Last week we began chapter 6 of The Mantram Handbook, where Easwaran focuses on the connection between the mantram and overcoming likes and dislikes. His theme in our reading this week, from page 78 to the top of 83,* is closely related: overcoming rigidity. To illustrate this marvelous ability, he shares a favorite story – his granny’s response when his village doctor put him on a salt-free diet for a year:
“[A]s I sat down dejectedly to my first saltless breakfast, my grandmother seated herself by my side and said quietly, ‘I have gone off salt for a year too.’ And she didn’t merely tolerate that saltless food; she ate it with real gusto, because she knew that her example was supporting me. As for me, I don’t think I ever tasted a better meal than that saltless breakfast my grandmother shared with me.”
By repeating the mantram and learning to exercise our will, we can be like Granny and cultivate the mastery over our thinking process that will allow us to support those around us through any ordeal.
Is there a particular situation that causes you to get speeded up or agitated? What tips does Easwaran offer in this reading that you could try out in this situation? Even if the tips don’t seem to directly apply, try them anyhow and tell us what you find.
We have experimented with many different mantram exercises over the past few months. As we continue our study of The Mantram Handbook, let’s repeat those exercises and see if we can each find a way to deepen them, for example by practicing more consistently or via a bit of extra effort or preparation. Here’s our mantram exercise this week:
On your regular mantram walk, try repeating the mantram very loudly (in the mind).
Let turn again to Easwaran’s Patanjali talks** for our spiritual treat this week. This week let’s enjoy Talk Five. The full talk is over an hour, but you can listen to part of it now and when you return the player will resume where you left off. If time is short, consider starting with just the first five minutes, in which Easwaran describes the meaning of yoga.
* For those using electronic versions of The Mantram Handbook with different page numbering: this week’s reading comes from Chapter 6, starting with the subheading “Misplaced Zeal” and ending before the subheading “Cultivated Tastes.”
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