Sublime

Nor was Naropa seeking a new career as a guru. He became a guru only because his student Marpa found in him the attributes of love, compassion, wisdom, caring, and skillful means.

Svādhyāya can seem brutal—having to admit (to ourselves, no less) our shortcomings and mistakes and to stop covering up our imperfections. However, once we watch closely, looking past our presumptions, judgments, actions, and feelings, it is not harsh at all. A deeply satisfying feeling of living in alignment with ourselves, as if we’ve come

In the terms of devotion, the lover (the soul) and Beloved (the Divine) begin as one. The lover suffers from the illusion of separation, but then lover and Beloved are restored to oneness. The soul’s longing leads to divine union. In the terms of nonduality, the lover and Beloved have never been two; they have always been one and ever shall be. The

By intense dedication and service to a yogī with a pure sāttvic mind, one’s own mind can become fixed and free from personal desires. Many Hindu spiritual traditions promote surrender and service to the guru as the highest form of meditation,224 and this type of focus seems reflected in this sūtra.

poems. I read aloud to Amy a few lines written by the poet Kabir: We sense that there is some sort of spirit that loves birds and animals and the ants— perhaps the same one who gave a radiance to you in your mother’s womb …