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A class on Chapter 8, The Yoga of the Absolute Freedom, of the Bhagavad Gita, as translated by Stephen Mitchell, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2000. The class spent time on the passages: Whoever in his final moments thinks of me only, is sure to enter my state of being once his body is dead. I will teach you about the state called the eternal, the absolute, which those who strive toward me enter desireless, freed from attachments.
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A class on Chapter 8, The Yoga of the Absolute Freedom, of the Bhagavad Gita, as translated by Stephen Mitchell, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2000. The class spent time on the passages: Whoever in his final moments thinks of me only, is sure to enter my state of being once his body is dead. I will teach you about the state called the eternal, the absolute, which those who strive toward me enter desireless, freed from attachments.
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The speaker begins by leading a group in a chant to promote peace and inner calm. They then discuss the concept of the Yoga of Absolute Freedom and share a statement from Eknath S. Waran about love and compassion. They emphasize the importance of speaking truthfully, kindly, and only when necessary. The conversation shifts to the idea of being a doormat and how to navigate situations where one may feel taken advantage of or mistreated. Different perspectives are shared, including the importance of addressing issues of abuse and low self-esteem. The speaker also introduces the idea of evaluating rather than judging, and the importance of self-reflection when receiving negative feedback. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the difference between judging and evaluating. Welcome everyone, let's enlist our whole bodies to feel that same peacefulness by chanting three aums together with our feet on the floor and our tailbones solidly fixed to our chair, straightening our spines and lifting the back of our heads, and with a deep in-breath, Aum, Aum, Aum, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, and feel your body, feel the peace in your body, feel the peace spreading within you, through your body and glowing outwards, letting our inner peace flow outwards. Coming back into the room, today we're going to do the Yoga of Absolute Freedom, which is also known as the Yoga of Absolute Truth. Different translations. And I want to start with a little review of where we come from. This is a statement from Eknath S. Waran, who also has translated the Bhagavad Gita, and has a daily email in which he often references it. So I'd like to read that to you today. The Blessed Lord said, The one I love, who is incapable of ill will, and who returns love for hatred, living beyond the reach of I and mine, of pain and pleasure, full of mercy, contented, self-controlled, of firm resolve, with all his or her heart and all of his or her mind given to me, with such a one I am in love. Eknath S. Waran's commentary is, In personal relationships we all get troubled when we do our best to be kind to someone, and that person treats us with hostility or ill will in return. This is common in life today, and most of us quickly reach the end of our tether. I don't want to see you again, we say. I want to get as far away from you as possible, we say. All of us have these human impulses, but that is just where the Gita or Jesus or the Buddha would say, No, that is the way of the timid, that is the way of the weak. Stick it out, not by becoming a doormat, not by blindly obeying whatever command the other person gives you, but by resolutely refusing to hurt anyone, no matter how much you have been hurt. It is a great art. Compassion comes with insight into the heart of life, as we see more clearly the unseen forces that drive a person into action. Ultimately, compassion extends to every creature. There's a saying regarding what we say when we speak, particularly to others. There's a saying, which I like. Is it true? Now, not just a little true here, a little true there, which is often how we speak, with a coloring of where we come from, some opinion or assumption we've made. No. Can you be impeccable with your word? As Don Miguel Ruiz says in the Four Agreements. Can you be impeccable with your word? Not a hint of untruth. So those are the three agreements. This is number one of the three agreements when we speak. Is it true? Number two is, is it kind? Particularly when there's some upset or conflict going on. Is it kind? And the third, it's called the gatekeeper of the mouth is, is it necessary? And that kills a lot of what we might say. Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it really necessary? Now, that's not to say we don't engage in common niceties, how are you today, and how's the weather, and so on. No. This is when you're involved in intense conversation. Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Questions? Yeah, how do you avoid judgmentalism between evaluating is it true and is it kind? That would be the thing to consider. If you have a truth, but your judgment may say, oh, but is this kind? Maybe not. Just because something is true doesn't mean the universe wants you or impels you to say it. Right, is it necessary? Is it kind and is it necessary? Maybe not necessary. If we feel that something is true because we are human beings, often what we see as truth has color in it. That's why Don Miguel Ruiz teaches a whole course, the Four Agreements of being impeccable with your word. When you are impeccable with your word, you've removed the judgment from your word. It's a challenge. The judgment is removed. In other words, there's a deeper truth without judgment. Yes, Ellie. Would you have any more comments on being a doormat? Being a doormat. The second of the Four Agreements is don't take anything personally. Don't take anything personally. When we take things personally, then sometimes we can judge ourselves as being acting like a doormat. Oh, they're taking advantage of me because of what they said. Or they said something that hurts me. Am I just going to be a doormat and let them get away with it? They said something which hurts me and it's not even true. Am I just going to be a doormat and let them run all over me and say whatever they want? It turns out that in our deeper self, we can be independent of what people say. Independent. We have to work at it. That's why these three gatekeepers are useful. So we want to say something. You're treating me like a doormat and I don't like it. That's the truth for us, it seems like one. The second gatekeeper, is it kind? No, not too kind. You're making, you're accusing the other person of doing something which they may not have had any intention of doing. You're the one that feels like a doormat. They may have had no thought of making you a doormat at all. It's just what they thought their truth was. And that's where the third agreement of talking comes in. Is it necessary that you defend yourself because you feel like you're a doormat? No, not really. Because in the universe of things, where they are at has nothing to do with your inner serenity and peace. As long as you have practiced your spiritual principles, so that you've used them in non-conflict situations and then when the conflict comes up, you're prepared. That would be my response to the doormat thinking. How does that feel to you? I'm going to write it down. You still feel like a doormat. Especially in family relations. Yes, is there a comment from the Zoomers, please? Andrew. Yeah. I disagree. I disagree a lot with what you just said. I think that... How do I say this? There's a lot of different ways about the way people treat each other. Not only that, but you can talk about it from privilege, entitlement, self-esteem, codependency, relationships, abuse. Different people treat other people badly. It does happen for all kinds of different reasons, and it's a very real thing. But even aside from that, what you were touching on about people bringing it upon themselves or having that perception, I think that there are some people who believe that they should be treated like doormats. For whatever reason, people who might have low self-esteem, issues of abuse, that some people may expect to be treated like doormats or may act in such a way that it elicits that response from other people. But that's still wrong. It's still a phenomenon that we need to address. I've heard the term codependency, that some people may not seek certain goals because they feel that they have lower self-esteem and that I am deserving of this position in life. So people may create the dynamics, but it's still real, and it's something that should be addressed for everyone to feel loved. Sometimes it's difficult. It's difficult to love equally different kinds of people, especially when we bring our own baggage to the table. But it's real. It's a real issue. Andrew, thank you for sharing those insightful comments. And this is a topic which we could spend the rest of our class discussing, people's different experiences and different reactions to feeling like a doormat. Anyone else wish to share something on this before we move on? Yes, Russ. I so appreciate your raising the three questions because it reminded me that when I hear negatives directed at me, I can ask myself those questions of them. So let's say somebody says, Russell, you're a horrible minister because XYZ program just didn't work for me. Then I can ask myself, is what they're saying true? So that means being really humble. Are they delivering information, maybe unskillfully, but are they giving me information that's very helpful? Is it kind? Well, sometimes I receive comments that are not kind, and I can just acknowledge, that was not kind. I don't have to make them wrong or bad, but how it landed with me was unkindly. And then the question, is it necessary? So even if somebody gave me information that I received that may be true and may be unskillfully delivered, is it necessary for my soul growth and evolution as a human being? Is there something in this that is for me? That's why I often say, how can what is before me be for me? So I have to like it in the least. And I may not have really appreciated it, but it might be something I can use and leverage for my greater good from what I consider unskillful and unkind communication. Or if it wasn't necessary, it wasn't true, and it wasn't kind, I can just simply acknowledge all three things and move on. Thank you. Yes? When you said about judgment, I think there's a difference between the words judgment and to evaluate. When we judge, then we're saying something is right and wrong. And if something's wrong in the society that we live in, it needs to be punished, and there's guilt. We're always going to be making some kind of evaluation of things, but when I evaluate it, then I say to myself, is this bringing me the outcome that I desired? And maybe it is and maybe it isn't, but I don't put any judgment on it, it's just not working for the situation that I'm in. Now I have a choice to do something else. So I haven't guilted anybody, I just need to learn to evaluate things. And then there's no attachment to it. I like that comment. Thank