Yogi Bhajan – LA015 780227 – To Bring Swift and Powerful Change
Sit in easy pose with a straight spine.
With the fingers touching, place the left hand on top of the right with the palms facing down. Press the thumbs together, pointing toward the body. The mudra is held midway between the heart and throat chakras.
The arms are bent at the elbows to accomodate the mudra. They are maintained parallel to the floor.
Sit on the ground with the legs crossed, or in a chair with the weight of both feet equally distributed on the ground.
Deeply inhale*, exhaling completely as the mantra is chanted.
The eyes are 1/10 open.
Mantra:
The mantra consists of eight haris per breath; they are broken into two different vocal tones:
HARI HARI HARI HARI
(loud, powerful tone)
HARI HARI HARI HARI
(lower pitch and volume: female, soft, sophisticated tone.)
Don’t become very fast, now listen. Patience pays. Listen to the note and the tune which I am meditating and chanting and then you can create that sound yourself, first is a higher powerful tone, second is female soft sophisticated tone, both are very important. Hari Hari Hari Hari…
HARI is pronounced “huh-ree” with the accent on the second syllable.
Chanted all on one breath, one second per HARI or 8 seconds per round. “Both tones very important.”
This meditation was practiced for 11 minutes in class.
Comments:
“If you can do it for a really long time, it can bring swift and powerful change. Mantra is very powerful, so is the posture.”
The time for radical change is NOW. You must use all means at your disposal to overturn the status quo. Your opposition will crumble and all the resources you need will appear and come to your aid. Total success.
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's and subsequent translations of the I Ching
#49, line 6, #1
Fire ignites within the Lake, defying conditions that would deny it birth or survival: The Superior Person reads the Signs of the Times and makes the Season apparent to all.
The support you need will come only after the deed is done. Renewed forces, however, will provide fresh energy for exceptional progress. Persevere. All differences vanish.
A revolutionary Change must be made forcibly. There is no negotiating with the Established Order. Perfect timing is essential. Let the abuse of power become apparent and oppressive to those around you before making your move. Lay the groundwork, sow the seeds for Revolution without tipping your hand prematurely. You will need a strong foundation, because you will have to bring about this necessary change alone. You cannot count on popular support, so you must wait until there is massive dissent. Then the avenue for your assault will be cleared.
You dodge the snares and snatch victory with the lightning speed and agility of a panther.
The jackals lose their nerve and swear allegiance to you.
You have won your revolt.
Don’t seek to climb higher.
Instead stabilize the new order for the good of all.
Heaven above and Heaven below:
Heaven in constant motion.
With the strength of the dragon, the Superior Person steels himself for ceaseless activity.
Productive Activity.
Potent Influence.
Sublime Success if you keep to your course.
The time for action has come.
You now have the focus and the stamina necessary for accomplishing great tasks.
The path before you is being cleared and reward lies ahead.
“The institution of marriage is two polarities joined together to pull life together through hard and even times. But nowadays we think of relationship as staying together through even times only. How can it be possible that through any relationship you cannot have hard and even times?” Yogi Bhajan
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's and subsequent translations of the I Ching
#6, line 4, #59
The high Heavens over a yawning Deep chasm:
An expansive void where nothing can dwell.
Even though he sincerely knows he is right, the Superior Person anticipates opposition and carefully prepares for any incident.
Good fortune if your conflict results in compromise.
Misfortune if your conflict escalates to confrontation.
Seek advice.
Postpone your crossing to the far shore.
Conflict is a necessary part of life.
Tension upon the strings of a violin can make majestic music.
The critical mass of two hydrogen atoms trying to occupy the same space fuel the sun that nourishes our solar system.
Most conflicts you face in life are the result of your Path converging with another’s.
Your Path is not his, and one Path is not necessarily more right than the other.
Can you work together to remove the blockage?Realizing the very root of conflict lies within his own heart, he lays down his arms and resolves to accept the things he cannot change.
Wind carries the Mists aloft:
Sage rulers dedicated their lives to serving a Higher Power and built temples that still endure.
