That ancient aphorism from Heraclitus comes to mind; one never enters the same river twice, for it is not the same river, nor the same being who enters.
Life is like a river.
It flows.
There is the passage of time; flowing from future, through present and off into the past.
There is the flow of the body; food comes in, we assimilate a bit and excrete the rest.
I challenge you to look in any direction, at anything around you, and to examine closely; where is the flow?
The flow of materials into a factory to make the shiny object you see.
The flow of the object into the rubbish once it’s useful life is over.
The flow of the rubbish into the earth, over millennia, gradually dissolving.
The flow of the Earth, space dust binding around a fusion reactor, the flow of species over time, the fading of the sun as the Earth itself is encompassed by it’s expansion.
Life.
Is.
Flow.
But what sits beyond? Beyond Life? Beyond the Flow?
One thing, and one thing only.
This thing rises above, or perhaps, sinks below, the flowing ocean of our experience.
And the funny thing; it’s not a thing.
It is the perceiver of things.
The witness.
The observer.
As the philosopher Arindam Chakravorty quipped, objects are those things that object to our consciousness.
Body = object.
Mind = object.
Stuff = Object.
Soul? Not an object.
On the path of Yoga and Vedanta, the Atman (Soul) IS consciousness. Life hangs delicately upon this pure canvass, and the various methods we use, such as meditation to still the mind, physical and energetic practices to remove restriction in the body, have one overarching purpose; to anchor us in our transcendent (beyond), yet immanent (here) divine reality.
As we gain stability in our divine nature, life goes from good to better.
How so?
All cycles are characterised by a state of flux, the duality of pleasure and pain, of joy and sorrow.
When our identity clings to the impermanence of the body or the mind, we obscure our true nature and our energy naturally dissipates – we cling and grasp to things and stuff and ask them to fill a void they cannot.
So we suffer.
Through the yogic means, we cultivate restraint of the outward flowing tendency of our energy and a few things happen. We make time for our Soul.
Knowing ourselves as a Soul, we begin to exist outside of the cycle of life, we taste the nectar of immortality.
On the human plane, our vitality is boosted and we gather the energy and courage to face our life with grace (for we all must endure our karma.)
On the spiritual plane, we gain steadiness and faith and live increasingly with the presence of our Soul, which, through our mind, guides us to ease suffering; both ours and others.
Finally, with divine guidance radiating from within, we cease to create karma (both the good and bad type) and subsequently, require fewer births to clear our cosmic storehouse of accumulated merit and demerit.
This frees us from needing to take a birth and our Soul is then able to merge with the absolute (Paramatma) of which it was never indeed separate.
And the best Yogic method?
Not more doing. Not more stuff.
Step into the river… and Surrender.
Let the stream carry you home, for you are one with the river and the ocean too.
Whatever you do – please don’t swim upstream, I tried that…. it’s futile!
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Our retreats, (like us and the river,) are never the same twice. Each group co-creates a unique, beautiful experience as we journey together; learning, healing and growing in a sublime setting supported by ancient, time-tested practices. For many, it is a profoundly moving and life-changing experience and we would love to share it with you.
Click here to learn more about our upcoming retreats
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We pray that this week you Trust (and transcend) the flow!
Jai Atmeshwar.
David & Raya Wegman
P.S. FLASH SALE! Save $500
As a thank you for being a loyal Monday Meditation Musing reader, we wanted to let you know in advance about our upcoming Spring Sale.
From 12:00 am Wed 14 Oct to 11:59 pm Wed 21 Oct (Melbourne time), our December and January Soul Retreats are $500 off. Use code SPRING500 at checkout. One per person.