you, thank you. The difference between judging and evaluating. Because we have to evaluate all the time. What am I going to wear this morning? What am I going to eat? Who am I going to give my money to? Am I going to give it to the church and him, or am I going to give it to doctors without borders? Right, so judging involves some moral issues, whereas evaluating sounds more like a stepping back and observing the way things are. I appreciate your mentioning that. There's no guilt involved. Anyone else have any other comments? These are beautiful comments, I'm very grateful. Are we good to move on? Yes. We're good to move on. The chapter that we're going to study today, the Yoga of Absolute Freedom, or Absolute Truth, is a challenge for us. And it's a challenge for the translator. Because it involves some concepts that we are not that familiar with and haven't really thought about. For example, one of the key concepts is the concept of parusha. Parusha, that's a Sanskrit word. The essence behind the changing forms in nature. Parusha, the essence behind the changing forms in nature. That may not be something that we think about, the essence behind the changing forms in nature. What I have found is the Sanskrit language is full of words that address our spiritual life, words that we don't have in English. So the translator, the poet, has a challenge to present those concepts to us in a way that we can understand. Let's begin the Yoga of Absolute Freedom. Here we go. Arjuna said, What is this absolute freedom, Krishna? What is the self? What is the true nature of action? The nature of beings and of gods. There's so much crammed into that. Let's look at what Arjuna asked. What is this absolute freedom, Krishna? Question number one. What is the self? Capital S, self. Question number two. What is the true nature of action? Three. And the true nature of beings and of gods. That's a lot to munch over, isn't it? Arjuna goes on. Here's a number five. Teach me the way of worship. What it is here in the body. Teach me the way of worship. What it is here in the body. Now that question, as all questions, makes an assumption, doesn't it? All questions have assumptions built into them. Teach me the way of worship. What is it here in the body? That assumes that worship is in the body. Perhaps the whole body. Is that true for us? Or do we just worship in our minds? With what we think and say. So Arjuna says, asks, teach me the way of worship. What it is here in the body. And finally, the seventh. And how is it at the hour of death can a man be with you or a woman be with you in spirit? That's a lot to cover, isn't it? A lot to cover. The blessed Lord said, so here we go. The Lord Krishna is going to try and answer some of these questions. Isn't this interesting and wonderful that here we have a whole scripture where God or the Lord is talking all the time? We don't really have that so much in our Christian scriptures, do we? He gave Moses the Ten Commandments and said something about the burning bush and so on. But there's not a lot of instances where the Lord God speaks. And here in this tradition, he's a big talker, Krishna. Gives a lot of information. There we go. The blessed Lord said, freedom is union with the deathless. With what? Deathless. Freedom is union with the deathless. So what is the deathless? This sounds like he assumes everybody knows what the deathless is. Well, what is it? Anybody have a clue? What? What? Your soul. Your soul. Soul. So your soul is the deathless. It doesn't die. Some say it wasn't born and it doesn't die. Good. So the soul is another word for the deathless. Anyone else? Good, the soul. So freedom is union with the soul. What does that mean? Union with the soul. I thought we were already united. I've got the soul and here I am. And it's just the nature of things that I'm united with my soul, isn't it? No. No? Well, it's the higher nature. But in this dimension, it's not always clear. So it's the higher nature. Maybe there is something, the soul, which is beyond our senses. Now here you experience where we're getting into a different way of thinking. We're not used to thinking. Is that the space here? Maybe it's the space in the mudra where the divine essence of ourself and the human essence of ourselves comes into contact, that energy. So we can make many interpretations of this. Freedom is union with the deathless. It goes on, the capital S self, which we sometimes call the soul, although it's not quite the same. The self is the essence of all things. So that capital S self. Now he has answered the question, what is self? Remember that was the second question? What's this absolute freedom and what is the self? The self, capital S self, is the essence of all things. Remember that word parusha I gave you, which is the essence in all things. So in Sanskrit thinking there is some essence in all things. And now the blessed Lord says the self is the essence of all things. The self is parusha. That's what it says in the original sloka. Its creative power, the power of the self, called action, causes the whole world to be. Yes, sir. Friday night I think it was, we watched a show on PBS about Swami Vivekananda, who first brought the teachings to America. And George Lucas was a devotee and inspired by his writings and his teaching. And this is the concept behind the force that we see in Star Wars. That's exactly what he's talking about. The essence. Parusha. The self is the essence of all things. Its creative power, called action, causes the whole world to be. And now he goes on to answer some of the extra questions that Arjuna brought up. About beings, like ourselves, know that they die. We