A Journal for Spiritual Living eknath Published by the Blue easwaran Blue Mountain has been called one of the fore- most teachers of medi ta tion Center of in our times. From his arrival & Nilgiri Press Mountain in the United States in  on www.easwaran.org ESTABLISHED BY the Fulbright ex change pro- Spring 2012 FOR PRESENTING HIS EIGHT-POINT gram until his passing in the fall of , he taught to mod- Volume 23, Number 1 PROGRAM OF ern men and women his eight- point program, based on his unique method of meditation Work & Family on memorized inspirational In ancient India, this loft y ideal was passages from the world’s The Stages embodied in forest ashrams where children great religions. Many thou- were sent to be educated in self-control and sands of people representing of Life meditation in addition to high intellectual the full range of cultural and and cultural attainments. Th en the sages religious backgrounds attest by Eknath Easwaran to the bene fi ts of his teaching. would send their young graduates home to He continues to teach through their community, telling them, “Now you his thirty books on spiri tual here is a beautiful side to the can contribute to life and leave the world a living – over a million cop- cycle of life when we understand it little better than you found it.” ies in print in twenty-seven from a deeply spiritual perspective. Th is is the purpose of the next stage of languages – and through the In India’s ancient civilization, life, that of the grihastha or “householder.” ongoing programs and publi- T ca tions of the organi zation he human life was divided into four stages – Th ese are the years in which young people founded in  to carry on phases in a grand concept thousands of embark on a career and perhaps raise his work: the Blue Mountain years old. Sadly, the spirit of these ancient a family, ideally helping the Continued Center of Meditation and traditions has gradually been forgotten, so whole community to prosper on page 4 its publishing arm, Nilgiri Press. here I would like to talk about the inner From our archives: Eknath Easwaran,  meaning of these four stages as a frame- work for life today.

Childhood Th e fi rst stage in life starts before the baby is born. When the mother is pregnant, she is given a mantram – a sacred phrase or holy name – that she will repeat most of the time. It shows the genius of our ancient civiliza- tion: not only the mother’s diet but the mother’s thoughts and feelings infl uence the baby. If the mother repeats the mantram, the baby has a head start on the spiritual path. Th is stage of life is traditionally called brahmacharya, which is usually translated as “celibacy” because this is the period before marriage and family. But brahma– charya literally means “conduct that leads to awareness of Brahman,” or God, and the underlying meaning is not just self-control but a complete pattern of daily living that prepares us for the ultimate goal of Self- realization. Th e focus of this fi rst stage of life is really education: gaining the skills of victorious living and learning that life is meant for the service of God in all around us rather than the pursuit of personal profi t or pleasure.

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blue mountain 1 The Stages of Life Blue Mountain Center of Meditation The quarterly journal Indian tradition divides The Center offers instruction in meditation and life into four stages, laid allied living skills, following the eight-point program of the Blue Mountain out as steps in each per- of passage meditation developed by Sri Eknath Center of Meditation son’s journey toward Self- Easwaran. The approach is nondenominational, realization. In this brief nonsectarian, and free from dogma and ritual. It can Spring 2012 overview, Eknath be used within each person’s own ­cultural and reli- Easwaran gives a fresh perspective on this gious background to relieve stress, heal relation- ©2012 by The Blue ancient idea to show how it can bring ships, release deeper resources, and realize one’s Mountain Center of meaning and purpose to each stage of life. highest potential. Meditation, Inc. 5 What Do Children Need? Passage Meditation: An Eight-Point Program founder Easwaran focuses on 1. meditation on a passage Silent Sri Eknath Easwaran some key points in the repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational first stage of life, child- passages from the world’s great religions. Practiced for one-half hour each m­ orning. board of trustees hood: the theme for this issue. In his presen- 2. repetition of a mantram Silent Christine Easwaran tation, the main pur- repetition in the mind of a Holy Name or a hallowed Nick Harvey pose of this stage is phrase from one of the world’s great religions. Sultana Harvey learning: not merely the three Rs, but Practiced whenever possible throughout the day essentially how to live and what life is for, or night. Diana Lightman the service of God in all around us. 3. slowing down Setting priorities and Terry Morrison ­re­ducin­ g the stress and friction caused by hurry. Beth Ann O’Connell 8 Protecting Innocence 4. one-pointed attention Giving full Modern civilization, concentration to the matter at hand. blue mountain Easwaran observes, is 5. training the senses Overcoming executive editor increasingly depriving conditioned habits and learning to enjoy what is beneficial. Christine Easwaran children of their child- hood. An ancient Sanskrit 6. putting others first Gaining freedom­ saying gives a framework from selfishness and separateness; finding joy in Post Office Box 256 for understanding how parents who med- helping others. Tomales, 94971 itate can protect their children’s native ca 7. spiritual fellowship Spending Telephone 707 878 2369 innocence from birth through the turbu- time regularly with other passage meditators for lent teens, giving them “a flying start on mutual inspiration and support. Facsimile 707 878 2375 life.” Email [email protected] Easwaran’s comments are accompa- 8. spiritual reading Drawing inspiration­ from writings by and about the world’s great Web www.easwaran.org nied by comments from parents in our international eSatsang and some photo- spiritual figures and from the scriptures of all Printed on recycled paper graphs from our family retreats, showing religions. just a few of the many families where The Blue Mountain Center children are growing up protected by Eknath Easwaran depends on donations to their parents’ meditation and the Schooled in both Eastern and Western traditions, carry on its work. Every mantram. Eknath Easwaran took to the spiritual life amidst a gift, large or small, is successful career in India as a professor of English much appreciated and The Blue Mountain journal is free. Postage literature, a writer, and a lecturer. After coming to put to good use. The the University of California, Berkeley, on the costs apply for delivery outside the US. Blue Mountain Center of Fulbright exchange program, he established the For a two-year subscription to Canada or Meditation is a 501(c)(3) Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in Northern Mexico, the cost is $15. California nonprofit California in 1961. His 1968 Berkeley class is believed For all other countries, the two-year corporation. Contributions to be the first accredited course in meditation at any subscription cost is $25. Please visit our to the Center are deduct- Western uni­versity. His deep personal experience website, www.easwaran.org, to sign up to ible from state and federal and his for his students have made the ancient receive the journal. income tax. art of meditation accessible to those who hold jobs and lead active lives among friends and family. 2

