OUT OF THIS WORLD

In the fourth week of events, I led a meditation workshop. There were about 6 of us there. It was exam week so I was not expecting a big turnout anyway.

I began with a brief talk about meditation, and then we did some relaxation. I asked the students to sit comfortably with their eyes closed and focus on their breath, trying to forget about their exams and all the other things on their mind.

Most students go through a day at university without once stopping to relax. In an average day on campus the students will fill their minds with heaps of information from lectures and books, they will eat, drink, talk, worry about their future. Going home at the end of the day, if not talking with friends, their minds will tick over with plans for the night or for the weekend, or for the rest of their lives. No time to stop and just breath.

Even when the students in this workshop did stop and relax, they could not achieve the peacefulness they desired. They reported that they were unable to control the mind and that although they tried not to think about their exams, those thoughts still kept coming to their minds, causing stress.

I explained to them that their minds need something to focus on. I also told them (in a nice way, of course) that their minds are filled with junk due to the lack of a proper cleansing routine. Then we tried some of the solution: mantra meditation. We started with the mantra “Aum.” We chanted this several times and most liked it, though some found it difficult to pronounce.

Next we chanted “Nitai Gauranga.” As with “Aum,” we chanted in unison, drawing out all the syllables. This may not be a prescribed Vedic mantra, but I have found that it is very effective in preparing students for the Mahamantra. It is very easy to feel happiness in chanting “Nitai Gauranga” and it breaks down some inhibitions before moving on to more difficult mantras.

Finally we chanted the Mahamantra (the Hare Krishna mantra) together on beads. We only chanted about quarter of a round because one girl had to leave by that time for another engagement. One of the other students who had just started to chant at home commented that it was much easier to chant together with other people and that he found it very hard to concentrate at home. I told him that it would become easier with practice, and after some time, if practiced properly, he would come to relish it.

As usual we finished with some prasada snacks. These students can’t get enough halava

In the third week of events, the topic for discussion was “Understanding your karma.” I gave a short talk on the topic, interspersed by questions and discussion, and we read several verses from the Bhagavad-gita as we went along.

As there were a few new people there, we started with the very basics, verse 2.12:

“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.”

We discussed about the difference between the body and the self, and how we are eternally individuals. This last point is often a new one for students today as they have usually heard from various sources that when they “merge into oneness” they will lose their individuality. However, most students seem not to be particularly attached to that idea and, when presented with the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita as it is, they don’t have a big problem with it.

Then we read a few other verses from the second chapter, including 2.13 and 2.22 which led us into a discussion about reincarnation. I explained that the soul transmigrates through different species. The question that usually comes next is “How do I know what type of body I will get next?” And that is where the discussion about karma begins.

We read several verses from the eighth chapter, beginning with verse 8.3:

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman, and his eternal nature is called adhyatma, the self. Action pertaining to the development of the material bodies of the living entities is called karma, or fruitive activities”

We talked about good karma and bad karma and how both these types of karma keep us stuck in the material world, going around and around in the cycle of birth and death (samsara). Finally we discussed how to perform activities without karma (akarma) and how to break out of this cycle and return to the spiritual world through bhakti yoga.

The eighth chapter ends with a great purport. OK, so they are all great. You can read the whole purport here. For those with less time, here’s an excerpt (the last paragraph):

“One who has a little faith in Bhagavad-gita should learn Bhagavad-gita from a devotee, because in the beginning of the Fourth Chapter it is stated clearly that Bhagavad-gita can be understood only by devotees; no one else can perfectly understand the purpose of Bhagavad-gita. One should therefore learn Bhagavad-gita from a devotee of Krishna, not from mental speculators. This is a sign of faith. When one searches for a devotee and finally gets a devotee’s association one actually begins to study and understand Bhagavad-gita. By advancement in the association of the devotee one is placed in devotional service, and this service dispels all one’s misgivings about Krishna, or God, and Krishna’s activities, form, pastimes, name and other features. After these misgivings have been perfectly cleared away, one becomes fixed in one’s study. Then one relishes the study of Bhagavad-gita and attains the state of feeling always Krishna conscious. In the advanced stage, one falls completely in love with Krishna. This highest perfectional stage of life enables the devotee to be transferred to Krishna’s abode in the spiritual sky, Goloka Vrindavana, where the devotee becomes eternally happy.”