Reincarnation (the Nonchanging Soul)

• When you contemplate your life, note the parts that change: your age, your size, your ideas, your feelings, your beliefs, and so on. What, if anything, has not changed about you? Could it be that you are still the same person inside? That part of you that remains eternally unchanged, immutable, is your Soul, your essence. You are an unchanging Soul.

• Consider the notion that everything in life begins, exists, and then disappears; people are born, live, and then die. So if death is inevitable, but the Soul never dies, why then do we grieve over the dead? Who are we sad for? We don’t even know if the departed are comfortable or not, but if we believe they are in God’s hands, then a healthy natural grieving process can begin.

It is said that if a person can wish the departed Soul well and allow them to move on the next phase of their journey, it will allow both the departed loved one as well as the grieving person to feel lightness and hope. People who have lost a parent, grandparent, their child, or a close friend can more easily understand something of the concept of eternal love. They might still feel the love of the deceased person even though they are no longer and return to them in a few months to see how you may have grown; maybe you now have a better insight into this issue.

Us and Them

• At the beginning of the battle, Arjuna saw only enemies. But tive, he saw the people behind the us-and-them mentality. This is quite applicable to modern times where there are sharp divisions between Eastern and Western cultures and religions and right and left political parties. This notion can also relate to extremists versus non-extremists and fundamentalists versus moderates. It also relates to organic/holistic/spiritual/vegetarian/ecologists versus those who do not believe in alternative or natural methods.

Anger less Action

• Before Arjuna can fight to defend his race, he must see the reality (with a small ‘r’) of the situation. He must see that the ‘enemy’ are people too, some of them beloved friends and family.

He must lose his anger as well as his grief, because both are emotions that cloud the mind and prevent it from acting from a centered spirit. From time to time, it is important to consider in one’s own life whether you are acting on emotion or from a place of equanimity. In today’s world, so many actions and speeches arise out of anger, impatience, and judgement based on other’s being less than human (let alone people being your brothers and sisters). From road rage, to dehumanizing political rhetoric and religious demonizing God’s other children, anger has deluded our Godly emotions and visions.

Selfless Service

• Consider the times when you have done things expecting something in return, and when you have done things, simply to just help. How do the two situations compare? Contemplate the futility of acting with motives and also not acting at all to try to avoid getting caught up in things. Compare these instances to kindness. Consider times you have not been carried away by your senses — perhaps after yoga or meditation, or after eating according to your Ayurvedic diet, or following a sacred lifestyle.

Compare such times with situations when you get caught up in life events and become angered and possibly deluded, yelling and saying things that you regret later. What methods do you use to walk ever more on the path of wisdom?

Exercises

To withdraw the senses and walk the Path of Wisdom try to incorporate these harmonious thoughts, words, and actions into your daily life:

1. Follow your Ayurvedic food plan.

2. Follow your Ayurvedic lifestyle plan.

3. Follow your dharma (do what you love to do in life).

4. Pray each day to follow ahimsa (not hurt yourself or others in action, words, or thoughts).

5. Help people and give to the earth.

6. Find a win-win solution to each situation.

7. Have more questions than answers.

8. Lead by example.

9. Give more than you receive.

10. Make decisions that are good for the long term, especially if they are choices that will remain wise for the next seven generations.

11. Take walks, as many days as possible per week, and appreciate the nature around you.

12. Note the harmony when it is there and appreciate it; cultivate it when it isn’t there. Use Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui in your.

13. Try yoga or tai chi.

14. Spend some time in nature (woods, water, desert, a park, or your garden) each week.

15. Take time each week to play music or listen to music, or involve/expose yourself to the arts (for example, poetry, dance, sculpting, painting).

17. Talk to God each day, even if for a few minutes. Share your feelings, questions, and ask for guidance to grow closer and feel the palpable love of God.

Chapter 3

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