Hari OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
Thus far in 2018, we have been focusing on getting practical with our application of Vedanta. To make it real in life, we have to work at it. Spiritual philosophy, by its very nature, can seem esoteric and impractical. Which is why, throughout the literature, there are found exercises and methods by which we can interface the secular with the spiritual.
In Vedanta, is the saadhana-chatushtaya. The four rules of practice. You have read about these here, before. (See label in the sidebar.) The thing, though, is that these are the workaday tools of practice. Having read them, now use them! Over these four posts of February, then, you will be prompted to make the s-c a part of your daily life, that they become second nature to you and do not remain as just concepts written in words upon a page, but activities within your every thought, word and deed.
VIVEKA
Discrimination. It is not merely choosing between what is a healthy food or not, whether to punish one's child or not. It is about assessing what, if anything, deserves your attention, taking it away from the divine. The main point is, therefore, that your central focus is continually on the Higher and that interacting with the world is an interruption to that connection. If we are to be interrupted from this focus, let it be for something worthy. This is the essence of viveka.
While there has to be interaction with the external, let it be with compassion, Love with the capital 'ell', a sense of lightness in the heart and clarity of mind.
Your saadhana for the next seven days is to concentrate on your viveka. Make good food choices, yes, be tolerant of children (and adults) who may err according to your vision, keep a constant 'OM' in the forefront of your mind and use it as your anchor throughout each day. At the end of each day, record how many times the OM was forgotten and lost from sight. This is the measure of how much effort is required to improve your viveka. This is Vedanta at work.
