A Fresh Start

People who make New Year resolutions have the optimistic outlook that ‘I can be happier, life can be better’ and ‘I can do better in my life’. This is a good thing to have this attitude and there is an underlying great spiritual truth to this way of thinking. In this talk, we explore the subject.

Transcript

Hari Baul Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya Hari Baul So Earlier Ives was speaking about you know in New Year,

Everybody's looking for the the fresh start And it was kind of interesting in the the Herald They published some of the latest research I'm gonna have research on the subject And They found That quite for me quite astonishing.

I don't know about you guys 40 percent of Kiwis Make New Year resolutions You think that's Kind of a lot or not.

There was more than I expected.

I guess I'm well The second part of that was like super interesting They found that the more optimistic a person was The more likely they were to make a New Year's resolution and like how does that go together?

It's generally Because the idea of making New Year's resolutions,

Whatever they might be is fundamentally It contains a couple of ideas one is I think my life can be better and More often than not it includes the idea That I Think I can do better That's generally what the what the components are and and that's sort of thinking and so of course that that ties in with with optimism I Mean you have to be a little bit optimistic to think that things can get better And you have to be optimistic to think I can do better Because when you start heading in the other end of that spectrum,

You know of Thinking that it can't get any better and I can't do any better Then you are you're in the world of being very depressed and It's sort of like you don't think that there is hope or you don't think that it's possible for you And so there is a need for at least an element of optimism To think that things can get better in general My life can get better and that I I can do better So that kind of like considering how Massive the problem is here and around the world particularly the developed world with the growth and depression and the growth and in struggles with different types of mental illness and New Zealand being the one of the world's leading countries for suicide particularly Youth suicide.

It's kind of like well,

I'm kind of really happy That at least 40% of the people make New Year's resolutions Because it's definitely a significant step in the right direction.

I Think one of the the biggest problems with Social media and and the current world in which we live we've been made to feel powerless That we are dependent upon the approval of others the endorsement of others I Feel like I have to buy certain things or go to certain places and things in order to be accepted to be Approved and if I'm not doing that stuff,

I'm gonna be a monumental loser Might even get bullied and That's kind of like,

You know,

This is a pretty Crappy place to be this doesn't bode well for the health and happiness of people in general when we become so dependent On all these things that are out of our control I mean other people's opinions and and what they think is cool And what they think you should be doing with your life and what's acceptable and what's really happening You know if you're dependent upon their opinions Whoo,

You know you've serious You've already lost control of your life And now you're running after other people's dreams and other people's fantasies and other people's ideas The idea of a fresh start really it speaks to the need for resilience the need to be a little bit grounded and the more actually the more in touch a person is with a higher spiritual truth the more inclined someone is to not only recognize but to really embrace their As Bob Dylan sang there must be some way out of here said the drummer to the thief There is too much confusion I can't get no relief give me a guitar somebody You know,

It's that's become you know the way many many many people are living Spiritual life the development the cultivation of a spiritual life is really a declaration of wanting to be genuinely independent Not the kind of person.

Oh,

I think I can make up my own mind Yeah,

But my mind's being controlled by so many other people my mind's mean controlled by desires placed in there by You know outside Forces as it were And It is a declaration of independence that I I'm I'm gonna really start this journey a journey of real Self-discovery a journey of of really learning to take care of myself One of the most encouraging aspects of The spiritual journey Is when there is a growing realization and a growing understanding that I as the Atma the self the actual Spiritual being residing within the body.

I am already perfect My body is not my mind is not My body is not my mind is not those are material things Those are material coverings and and this is why it's such a bummer when we become so hung up on and beholden to what others think You know,

We live up to their standards their fantasies their ideas of perfection This declaration of independence that's necessary in order to really cultivate a spiritual life Is really founded on on this,

You know?

Acknowledgement I am an eternal spiritual being We are all equal.

There is no higher and there is no lower amongst all the Jivas we are all on We are all on a level playing field But once I begin assuming this body that I'm wearing around is me Oh my gods that opens up a whole world of hurt a whole world of hurt Because that that journey never ends well the body comes into existence It's born it goes through a period of growth It reaches a bit of a peak and then it maintains that situation for some time and then it goes into decline and The period that you spend in decline It far outstrips the period of youthfulness And we want to cling to that,

You know,

Can't we just go back there?

Can't I buy something?

Can I stuff something into the body?

Can't I?

Rearrange it somehow to sort of like cling back to that youthfulness Mmm if you could really deeply appreciate Begin to have an awakening to your true spiritual identity What a relief What a move and focus away from all that which is filled with anxiety and fearfulness to realizing hey,

There's nothing to be an anxiety about There's nothing to be actually fearful about The world has this nature the up down That's part of the nature me.

I'm I'm I'm eternal.

I'm still moving and the same on the same level on the same plane So the more a person actually begins the process of spiritual cultivation the more optimistic people begin to feel And that optimism is not false optimism where I'm hoping against hope If only my life would be so perfect funny.

I could find the perfect person to love the funny I could you know Looking looking for material things to fill actually spiritual needs That's that's a world of of anxiousness Of anxiousness And part of the Reality That is attached to this spiritual process is the recognition.