die. About gods, know the Supreme Person. How are we to know the Supreme Person? How are we to know the Supreme Person? Through our spiritual practices. Perhaps through the experience of our mudra, which we experienced the other day. We get a little insight. Our meditation practice, perhaps. We get to know the Supreme Person. And I would suggest that there's not a state where we don't know the Supreme Person and then, oh, now I got it. Now I know the Supreme Person. Probably not. Rather, it's a process. We have some insights into that Supreme. But it's still fuzzy, perhaps, and cloudy. Are we willing to be open to know more about that Divine Essence, which we've heard about and other people seem to experience, but we're just not quite there yet. Are we open to traveling down that spiritual path, see what comes up for us. So about gods, know the Supreme Person and know that true worship is I. Krishna's talking about himself now. Know that true worship is I, myself, here in this body. Krishna asked him, remember, teach me the way of worship here in this body. So Krishna replies, true worship is I, myself, here in this body. And that's the same thing as our Christian teachings. Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart, thy mind, and thy soul. So Krishna says that true worship is worshiping this I, myself, here in this body. Now isn't this interesting? Krishna has advised us, and we just heard in that message I gave earlier, that we need to free ourselves of this I, mind consciousness. Everything is I, mind. That's yours, this is mine. They are they and we are we. It's I, mind consciousness, which seems pretty hard because we're talking about I and mind all day long. And yet, here in the scripture, he uses the I, mind consciousness to describe himself. Know that true worship is I, myself, here in this body, his body. So it's not all straightforward. This is poetry as well as information. We're not studying a physics book here. We're studying poetry, which tries to get at the truth underneath facts. Poetry in scripture tries to get at the eternal truth, which is beneath the facts, and not necessarily associated with the facts. But that's the problem for the Western mind, that wants to get it right, wants to have the document, the statement, this is how you get it right. This is a very Eastern way of being. Yes, we want to get it right. But aren't we God? I'm not disagreeing, I'm just highlighting the Western... The background of our consciousness from which our questions arise. For example, who was it? It was Descartes who said, je pense que je suis... I forgot the French, but I think, therefore I am. That's a logical concept. We want to get on our heads and figure out logically, well I know the physics now, that the earth revolves around the sun, or the sun doesn't revolve around the earth, or maybe it's all relative, so let me figure out logically what God is. Oh, well I think I am, there's a start. This is all logic. So logic like this may be useful, but it doesn't necessarily take us to the eternal knowledge, which is beyond. Beyond. So we're going to talk some more about that. Let's see, the last question that... After Arjuna said, teach me the way of worship, he said, how at the hour of death can a man or woman be with you in spirit? This is an interesting part of this chapter, the Yoga of Absolute Freedom. So, the Lord says, whoever in his final moments thinks of me only is sure to enter my state of being once his body is dead. Is this something that you've thought about and planned for? Is this something that you've worked on in your spiritual life, so that in your final moments you think only of God? And then the scripture says, that person is sure to enter my state of being once his body is dead. Is this an issue for us? Oh, we don't care. We just figure, well, I know people die, and yes, I'm going to die, but I'll think about that some other time. Or maybe we do go get our will and everything put in order, just in case, so we don't burden our children and successors with things. Just in case. But that's sort of all we do in preparation for death. Now, Christia is telling us, whoever thinks only of me is sure to enter my state of being once his body is dead. Whatever the state of being that a man may focus upon at the end, when he leaves his body to that state of being, he or she will go. Is that an issue for us? Whatever the state of being that a person may focus upon at the end, when he leaves his body to that state of being, will he go? Maybe we don't care where we go after we die. In this tradition, where we go after we die is something of interest. So, what are the instructions? Therefore, Arjuna, meditate on me at all times and fight. Where did that come from? With your whole mind intent on me, you will come to me, never doubt it. And he says, fight. So this fight is something that's intrinsic to the whole Bhagavad Gita. And I'm going to read a passage now from another translation of the Gita by Sri Swami Satchitananda, which addresses this. Fight. Krishna has a clever way of doing things. Know that behind all the different reasoning, his aim is to make Arjuna face the situation, fight, and not run away. So, not running away is fighting. If you read the whole Gita, you keep coming across this hint, get up and fight. The underlying purpose is fight your war. Not the war on the battlefield, but your war. We are all on the battlefield, constantly fighting to win the game. It's not just a one-time war. Don't think if peace comes somewhere on the globe, there is peace in your heart. And as we know, in Sanskrit, there are different words for peace. We use peace both for not