Don’t Search for Pain 1977 I was living in the Connecticut Ashram. Sri
Gurudev encouraged us to study Sri Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and commit
to memory the sutras (threads, aphorisms) he said were most important
for us to know. Among those was the first sutra in the second pada
(portion): Accepting pain as an aid in purification; study of spiritual
books (to know the Self); and surrender to the Supreme Being -- constitute Yoga
in practice.
At an evening program I asked
Gurudev to please elaborate about accepting pain as a Yoga practice. Was that
something we should actively take on?
He smiled. “Don’t go looking for
pain,” he said clearly. “Everyone gets their share. Not necessary to go
searching for
Games of Life In the northern Connecticut countryside we often played
volleyball barefoot in a big grassy field behind the main Ashram building.
Occasionally Gurudev joined us. Of course, we all wanted him to be on our team.
Sometimes he did. We played to win and sometimes did. Sometimes we lost. Then
he’d say, “It’s good to lose. Look over there on the other side; you see all
happy faces. If you win, then all you see is unhappy faces.”
The games of life. Each has a series
of successes and failures. Not so significant. Have fun in all conditions.
Looking Wise In my late 30s I was living at the Connecticut Ashram
and Gurudev saw some grey hairs in my beard. “Don’t worry, Prahaladan, he
teased me. “Nobody listened to me until my beard turned white.”
Which wasn’t absolutely so.
People were listening to him well before his beard was white.
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