Yes the cultivation of spiritual life is a journey We are moving from one extreme almost to another one extreme of being Totally immersed in the false idea that the body is the self that this world can be my home That I can live happily ever after no,

You can't That's not going to happen That's and the and the other if I can say extreme the other end of the spectrum Is to be fully fully freed from all anxiousness from all fear The greatest fear that you become free from is the recognition that you you can't die You can't you don't die The body dies when you leave the body dies,

But you don't die you are eternal You can't die.

It's impossible It's impossible All other fears Are built upon that foundational fear that sort of like stalks us and haunts us You know the old cartoons of the grim reaper this shadowy dude with the black hood in the cape and the scythe You know,

That's that's kind of like for real that thing that idea that reality is stalking everybody But for one who has come to the spiritual platform There is no existence of the grim reaper Because I am eternal i'm an eternal spiritual being recognizing that and recognizing that my spiritual nature is filled with perfection Then we're faced with this other reality Yeah,

But i'm here now and I do have this body and I have been living a thoroughly materially oriented life And i'm trying on this journey But sometimes I stumble Sometimes I encounter difficulty Sometimes the going gets really tough But if I fall over Because I know because I know That I am an eternal and perfect spiritual being this is a process of uncovering something that is This is a process of uncovering something that is already there If I just gravitate towards the idea of me being a total crap out or a partial crap out and My life's a big struggle and it's all difficult and I if I identify with that then it seems hopeless When I realize oh I've i've fallen into this kind of situation again and it may be an abbess Maybe a deep dark hole,

But when I have the realization,

But you know,

This is not the eternal me This is not the real me.

This is something i'm dealing with And then it's kind of like okay there there is a way out of this There is a process and this is what the process of meditation is all about There are two things that are really important one is the to develop a personal practice of meditation in that personal practice of meditation It's just like when you you know when it starts getting really cold And then you step out into the sun and sit in the sun and you feel the warmth of the rays and it It changes everything it changes your mood and everything This is what we are doing in the meditation process.

We are placing ourselves just like you know,

You see in in like the holy ganga and the gunji's river and you see people going to bathe and they stand usually way waist deep and then they'll you know offer their respect To the sun and to the the water offer water to the ganga and then they immerse themselves in water They go under and they are taking a bath This is really how if we're going to visualize anything This is what we are doing when we engage in the meditation process When we place ourself in the proximity of this spiritual sound We are in the presence of that which is all purifying Which is filled with transcendental blissfulness The highest states of spiritual love or prema are all manifest or all reside within this transcendental sound so when I take my body in my mind Which may be feeling really crappy and I may have fallen over or I may be having struggles and I sit And I place myself I immerse myself It will have a transcendental effect of lifting that load of purifying the heart and purifying the mind and purifying the mind So a regular practice is critical if you want to succeed if you want to become increasingly optimistic If you want to live a really good life,

You need to develop a daily practice And then the second thing that's really important Is to take time to cultivate association with those Who are on a spiritual path and preferably?

Those who are more spiritually advanced than myself Because in that company in that sangha in that association I become constantly reminded of that which is eternal that which is good That which is pure that which?

I am meant to be And I become encouraged when I see other people going through change And transforming it's like yeah,

I can do this Yeah,

I may think i'm how am I going to do it?

Well,

You don't have to worry.

It's not about you it's about putting yourself within the proximity of that which is Transcendental that which is spiritual And one becomes enlivened we become enthused We become increasingly optimistic We become increasingly able to bear the burden Of this life.

It is a burden It's not a joke The today we were just sending a greeting to my wife's mother You know in a few days,

It'll be her 90th birthday You know and she's been an incredibly active person she had like 10 children She was like a major political figure She was active in the catholic church always running all these programs.

I mean she was non-stop on the move But I tell you what you get to a point when your body ages so much You're running out of gas big time and constantly plagued with difficulty and stuff that comes automatically to the body But when one is cultivating spiritual knowledge and understanding All of this is kind of like pretty insignificant Just something that you deal with But it doesn't affect you.

It doesn't change the way that you feel about things So,

You know this time of year when people make new year's resolutions It's good to make resolutions to become resolved to try and do something about improving my life and improving myself Improving myself actually means uncovering my truest spiritual nature And on that journey,

Yes,

We will stumble we will encounter difficulty It's okay.

Don't panic It's cool.

Everything's fine When you fall over you pick yourself up and dust yourself off And continue the journey So remaining optimistic in spite of our frailties in spite of our difficulties sometimes our shortcomings So the idea of a fresh start is Fundamentally a spiritual idea may get misused in terms of Directed towards that which is temporary and material but at its heart It is fundamentally a spiritual idea and it's fundamentally a spiritual ideal and so I really encourage you all to think about that and to adopt that increasingly in your own life Okay,

All good Thank you very very much Thank you Um,

It'll take too much I was going to say we'll sing the Om Hari Om mantra Another time we'll talk a little bit more deeply about the actual meaning of this Om As it is explained by Patanjali and others But the Name the spiritual name Hari is Extraordinarily wonderful and inviting in this name It indicates To lift the great burden of the heart and the mind the one who takes away this burden and so when we chant this mantra and And we're a little bit cognizant of this It can be a very prayerful thing where we are Asking that this burden that comes with material existence Be lifted from our heart and our mind that we may have true and transcendental realization of my own true spiritual self and also of the supreme Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh oh oh oh Adiós.

Reviews

Absolutely incredible talk. Our souls
Are eternal and our body’s just the shell for them. Thank you- Nameste 🙏🏼