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TRANQUILITY PRACTICE MAY REDUCE PAIN
Ted Srinathadas Czukor
December 07, 2004

This is one of the “highest” teachings I have ever realized. But since it has taken me so long to get here, I know that most people will simply think I was “high” when I wrote this. They will not think it is achievable. But I assure you that it can be achieved, when your time has come.

Santosha is the Sanskrit word for contentment, or equanimity, or “seamlessness” – the ability to remain calm and undisturbed regardless of circumstances. This is incredibly hard. In fact, the first part of the word, “Sant,” indicates that it is an attribute of Saintliness. Hard work and constant attention are required. You cannot forget about it for one moment. 

I have learned that Santosha may be developed by following the precepts of the revered Reiki Master, Dr. Usui:

          Just for today, I will give thanks for my many blessings.
          Just for today, I will not be angry.
          Just for today, I will not worry.
          Just for today, I will do my work honestly.
          Just for today, I will be kind to my teachers, my parents, my students (I added that one), my neighbors, and all living things.

To simplify, just keep repeating this: No Anger. No Worry. Be Honest. Be Kind. It makes an excellent mantra. Turn over one bead for each. No Anger. No Worry. Be Honest. Be Kind.

I have written in the past about the art of releasing Anger. You may also read about it in Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das.

As for giving Thanks - if you’re like me, you are already thankful as a matter of habit, for you were born into far more fortunate circumstances than most of the rest of the world. By this time in my life I have learned to appreciate that fact. I am grateful for it every day that I listen to the news.

Honesty should be self-evident. If I bring honesty to my work, I will have no cause to be defensive about it. If questioned about why I do, or don’t do, something in my classes, I can respond openly and with interest. Either I have a good reason, or it will turn out that I never thought of it before. Would the questioner be kind enough to demonstrate it for us? I am happy to learn something new every day. I do not feel threatened by it; I feel that it increases me.

And what of Kindness to all? It is so easy to be unkind. I have the utmost respect for the majority of my colleagues in the Yoga teaching field, but there are a few individuals with whom I have problems. Sometimes, when people ask what I think of such teachers, I exercise a certain level of honesty by telling them! But if my honesty is total, I must admit that my viewpoint is limited, and that these teachers have tremendous followings, equal to or larger than my own. What they offer, therefore, is obviously what a lot of people need.

Occasionally students have learned to do Yoga in a manner that I deem incorrect or unsafe – sometimes from a bad teacher, but more often through their own failure to listen properly to a good one! Whatever the case, though, all students are rational beings who believe they have a reason for what they do. I must be kind enough to give them the benefit of the doubt, to determine what that reason is. They might know something I don’t - or I may be able to clarify the process for them once I have uncovered their misunderstanding. In either case, I will have respected them. They will not go away feeling patronized or mistreated.

Do not think that Kindness to your Parents is no longer an issue if they have passed on. You can still be kind or hurtful to them in your mind. And that can make the difference between poisoning your own guts, or cleaning them out!

“What, me worry?” “Don’t worry; be happy!” I would like to point out that “not worrying” is actually very intelligent – far more so than we realized when we used to laugh at Alfred E. Neuman in MAD magazine! Because “not worrying” is different from not caring. Of course we will care about our life problems - and we will do everything we can to address them. But Worry only ties us in knots, just as Fear freezes us up. They both make it harder to act clearly and effectively. To be inventive and empowered in our lives, we must keep fear and worry as far away as possible. Neither one has any positive benefit!

The most occult discovery I have made about Santosha is that, when properly achieved and maintained, it might actually be a means of reducing physical pain. If we refuse to be angry or to worry, and if we can truly be honest and kind, internal tension will be relaxed and muscles deep inside our bodies will cease to spasm. If those muscle spasms cease, pressure on nerves and trigger-points will be released. If those nerves stop being perpetually irritated, then pain may be lessened to a remarkable extent.

But here is the hard part: You must not practice Santosha with any other motivation than Santosha itself. For if you do it while expecting release from pain, or from any other problem in your life - but that expectation is not met – then your anger, resentment and worry will return. You will be even farther from Santosha than when you began!

So do not practice Tranquility for any ulterior reward. It is sufficiently absorbing - and sufficiently difficult - to be a complete practice unto itself.

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OM SHANTI, SHANTI, SHANTI
[Peace, Peace, Peace]