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his lines. By helping us find a spiritual at home and work. Who would want a focus in each of these stages, he hoped child to grow up with a burden like to lay a foundation for a spiritual this? That is why Easwaran says he is A Spiritual renaissance that could provide “unas- grateful that his grandmother did suming leadership” to a world in crisis. everything possible to block his self- Perspective This issue of Blue Mountain focuses will while he was growing up. on the first of these four stages. We The ultimate reason for saying no on Childhood have chosen two short pieces in which like this is lofty beyond words. Chil- Easwaran gives key messages for a dren have to learn to obey their par- spiritual perspective on childhood. ents, Easwaran explains, “so that they “What Do Children Need?” (p. 5) can learn to obey the Self in them, the stresses the importance of uncondi- Atman, later on. In their daily life, the tional love, which requires not senti- parents have to approximate them- selves to the image of the Atman. This Christine Easwaran is why parenthood is an extremely valuable aid to meditation.” n famous lines, William Finally, in “Protecting Innocence” Shakespeare compares our lives (p. 8), Easwaran elaborates on an old to a play in seven acts that runs Sanskrit proverb that tells us how our Ifrom infancy through old age: relationships with children should shift as they grow up. Children today, All the world’s a stage, he pleads, are losing their childhood And all the men and women very early, in part because we treat merely players; them as adults rather than as children. They have their exits and their All children, he insists, are born with a entrances, native innocence that keeps them And one man in his time plays open to developing key qualities they many parts, “Looking at us, a child should see the image of will need as adults: imagination, cre- the Self.” Easwaran with a young friend. His acts being seven ages. . . . ativity, , a sense of kinship mentality or saying yes to every with all life. Easwaran maintained that It’s a haunting image, but the lines demand, but “a deep desire to put the this innocence can be preserved right throw little light on how to live. For children’s welfare first and everything through the teens, even in the teeth of this, Eknath Easwaran turns to the else second.” This, of course, entails all the contrary conditioning of the Vedas, India’s ancient scriptures, reexamination of our own daily lives mass media, without any loss of which make a similar division into and character. We need to be models sophistication. He began our family four stages from a spiritual perspective of what we want our children to programs twenty years ago, so I have that adds meaning and direction. In become, for they will not so much had the privilege of seeing this faith our lead article, “The Stages of Life,” learn from what we say as absorb what borne out as these children grew. Easwaran maintains that this frame- we are. On pages 8–13, alongside a few work is not bound to an ancient cul- This is a familiar idea, but Easwaran comments from parents on our eSat- ture, but provides men and women raises it to an exceptionally challeng- sang network, we share a handful of today with a way to understand each ing level. One of the precious gifts he photographs of the many children and chapter of life as part of a larger story. received as a child, he says, was con- parents in our family retreats who are Looking back, I find it deeply sig- stantly being blocked when he wanted discovering for themselves the truth of nificant that Sri Easwaran devoted the his own way. It surprises us today to Easwaran’s words: “There is no greater last decade of his life to each of these hear this prized; we may feel that say- blessing than to grow up in a family four stages. Particularly dramatic were ing no suppresses a child’s indepen- where meditation is practiced.” his experiments for the beginning and dence. In fact, Easwaran says, it is just end of life: the Setu Program, aimed at the opposite. Everyone meditating those in the last quarter of their lives, along his lines knows what a handicap and family programs aimed at the chil- self-will can become, how ugly it is, Christine Easwaran dren of parents who meditate along how utterly it can destroy relationships For the Board of Trustees

