Om Namo Narayanaya.
Welcome sweet practitioner.
This is Maha Lakshmi with One Ounce Practice and today there will be a little bit of teaching I want to share with you on the topic of virtues and how to cultivate them and practicing it with meditating on a virtue of your choice.
So it's a general meditation that we'll do.
It's a little advanced but in the upcoming um weeks I'll be sharing virtues on specific meditations on specific virtues and I think you'll get the hang of it.
So we can come back to this general practice and meditate with any given virtue.
So I'll start with a quick prayer for the protection of both of us,
The teacher and the student,
Protection by the lineage,
By the teachers,
So protection of the knowledge and may our learning be brilliant.
So if you know the prayers,
Sing it with me,
Chant it with me.
It's not just embrace,
Like enjoy,
Enjoy the sound of it.
Om Namo Narayanaya.
So it's um at the end of it I embraced the lineage of Swami Vishnu Devananda,
Swami Sivananda who was his teacher and Swami Sivananda was a real a self-realized yogi.
He was a very pure in mind and he was thinking like very high,
Like his speech was so concise and so straightforward and every teaching is so powerful,
Like so packed.
And I wanted to start with sharing one of the letters on virtues that he had addressed to Sri Govinda.
This is from the small book Secret of Success in Sadhana.
Sadhana means spiritual practice.
So it starts with Om Sri Govinda.
Virtue abides where there is truth,
Vice abides where there is greed and lord abides when there is devotion.
Therefore cultivate virtue,
Destroy greed and develop devotion.
There is no religion higher than the virtue.
Virtue brings peace.
Virtue is greater than life and prosperity.
Virtue is the gateway to bliss.
Therefore be virtuous always.
Let virtue be your mainstay.
Sivananda.
So powerful,
Straight to the point,
Like it's telling you that where it can be found in truth,
In righteousness and that if there is an expression like I'm doing something religiously,
So it's like I'm doing it like very strictly.
So if there is one thing that you do,
Cultivate virtue because virtue will bring you peace and virtue will bring you to the gates of bliss,
That eternal bliss.
It's the prerequisite to spiritual evolution,
To evolution in life in general.
Like if you think of someone who is always righteous,
Always truthful,
Always reliant,
Always diligent,
Always humbled and compassionate and loving and speaks well of others,
Thinks for the well-being of others,
Speaks sweetly throughout all the time and many other virtues.
It's a quiet person and we rightly call them saints and these people possess all of these virtues.
And Swami Sivananda was very practical in his teaching.
So he gave us three main yogic methods to use to cultivate virtues.
Just have in mind that also like cultivating virtue means a cultivation of positive thinking,
They're synonymous.
Cultivation of purity of mind or cultivation in growing in maturity,
Spiritual maturity.
So they're all like by the same practice,
They're practicing that positive characteristic and building that character for yourself,
You're becoming closer to the truth,
Closer to your real nature,
Your true self.
And that's why it says that it's the gateway,
It takes you to the gateway of bliss because your nature is ever blissful,
Is ever happy.
And we all seek happiness,
We all want to be happy.
We're just trying to find it in the world outside instead of in our own self.
So some people think,
Okay I can maybe change my body,
You know,
If I exercise,
If I do the weightless and I take some proteins and I eat this way and that way,
Maybe I can build some muscle and I can become more lean,
Lose some weight or whatever it is.
But my mind,
No,
No,
No.
My mind is the way it is.
I am who I am,
Period.
And that is not true.
We change,
People change.
I know I have changed myself and I've seen it before in my eyes how people,
Like while I was in the ashram,
People would come for a teacher training course and they would be like shy and like humbled and closed and like hesitant.
And then throughout the course you see them slowly opening,
Opening and then they become this bright and shining,
Wonderful,
Like compassionate and kind and polite being that is just glowing with such a positive energy and uplifting others.
It is so beautiful to see it like with your own eyes.
It's unbelievable.
So it is possible.
I've seen it with myself and with others.
So I believe you can also do it if you put your heart and soul into it.
And it's,
As Swami Sivananda says,
There's no higher religion than this.
There's no more important thing to do than developing a strong character,
A righteous character.
So in the next few minutes we'll practice a general meditation.
As I said,
It's a little bit of advanced practice because you will need to think of how would that virtue help you,
What are the benefits of that virtue.
And in the next weeks I'll be sharing meditations and teachings on specific virtue.
So I'm sure after a few meditations you'll get the hang of it and you can always come back to this general meditation if you wish.
So let's sit comfortably either in a cross-legged position,
Elevating the hips,
Sitting on a pillow,
On a cushion.
You can sit on a chair,
On a couch or if you do that make sure that your feet are flat on the floor.
Your hands can be in a chin mudra or in a like one palm on the top of the other,
Open up.
And the back is straight up,
The spine is erect but relaxed.
And your eyes can be closed if you feel comfortable,
It's easier to go with in that way.
We'll start with two deep breaths and some rhythmical breathing.
So close your eyes if you're comfortable and inhale deeply,
Abdomen,
Ribcage and chest expand.
And exhale completely,
Abdomen,
Ribcage and chest relax.
Inhale,
Abdomen,
Ribcage and chest expand.
And exhale,
Abdomen,
Ribcage and chest relax.
Inhale for three,
On one,
On two,
On three.
And exhale on one,
On two,
On three.
Inhale on one,
On two,
On three.
And exhale on one,
On two,
On three.
Inhale on one,
On two,
On three.
And exhale on one,
On two,
On three.
Inhale on one,
On two,
On three.
And exhale on one,
On two,
On three.
Continue with the rhythmical breathing and relax the mind.
Reassure it that it is safe,
That you are safe.
Everything is okay for the next few minutes.
Imagine that you're sitting in a flower garden during the spring season and all the flowers are blossoming.
Your sweet perfume is filling your lungs and your heart fills with gratitude towards Mother Nature.
Let's bring the virtue of choice to the forefront of your mind.
If you haven't chosen any,
Choose patience.
And think of this virtue.
Say to yourself,
I am this virtue.
For example,
I am patient.
Believe it.
Feel how it feels to be virtuous in that way.
Continue mentally repeating to yourself,
I am virtuous in this way.
Contemplate on the advantages that come along with this virtue.
When you possess this virtue,
What other benefits do you get?
What other benefits do people in your life get from it?
Perhaps they see you as a role model.
Perhaps they have more trust in you,
More respect towards you.
Feel that you possess the virtue and all the benefits that come with it.
Take a strong resolve by mentally repeating to yourself,
I am this virtue.
I am this virtue.
I will bring it into my day and apply it in every situation that calls for it.
I will bring it into my day and will apply it in every situation that calls for it.
Repeat it silently to yourself.
Focus back on your breathing.
Come back to the space where you started the meditation.
As you feel comfortable,
Open your eyes and remember to practice the virtue in your day.
Remember to reflect at the end of the day.
Thank you for meditating with me.
Thank you for practicing with me.
Have a blissful day.
Om Namah Narayanaya.
