Author Archives: Mataji
Sanskrit and me
Years ago I wanted to learn Sanskrit. I played around with internet searches and even the Teach Yourself book (yuk), read books on Indology and read about Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. Nothing, really. I was seriously interested in the Yoga Sutras … Continue reading
Friendly Voice of Reason
I want to add a friendly voice to those clamouring at Ian Gawler – it is a sad thing when someone, who found himself at the edge of death yet is still alive 40 years later, has to defend himself … Continue reading
ILLUSION – A NORMAL STATE OF MIND We all have illusions. Sometimes it is the little dream that you are up and about while really you are still snuggled in bed. The bigger illusions are those that keep us hooked … Continue reading
The Heretic’s New Year
When it comes to making New Year’s resolutions, we could have a look first at the “me” that thinks it should improve. Continue reading
Christmas, Jesus, Yoga
Another Christmas… it is often represented by children’s faces glowing with wonder and anticipation as the presents start to pile up under the tree… followed soon by the predictable gripes about the commercialisation of Christmas. I don’t remember it exactly like that. … Continue reading
Yogic Solutions
All of us have difficult situations and unpleasant people to deal with throughout our lives. If only we could find yogic solutions for having loving engagement with others, easy truthfulness, powerful articulation, clear insight into issues, untouched by manipulative ploys. … Continue reading
No More Being Manipulated
Do you feel manipulated when… you have a legitimate issue and the other person slides out of it? Or puts you down, sometimes claiming that he is only joking? Do you feel that you have to be careful of what … Continue reading
Farewell Fr Sweeney
I heard the other day that Father Kevin Sweeney had died. I would have liked to attend his funeral. He brought peace to my father’s troubled soul. He married me to my former husband. He gave me a job teaching, when I had … Continue reading
Query on aspects of the Yoga Sutras
This is a discussion on the notion of “vrtti”in the Yoga Sutras, prompted by a query from a student. The phrase, or paraphrase, for “vrtti” as “ideational choice making tendency of the mind” is from P.Y. Deshpande, The Authentic Yoga … Continue reading
Meister Eckhart – On Poverty
God as “God” couldn’t satisfy the spirituality of a fly. This piece of Eckhart’s is the height of mystical attainment, from a 14th century Dominican monk. I transcribed it late last century. It is Sermon 87 ‘On the Poor in … Continue reading