3:19 a.m. - 2003-01-03
The River
I'm reading "Kundalini Yoga for the West" by Sivananda Radha right now. She studied with her guru in India in the '50's and then came to Canada where she eventually set up an ashram. She died in 1995, but the retreat is still there. It can be reached at www.yasodhara.org
I've worked with many forms of yoga over time, whenever it presented itself to me. Where spiritual matters are concerned, the saying "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear" seems to hold true. One does have to be alert though because "teachers" arrive in many guises. I've also learned that one can also choose not to accept a teacher or a teaching if it feels wrong.
About a decade ago, I was given the opportunity to take some classes with a Qi Gong master - Dr. Steven Aung; www.aung.com - who also teaches medicine at the University of Alberta. One evening, the guest speaker was a world renowned guru. Everyone else went up for his blessing, which required one to allow his disciples to clip a lock of hair from each head "for later rituals". I went to stand in the line, but found there was a very powerful force saying not to allow the action - so I, very ungracefully, backed out. I don't know what exactly they were doing with the material they harvested, but some part of my mind was truly alarmed. That guru was arrested a couple of years ago. Can't remember the details, but it was because he was abusing his "power" over his followers. It didn't in anyway impair the lessons offered by Dr. Aung or Dr. Badri Rickhi, who is quite an extraordinary healer, but it was a lesson in itself.
Sometimes though, it is also necessary to know when you do need some guidance. I was working with a Raja Yoga text, but found some of the manifestations a little overwhelming. I couldn't find any explanation of how to interpret or deal with them so I put that text aside. At some point the understanding will either come to me, or I will encounter someone who can explain it properly. I'm enjoying this book and its offerings, but I need to be a little more disciplined. Some of the exercises have triggered some fascinating insights and the mind has wandered off to "play" with the effects a little too often - the "spirit of fun?".
Anyway time for a nap, if nothing else my dreams are becoming quite entertaining too.
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