The Splendor of Recognition
I have been diving into the Prayabhijna-hrdayam ("The Splendor of Recognition"). Martin Kirk invoked this text during his Anatomy workshop last weekend, which was so brilliant to link anatomy to spirituality. I've been reading some of the sutras in class this week. One of them, Sutra #4 is translated by Swami Shantananda as,"Even the individual, whose nature is Consciousness in a contracted state, embodies the universe in a contracted form." We as individuals are the universe in a contracted form; tiny universes floating around, bumping onto each other.
As Tantric yogis we know that because we are a contracted form of the universe, the possibility of expansion is always present, no matter where we are emotionally, no matter what is happening in our lives. The word "Tantra" breaks into two words ("tan" and "tra") which literally mean "methodology of expansion." Therefore we look for any and every way that we can expand our light: through yoga, through study, through meditation, through our language...
Last Tuesday I went to my friend Jo's house. Jo is a courageous and thoughtful yogi who I met many years ago at a yoga retreat. She just gave birth to her baby daughter Margaux. I stopped by her house to bring her some food, and on my drive back I was thinking of her. Because my native tongue is Spanish, I mostly think in that language. I was thinking how Jo just gave birth and how happy I was for her. And then it hit me. In Spanish the way we say that someone gave birth is, "Ella dio a luz." Which roughly translated is "She gave light." In Spanish we have this sublime way of speaking about birth as a woman bringing light to the world. And we say it so much we often don't even realize it.
Ah!
I almost stopped my car in order to give thanks to the language. We are light and continue to give birth to the light: one light which refracts into myriad colors. It was moment, just a moment, where language surprised me out of my stupor and the world became brighter. I felt alive and grateful to have paid attention to the magic that is ever present, hiding in plain sight.
Ella dio a luz.
And then someone honked at me; the traffic light had turned green. I waved my hand with sweetness and pressed on. I saw the exit to the 5 North Highway and took it, driving to my next appointment; following the rules of my embodied urban life.
encantada <3
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wonderful post. Love the way you summed up tantric yogi, everyything can be a gateway
xo
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