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Continued with right livelihood marked by an irreversible decline. material possessions, for as everyone from page 1 while raising children This is an insistent reminder that it is knows, “You can’t take it with you.” with high ideals. time to turn inwards and develop the Renouncing possessions can be diffi- spiritual side of our personality, cult, but what I found nearly impossi- Giving Back to Life which can grow even as the body ages. ble is letting go of possessive attach- The third stage, retirement, begins a The first signs of physical decline ments to other people. We call such process of detachment from personal are distressing for everyone, of course. attachments love, but all too often they goals. Here the skills, experience, and The natural tendency is to cling to include a good measure of attachment resources acquired during the second youth and pretend nothing is happen- to ourselves. The mystics of all reli- stage are “given back to life” in selfless ing. It took me years to realize that in gions tell us that the highest kind of service. Inspired by this ideal, many trying to hide the signs of age, I was love shines equally on all. Indian physicians today dedicate fighting not only a losing battle but a I don’t mind telling you that this large blocks of time and money each battle not worth fighting. Once I was the hardest lesson for me to learn. year to providing free medical care for grasped this, I immediately started I have always been a person with pas- the poor; successful business people withdrawing my identification with sionate loyalties, and to learn not to initiate or underwrite critical social the body through the practice of restrict that devotion to a few individ- services, helping the underprivileged meditation. This is the traditional uals was a long and painful process. to start small businesses or get an focus of the third stage of life, dedi- But today all that wealth of passion, education. Much the same spirit cated to the discovery that we are all that depth of love, flows not only seems to be developing in other coun- neither body nor mind, but the to my own family but to all of life. tries as well. deathless Self that dwells within. That is the fruition of the fourth stage Spiritually, however, something of life. The body has to decline in more than selfless service is required Letting Go these years, but what the Bhagavad in this stage. If we see the first half of This growing detachment eventually Gita calls “the dweller in the body” life as a period of physical and mate- becomes what in Sanskrit is called san- can shine forth, a greater source of rial growth, we have to recognize that nyasa: renunciation, letting go of every wisdom and inspiration than when at this level, the second half of life is personal attachment. This begins with we were young. •

The stages of life: Easwaran and his mother with the newborn children of two friends.

