Day 1 -

First Day

As long as we think we are ego,
We feel attached and fall into sorrow.
But realize that you are the Self, the Lord
Of life, and you will be freed from sorrow.
When you realize that you are the Self,
Supreme source of light, supreme source of love
You transcend the duality of life
And enter into the unitive state.
The Lord of Love shines in the hearts of all.
Seeing Self in all creatures, the wise
Forget themselves in the service of all.
(From the Mundaka Upanishad
Easwaran, E. (2002). (Ed.). The Upanishads. Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press.)

In the Brahmin faith (often referred to as Hinduism), the Supreme Being is both transcendent and immanent. Brahmin (or God or the Lord or the Goddess) is the immortal, transcendent, and perfect Divine One. And, at the same time, the spark of the Divine exists within us all and so this Divinity is immanent within each of us and all of Nature. There is a distinction between the little self or ego sense of an individual human and the larger Self or Spirit that unites us all. The more we focus on, become attached to, the little self or ego, the more sorrow we bring to our lives. The more we unite with the large Divine Self, the Infinite, the more we can see how the Divine pervades our universe and resides in us all. We can rise above the dualistic thinking that separates us from others, us from Nature, us from the Divine and enter that unitive state of complete love for all that exists. This prompts us to service, as vehicles for divine energy, as lovers of the large Self, as co-creators in a life devoted to bring forth the creative energies of the Divine. Meditation, selfless action, and knowledge of the Infinite can lead us to that peaceful, all-loving state of being.

(The Upanishads are from Sanskrit scriptures of India that date back to at least 1,000 B.C.E. Often called the Forest Teachings, the Upanishads are part of the larger works of the Vedic literature).