Dear Yogis,
I am an avid gardener. I feel gardening goes hand in hand with my yoga practice as the watching of a plant’s life cycle and the consciousness behind it reveals an easeful presentness in me. One that is often harder to accomplish during meditation sessions than what naturally comes by being in nature. I am certain the same was true for the yogis of this lineage as there are nature references strewn throughout the vedic texts.
One that often comes to mind when approaching the topic of karma (February’s Theme) is the humble seed. If you pick up an acorn little would you know that deep within lies all the potentiality of the grand and towering oak tree. All that is required to kick off the growth of the tree in that tiny little seed are the right conditions. A very specific temperature, moisture level, length of light exposure occurs and the inherent inevitability of the outcome of that little seed rumbles into its full beingness.
Karma translates to action as a whole but the idea of it explores inaction, action, and reaction. It all starts with a tiny seed (samskara) which is planted in our subconscious mind throughout time. Some samskaras are planted very deeply and others right on the surface. The ones on the surface may sprout quickly but those buried beneath may show up in unexpected ways on unexpected days when the specific conditions are ripe.
As humans we are always in the process of working out those impressions. We work them out in our dreams. We work them out in the choices we make, and what we are attracted to or repelled by.
As I walk into the yard that I’ve been intentionally cultivating for maybe five years now I’ve noticed how it’s taken on a life of its own. Most think of February as a time of dark winter but I’ve come to see it as a time of potentiality. All the bulbs my child and I buried into the ground last fall are peeking their heads out and I’m starting to see the drift of seeds from ancestor flowers that were placed intentionally years ago that have now spread throughout the property just starting to wake up in the new homes they have landed in. And isn’t that how it goes?
There’s a ripple effect in nature. What we sow, sows itself. Sometimes one action creates not only one reaction but many reactions that show up unexpectedly that continue to propagate over time. We often find ourselves re-experiencing the same predicament. Dating the same person in a different body. Dealing with the same terrible boss in a completely new job. The list goes on. We may get caught in a cycle of suffering because we don’t know how to break the chain or “burn the seed”.
In the yogic tradition there is a lot of talk of breaking the hold of karma on us. What this means is burning those seeds in our latent consciousness. For example if you burn (cook) a coffee bean to make your brew you can never use that seed again to grow into a plant. In the practice of jnana yoga there are many contemplation practices that help us to understand what these samskaras or seeds are and how they have been planted. It requires ongoing reflection and consideration.
And while we become aware of these things and assume that we have dealt with them by becoming aware, they keep showing up anyway in our lives. We get stuck in a wheel of repetition because the cycle keeps going. That is its nature. The dandelions may have looked like they died back but their roots are still strong and will regrow over and over again. You may have even tried pulling them up by the roots once you figure out where they were but their seeds already spread all over the lawn. You see?
We are always having wonderful psychologists in our community send their patients to us to supplement talk therapy and even training to become yoga teachers themselves because just identifying the inner issue won’t completely eradicate the issue. In order to stop the cycle we have to burn the seeds. The yogis say this can happen when we do two things. Establish a meditation practice (this changes the neural connections in your brain–we are incorporating meditation technique into every single class offered at Revolution because it’s that important) and renounce the fruits of our actions. This means try your best to gain good karma, do good things, be as good as you can be– this is a part of the yogic path, but also don’t attach to the outcome. As our teacher Allie Kornbluth puts it, “You are responsible for the effort not the outcome.”
You already have a karma you are working out by being born into the material world which is due to death, decay, and impermanence. This in itself can cause some hardship which we tend to blame on others or even ourselves but Radhanath Swami had a beautiful analogy for this he says, “Imagine a bamboo forest swaying in the wind. When two bamboo trees rub up against each other it causes a spark, that causes a fire, that burns the whole forest down. Whose fault is it that the fire started?”
We can think of karma as this daunting life sentence and simplify it down to bad karma/good karma but it’s so much more nuanced than that. We are a collective of beings whose lives are intertwined, with ancestors, all living in a material world. When dealing with the topic of karma we have to go gently, take our time, do our best and find a level of surrender to what comes for us, knowing it’s meant for us but doesn’t define us.
You are consciousness experiencing itself. Any misidentification with the body, or mind, or circumstances outside of yourself may accrue more karma and continue the cycle is all. But what the yogis teach is each of those things, which will always be there, should act instead as a teacher to show us what our seeds are. Not as ammunition to blame ourselves, others or the universe. Let your experience be the catalyst to rediscovering what and who you truly are, peace comes from there.
I wish you so much peace, contentedness and many blessings in 2020.
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In love,
Amanda and the good folks at Revolution Yoga
Originally shared in our February 2020 newsletter.