The King approaches his temple.
Success if you stay on course.
You may cross to the far shore.Walls meant to protect have instead separated and isolated.
Your defenses have kept you apart from those whom you most need to touch.
Whatever the reason for discord between you, it is time to lay down your arms.
Dispel the inflexible demands and fears of the Mind so that you may reunite in the Heart.
If you have begrudged, forgive.
If you have torn down, repair.
If you have injured, heal.
If you have judged, pardon.
If you have grasped, let go.
Sit straight in a cross-legged position. Bring your hands in front of your heart center with the fingertips touching and the palms spread. 19:00 Rhythmically move the fingers in circles forward, down, back and up, (only the fingers move, not the arms), as you loudly sing the mantra, “Bolo Raam, Bolo Raam, Bolo Raam, Raam Raam,” (from ‘Angel’s Waltz” by Sada Sat Kaur). Eyes are open. You have to look at the hands to give them Drib Drishti Pranayami—saluting with your eyes, your own fingers, your own hands and your own movement. Continue for 11 minutes. To end, inhale deeply, hold for 30 seconds as you stretch and tighten your spine, spreading the energy within you for your own piety and bliss. Exhale. Repeat 2 more times. On the last breath also put all pressure on the fingers and make them like steel.
Relax.
The mantra must be sung with the lips and “Ram” must be chanted with a puckering motion of the lips. This meditation has the same effect on every meridian as a complete acupuncture session has. You will be transformed. Ty it any time you are in difficulty. If your head is going in circles and you are going to fall, do it just once and you will stop. It balances the five tattvas—as represented by the planets Mercury, Sun, Saturn, Jupiter and our Id in relation to the fingers. And if the lips are used to chant this mantra, your love life will never be negative. Your words, your sound, will go to the heart rather than to the head, because when you speak with the tongue it reaches the head, when you speak with the tip of the tongue it reaches divinity, and when you speak with the lips it reaches the heart.
Lecture- Wanting Nothing There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and 365 days in a year. That is called time and space. Within that space you breathe. Tme is not limited. Breath is! It is the frequency of your breath that defines your lifespan. You breathe 15 times per minute on the average. If you breathe one time per minute, which takes about 120 days of practice to do perfectly, your life will be extended 15 times and, because the body’s organs, cells and molecules have to stretch to meet the time, you will not have a disease! And if you learn how to meet the time, time will learn how to meet you. Then you can experience Infinity, which is called God.
In the Age of Aquarius man will learn the Science of Self Self will be dominant. The emotions and feelings you have and your desires to have things will all disappear. Can you believe that you can live life wanting nothing? Understand the joy of it! The moment you want nothing, everything wants you, because everything in the
universe is in balance.
Once a young girl in love with a boy told me, “I can’t live without him!” I said, ‘You want him? Then make a sacrifice—just don’t want him.” “What will happen?” I said, ‘Then he’ll want you!” So she practiced Sat Kriya and with every breath had one thought, “I don’t want him.” As luck would have it, after 120 days of sweetly and calmly doing Sat Kriya every day… he wanted her! When he came and apologized, she said, “I don’t want you!” Today she is prosperous, content and happy. She rules the time.
When you love and live in personification, it is just like a fish on a hook. It isolates you from your internal and external projection. You must learn to project impersonally. Saying, “I love you” is okay, but not for the benefit of your feelings and attachments. Live personally but project impersonally. That is reality! That is blessing. When Muslims came to Persia they said to the people, “Convert to Islam or we are going to kill you.” People either died or converted to Islam. But they found a man in the jungle named Rasalee. On telling him to accept Islam, he said, “I am Islam!” “No, you really have to convert.” They hung him in a tree with a net saying, ‘You will not get anything to eat or drink until you convert.”
