Day 9
Work
There is so much work to be done. Don’t delay...
“We, Jah people, can make it work
Come together and make it work
We can make it work
We can make it work...”
In book one of the 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Swatmarama states:
66. Whether young, old or too old, sick or lean, one who discards laziness, gets success if he practices Yoga.
पुष्टं सुमधुरं स्निग्धं गव्यं धातुप्रपोषणम् ।"
मनोभिलषितं योग्यं योगी भोजनम् आचरेत् ॥६६॥
puṣṭaṁ sumadhuraṁ snigdhaṁ gavyaṁ dhātu-prapoṣaṇam ।"
manobhilaṣitaṁ yogyaṁ yogī bhojanam ācaret ॥66॥
67. Success comes to him who is engaged in the practice. How can one get success without practice; for by merely reading books on Yoga, one can never get success.
युवो वृद्धो.अतिवृद्धो वा व्याधितो दुर्बलो{.}[अ]पि वा ।"
अभ्यासात् सिद्धिम् आप्नोति सर्वयोगेष्व् अतन्द्रितः ॥६७॥
yuvo vr̥ddho.ativr̥ddho vā vyādhito durbalo-{.}[a]pi vā ।"
abhyāsāt siddhim āpnoti sarva-yogeṣv atandritaḥ ॥67॥
68. Success cannot be attained by adopting a particular dress. It cannot be gained by telling tales. Practice alone is the means to success. This is true, there is no doubt.
क्रियायुक्तस्य सिद्धिः स्याद् अक्रियस्य कथं भवेत् ।"
न शास्त्रपाठमात्रेण योगसिद्धिः प्रजायते ॥६८॥
kriyā-yuktasya siddhiḥ syād akriyasya kathaṁ bhavet ।"
na śāstra-pāṭha-mātreṇa yoga-siddhiḥ prajāyate ॥68॥
The Pickaxe
I was a hidden treasure, and I desired to be known.
Tear down this house. A hundred thousand new houses can be built from the transparent yellow carnelian buried beneath it,
and the only way to get to that is to do the work of demolishing and then digging under the foundations.
With that value in hand all new construction will be done without effort
And anyway, sooner or later this house will fall on its own.
The jewel treasure will be uncovered, but it won't be yours then. The buried wealth is your pay for the doing the demolition, the pick and shovel work.
If you wait and just let it happen, you'd bite your hand and say, "I didn't do as I knew I should have." This is a rented house. You don't own the deed.
You have a lease, and you've set up a little shop, where you barely make a living sewing patches on torn clothing.
Yet only a few feet underneath are two veins pure red and bright gold carnelian. Quick! Take the pickaxe and pry the foundation. You've got to quit this seamstress work.
What does the patch-sewing mean, you ask. Eating and drinking. The heavy cloak of the body is always getting torn.
You patch it with food, and other restless ego-satisfactions. Rip up one board from the shop floor and look into the basement. You'll see two glints in the dirt.
- Rumi
Coleman Barks "The Essential Rumi"
Bob Marley fans have a listen:
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