We
have arrived at the brink of war in the Mahabharata (the famous war that is the
subject of the Bhagavad Gita). A few
chapters ago the Pandava brothers lost a dice game and their kingdom along with
it, but have now fulfilled their obligation by living out their 13 years in
exile, earning their kingdom back. Duryodhana (who won the dice game) is
reneging and refusing to restore them to their kingdom so it’s looking like a
fight is imminent.
Arjuna
(Pandava brother) and Duryodhana decide to seek advice from Krishna, who is a
character and a man in this story, but is also an avatar of Vishnu and as such
a God. They arrive to speak with Krishna on the same day, Arjuna looking
for advice, Duryodhana looking for an ally in the fight. When they arrive Krishna is sleeping. Duryodhana gets there first and flops down to
wait by the head of his bed; Arjuna comes in after and stands by his feet, a
respectful distance so as not to disturb him.
Krishna wakes up and asks why they are there, to which Duryodhana
answers “There will be a war. Be on my side.”
Krishna
refuses to fight but gives them each the choice to either have himself unarmed
or an army of 10,000 warriors. Arjuna
chooses Krishna, and Duryodhana chooses the warriors. Arjuna’s first request is that Krishna drive
his chariot if it comes to battle, but to first go to talk to Dhritarastra (the
blind king, father of Duryodhana and the Kaurava brothers) to try to broker a
peace. Dhritarastra, who is physically
blind but also chooses to be blind to his sons’ behavior, refuses to talk to
Krishna and refers him back to his son.
When Krishna goes back to Duryodhana, asking for him to fulfill his
promise and return the land that belongs to Arjuna and his brothers, he recounts
a story of his father giving away half of his kingdom when he was a child and
says that he doesn’t want to lose what is his again and refuses Krishna’s
entreaty.
This
is a story about choices and what guides us to make the decisions that we
do. When Arjuna makes the choice to take
Krishna as his help rather than the 10,000 warriors, he is choosing to walk
with the Divine, even though Krishna makes it clear that he will be unarmed. It’s not the obvious choice, but it is a
choice that is full of faith. Can you imagine standing at the brink of a
war and choosing God over an army? And yet we have many examples of those
who did just that and won the fight in the end (Ghandi, Martin Luther King,
Jr., etc.). Duryodhana chose the warriors, those who would fight and try
to win by force. He made a choice from fear.
When
we read these stories we need to remember that every character represents
ourselves - it's easy to picture ourselves as Arjuna, aligning with our faith.
But think about the story Duryodhana tells Krishna of losing his kingdom
as a child. He was hurt. He wasn’t feeling loved by his father, and was
afraid that it was going to happen again. Instead of facing that fear and
hurt he chooses not only to hold onto it, but also to let it be a determining
factor in his life. It becomes his "story". I won’t tell you mine right now but we all have one -
the "I got hurt in the past" story that clouds our vision, moves us
from faith to fear, and unfortunately guides our decision making from time to
time.
What
is guiding the choices you make? Making the subtler, less obvious choice
is not usually the easy route, but we have to ask ourselves if we are being
guided by faith or fear, and which we want to bring forth as we decide on our
path. Sharon Salzburg has a beautiful explanation of faith: "In Pali,
faith is a verb, an action, as it is also in Latin and Hebrew. Faith is
not a singular state that we either have or don't have, but is something that
we do. We "faithe". It is the willingness to take the
next step, to see the unknown as an adventure, to launch a journey.”
There is a reason we start Anusara yoga practice with open to grace - it
softens us, moves us from fear to love, makes us more open and receptive to the
possibilities that making the subtle, less obvious choice might bring us.
So go out and “faithe”!
Off the
Mat:
Think
back to a time when you made a less obvious choice. How did it work out for you? How is that outcome guiding your current
choices?
On
the Mat:
Open
to Grace: Allow yourself to be breathed. Feel how the breath comes and goes
without an effort on your part. In Hebrew the word for breath and soul
are nearly the same word - feel how your breath connects you to the ineffable -
the life-force that breathes you. Feel
how it fills you and supports your life, both physically and also at the deeper
level of the soul. Connect to your breath and your Source and let it become a stronger
presence in your life so when you are faced with challenging decisions you have
something deeper to draw on than just the obvious. Align with your faith, tap into your
innate intuition and inner wisdom, and let it guide your practice.
Muscular
Energy: Draw from the outside, physical aspect of yourself, to the inside,
subtle aspect of your being with faith
As
your muscles tone, embrace your faith in whatever it is that supports and holds
you
Kidney
Loop: Breathe into the back part of your waistline, the part you can’t see,
expanding your belief in all that you have faith in
Pelvic
Loop: Tone your low belly with your conviction in making the faithful choice
The
Choice
Danna
Faulds
Is
it faith or fear
that
rises to the fore,
affirmation
or negation
at
the very core
and
center of the self?
Will
it be light or dark
Within
the heart today?
The
icy grip of fear
that
knots and sours
leaving
me to cower
in
the shadows?
There
is another way-
I
know it as surely as I
know
the scent of Spring.
The
choice of faith
invites,
invokes, calls forth
from
all creation
both
the blessing
and
the lesson
of
the day.
Whether
faith or fear
the
choice is mine alone.
Each
moment, choosing,
stepping
through the door
trusting
that the path
beyond
will surely
lead
me home.
