Austerity

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam all:

Tirukkural 267:
"As the intense fire of the furnace refines gold to brilliance, so does the burning suffering of austerity purify the soul to resplendence."
(from Himalayan Academy translation)

So for Sivaratri, we discussed fasting. I am looking for and thinking of ideas for other simple austerities. I think it is always good to have reminders of the nature of the world we live in, and this operates on many levels. (Environmental impact for one. development of personal will for another)

I'm reminded of the truth in a Rolling Stone song "You can't always get what you want."

Being able to do without is a boon to survival and long life. One of the simple things I do on a quasi regular basis is walk. Our temple is about 8k away, and 3 or 4 times a year, I walk. The local mall is about 5 k return, and if I have to pick up only one or two small items, I often walk. Same thing to mail a letter, go to neighbourhood store etc. I am wondering how others remind themselves on a regular basis to practise austerity a bit.

Hopefully others can give some suggestions or testimony of what works.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ganeshprasad]

Pranam EM

Vannakkam all:

Tirukkural 267:
"As the intense fire of the furnace refines gold to brilliance, so does the burning suffering of austerity purify the soul to resplendence."
(from Himalayan Academy translation)

Tapas or austerity Is one off the pillars of Hindu Dharama, in satya yuga emphasis was on tapas, unfortunately we are conditioned for easy life in this age our austerity pales to insignificant in comparison to Rishi of yore. never the less our effort must be measured on our handicap we are fast loosing our ability, in this age of seeking after comfort.
　

I'm reminded of the truth in a Rolling Stone song "You can't always get what you want."

True to a large extent but I am also of the opinion there is nothing that is impossible if you really put your heart in it. Success will always follow just that you need a bit of patience it may take a life time. another form of tapas!

Being able to do without is a boon to survival and long life. One of the simple things I do on a quasi regular basis is walk. Our temple is about 8k away, and 3 or 4 times a year, I walk. The local mall is about 5 k return, and if I have to pick up only one or two small items, I often walk. Same thing to mail a letter, go to neighbourhood store etc. I am wondering how others remind themselves on a regular basis to practise austerity a bit.

You are a man after my own heart, if I can walk I will not use my car. It is sad to notice people have forgotten that we have these legs that takes us from one place to another.

I think on average I must walk about 20km a wk.

on Sivratri day I must have walked about 25km visiting 4 temples but the beauty about walking, for me is I automatically I start chanting mantra in my mind. Hard part was 2hr wait in the queue.

In India people take vows to go to a particular temple either because their wish had been fulfilled or have their wish come true, its kind of bargain they make.some do it for the love of it. If you notice they walked for miles to go to their chosen temple, some walk some rolls and others do danvat . It is amazing, I came across all of these when I did Govardhan parikrama barefoot twice, the hard bit was the blazing sun, the last few kilo meters, of 21 km walk, ones resolve is really tested.

I like to walk to our Kula devi temple Ashapura maa residing on a hill top near Porbandar, it is about 56 kilo meter walk, this is when I go to my ancestors home town in India.

I suppose going on pilgrimage could also be counted as austerity or not?

A lot of Hindus go to Tirupati and have their head shaved.

I must say Zain�s fast are extremely difficult.

Jai Shree Krishna

[Eastern Mind]

You are a man after my own heart, if I can walk I will not use my car.

Namaste GP: Thanks for the input. If you think its bad in India, you should come to Canada. I guess we have one valid excuse, and that is extreme cold weather. But I know people who will drive a block to a store. No wonder we have obesity problems. I do walk a lot more myself in the summer.

I have rolled and done tonsuring as well. I really like tonsuring. It sort of puts you 'out there' like a full prostration, South Indian style. Some days IO think I need to take fast from HDF.

Aum Namasivaya

[Jivattatva]

Hare krishna

I was reading a booklet I recently got from Vrindavan. Its about scriptural injunctions against meat eating. However there was a quote there about austerity and I thought I should post it here.

Mahabharata santi pharva 111.6

O calm ones! Understand that austerity does not mean torturing the body. It means practice of ahimsa (non-violence) truthfulness of speech, mercy, control of senses and non-hatred.

M S P 162.9

O great king! Ahimsa, truthfulness of speech, charity and control of senses are supreme austerities; mere fasting is not austerity.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Jivattatva:

Thank you for pointing this out. Ahimsa, truthfulness, mercy etc are all addressed in the Tirukkural as well.

Over the years, I have come to see that different sects etc view austerity in different lights. In general austerities are more Saiva or those on the renunciate path. For the Murugan bhaktar doing kavadi, or the pilgrim walking from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, or even up to Kedarnath, it is in addition to ahimsa, truthfulness, etc, not as a replacement for. Of course there might be exceptions, those who are deceitful about any or all of it.

Religion aside, austerity has its benefits. For example, many naturopaths or ayurveda doctors will have patients undergo fasting of some sort.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ganeshprasad]

Pranam All

Pranam All

Mahabharata santi pharva 111.6

We do not know the context with which the quote was made.

There is no doubt in my mind the 4 Pillars of Hindu Dharma stands on and they are in no particular order, are

Tapa, Satya, Ahimsa and Pavitrata ie Austerity,Truthfulness, Nonviolence and Purity. These are all interconnected.
For instance Tapas performed to harm some one will fall foul of Ahimsa and so on, but Tapa of young DruvMaharaj is exemplary.

Jai Shree Krishna

[Ganeshprasad]

duplicated

[saidevo]

namaste everyone.

I have always wondered at the relaxed, swan-like walk of BhagavAn Sathya Sai Baba, with a gentle impression of the entire feet toe to heel for every step! He appears floating as he walks, reflecting the thoughtless fullness of his mind.

I have also thought about as to why walking is usually spoken of as the best form of exercise. Now I understand the why, and here it is:

LegNervePoints.jpg

Keep Walking.....
Just to check this out......
The Organs of your body have their sensory touches at the bottom of your foot, if you massage these points you will find relief from aches and pains as you can see the heart is on the left foot.

Typically they are shown as points and arrows to show which organ it connects to.

It is indeed correct since the nerves connected to these organs terminate here.

This is covered in great details in Acupressure studies or textbooks.

God created our body so well that he thought of even this. He made us walk so that we will always be pressing these pressure points and thus keeping these organs activated at all times.

So, keep walking...

So, more than the distance the manner of walking is important, isn't it?

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Saidevo:

Thank you for the knowledge, and also for the motivation for me to get offa my _____ and walk to the mall. (about 6K return) It was clear and pristine here.

Aum Namasivaya

[Jivattatva]

I'm sorry if I didnt explain myself.

My point is this: if you walked that is not austerity. Afterall even atheists or agnostics do that all the time.

Walking and thinking , as you say, about the impermanence of this world and the environment, to me is not what the Bhagavad Gita means by the goal of austerity. We may torture our body by walking 80 miles

but (Bhagavad Gita 18.24) action performed with great effort by one seeking to gratify his desires, and enacted from a sense of false ego, is called action in the mode of passion.

And (B.G. 18.23) that action whoch is regulated and which is performed without attachment, without love and hatred, and without desire for fruitive results is said to be in the mode of goodness.

So my question to E M is : what is your state of mind when you sweat it out on your 6 km walk?

As a Gaudiya Vaishnava, real austery is when you dovetail it to Krishna, because

B.G. 18.48 Every endeavour is covered by some fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work born of his nature, O son of Kunti, even if such work is full of fault.