Hello. Welcome to Ayurveda: Love and Wisdom. It is wonderful to be in your fine company again.
It has been a beautiful weekend. The sun was shining and I felt its magic drifting in to my whole being; my spirits and my thoughts felt so alive and so much lighter as I awoke to the sunrise and felt the warmth of the rays on my skin. The cold, dark nights are wonderful for many reasons not least because they help us to fully appreciate the Great Sun God. The sun is the fire that burns away negative energies and is justifiably worshipped by all native cultures in our Universe. It is the transformer of life.
When we forget ourselves and our hang ups and simply listen to our body…our hearts …our very soul, then we surrender to our true nature. I had the pleasure of surrendering – letting my hair down and enjoying myself in the rather non-ayurvedic past-time of drinking a bit too much wine and eating too much good food in the company of one of my best friends! One of the reasons I love this friend of mine is that she always spreads a little magic wherever she goes. She never judges people and simply accepts everyone for who they are.
It felt good to surrender even though my head was a little bit fuzzy the next day and I hoped it wouldn’t jeopardise my mission that weekend to learn more about Ayurveda and to mingle with some of the movers and shakers in this field in Europe.
At one point I felt the critical eye of a Yoga teacher who probably could not believe I had attended the amazing Iyengar Ashram in Pune and regularly practiced the philosophy and poses she had been kind enough to talk about and demonstrate.
(This is the photo of the great BKS Iyengar from www.yanus.org. I thank him for sharing his wisdom with the world)
I think she was aghast when I said I was a bit hung over and that a normally relaxing pose was not as comforting as it should have been. I did not feel guilty – just a little foolish and naughty – inside however I was still radiating from my happy evening full of fun, laughter and gaiety. What did make me feel uncomfortable is when she dismissed out of hand a question about if we could attune ourselves to the lunar cycle. There was no reference for it in the books, she said. So how can it be?
A bit later at the event, I realised I too had closed my mind to some wonderful insights. A light shone from a great and kind soul; and his light lit me up like a powerful beacon inside. I was like the sun, bursting with inner warmth as he spoke. “Surrender” he said in a gentle and quiet way….and as he said it, I did. It made sense. My doubts melted away. I had explained to him why I thought I might be going a bit crazy…because I often feel like vast chunks of knowledge that is Ayurveda and Yoga is within me. I wake up in the morning or emerge from a meditation session feeling as if I understand something new, something I can’t remember ever actually reading about. Yet when I glance at a book on the subject it feels as if I am with a good friend….an old friend that I feel totally at ease with. A friend I don't have to make any effort with. I just have to be.
I have been struggling with these feelings, questioning them, doubting them. Then I remember what this light and the light of my Guru has said to me in the past – the Vedas is within us all. We are all born with this knowledge that is the natural rhythm and consciousness of the Universe – it is common sense, intuition and more, call it what you will. It doesn’t matter. This is the knowledge we do not get from books. This is the truth and love of our higher self. It is a knowledge untainted by judgement or emotion – it is purity and our connection with the Super Soul. This IS what Ayurveda is all about.
The West is so much in the head – logic, reason, and scientific explanation. Tests, data - more tests. We want all the answers and we want them now. We want to read about it. We want to see learned men and women right papers on the subjects and then we will open up our hearts to the possibilities. 
How amazing it is that the answers are within us – they are in the consciousness of every cell in our bodies, in every particle in the universe…all we have to do is open up our hearts and let the sun shine in.
From now on, I will embrace this knowledge that comes to me like an old friend. I will enjoy its company, bask in the light and simply surrender to it.
(Beautiful photo from www.samadhi-puja.ch)
Ohm shanti, shanti, shanti…
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