The Importance of Relaxation

Saint John the Apostle was a great saintly person whose life was dedicated to pleasing God. From time to time he used to like to play with his pet sparrow. Once a man came to visit him and was very surprised to see this reputed holy man simply playing. "How is it that you take time away from your saintly activities to merely play?" he asked. "Surely this is a frivolous activity?"

Saint John looked at the man and noted that he carried a bow and a quiver full of arrows. "My dear hunter," he answered, "I notice that you carry a bow and arrows but your bow string is not tight. Why is that?"

"We hunters know to keep our bow string slack otherwise too much tension in it overworks it and then it becomes useless for firing arrows." replied the man.

"Similarly," said Saint John, "if we do not release the tension inside of us it can accumulate and we may also become useless for our chosen undertaking."

Release your tension with meditation and yoga at the Australian School of Meditation and Yoga

ENVY

A story is told of ancient Greece where athletes were given high status and respect. One such athlete had for many years outperformed all his peers, his prowess was known far and wide and so the municipality being very proud of him erected a statue in the town centre to commemorate his talents. There was another athlete who was almost as good and who felt that he also deserved a statue to be made of him. Every time this athlete saw the statue of his rival his hatred and envy grew until one night he decided to go there and pull the statue down and smash it to pieces. The statue was made of stone and very heavy, the man pulled and pushed with all his might, finally it moved a little, the man pulled some more and the statue toppled over and landed right on top of him, crushing his whole body. This man’s envy had destroyed him.

In the Bible it says,
‘Envy and anger shorten one’s life!”

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates said,
“Envy is the ulcer of the soul.’

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote
“To be rich in admiration and free from envy
To rejoice greatly in the good of others
To love with such generosity of heart that your love
Is still a dear possession in absence or unkindness –
These are the gifts which money cannot buy.”

How to Know the Truth

A king was constantly asking the sage questions. He asked what the term spiritual meant, he asked what the meaning of self realisation was, he asked how does it feel to be a self realised soul, he ask what does transcendence mean. He enquired again and again and each time the sage patiently answered him according to the yoga scriptures.

Finally one day after another barrage of questions the sage pointed to a mango, "How would you convey the taste of this mango to someone who had never eaten anything sweet?" he asked.

No matter how hard the king tried, he could not adequately describe the flavour of the fruit, and, in frustration, he demanded of the sage "Tell me then, how would you describe it?"
The sage picked up the mango and handed it to the king saying, "This is very sweet, try it! "

When we have tasted spiritual truth then we will understand it.

Alexander the Great and the Sage Dandini

Here is an interesting encounter which Alexander the Great had with a yogi by the name of Dandini. Shortly after Alexander arrived in India, tales of the great forest-dwelling yogi reached him and desiring an audience with the sage he sent his messenger to fetch him.

"Praise be to you O, learned teacher of Brahmins. The son of the mighty God Zeus, Alexander, sovereign of the World, commands you to go to him.” The yogi however remained in deep meditation and did not reply. Whereupon the messenger said, “ The mighty warrior Alexander does not take kindly to refusals, if you comply, you will be richly rewarded if not, your head will be cut off."

The Yogi was neither amused nor intimidated by this rather threatening invitation. He looked up from his couch of grass and leaves and said: "You may tell your master the mighty son of Zeus that firstly all sons of Zeus are my brothers and we are all equal in the eyes of our father. Secondly that I am content with what I have so I do not need any gifts and thirdly he may be able to cut off my head, but will never be able to disturb the peace of my soul, something which clearly Alexander does not have in spite of all his conquests.”

When Alexander received the message, he was seized by the greatest desire to meet such a fearless and wise yogi, and came to him willingly to learn the wisdom of yoga.

Thus Alexander was taking the first step in his spiritual life. This all-important step is mentioned in the yogic scripture - the Bhagavad-gita, which was spoken over 5 000 years ago:

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a self-realised soul,

enquire from him submissively and render service unto him.

The self realised soul can impart knowledge unto you

because he has seen the truth.” Bg 4.34