IS TODAY A GOOD DAY TO DIE?

My junior year in college, when I was a wee-little 20-year-old, I took a class called Foundations of Wellness. This was by far my most favorite class I took in college. At a time when yoga, meditation and nutrition were not mainstream ideas, this class focused on what it means to live a healthy and balanced life. It opened my eyes to new possibilities and greatly impacted how I ate, who I wanted to surround myself with and what I wanted to fill my life with. It was part philosophy, part nutrition, part hands-on learning—-and most importantly, it was 100% transformational.

In this class we read a book on Crazy Horse, a native American Chief of the Lakota people. In this book, the author wrote about how Crazy Horse instilled in his tribe of warrior’s a way of living so that the words, “today is a good day to die”, were inspiring and comforting rather than terrifying.

Preparing for Death

Last week as I attended the 24th Mahasamadhi Meditation Retreat at Dhyanyoga Centers, these wise words from Crazy Horse popped into my head.

The focus of this year’s retreat was largely on dying and being prepared for those last moments of life. Like Crazy Horse, my teachers through meditation and japa practice are preparing us for death –the inevitable, that no one really knows when will arrive. As believers of reincarnation, my teachers emphasized that our thoughts in those last few moments, last few breaths, directly affect our next lifetime.

Are we scared? Are we attached to work, family, materialistic pursuits? Or are we content with the state of our relationships and detached from the idea that “I need to still do….x, y or z”?

A Daily Practice that takes a lifetime to prepare for

Getting to this point of contentment and detachment is not easy. And that’s why a regular, daily meditation practice is so important. It’s a lifetime of training for those last few critical moments, that each of us at some point will pass through.

So, we all left this year’s retreat armed with a year-long assignment — to cultivate a strong, daily meditation and yoga practice and to truly LIVE our yoga (8 limbs of yoga) practice.

In the coming weeks, I hope to write more about the 8 limbs of yoga. I will start with the first two limbs which are Yamas (moral living)  and Niyamas (healthy living)–both limbs that are packed full of wisdom and foundations for creating a deep and meaningful existence.

Learning from a Master

Until then, if you’re new to meditation, my teachers Shri Anandi Ma and Dileepji are hosting a free meditation program (webcast) on Saturday, Sept 29, 2018 from 6:30-9pm. The opportunity to sit and meditate in the presence of an enlightened being is rare and priceless–I’ll be tuning into this webcast for sure! To learn more about the event or to register for the program, click here.

Wishing you all inspiration, tools and resources to live a life rooted in, “today is a good day to die”.

xo,
Kajal