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responsibility for our children’s well- good communication among all fam- being is met by buying fluoridated ily members. This is something we toothpaste and a balanced vitamin must work at constantly, for there is a What Do supplement. But health is not just an natural tendency to split into peer absence of disease. It is a dynamic, groups, age groups, racial groups, Children positive state of existence in which we religious groups, social groups, and function at our optimum, physically, economic groups. Often by the age of Need? mentally, and in all our personal rela- twelve or thirteen our children have by Eknath Easwaran tionships. The basis of such health is a become so absorbed in their peer heart filled with love for others and a group that they look there for direc- he most important gift mind at peace, which is first absorbed tion and guidance, and since a twelve- we can give our children at home, in the family, from the par- year-old cannot provide a model of is our undivided love. No ents’ example of how to live. behavior, they begin to flounder and Tmaterial advantage can ever get into trouble. take the place of such love, for with- Searching questions Communication becomes even out it children cannot grow to their When we realize how powerful the more critical during the teen years, full height as secure human beings. example of our daily life is, we will when young people have to face so All we have to do is look around at start trying to find ways of making many new pressures: romantic rela- the anger and separateness in the improvements in the way we think, tionships, sex, drugs, college, career, younger generation to see what hap- feel, and act toward our own parents, and finding meaning in their lives. pens when children are deprived of partner, and children. Peer groups, television, movies, and undivided love. I have known many This calls for a thoughtful look at the mass media often serve as substi- young people who come from well- ourselves, and at our habits and atti- tutes for parental guidance in answer- to-do homes, go to good schools, take tudes. We need to ask, How effectively ing these questions because pro- music lessons, play junior league do we communicate with our chil- longed lack of communication has baseball, surf, ski, and even travel all dren? In what ways does competition driven a deep rift between parent and over the world, yet a deeply rooted between husband and wife, parents child. What little communication sense of deprivation distorts their and children, and the children them- does take place is often in the form of thoughts, feelings, and actions. selves disturb our home? What kind arguments which drive the rift even To help change the destructive of guidance do we give our children? deeper and intensify the mutual lack direction in which our children’s lives Can we say no to them when it is for of trust between parent and child. are moving, what is required is a deep their welfare without confusing them Then it does not mean much for a desire to put the children’s welfare with elaborate excuses? Can we settle parent to say no to an activity they first and everything else second. We differences of opinion amicably? Do know from experience will bring sor- have the perfect classroom right in we spend our weekends pursuing our row. Self-will, which is just another our own home, where we can learn to own personal interests, or do we give way of describing separateness and make choices that put the welfare of our time, energy, and full attention to deprivation, has become so our children first. our family? entrenched that communication is If possible, we should start doing In thinking about these questions, almost impossible. this before the child is born, for the we begin to realize to what extent we mother influences her child’s life even exist as separate fragments, instead of Loving, lasting companionship before birth. If the mother has a deep as a family which is deepening all its The more we become preoccupied desire for her child’s greatest welfare, relationships. It is this increasing isola- with our own interests, the less we are she will not fail to make wise choices tion among family members that able to see what is in our children’s in her daily living. Whenever she drives the sense of deprivation deep best interests. For example, if we rush indulges an unhealthy habit, she is into the consciousness of children. To home from work eager for time for putting her own pleasure before her the extent that we work to reduce this ourselves and park the children to child’s welfare, which is another way separateness and estrangement, to that one side while we indulge in some of saying that she deprives that child extent we dissolve the sense of depriva- private pursuit that we enjoy, we are of her love. tion from which our children suffer. telling them by our actions that we do Popular magazines and television One of the most effective ways of not have time for them or Continued on would have us believe that our reducing separateness is to establish interest in them. After a next page 5

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Easwaran at tetherball with his nieces.

Continued from while, our children are ests, many of our family’s and our them and draw them closer to us. previous page learning more from televi- children’s problems will resolve them- This does not mean we need to imi- sion than from us; they come to selves. Every parent is the most influ- tate their hairstyle or clothes or believe the message of the advertiser ential teacher in a child’s life, for chil- speech. I am talking about something that things will bring happiness and dren learn not so much from what we much deeper, which expresses itself in security, and they take the violent, say as from what we do. more concern in what our children sensate behavior of television heroes By spending more time with our are thinking and doing than in the as models to emulate. In this way we children, we will gradually be able to book we are reading or the TV show are encouraging them to accept a way understand the nature of the problems we are watching. When we show our of living that will bring misery and which confront them and give our best children through our undivided despair. It is not only the child, but guidance. When we are giving our chil- attention that we are deeply interested the parents, too, who suffer, for the dren more time and attention, there in what interests them, they are lives of parent and child cannot be develops a loving companionship assured of our love and affection considered separate. which enables the parents to say no and beyond the shadow of a doubt. Being a parent today is one of the the child to accept it without a trace of This attention cannot be faked; it most difficult jobs on earth. It anger. By establishing a lasting relation- must be real. To give our complete requires a depth of patience and dis- ship in this manner with our children, and undivided attention is a precious crimination that very few have. But all we can give them the strength and skill that can be cultivated through of us can develop these precious guidance so desperately needed when regular practice. When we draw capacities with systematic and sus- they enter the stormy teenage years. closer as a family, our children grow tained effort. Although difficult at As parents, we can find many ways in awareness of the deeper unity first, we shall find that as we grow in to build up a lasting relationship with that exists between husband and our capacity to put our children’s wel- our children. By learning to enter into wife, parent and child, and sister and fare before our own personal inter- their world, we can draw closer to brother. This is the most effective way 6

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of healing the disease of deprivation. How do we translate these timeless This transformation may take The scriptures of all the great reli- values into daily living? There is no years, but even from the early days gions of the world have bequeathed quick and easy way; what is required there is the joyful awareness that life us changeless values by which we can is the sustained and systematic prac- has an unfailing direction and an live. The , the tice of meditation to alter our patterns underlying unity in which all things Dhammapada, and the Bhagavad Gita of thinking and acting. The practice are held together. It is this increasing are superb examples. They are meant of meditation can be described as a experience of unity which puts an as practical manuals for daily living mighty educational tool by mastering end to every trace of separateness and provide for every generation an which we can transform anger into and deprivation. This is what our unfailing direction which cannot be compassion, ill will into good will, children are crying out for, and the supplied by the pursuit of personal hatred into love, and separateness most precious gift that we can give satisfactions. into unity. them. •

