TYS July Newsletter

WELCOME JULY.

Dahlias at Devi Ashram

Musings with Ranjani

On July Fourth, America received her Independence from England, and Swami Vivekananda took mahasamadhi in India in 1902. What do these two events have in common? Both Swami Vivekananda and the USA removed their shackles of bondage and took their independence.

What does independence mean to us spiritually? It means you are the master of yourself, and if you know anything about Swami Vivekananda, you see that he was the master of himself. If you desire to master yourself, yoga gives you all the tools to do just that, and an excellent place to start is with self-study or svadhaya. The Teach Me Prayer and Give Me Strength Prayer give one plenty of opportunity for svadhaya; when you know yourself, you are master of yourself.

If you've been practicing the teach me prayer and want to add to it, then now is the time. You have had about two months of practice, and I hope you have better understood yourself. It is one thing to understand yourself and quite another to do something about it; this is where you add scripture study. I highly recommend The Ramayana, the story of our journey home. You must study yourself and the scriptures in relation to yourself to know yourself. Remember, even the devil can quote scripture, and an alcoholic can say, "I am an alcoholic." One may very well be able to recite every verse in the bible, Torah, and Bhagavad Gita and go to any number of addiction anonymous meetings and live like a demon; this is where the next part of the prayer comes in.

The next part is about the strength, fortitude, and will-power it takes to treat others how you want to be treated. There are many Sanskrit words that we could apply here, but we are going to use sankalpa shakti. You can think of sankalpa shakti as will-power, but let's break it down more. Sankalpa is a vow or oath we take and make to support our highest growth and evolution. If you remember the May newsletter, sankalpa shakti sounds like something that supports your dharma, and it is indeed something that supports your dharma. Shakti means power or potential; you have the power to be angry, but you have the potential to be happy. When you think of cultivating your sankalpa shakti, let these words that Swami Rama said ring in every part of your being, "I will do it! I can do it, and I have to do it!". A definition of sankalpa shakti is determined will-power or having the strength or inner fortitude always to do what is right, the inner resolve to treat your brothers and sisters as you want to be treated. Accordingly, if you have been doing the Teach Me Prayer, it is time to add the Give Me Strength Prayer and watch how your life changes. It may not be the prettiest initially, but it is worth it. Remember, you can always start with one line of the prayers and work with that for 30 days. It can feel daunting, but nothing should be more important than cultivating your sankalpa shakti, becoming a master of yourself, and claiming your independence!

The Teach Me Prayer

Inner Dweller teach me how to be non-injurious in my thoughts, speech, and actions towards myself and my brothers and sisters.

Inner Dweller teach me how to be truthful to myself and my brothers and sisters.

Inner Dweller teach me how to give more than I take from my brothers and sisters.

Inner Dweller, teach me how to live a life of moderation.

Inner Dweller, teach me not to steal, covet, or misuse things from my brothers and sisters or the gifts I have received from the Divine.

Inner Dweller teach me how to treat others how I want to be treated.

The Give Me Strength Prayer

Inner Dweller, give me the strength to be non-injurious in my thoughts, words, and actions toward myself and all my brothers and sisters.

Inner Dweller give me the strength to be truthful to myself and to all my brothers and sisters.

Inner Dweller give me the strength to give more than I take from my brothers and sisters.

Inner Dweller, give me the strength to live a life of moderation.

Inner Dweller, give me the strength not to steal, covet, or misuse things from my brothers and sisters or the gifts I have received from the Divine.

Inner Dweller give me the strength to treat others how I want to be treated.

Benevolence Corner

Soup On Wheels

TYS has frozen homemade vegan soup in the freezer. As a part of our outreach, if you need a meal or know someone who does because of illness, surgery, death of a loved one, financial problems, divorce, or anyone who requires a little extra TLC, TYS is here for you. If you know anyone who needs a meal, let us know at info@tysdayton.com

Reflections with Kali

On the first of July, Ranjani sent us a message: Why is skillfulness in action of the utmost importance?

I have been thinking about this, and while skillfulness in action is essential because we want to free ourselves from bondage and plant seeds of "good" karma for the future, when I thought more, another reason came to mind. I believe it is of the utmost importance because being skillful in action means being fully present with your actions and using your discrimination and willpower. I read once that "discipline means full attention," and it always stuck with me because, at first, I did not fully understand it. I probably still don't. But I thought of it when considering Ranjani's question and Swami Rama's saying, "Discipline means self-commitment." So, to act skillfully means being fully present with my actions and remaining committed to bettering myself and aligning with my goals. Full attentiveness is a prerequisite to acting skillfully; this is where a lot of the work goes in for me. Our buddhi may tell us what is the skillful thing to do, but only if the buddhi is purified; if my buddhi is not purified, then my actions will not be skillful because the ego drives them. Until the buddhi becomes purified, it is imperative to ask if this action is skillful and why it is skillful until I know myself and understand the samskaras that drive me. I hope to know one day that my highest buddhi is guiding me, which means that until that time, I need to examine my thoughts, speech, and actions and constant self-study.

If I give full attention, I will act skillfully, and if I'm mindless and not living in the present moment, I cannot act appropriately in any situation. I need to work on living in the present moment and being fully attentive to what I am doing!

Living skillfully means acting by the yamas, and I will practice reciting the two prayers given above so that I can be more aware of my actions moving forward. I will start by being fully present with my sadhana; that is where everything begins.

Guess What?

Our third release is coming July 12, 2024 (a bout with COVID put us behind). It is a mantra that honors Mother Tara, who traverses all universes. She liberates us from the realms of samsara and releases us from our fears by cutting our attachments and aversions.

OM! O' Mother Tara! I entreat you, O Tara! O swift one, remove my attachments and aversions so I can have compassion for everyone. Hail!"