After one month they came back. He was fine. He was laughing! This was strange! They thought, “The time must have been too short. Let us go away.” They went away and forgot about him. When they came back five months later he said, “Hey, Islam! You forgot about me!” They were shocked! He was hale and healthy! They asked, ‘What did you live on?” He replied, “I lived on Islam.” Thinking he was a mad man they freed him. Rasalee walked into the city telling everybody “Islam, Islam, Islam!” and people started listening to him and realizing that he was a living, impersonal human being.
“Islam” means “salutation.” You are humble and pure enough to salute the universe.
This new age we are entering, the new millennium, is an age of entry into the Self And Self is very pure. It has no duality. When somebody says, “I like you, but I don’t think I like you. Maybe I do,” no one can tolerate it. No person can tolerate a double projection. Your life tragedies are caused by your projections from many angles. As long as you cannot talk straight, there will be nothing straight in your life.
The worst sin is when you judge a person. If you judge an insane person, insanity will attack you within 24 hours. It is called “time reversal.” Whatever you do inside your inner self your outer self has to respond. If you judge somebody outside, your inner self will judge you. Do you know how painful that will be? You do not need that pain.
When you start a sequence you must face the consequences. You cannot escape anything. Time ticks. The mighty sun goes down and then rises. The Earth revolves. It is happening to you. You cannot take the load—and yet you have to carry the load of life. But you are overloaded with garbage rather than clarity. Just be clear and stop this dramatization! It does not take you anywhere. In the end you will find it is a waste of time—that precious time, that most beautiful time that can be so projective, so creative, so real, so fulfilling.
There is a way of living where you desire nothing. When we do not desire anything, we deserve everything. And it shall be provided, because the law of karma is “every action has a reaction, equal and opposite.”
When somebody is rich or you need a person, you over-extend yourself If somebody is poor and humble and not in a position to do anything, you withdraw and end up with a reaction. Reaction is temporary misery, but you suffer here and hereafter! You decide if you are going to the heavens or to hell—and your ego is the only clear path to it. Any sequence you start will have consequences. By the blessing of the Guru you may not feel the consequences and be covered—that is the only possibility. You are contemptuous to your own self! Count it! How many times during the day do you laugh, smile, shake hands or hug people? If you have nobody to hug, at least hug your consciousness.
You think of life as living to be 60, 70 or 80 years old. That is not life, folks. Life consists of constant, running circles, running into each other. Time takes you from one place to another. You can be a thief or a saint—it is balanced all the way. You are what you chose to be. I can tell you “Be great! Hurry up and don’t be late!” But the end you have to meet, at any rate.
Dharma is the understanding that every action has a reaction equal and opposite. Therefore, it is simple: Do not start an action for which you are not willing to stand the reaction.
When the situation seems hopeless, it may be because it is, as long as you are depending on external influences to change course. That is a delusion that must change course. You must choose a path, become devoted to it and persevere. Align yourself with universal forces, then rely on that self to carry you to deliverance.
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's and subsequent translations of the I Ching
#7, line 1, #17
Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they befall the right man. When a strong man meets with adversity, he remains cheerful despite all danger, and this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. He who lets his spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly has no success. But if adversity only bends a man, it creates in him a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself. No inferior man is capable of this. Only the great man brings about good fortune and remains blameless. It is true that for the time being outward influence is denied him, because his words have no effect. Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.
There is no water in the lake: The image of EXHAUSTION. Thus the superior man stakes his life On following his will.
When the water has flowed out below, the lake must dry up and become exhausted. That is fate. This symbolises an adverse fate in human life. In such times there is nothing a man can do but acquiesce in his fate and remain true to himself. This concerns the deepest stratum of his being, for this alone is superior to all external fate.
Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means: One sits oppressed under a bare tree And strays into a gloomy valley.
For three years one sees nothing.When adversity befalls a man, it is important above all things for him to be strong and to overcome the trouble inwardly. If he is weak, the trouble overwhelms him. Instead of proceeding on his way, he remains sitting under a bare tree and falls ever more deeply into gloom and melancholy. This makes the situation only more and more hopeless. Such an attitude comes from an inner delusion that he must by all means overcome.
Thunder beneath the Lake’s surface.