Family Yoga

amily living is like Mogul art, worked in minia- about. But they were saying, “Uncle, we want you to run Fture. The canvas is so small and the skill required so too. To run is fun.” I did not say that a pompous professor great that most of us do not evaluate the vast potentialities like me should not be running; it would take away from of family life which can enable us all to find our freedom. my pomp. Instead I tried to make a good dash for it. I I can draw a little illustration from life with my mother thought I was going to meet with appreciation, but little and nieces when they lived with us here in California. My Geetha came up to me and said, “You are not supposed to wife and I kept one day in the week for outings, and one step on the lines.” There was no “Thank you,” no “Well beautiful, balmy Sunday we took the family to Santa Rosa. done”; I had to do it all over again. I sat in the back seat of a VW bug with Meera on one side On the trip home I had my arms around both of them, and Geetha on the other, and the two girls were asking me and every now and then I would get a kick from both all kinds of questions that from an adult viewpoint were sides. It hurt. I had to remind myself, “These are children, juvenile. But that is exactly what children are: juvenile active and lively. They are not really kicking me; they are people, who ask juvenile questions that are just right for kicking their heels in the air, and my legs happen to be in them. I kept reminding myself of what most of us older the way.” I had to repeat the mantram to keep smiling. people forget: that every child has a point of view. They It is in these little things that we learn how to be loving: have their outlook on the world, their way of looking at by being tender and unselfish and putting up with innu- life, which makes them ask these questions, and for them, merable discomforts for the sake of adding to the joy of why Texaco should be spelled with an a and Mexico with the members of our family, and then gradually extending an i is a matter of vital importance. our love to include our friends, our community, our coun- When we got to Santa Rosa, we had to walk slowly try, and our world. We do not have to go to a mountain because my mother is nearing eighty. But the children retreat in the Himalayas. We just go to Santa Rosa in one wanted to run. We were in a crowded shopping center, of those little VW bugs, where we are so constricted that where it is not proper for a sedate professor to be running every kick is amplified. –eknath easwaran

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Protecting n old Sanskrit saying gives Aguidelines for how this can be Innocence done. According to this saying, our By Eknath Easwaran relationship with our children passes through three stages, depending on n the nearly forty years I have what they need most as they grow up. Ispent in this country, I have seen children losing their innocence fast. Until Age Five In our compulsive fascination with In the fi rst stage, until the child is fi ve, technology and material possessions, we are urged to treat the little one as a we are depriving our children of their god or goddess. Th is does not mean childhood, and with it something irre- that we give up our power of author- trievably precious: the innocence of ity, but that we give our children all their hearts. the attention and aff ection we can, Th is is more than the loss of happi- hugging them, carrying them, and ness. Childhood needs to be a time of keeping them physically close to us. wonder, and children need this period Such aff ection is essential for main- of innocence in order to learn and taining unity on the physical level, Protecting innocence: grow. Th ey require time and protec- and children respond to it easily. photographs of a few tion from the media so that they can Th ese fi ve years of intense physical of the children and walk under the skies and make up sto- intimacy and intense emotional love meditating parents at ries from the clouds and stars, get to reassure them more than any other family retreats, with know animals, become intimate with experience – more than any words comments on dealing nature; this is the beginning of aware- can – and in later life they will be able with this stage of life ness of the unity of life, which will to draw upon this security they from participants in serve them greatly when they take to received in early childhood. our international meditation later on. Children absorb a great deal more eSatsang. Th e answer to this loss is to restore than we realize, even in these very their childhood to them, to protect early years. If we constantly address and preserve their innocence. Th is can the divinity with which they come to be done, despite the powerful contrary us – “trailing clouds of glory from conditioning of our times, because at God, who is our home” – they will the core of personality, all of us have grow up with an instinctive sense that the same divine Self, the very source of their deepest Self is divine. our . Of course, this is the time to teach them to use the mantram – the earlier the better. Parents can sing them to sleep with the mantram; their voices are especially precious at this age. If children learn the mantram as they learn to speak, it will be ready for them in deepest consciousness as they begin to face the trials of life and give them a fl ying start when they take to meditation later on.

