With the name Maha-Maya, The Supreme Magician, Easwaran again focuses our attention on life’s transience. Describing “the Lord’s magic,” he writes:
“Out of apparent nothingness the Lord brings you and me and all these innumerable other creatures out upon the stage. Then, all too soon, he sweeps us away. Those with whom we have grown up, gone to school, shared the joys and trials of our adult years, one by one they just go.”
And again Easwaran makes clear that this is not morbid reflection, but a precious gift of urgency: “Life is so short, and this discovery so urgent and so difficult, that none of us can afford to waste a day in not doing our best to move closer to the goal.” We are grateful to be striving together with you to keep focus on the supreme goal. Our reading this week is pages 241–250 in The Constant Companion.*
Is there a tip in this reading that is particularly challenging for you? How will you wrestle with it this week?
As we read The Constant Companion, we are working to strengthen our practice of Spiritual Reading. This week consider how these stories are speaking to you about your relationship with animals.
For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the Easwaran video “Love Alters Not.” Easwaran recites from Shakespeare throughout the talk, commenting on the accordance with the Bhagavad Gita and the Dhammapada, and on how each of us can learn the skill of unchanging love.
Note that the full video is 34 minutes, but the excerpt ends at 9:35 and the player should stop automatically at that time. We’ll share the next segment of this video next week. Of course, you are welcome to watch more now as well.
* For those using electronic versions of The Constant Companion with different page numbering: this week’s reading is Easwaran’s commentary on the names Free from Craving through Whose Mind Is Full of Wealth. (Please note that the latest edition of our ebook is titled Names of the Lord.)