May-June 2005 - The Journey Magazine

Tantric PathTo EnlightenmentBeing PresentBy ShakthiWhat is the big deal about being present? Why aremost of the Swamis, Saints and Gurus so caught up inthis thing? If not this moment there is always anothermoment, right?I read a lot of books on this and intellectualized itquite a bit, until I figured it out mentally. But, I was stillin my analytical mode of existence and did not experiencethe present moment. It happened much later, thisknowing finally seeped into my heart through the “timeless”teachings of Ipsalu Tantra Kriya Yoga and ThePower of Now, a guide to spirituality by Eckhart Tolle.Before Tantra’s advent into my life I was more in myhead than my heart, after Tantra I am more heart thanhead! Now I realize that all of Yoga and every Sacredspiritual teaching is based on BEING PRESENT. This isthe simple essence of Spirituality; all teachings and techniquesdiffer only in the way that this truth is conveyed.Tantra has taught me that wherever I am, whoever Iam with, what ever I am doing, I have the chance to usethe circumstances, to connect with the timeless now, the“present moment” and find joy and peace within.Tantra says ––if you are angry–––be anger; if youare sad – be sad; if you are hungry – be hunger; if youdesire things – be desire. Being present with your feelingsrooted in the moment brings your salvation. Denyingour feelings will only reinforce the ego and preventus from realizing the beauty of existence as it is. Whenwe are present in this moment, we act from love as opposedto reacting from fear! The floodgates open andlove pours forth to wash away our mind-created illusionsand carry us towards divinity, towards our own Self.Being present denies the mind the drama that it cravesfor its existence. It enables us to lose our sense of individuality,it’s no longer me and mine, it just is!I recently was in a situation that gave me the opportunityto be either in my mind and create drama or actfrom love. I chose drama for a few minutes, trying toblame someone else for my self inflicted predicament,then I realized that the stuff bothering me did not existin that moment and had nothing to do with this wonderfulbeing. I let go. I came into the present moment, tothe Now, and things started flowing. Love flowered andI had a wonderful experience, one of the best I have hadin recent memory. (This is the mind again, comparingstuff. It’s not bad, if I didn’t have one, you would not bereading this!)The issue is not desires; the issue is our attachmentto the objects of our desires says Tantra. Siddhartha(The Buddha) might differ! I can’t please everyone.In the Ipsalu Tantra Kriya Yoga sessions, our focusis on being present right NOW – accepting our state ofPAGE THIRTY EIGHTMAY • JUNE 2005THE JOURNEY