The Superior Person allows himself plenty of sheltered rest and recuperation while awaiting a clear sign to follow.
Supreme success.
No mistakes if you keep to your course.
Thunder from the Lake — the lulling, rhythmic roar of the faithful tide, eternally wearing away the stone of the shoreline, forever obedient to the phases of the moon.
The pull of the moon on the tide is the Following called for now.
As mighty as the tide is in its own right, it is ever the puppet of the invisible, irresistible gravity of the moon. .
“Your deeds should be honorable and they cannot be honorable if you do not have honorable intentions. It is the honorable intention that will bring the honorable act from you.” Yogi Bhajan
Cast off limitations that have held you back. Regrets for past failures can seriously limit your growth and future achievement by weakening your will to succeed. Lack of discipline can interfere with your ability to focus on and improve important aspects of your efforts. Start fresh, renew your outlook.
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's and subsequent translations of the I Ching
#60, line 5, #19
Limitations are troublesome, but they are effective. If we live economically in normal times, we are prepared for times of want. To be sparing saves us from humiliation. Limitations are also indispensable in the regulation of world conditions. In nature there are fixed limits for summer and winter, day and night, and these limits give the year its meaning. In the same way, economy, by setting fixed limits upon expenditures, acts to preserve property and prevent injury to the people. But in limitation we must observe due measure. If a man should seek to impose galling limitations upon his own nature, it would be injurious. And if he should go too far in imposing limitations on others, they would rebel. Therefore it is necessary to set limits even upon limitation.
Water over lake: the image of LIMITATION. Thus the superior man Creates number and measure, And examines the nature of virtue and correct conduct.
A lake is something limited. Water is inexhaustible. A lake can contain only a definite amount of the infinite quantity of water; this is its peculiarity. In human life too the individual achieves significance through discrimination and the setting of limits. Therefore what concerns us here is the problem of clearly defining these discriminations, which are, so to speak, the backbone of morality. Unlimited possibilities are not suited to man; if they existed, his life would only dissolve in the boundless. To become strong, a man’s life needs the limitations ordained by duty and voluntarily accepted. The individual attains significance as a free spirit only by surrounding himself with these limitations and by determining for himself what his duty is.
The limitation must be carried out in the right way if it is to be effective. If we seek to impose restrictions on others only, while evading them ourselves, these restrictions will always be resented and will provoke resistance. If, however, a man in a leading position applies the limitation first to himself, demanding little from those associated with him, and with modest means manages to achieve something, good fortune is the result. Where such an example occurs, it meets with emulation, so that whatever is undertaken must succeed.
The Chinese word Lin has a range of meanings that is not exhausted by any single word of another language. The ancient explanations in the Yi Jing give as its first meaning, “becoming great.” What becomes great are the two strong lines growing into the hexagram from below; the light-giving power expands with them. The meaning is then further extended to include the concept of approach, especially the approach of what is strong and highly placed in relation to what is lower. Finally the meaning includes the attitude of condescension of a man in high position toward the people, and in general the setting to work on affairs. This hexagram is linked with the twelfth month (January-February), when after the winter solstice, the light power begins to ascend again.
APPROACH has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. When the eighth month comes, There will be misfortune.
The hexagram as a whole points to a time of joyous, hopeful progress. Spring is approaching. Joy and forbearance bring high and low nearer together. Success is certain. But we must work with determination and perseverance to make full use of the propitiousness of the time. And one thing more: spring does not last forever. In the eighth month the aspects are reversed. Then only two strong, light lines are left; these do not advance but are in retreat [see next hexagram (20)]. We must take heed of this change in good time. If we meet evil before it becomes reality- before it has even begun to stir-we can master it.
The earth above the lake: The image of APPROACH. Thus the superior man is inexhaustible In his will to teach, And without limits In his tolerance and protection of the people.
The earth borders upon the lake from above. This symbolises the approach and condescension of the man of higher position to those beneath him. The two parts of the image indicate what his attitude toward these people will be. Just as the lake is inexhaustible in depth, so the sage is inexhaustible in his readiness to teach mankind, and just as the earth is boundlessly wide, sustaining and caring for all creatures on it, so the sage sustains and cares for all people and excludes no part of humanity.
