This weekend finds us in an interesting convergence of religious observations. Last Monday was Dharma Day, the day in Buddhist tradition when the Buddha delivered his first sermon after his enlightenment. As we look ahead, on August 3 Muslims observe Lailat al Qadr, the Night of Power when the Koran was first revealed to Muhammed. On August 6, Christians observe the feast of the Transfiguration, when Jesus revealed himself in divine form to three of his apostles. 

We have been talking these last few weeks about preparation--tapas, kriya yoga, discipleship to a guru. As we sit in this time when major religious traditions celebrate divine Truth being revealed, we will be exploring our own experience of the divine at our Sunday sadhana this week, asking ourselves, "Where and how do we experience God?" Come join us!

Dhyānamūlaṃ  gurormūrttiḥ  pūjāmūlaṃ gurorpadaṃ
Mantramūlaṃ gurorvākyaṃ  mokṣamūlaṃ gurorkṛpā

The root of my meditation is the form of my Guru, the root of my worship is the feet of my Guru, the root of my chants is the words of the Guru, the root of my salvation is the blessing of my Guru.

This Monday marks the observance of Guru Poornima. Guru Poornima is a time to celebrate our connection to guru and to connect to the energy that connection offers us. Swami Niranjan asks us to focus on how we can cultivate the qualities of discipleship this Guru Poornima, and so we will be exploring where we are in our journey toward discipleship at this evening's sadhana. Come join us at 5:54 p.m.

Tapah svadhyayeshvara pranidhanani kriyayogah

The practice of Yoga must reduce both physical and mental impurities. It must develop our capacity for self-examination and help us understand that, in the final analysis, we are not the masters of everything we do.
Patanjali, Yoga Sutras, 2.1

Ramadan--the Muslim month of fasting--began last week. Every spiritual tradition has its times of ritual fasting and austerity. Yoga refers to the process of inner purification through austerity as Tapas and includes it among the niyamas that comprise one of the limbs of Yoga. Together with Svadhyaya, self-study, and Isvarapranidhana, surrender to the will of the Divine, Tapas comprises Kriya Yoga or the Yoga of transformation.   

Come to sadhana this Sunday at 5:45 to explore the role of Tapas in your spiritual practice.