A Place of Refuge - 01.21.10

Coming together in a Satsang, or spiritual gathering, “creates a womb of love in which to bathe, in which to let go of the stresses that we have to deal with ‘out there’ in that world of non-love, of competition and anger and brutality,” explains Shunyamurti, the spiritual director of the Sat Yoga Institute in Costa Rica. “And the more we create a close-knit community of love, the more this becomes a refuge. And that’s what is important to the soul of each of us; we need a refuge. Everyone needs a place to be able to come and know that they’re accepted without judgment. Where they can sit and let go of everything.”

“And so we have to find the way to achieve the inner refuge. And that means we have to let go of the mind itself because the mind is where the problems lie. And we are attached to the mind because we identify with the body. As long as consciousness is identified with the physical organism, then the mind, with all of its defense mechanisms that are intended to protect that organism against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, will have to remain rigid and always on alert—and always thinking, manipulating, strategizing—to defend itself. But when we can let go of the mind—first at the ego level and then even at the soul level—then we can finally be at peace in our spirit, our Atman. That’s the only true refuge." Recorded on the evening of Thursday, January 21, 2010.