Hrydaya?


The problem with trying to run away to make things better is that we still bring ourselves with us. We don’t have the luxury of hitting the “reset” button after we’ve done things that we wish we had not done.
Yoga and meditation practice can help give us a sense, though, of being reset by giving us more and radical acceptance and compassion and the ability to simply marvel at the very intricacies of the dance. From there, we can release what binds from our history and continue on, knowing that it is a choice to respond in the same way as we have in the past when the old patterns confront us again (which they inevitably will).
A couple of weeks ago, I found a carved wood murti of Ganesha in a box on the sidewalk with some other stuff and a “free” sign. This Ganesha had serpents (nagas) rising over his head like a canopy–not uncommon imagery. Ganesha was “free” most likely because one of the nagas had broken off. It made me think of Ayyappa, Ganesha’s brother by a different mother. Ayyappa is apart from the others. Of Shiva’s three sons, he is the one who is either or both missing or extra. The trunk was also badly glued, but that can be remedied.