having war and also for inner peace. In Sanskrit, there is a word that stands for inner peace. It has nothing to do with wars. It's called shanti. Shanti. Which you say after we do the om. I do. I wish everyone inner peace. Om. Shanti. May you be blessed with the experience of the divine. Om. And may you be at peace. Shanti. Inner peace. Don't think that if peace comes somewhere on the globe, there is peace in your heart. The war is continually going on. The body and mind are a constant battlefield. Now and then, the Lord reminds us, don't give up. Fight with proper understanding. Then you can win the war. Here again he says, always keep your heart and mind absorbed in me. Then you will surely come to me. It's certain. He says, you will come to me. If that's something that you desire, to be in union with the divine, with God. And then he goes on to remind us, don't forget what this means, coming to me. Krishna is not a person. Just like our God, although we've depicted him as a person, isn't a person. Is she? Or he? He or she is an experience, the experience of peace and tranquility. That is God. Sri Swami Sathyananda teaches, the experience of peace and tranquility, that is God. You have to see how that lands for you. It is peace that's telling you, remember the goal of perfect peace and fight your war. Then you will ultimately be in peace. So these are concepts for us to try on, see if they fit. And would you like to do that now and see if any of these concepts fit for you? Let's give it a try. So far it's just been intellectual information. So we're going to give it a try. This is an experiment. Is everyone willing to be bold and try something and just see what happens? You don't have to agree with it, like Russ said. But you can see what happens. So let's allow our eyes to close. Our eyes close. And if you have a mind, put your hands, both hands, in your lap, table, and in a mudra. What are mudras? Touching the index finger, the two fingers. That's optional. Allow your eyes to close. If you're doing a mudra, experience the mudra. Eyes close. Make contact with your inner eye. Make eye contact with your inner eye. Pair up with your capital S self. Don't worry about understanding that instruction. Just go with the flow. See what happens. Make eye contact with your inner eye. Pair up with your self. Let's breathe into that. Breathe in. And out. Breathe in. And out. Breathe in. And out. In eye contact with your inner eye. Capital S self. Keeping the contact. Contact. Direct your attention and focus on the universe, to all that is manifest. Put your attention on all that is manifest in the universe. That's everything, including the stars and constellations, Mother Earth, all beings on Mother Earth, and yourself, and all of us. Direct your attention to all that universe, all that is manifest. All that is manifest. Now, redirect and focus your attention on the time of creation, before there were things. Focus your attention on the time before creation, before there were things, on the unmanifest. Focus on the unmanifest. Focus on the time before creation. Now let us take a larger leap, and direct your attention beyond the manifest and unmanifest states, whatever that means for you. Focus on beyond the manifest and unmanifest states, on eternal reality, however that shows up for you. And the last guidance is, now direct your peace and focus on total peace and tranquility within you, on God. Direct your attention to total peace and tranquility within you, on God, within you. Focus on God within you, total peace, total tranquility. Om Om Shanti, shanti, shanti. Shanti, shanti, shanti. Slowly, allow yourself to return to the room, and where you are seated. You can check with your eyelids now, and when your eyelids feel ready to open, you may open your eyelids. Does anyone have anything they wish to share about their experience of this meditation? The scripture now talks about what we have just meditated on. Here is Krishna talking to us again. He says, strong in the practice of yoga, and that is what we were just doing during the meditation. Remember, in the Sanskrit sense, in the Bhagavad Gita sense, yoga is not just postures. Rather, it's the whole way of life, including our physical postures, our mental aspect, what we do, how we think, and so on. Strong in the practice of yoga, with a mind that is rooted in me, just like in our meditation, and in nothing else, you will reach the supreme person that I am. You will reach the supreme person that I am. Of course, if this is something that you're interested in doing. This is the path you choose to be on. The scripture goes on, if you do this at the hour of your death, with an unmoving mind, drawing your breath up between your eyebrows, you will reach the person that I am. I will teach you about the state called the eternal, the absolute, which those who strive toward me enter, desireless and free from attachments. He goes on, closing the nine gates of the body, keeping the attention on the heart, drawing the breath to the forehead, with the mind absorbed, one-pointed, uttering the sacred Aum, which itself is freedom, focused on me as you leave the body, you attain the ultimate goal. How are we doing on time, Rev Ross? Five minutes. So there's the ultimate goal. I'd like to read you a little story now, in a light-hearted manner. And this is Reverend Sri Satyananda telling a little story about this experience of death. If you could die at the very last moment, it wouldn't matter what you did earlier, rather, if you could do this. If you could have this meditation at the very last moment, it wouldn't matter what you did earlier. You would attain the supreme