Vesak May 2023

Hello Yogis!

Buddhists are celebrating ‘Vesak’ today. The full moon in May is when Buddhists celebrate the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death. Apparently these events all happened under a May full moon. It’s the Buddhist Christmas and Easter in one.

Whatsapp is full of well-wishes between family and friends. Here’s one of the messages I got this morning, it’s doing the rounds:

“Buddha taught one great truth to the world. He declared that it is not what the Vedas and scriptures say that constitutes truth. People should bear in mind that non-harming is the supreme virtue. Do not cause harm to anyone by thought, word or deed.

“What does Poornima (full moon) signify? It signifies wholeness. When the mind is filled with love, it achieves fullness. As long as the mind is filled with darkness (evil thoughts) there is no meaning in observing Buddha Purnima (Buddha’s full moon/Vesak). Get rid of this darkness. Without the light of love in the heart, what is the use of having illuminations outside? Light the lamp of the Divine in your minds. Banish hatred and envy from your hearts. Man is the victim of two evil planets: attachment and hatred (Raga and Dwesha). To escape from their grip, the only way is to cultivate love”.

Nice, eh!

Classes

I’ve cancelled the class on this bank holiday Monday. Come to class: Monday and Tuesday = stretchy classes at 7.00pm, Wednesday = Ashtanga at 7.00pm and Friday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30am. You can book here.

Yoga In The News

BBC Sounds has: The New Gurus, Looking for enlightenment in the digital world. Episode 1. The birth of the new guru. All of the programmes are interesting. This one talks about Russel Brand and his charismatic influential teacher offering enlightenment. The programme starts with a look at the Steve Jobs whose final gift to all who attended was Autobiography of a Yoga.

Have a nice listen. Have a lovely, long weekend. Happy Vesak.