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n old Sanskrit saying gives Aguidelines for how this can be done. According to this saying, our relationship with our children passes through three stages, depending on what they need most as they grow up.

Until Age Five In the first stage, until the child is five, we are urged to treat the little one as a god or goddess. This does not mean that we give up our power of author- ity, but that we give our children all the attention and affection we can, hugging them, carrying them, and keeping them physically close to us. Such affection is essential for main- taining unity on the physical level, and children respond to it easily. These five years of intense physical intimacy and intense emotional love I have been babysitting a 5 month old baby for about 2 months. It is a reassure them more than any other miracle! It is good to give his parents a break, and reminds me of EE’s teaching experience – more than any words “ can – and in later life they will be able that when there is harmony in the home there is peace in the nation. I am totally to draw upon this security they one-pointed with this baby. I sing to him. Play with him. Splash him with water. received in early childhood. Introduce him to flowers. Teach him what his nose is, clap his hands and feet, Children absorb a great deal more than we realize, even in these very sing the mantram to him, not to mention the usual things like feeding, burping early years. If we constantly address and changing. I am training his senses to see that life is good. There is barely time the divinity with which they come to to get a drink of water myself, let alone any “comforts,” but it is a JOY and a privi- us – “trailing clouds of glory from God, who is our home” – they will lege to be a part of his life. grow up with an instinctive sense that their deepest Self is divine. ” Of course, this is the time to teach them to use the mantram – the earlier the better. Parents can sing them to sleep with the mantram; their voices are especially precious at this age. If children learn the mantram as they learn to speak, it will be ready for them in deepest consciousness as they begin to face the trials of life and give them a flying start when they take to meditation later on.

Spring2012-Feb12.indd 9 2/13/12 10:39 AM From Five to Sixteen I’m developing a bad habit of either hurrying my kids when they want to fter five, until the age of Asixteen, the Sanskrit injunction talk to me or not listening with enough concentration. It’s clear that they need tells us to teach our children to serve. “ a lot of attention and have a lot to say. Sometimes it seems they can talk for It sounds harsh, but the more I see of hours. My son often wants to talk about video games and animation charac- life, the more I appreciate the utility of this training in obedience. Young ters. This is not something I understand, nor does it interest me. Also, I don’t people get puzzled when their parents wish to encourage his interest in these. My daughter can talk for an hour with- cannot take a positive stand, and even out stopping ;-). When I come home from a long day that started early in the though they may stomp out and slam the door in anger when we say no, I morning, I feel I’ve done my share. My wife has been home more and should think they cannot help appreciating have given them the attention they need, or so I think. So I give them some parents who can draw a line intel- attention but don’t really do my best at it. Also the evenings are busy and there ligently and tenderly, showing them how to make wise choices. is not much time. So thinking “I’m tired, I’ve done enough today already, this is At every stage of life, love shows boring” is my negative wave. I think a positive wave could be remembering this itself in not letting children have their line from Thomas à Kempis, “Love attempts what is above its strength” – and way all the time, which millions of using the mantram and slowing down more effectively so I have more energy at parents allow. Slowly, when you let your children have their own way – the end of the day. because otherwise they will cry or throw tantrums or run and hide in the ” tree house – they will learn to not lis- “Lofty role models ten to you at all. Eventually you will and high ideals”: not be able to exercise any loving con- scenes from plays on trol over them, which is a difficult, the Buddha (above), dangerous situation for the child as Gandhi (top right), well as the parent. When such children and Sri Krishna grow up, they are likely to have trouble (right), staged and in relating to others. Most important, performed at family they will be unable to say no to them- retreats by children of selves. all ages with some help It is during the years five to sixteen from their parents and that children are going to rebel, and it teachers. is during these years that they must learn to obey their parents so they can learn to obey the Self in them, the Atman, later on. In their daily life the parents have to approximate them- selves to the image of the Atman. This is why parenthood is an extremely valuable aid to meditation. Most of us, of course, do not feel ourselves paragons of virtue. That is why it is so helpful to acquaint chil- dren with the lives of great men and women, particularly the great mystics of all religions, who embody the high- est human ideals and role models. Since children of all ages take to play- acting, a family can have great fun in retelling these life stories in skits and plays in which the whole family joins in.

Spring2012-Feb12.indd 10 2/13/12 10:39 AM “Lofty role models and high ideals”: scenes from plays on the Buddha (above), Gandhi (top right), and Sri Krishna (right), staged and performed at family retreats by children of all ages with some help from their parents and teachers.

