fact is, Love can be all these things, due to its pervasiveness. Due to our love-affair with the material world, we tend to forget it. Then again, even when we have those moments of clarity and sanctity, be it in the bubble bath or out in the wilderness, they seem elusive and uncatchable.

If such whispered moments are something you would like more of, then they are available - but work is required to attain them. We tend to think, in our modern way, of 'self-improvement' as economic, intellectual, emotional... rarely do we consider it in terms of the spiritual. You don't have to be 'religious' (in the accepted term), you don't even have to 'believe in God' (in the accepted term), to be spiritually inclined. All that is required is a sense that there is something very wonderful at the base of all existence which science, for all its glory, will never quite resolve to our physical satisfaction.

It is an interesting thing that those closest to the research of the origins of the universe - the physicists - often will decry 'God', adhering to the 'cold, hard facts'. Then, most who reach a certain advancement, will start to look with a level of awe and begin to ponder the possibilities of 'something more'. Note that in Vedanta, 'God' is not referred to in the texts. The term for that which is the 'something more' is Brahman, though other terms are also used - Aatman, Self, Sat-Chit-Aananda (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss). With each passing year, ever-deeper discoveries of the physical mysteries are drawing physicists closer to the spiritual mysteries as described by the Rsis of millennia past. What is required is to surrender to inner researches of the same magnitude as those applied in the material sciences. Creating one's own, personal 'big bang'!

There is one way we can feel That Something More... it is the Aatman in the form of capital 'ell' Love. If the Aatman be, as described by the Rsis, ever-present, all-pervasive, etc., then It is not to be striven for, or obtained from somewhere...because it is already here, within us.

How do we bring this faith in Love into daily life? By offering our work up as a form of worship; keeping our thoughts high; being of service to others as and when we can. However, if the wish is to move closer to the Divine State, some strict and regular morning and evening practice of japa (chanting of mantras or Lord's name), meditation, contemplation of the teachings of choice and attention to the introspection is most definitely required.

Introspection? The sitting at the end of each day with a little notebook and making a checklist as to progress. Are you truly trying? If not, why not? It may seem 'kindergarten' but, truly, unless you can build objectivity, a distancing of the ego from the events and actions in daily life, it will be very difficult to see where improvements are truly happening, where the weak spots truly are, and whether the commitment is truly yours. 

Truly &*>

Others around may question the changes your are attempting to make. They may say your are mad. Fair enough, perhaps there is a certain, small level of the crazy required to attempt such a climb as that to Heaven. Are you madly in love with that idea? If not, why not? One must be madly attempting the exercises of saadhana chatushtaya**, madly focused on the Higher, madly certain that It can be one's own.

Madly &*>

You must fall deeply in Love with the Divine in order to make all efforts to become one with It. Nothing else can motivate to the same extent as that Divine Love. You know it is deep when all else fades compared to it. Are you prepared to dive deeply? If not, why not? You may be the scientist saying 'there is no "divine"' - fine! That does not mean that you cannot search deeply within, become deeply engrossed in the subtle philosophy and find that you can be deeply attached to seeking that Ultimate Truth.

Deeply &*>

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

**the saadhana chatushtaya/four worthy practices of the Rsis are;

1;  Viveka - discrimination between the Real and the unreal, (virtually all Sanskrit texts are geared towards defining these things.)

2;  Vairaagya - detachment and restraint; with viveka we can translate discrimination into our interactions with the world and minimise its effect upon us.

3:  Shamaadhi shatkasampatti/six jewels of application -

            a) shama - control of inner senses, b) dama - the control of the physical senses, c) uparami -withdrawal, an internal process, d) titiksha - fortitude, not letting the little prinpricks of life unsettle the stability of our being, e) shraddha - enquiring faith [not blind following] and f) samaadhaana - meditative attitude - even in daily work we can find space to contemplate.

4;  Mumukshutvam - a burning desire for liberation and Unity with The Divine.