“The fundamental truth is to realize, to feel, and to experience life within you. We normally feel and experience life within us in relationship to environments; so we feel environments, not life. One who experiences life experiences the source of life. One who experiences the source of life knows infinity, and that person knows the past, present, and future.” Yogi Bhajan
You have to let go of what you cling to (ego, tribe, party) in order to allow the success of the larger enterprise. Clear all inner conflict then work outward.
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's and subsequent translations of the I Ching
#59, line 4, #6
DISPERSION shows the way, so to speak, that leads to gathering together. This explains the similarity of the two texts. Religious forces are needed to overcome the egotism that divides men. The common celebration of the great sacrificial feasts and sacred rites, which gave expression simultaneously to the interrelation and social articulation of the family and state, was the means employed by the great rulers to unite men. The sacred music and the splendor of the ceremonies aroused a strong tide of emotion that was shared by all hearts in unison, and that awakened a consciousness of the common origin of all creatures. In this way disunity was overcome and rigidity dissolved. A further means to the same end is co-operation in great general undertakings that set a high goal for the will of the people; in the common concentration on this goal, all barriers dissolve, just as, when a boat is crossing a great stream, all hands must unite in a joint task. But only a man who is himself free of all selfish ulterior considerations, and who perseveres in justice and steadfastness, is capable of so dissolving the hardness of egotism.
The wind drives over the water: The image of DISPERSION. Thus the kings of old sacrificed to the Lord And built temples.
In the autumn and winter, water begins to freeze into ice. When the warm breezes of spring come, the rigidity is dissolved, and the elements that have been dispersed in ice floes are reunited. It is the same with the minds of the people. Through hardness and selfishness the heart grows rigid, and this rigidity leads to separation from all others. Egotism and cupidity isolate men. Therefore the hearts of men must be seized by a devout emotion. They must be shaken by a religious awe in face of eternity – stirred with an intuition of the One Creator of all living beings, and united through the strong feeling of fellowship experienced in the ritual of divine worship.
When we are working at a task that affects the general welfare, we must leave all private friendships out of account. Only by rising above party interests can we achieve something decisive. He who has the courage thus to forego what is near wins what is afar. But in order to comprehend this standpoint, one must have a wide view of the interrelationships of life, such as only unusual men attain.
CONFLICT DEVELOPS when one feels himself to be in the right and runs into opposition. If one is not convinced of being in the right, opposition leads to craftiness or high-handed encroachment but not to open conflict. If a man is entangled in a conflict, his only salvation lies in being so clear- headed and inwardly strong that he is always ready to come to terms by meeting the opponent halfway. To carry on the conflict to the bitter end has evil effects even when one is the right, because the enmity is then perpetuated. It is important to see the great man, that is, an impartial man whose authority is great enough to terminate the conflict amicably or assure a just decision. In times of strife, crossing the great water is to be avoided, that is, dangerous enterprises are not to be begun, because in order to be successful they require concerted unity of focus. Conflict within weakens the power to conquer danger without.
Heaven and water go their opposite ways: The image of conflict. Thus in all his transactions the superior man Carefully considers the beginning.
THE IMAGE indicates that the causes of conflict are latent in the opposing tendencies of the two trigrams. Once these opposing tendencies appear, conflict is inevitable. To avoid it, therefore, everything must be taken carefully into consideration in the very beginning. If rights and duties are exactly defined, or if, in a group, the spiritual trends of the individuals harmonise, the cause of conflict is removed in advance.
“Those who dye their hearts in the concept of God divine and live in the color of white light and righteousness, those who merge in that eternal light, do not remain with their remains and their balances.” Yogi Bhajan
Use your power wisely. Refrain from useless displays of force. Without a clear purpose your actions will lead to misunderstanding, confusion and conflict.