I want a calm mind to interact with my kids. Without Since they were just babies, I’ve stolen time for myself discrimination, I sometimes put energy into friends, co- from my children by letting them watch good DVDs “workers, or strangers, and become depleted when family “while they eat. Now it’s been very difficult to stop this – I time comes. Unfortunately, it is easier to let my “grump- need all my energy and creativity in the table to keep ies” out around my family. But my family may need my them interested in the present moment and food, not cry- Highest Self even more. My attitudes around them have ing after TV! We are still far from the goal, but Easwaran more meaning. As meditating parents we are a great has opened my eyes to see how harmful it is to escape influence on them. When they see how our practice from the present moment all the time, especially on the helps us, they realize people can have a choice in how occasions when the family could spend nice time together they think and behave. This is an amazing gift to and get closer. I don’t want to give this bad heritage to my children.” children! ”

Spring2012-Feb12.indd 11 2/13/12 10:39 AM After Sixteen

rom sixteen on, the saying Fconcludes, your children are your equal. Aft erwards do not try to push them about; do not throw your weight about, but try to explain. Appeal to their sense of reason; try to make them understand your position, and make a great eff ort to understand theirs. Oft en it is because parents and growing young people fi nd themselves unable to be detached from their opin- ions that there is confl ict, and obses- sive identifi cation with opinions can be the worst kind of attachment. Par- ents are not their opinions, nor are the children theirs. If we are prepared to listen with respect to opinions that are diff erent from ours – not only from our children but with everyone – we “Th ere is no greater will fi nd our feeling of hesitation and blessing in life than to apprehension is lost. Children will be born into a fam- appreciate this, and the father may ily where meditation even say to the mother, “You know, the is practiced. It gives boy may be right.” children a fl ying start In these ways, we can help our chil- at making their lives a dren grow up secure and selfl ess, well work of art, of benefi t prepared to make wise choices when to everyone around they grow up. • them.” -Eknath Easwaran

Spring2012-Feb12.indd 12 2/13/12 10:39 AM To me, setting aside my comforts “is when my 11 yr. old granddaughter comes over (she lives close by) and asks me to fix her something good for dinner (parents may be busy or working), or play Monopoly, or watch American Idol (ugh), or just be with grandma when all I want to do is curl up in my chair and read my book, watch my movie, and have my time. I sometimes feel resentful . . . yes, it’s MY time! But, after I spend the time with her and we laugh and curl up together . . . and she kisses me and says “Grandma, I love you” . . . I real- ize that this was way better than what “Th ere is no greater blessing in life than to I thought was my comforts. Always be born into a fam- so much better to do one kind thing ily where meditation for someone else than several for is practiced. It gives children a fl ying start yourself. at making their lives a work of art, of benefi t ” to everyone around them.” -Eknath Easwaran

Spring2012-Feb12.indd 13 2/13/12 10:39 AM Easwaran’s Essence of the Bhagavad Gita – a fi ve-star Amazon Review

In December , a completely new book by Easwaran, compiled by his longtime editors in accordance with his instruc- tions, went on sale in the US and internationally. Th is was the fi rst reaction that we received - a fi ve-star review on the Amazon.com website. The Essence of Wisdom

Th is latest addition to Easwaran’s legacy is one of the most insightful to date. If you enjoy Easwaran’s teachings, if you’re yearning for ultra-deep insights into this beloved Hindu scrip- ture, or if you simply want to read elegant prose seasoned with delightfully modern, oft en amusing stories and analogies, you’ll love this book. Many Gita commentaries (including Easwaran’s own three-volume set) explore the text passage by passage. Th rough these, we quickly discern that the battle described in the Gita is not physical but internal and that this battle is won using will power rather than fi repower. Beyond the individual words and passages, however, lies much more. Deft ly wielding his little but powerful lamp, Easwaran leads us on a spelunking trip deep into the heart of the Gita. Along the way, we encounter wisdom from such varied sources as Shankara, Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, Spinoza, Jung, Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfi eld, physiologist Hudson Hoagland and others. Th e journey is at once simple and profound. Th e book begins by introducing the split in consciousness between our lower and higher selves that causes separate- ness and struggle. Easwaran explores the nature of reality and personality, explaining that we are not our bodies or our minds (!) and that identifi cation with these impostrs keeps us feeling separate from everyone and everything. Beginning with chapter six, we move from theory to practice. Easwaran explains how to heal the split using a system of living that includes meditation, living deliberately and experimenting with our likes and dislikes. Th e words are prac- tical and enormously compelling. Th e fi nal three chapters describe the journey of humanity toward its ultimate goal: self-realization. We have no choice but to fi ght this battle, Easwaran and the Gita insist. Putting our heads in the sand or playing with the toys of life only delays the battle and prolongs our misery. Ultimately, Easwaran’s Gita tells us we will not only fi ght but also win and that this glorious day comes much more quickly when we seize the initiative and realize our potential. Th is story could only be told by a lifelong student of the Gita, someone who has lived it each day and is now so famil- iar with it that its words pale against the underlying meaning. Even so, in the hands of a lesser writer, no one but an enlightened being could even understand how the meaning derives from the words. But Easwaran’s ideas fi t together so well and are so nicely supported by the sparsely used but powerful Gita verses that, by the end, it’s utterly impossible to deny both the wisdom of this interpretation and the inevitability of its eff ect on us. –Reader Review on Amazon.com

