Message I received yesterday from Swami Sitaramananda from the Sivananda Yoga Farm:

Bringing Harmony to Chaos

There is an intelligence in Nature which we need to tap into to understand how to bring Harmony to Chaos, Peace to Conflict, Forgiveness to Pain, Wisdom to Ignorance. This can be applied personally or collectively by following these guidelines:

—There is nothing outside of you that is not also inside. What you experience is what you are meant to be aware of for your own evolution of consciousness. All is One. In reality, there is no separation between you and me, of your real Self and the object of experience. In other words, turn your gaze within.

—Where there is a separate “I” and a “me and mine” in play, pay attention, it will bring chaos and suffering down the line.

— “The answer lies within.” Find the root cause of the suffering within. Delay the blaming.

—Recognize tamas: Tamas is the denial. Tamas is the force of nature and the subconscious mind to carry on with the habits, preconceived notions and impressions of the past. Tamas does not question them. It is the lack of awareness that the possibility of change is in one’s hands. It is the self pity and the victimhood, the anxieties and insomnias, the overdose of pain killers, and the root of addictive behaviors.

—Calm down the rajas: Rajas is the jumping to conclusion of the ego, the judgment and the biased interpretation without a larger picture, the reactive actions, the running away or the running towards, the fight and flight in stress mode, the anger and resentments, the defensive attacks, the wars and abuses.

—Often Tamas and Rajas are working together intimately. Ignorance, fear and denial fuel the angers and frustrations and veil the solution to the problem, projecting them onto some outside reasons or perceived aggressors.

—Sattwa is Light, purity, revelation. One need not do anything to find a solution, but just cease denial and fear (tamas) and cease reaction, impatience or control (rajas) and calm down through Yoga, breathing, relaxation, proper diet and meditation practices. Yoga practices and lifestyle improve sattwa.

—Endurance of the karmas, detachment from the battlefield, perseverance in duty, asking for guidance and advice from the wise, allow for solutions and understanding to be revealed through sattwa. To solve the conflict or problem, one needs to have faith in the cosmic evolution, the goodwill of the Divine to lead us to our ultimate good, that all is happening for the best, that the guiding hand of the divine mother is there to support us in our journey to realize the ultimate pure light (pure sattwa).

—Light destroys darkness just by its presence. Knowledge destroys ignorance. Revelations and insight pierce through veils to save us.