goal, The trouble is, you can't just do that at the last minute unless you're prepared. So the instructions told us how to prepare to die, we close the nine gates of the body, we utter Aum, focus on God. But it might be a problem if we haven't practiced. So here's the story, with which we'll end today's session. I don't mind how they end up. The story is, once Mr. and Mrs. Shiva were going for a joyride in their jumbo jet. Satyananda is very playful. Yet Lord Shiva and the goddess Parvati were taking a pleasant flight. But Parvati looked down and saw a poor old blind man just walking along, repeating the names of God and goddess. Amba Shiva. Amba Shiva. Amba means mother. He was calling God as both father and mother. Amba, mother, and Shiva, masculine. When the goddess Parvati saw this naturally with her mother's heart, she thought, oh, my poor son. And she said to Shiva, Sir, don't you see my poor child? Yes, replied Shiva. Can we help him? He has been calling on us constantly. Can't you give him his sight so that he can see the road and walk easily? Now we get a piece of Hindu thinking. Well, dear, said Shiva, it's not that I'm a hard-hearted person, but it's not in my hands to give or take. He must be fit for that. He must be fit. In his previous birth, he never sympathized with handicapped people. So he was born blind this time. He never used his eyes to look at proper things. His eyes were always looking about at undesirable things. So he lost his sight this time around. Now he's purging his karma. A very Indian concept. Oh, that's all philosophy, said Parvati. If you really wanted to, you could surely help him. Yes, honey, but I can't go against his karma. It's not in my hands. If you are destined for something by your own karma, even God can't help you. God's law is just to give you the result of your actions. Like a hard stone wall. If you go and lean on it, fine. If you go and bang your head, you'll certainly get a lump. Would you say then, why did you give me a bump here? That wall can't do anything. God is neutral. Like that. So I can't do anything against my divine law. Yes, that's all fine, but I'm really moved by his plight. My heart is aching. Please do something. As they were arguing, Parvati saw the blind man walking toward a deep pit. Look, in another few yards, he's going to fall into that pit. Please either stop him, or give him his vision. I can't bear the sight of it. Okay, dear, but you are the one who gives everything. You're the one who converts everything to energy. You're the mother. You have the kind heart. You have equal power, if not more than I. You know that. You're the one to bless him. See, he's calling, Amba. No, you're just trying to get out of it. I can't do anything without your permission, even if I want to do it by myself. I should get your counsel. Don't you know we're married? I don't want this to create any tension in our family later on. Unless you say so, I won't do it. Sound familiar? Too familiar. Okay, honey, let's compromise. Soon, she says, soon, he's going to fall at any moment. Don't worry. We can help him any second. Even if he's falling, we can save him. We have that capacity. Now he's saying, Amba, Shiva, Amba, Shiva, both are names. Let's compromise. If he says Shiva, I'll do it. All right? That seems to be fair. Now be ready. Both of them carefully watched to see who would go to save the devotee. But as the man fell over, he cried out, Neither Amba nor Shiva. Shiva and Parvati looked at each other. Are you I? No. Are you? This is the test of a devotee. Prayers are like a mantra. When something is really disturbing, often people set aside their prayers and go to a lawyer or someone else for help. They never think of God. Any final comments before we close today? I would add that from previous lectures here, I keep thinking and coming back to this idea of we rent our space on earth. From the time we're born to the time we physically die, we have a rental contract with an open-ended contract. But the contract for rent comes to an end at some point. And that makes me feel easier to let go of what may be coming. Yes, the rental contract makes it easier for you to let go. And we must pay attention to what the contract says. In the rental contract it says, Look, you're the custodian of your body. You've got to take care of it. You've got to feed it some, but not too much. You've got to exercise it some, but not too much. You need to study the scripture, but not so that you become dogmatic. You need to do what is yours to do. And what is yours to do is Amba Shiva at the moment of death. Amba Shiva. Yes, Andrew, please. Yes, on a closing note, since we've been speaking about yoga so much, I wanted to invite everyone to the International Day of Yoga event that we're hosting at the Fairfax County Government Center on Friday the 21st. It's 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. It's free while we just get together and doing yoga and meditating at the Fairfax County Government Center. I'll hang up the flyer shortly, but I also put a flyer in the chat for those who are on Zoom, too. Thank you, Andrew. Thank you for sharing that. Anyone else want to share before we close? Let's get our feet back on the floor, wherever they are. Feel Mother Earth underneath our feet. Feel the chair pushing up against your tailbone. Feel the chair pushing up against your tailbone. Raise your backbone and straighten it. Raise the tip of your head. If you choose to do a mantra, rather a mudra, you do that now. Now take a deep breath. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Shanti. Go in peace. Aum.
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