Essence of the Bhagavad Gita A Contemporary Guide to Yoga, Meditation & Indian Philosophy by Eknath Easwaran 3 pages 1.95 Also available in an ebook edition from Amazon, B&N, Google, Apple, and Kobo

Spring2012-Feb12.indd 14 2/13/12 10:39 AM Blue Mountain Center of Meditation Retreats: Find Spiritual Replenishment

“Just as there was a cultural renaissance in the West several centuries ago, the world needs a spiritual renais- sance today. It can be brought about only by little people like us: every man, every woman, every child,

changing their personality from selfi sh to selfl ess, from human to divine.” – EKNATH EASWARAN

Passage meditation is meant for people who live in the midst of the world, interacting with frazzled relatives and grumpy grocery clerks. It’s meant for people who yearn to dwell in peace and compassion while still getting the dog to the vet and the kids to school on time. Does that sound like you? If it does, then you also know how hard it is to put Easwaran’s teachings into practice during daily hectic activities, and to access his wisdom when you really need it. We invite you to join us at a passage meditation retreat to learn and practice this great art. If you are coming to your fi rst retreat, you will discover the power of passage meditation and how you can start practicing to see the benefi ts in your own life. If you are returning, you will spend your retreat quietly weaving the eight points through- out your day or weekend, bringing calm and replenishment. It will also be a time of engaging actively with Easwaran’s teachings, perhaps bringing a new level of connection with his teachings. Th e retreat presenters, lifelong students of Eknath Easwaran, span a range of backgrounds, careers, and ages. Our commonality is our practice of passage meditation – it’s central to our lives and we’re passionate about this practice.

Sliding Scale & Other Information A sliding scale fee structure and fi nancial aid are available. Our retreat calendar for 212 is available on the back cover and at For more information, write to fi [email protected] www.easwaran.org/retreats. For questions or registration, please or call us at 8 5 2369. contact us at 8 5 2369 or [email protected]

Spring2012-Feb12.indd 15 2/13/12 10:39 AM Page heading Blue MountainMEDITATION Center of Meditation RETREATS Nonpro t BLUE Nilgiri Press U.S. Postage Box , Tomales, California   Santa Rosa, CA MOUNTAIN Permit #

A JOURNAL FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING BASED ON EKNATH EASWARAN’S EIGHT-POINT PROGRAM To receive an electronic edition of this journal, please visit www.easwaran.org/bluemountain OF PASSAGE MEDITATION or contact us at [email protected] or at   .

The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation

Retreats in Tomales, California, and across the US in 2012

Spend a day, a weekend, or a week In Tomales, California Across the US learning how passage meditation can help you to increase your March – : Senior Half-Week March –: Dallas Weekend concentration and meet March –/: Returnee Weekend March : Dallas One-Day life’s challenges more eff ectively. April –: Introductory Weekend April –: Oregon (Mt. Angel) Weekend We off er programs at our retreat house April – : In-Depth Weeklong April : Oregon (Mt. Angel) One-Day on California’s beautiful north coast May – : In-Depth Weeklong June –: New York (Ossining) Weekend & at various locations around the US. June –: Returnee Weekend June : New York (Ossining) One-Day Weekend retreats run from July –: In-Depth Weeklong w/YA September –: Chicago Weekend : .. Friday to August –: In-Depth Weeklong September : Chicago One-Day : .. Sunday. August – : Senior Half-Week November : Sacramento (Auburn) One-Day For full information, or to August – : Introductory Weekend enroll, visit us at September – : Returnee Weekend Colorado – to be announced San Diego – to be announced www.easwaran.org/retreats September –/: In-Depth Weeklong or contact us at October –: In-Depth Weeklong 800 475 2369 or November –: Young Adult Weekend [email protected] November –: Introductory Weekend

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