Lifting the veil …

 In the coming months I look forward to celebrating both my sister Tamara and my friend Chantal (one of kula’s wonderful tecahers) as they marry their beloved partners Braden and Gary.  It is definitely wedding season and a sweet time to contemplate love.  Personally, I think any day is a fine day to contemplate love and I know that I am in good company with many musicians, artists, and daydreamers.

 

Tantric philosophy proposes that when the one light fragments into diversity (the world as we know it – you, me, everyone and everything) we connect and share this light through love.  Therefore all hearts pulse with the attributes of the one universal heart that at its very essence is love, peace and joy.  Consequently love isn’t something we have to search for or create but rather something we just need to tune in to as it flows through each of our hearts.  To delve deeply into your own heart and know your own nature is to experience love and discover freedom. 

 

The trouble and the gift of the universe is that it cloaks itself so that it can later delight in the revelation of its own light.  These veils are called malas in Sanskirit.  There are three malas that cloak the heart.  The first is Anava Mala which causes us to feel like we are lacking and unworthy to receive love. We know that the heart is shrouded by Anava Mala when we feel a deep sadness.  Perhaps Bella’s love of Edward in the popular series Twilight is cloaked by Anava Mala. She spends most of the time unable to understand why Edward has chosen to love her and as a result forces him to prove his love over and over.  If the veil were to be lifted it would allow her to experience a deeper sense of peace in her relationship.

 

The next is Mayiya Mala  which creates a sense of separation, rather than seeing the things that unite us we can only perceive difference. This mala leads to prejudice and anger. Scarlett and Rhett of Gone with the Wind constantly fight in their stormy marriage that parallels the civil war.  A veil that when lifted allows them to experience passionate love.

 

The third is Karma Mala which disempowers us from acting from a place of fullness.  Karma Mala leaves us feeling anxious.  Shakespear’s Othello tragically destroys his relationship with Desdamona because of a monstrous fear that she has not been faithful to him.  A mala so strong that it robs him of the experience of joy in his relationship.

 

Sadly these veils are responsible for much suffering and confusion in the lives of both fictional and real life characters. Though the examples above are extreme and rather dramatic, the experience of the anxiety, anger and sadness in relationship is natural.  However, these are not places that we want to dwell in a healthy relationship.  Rather through the practice of awareness and yoga we can move towards the sweet vibrations of joy, peace and love.  In fact, it is this shift from the dark (the challenging emotions we encounter in relationship) into the light (the pure beauty and ecstasy we feel in relationship) that makes being alive such a grand gift. It is only in the contrast of light and dark that we can really come to understand and appreciate the light.

 

Life partnerships are just one way that these universal qualities of love can be revealed to us.  Fear not if you don’t find yourself in this type of relationship whether it be by choice or if you are still seeking a partner. In fact, prema, the highest love can be discovered through the relationship you have within and with the world that surrounds you.  Prema is abundant, ever expanding and always full. So no matter where you are (perhaps at the beginning of a beautiful partnership, years into a committed relationship, exploring and celebrating being single again, seeking a mate or healing your heart) if you pay attention and open up to both your inner and outer world you will discover that you are never lacking in love.  The source of this love may not be what you expected but rather a magnificent current of love that feeds you from all directions. With outstretched arms take it all in, taste and savour and then offer it back to the world. So much suffering comes from trying to hold on to something that isn’t ours to hold on to. In fact, when we tighten our grasp we block the energy from flowing freely and we lose the sensitivity that enables us to feel the love that surrounds us. Imagine the difference between a clenching fist or a supportive hand. The clenching fist never lets go and can lead to suffocation and stagnation of love.  With trust the supportive hand makes room for the grace that cultivates the love. 

 

So in celebration of this wedding season I invite us all to commit to remembering our true nature, to recognizing when our heart becomes cloaked, and to diligently lift the veils of the heart to ever experience and offer more peace, love and freedom in all of our relationships.

With an open palm,

Christi-an

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Kahlil Gibran on Love