It is a must to nurture the mind, as it guides all thought, and also the kinetic force one is walking around with.  Mastering Yoga is something all devotees contemplating Krishna need to strive towards.  Hatha Yoga is thought of as a kinetic knac.  Though true Hatha Yoga takes skill as well as balance, Hatha Yoga nurtures the mind.  Hatha Yoga brings all sorts of aspects of meditation into practice.

Hatha is also a form of worship as the postures honor the gods.  In the beggining of a workout it is good to go into silent meditation in lotus.  Silent meditation is a Taoist concept.  In Taoist meditation, clearing the mind of all thoughts to attain a state of nothing is the beggining of the focus.  Nirvana as we know it is an out of this world state of being. 

  One in deep meditation can fix the mind on the known description of what Nirvana is.  Focusing on freezing the mind of material thoughts is similar to attaining samadhi or trance in the middle of well worked chanting.  The samadhi or zen mindset sometimes lasts after all of the chanting or meditation is over.  Breathing is in large a mainpoint in meditation.  Once one becomes focused the practice of postures can begin.  Developing balance along with a centered posture is a big aspect in Hatha Yoga.  We see Hatha Yoga can be a form of using ourselves as a temple to show the gods our nature or character.  It is the same as bowing before the deities in a certain way.  Krishna can see through us so our offerings must be made in a modest or sullen manner.

 Chanting Japa is also a form of Yoga to bring spiritual blessings proven to bring order to the chaos of the mind also bringing zenlike samadhi or trance as a meditative state one can get into.  The written works of the Far East including Indian myth, Taoist writtings, Buddhist scriptures with the addition of Confucian text can shed light on all sorts of questions and also act as a guide for proper outlook on the world, the cosmos or the present state of being we are in.  Thought, contemplation, speculation, asking the right questions, and absorbing the vedas or similar works is known as Jnana Yoga.  The spiritual plain is something modern science has no grasp of.  Kali is known as the goddess in control of the Earth.  It is written that Krishna turned over the Earth.  One thing about Krishna is he does not control  the material world nor does he control the beings in it.  Lost in the volumes of the vedas is this fact.  Krishna can provide spiritual shelter or peace of mind for one who is austere enough to get his attention.  Krishna is outside this world in a seperate plain of being.  The factor of Krishna is for the well being of the soul.  Krishna can grant us our dharma or nature as well as give one the means to develop good karma.  Krishna does not however reside over this planet.  Krishna listens to those who ask.  Krishna asks that one be humble in approach also that one has persistance in asking for his shelter thus the purpose of well focused attentive japa along with regular offerings to his concepts or shrines.  One can worship the deities of Krishna or his expansions.  We must be grateful for the abstract creation we know plus our given skill to percieve it all as we know it. 

There is a natural flow to all of the streams, rivers, or ocean currents on the planet.  Water in nature is the same as the flow of the cosmos.  True vidya or knowledge must be gained through meditation or research free of maya or illusion.  Taoist meditation or well focused Bhakti can allow one to enter a state of samadhi where the mind is free of distraction.  Going into meditation after practicing Hatha or martial arts can also bring great focus to the mind.  Thought or wisdom is worked for just as knowledge is worked for through books.  The Dhali Lama said through calm abiding meditation the mind will become unwavering.  Meditating to attain a nirvana like mind is one reason to practice.  Ones Jnana work must be done following some form of practice or the mind is in chaos.  Whatever form of Yoga we are practicing we must work at it to awaken the mind.  How to attain Zen is a common question.  Bhakti requires awareness so one can focus the mind on chanting.

maha mantra

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

panca tattva

sri krishna caitanya prabhu nityananda sri advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura bhakta vrnda

mantra of the gosvamis

he radhe vraja devike ca lalite he nanda suno kutah

One gains spiritual shelter through attentive chanting of these mantras.  In Hatha Yoga the postures must have a method to wind up in samadhi meditation at the end.  Hatha Yoga requires the aspiration or prowess to work at it to master the art.  The spiritual light is most potent at the end of the practice.  A master once told me to take the Tao on Kung Fu.  Mentioning our abstracted moves goes against principle.  Lao Tze teaches us never to speak of the eternal Tao.  Someone who speaks of the eternal Tao loses it.  Taoist meditation is based on what we know of the Tao.  Lao Tze instructs us on what the eternal path is.  The Tao te Ching is a material guidebook.  Even Lao Tze never wrote about his vision of what the cosmic Tao is.

I went through a very interesting HR exercise today on Diversity. As part of our training, we were asked to watch a short film put together by ABC in 1968, in the wake of Dr Martin Luther King's assasination.

I thought it would be interesting to share with all Medhavis the follow up to the film (from 1985 by PBS) that covers both the 1968 film (where a class of 3rd graders are taught an unique lesson about prejudice) as well as feedback from the students 14 years hence, and additional reporting on the training technique and it's effects.