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's and subsequent translations of the I Ching
#34, line 3, #54
The hexagram points to a time when inner worth mounts with great force and comes to power. But its strength has already passed beyond the median line, hence there is danger that one may rely entirely on one’s own power and forget to ask what is right. There is danger too that, being intent on movement, we may not wait for the right time. Therefore the added statement that perseverance furthers. For that is truly great power which does not degenerate into mere force but remains inwardly united with the fundamental principles of right and of justice. When we understand this point – namely, that greatness and justice must be indissolubly united – we understand the true meaning of all that happens in heaven and on earth.
Thunder in heaven above:
The image of THE POWER OF THE GREAT.
Thus the superior man does not tread on paths
That do not accord with established order.
Thunder – electrical energy – mounts upward in the spring. The direction of this movement is in harmony with that of the movement of heaven. It is therefore a movement in accord with heaven, producing great power. However, true greatness depends on being in harmony with what is right. Therefore in times of great power the superior man avoids doing anything that is not in harmony with the established order.
Making a boast of power leads to entanglements, just as a goat entangles its horns when it butts against a hedge. Whereas an inferior man revels in power when he comes into possession of it, the superior man never makes this mistake. He is conscious at all times of the danger of pushing ahead regardless of circumstances, and therefore renounces in good time the empty display of force.
This is at best a Marriage of Convenience.
You have found yourself in desperate straits, a position of weakness, and you are tempted to pay dearly for a remedy.
A drowning man isn’t picky about who throws him a rope.
The rescue offered to you now is undesirable.
It may pull you out of this sticky situation, but it will cause even greater predicaments down the road.
Don’t obligate yourself in this way.
You are selling your future for a quick fix today.
“God is beyond His Creation, The Soul is beyond limitation. The Creation blossoms forth … Beyond victory or defeat. In the flow of deep meditation … My nectar thoughts are filled with God. Touching the Guru’s Feet, My Boat arrives on Yonder Shore.” Yogi Bhajan
“One has to be very conscious in dealing with one’s own mind. The best way is not to record any activity for which your subconscious mind can pick at you. Secondly, never do anything which you cannot explain to yourself and prove to yourself on the touchstone of Universal Truth. Third, never take any action for which you cannot face the reaction, because the first thing to give you reaction will be your own subconscious mind. Fourth, never compromise with your lower nature, with a friend of lower intention, of negative intention, or of negative environment. Make your will rise at primal hours and repeat the primal sound which means the word of the beginning, because if the word of the beginning is true, then you are true.” Yogi Bhajan
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's and subsequent translations of the I Ching
#61, line 3, #9
The gentle Wind ripples the Lake’s surface:
The Superior Person finds common ground between points of contention, wearing away rigid perspectives that would lead to fatal error.
Pigs and fishes.
You may cross to the far shore.
Great fortune if you stay on course.
The subject of this hexagram discovers a key to Tranquility by first gaining insight into his own nature, then turning that vision outward.
By resolving inner conflicts and being at peace with himself, he learns to gain insight into others.
In effect, he enters another, sees with the other’s eyes, listens with the other’s ears, feels with the other’s heart.
He then returns to his own center, with new perspective and understanding.
Here the source of a man’s strength lies not in himself but in his relation to other people. No matter how close to them he may be, if his centre of gravity depends on them, he is inevitably tossed to and fro between joy and sorrow. Rejoicing to high heaven, then sad to death – this is the fate of those who depend on an inner accord with other persons whom they love. Here we have only the statement of the law that this is so. Whether this condition is felt to be an affliction or the supreme happiness of love, is left to the subjective verdict of the person concerned.
Winds of change high in the Heavens:
Air currents carry the weather.
Dense clouds blow in from the West, but still no rain.
The Superior Person fine tunes the image he presents to the world.
Small successes.
No matter what you do, the fruit of your labors never seems to ripen.
Your reward remains just out of reach.
Men have gone mad from such anticipation.
Don’t lose your balance lunging for the brass ring.
While the Fates continue to restrain you, go them one better and display a self-generated restraint and grace.
Look for the humor in the situation.. .
