“Emergencies and crises,” the psychologist William James observed, “show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.” This is the opportunity that crisis and challenge offer us. Every one of us has capacities inside us that we have never even dreamed of, which we can learn to draw on in our daily lives. That is our legacy as human beings. – Eknath Easwaran
Now more than ever, we are grateful for Easwaran’s timeless wisdom and spiritual guidance. The global pandemic has brought not only anxiety about our physical health and that of our loved ones but also growing economic hardship as we all try to slow the spread of COVID-19. Yet even as we face these frightening challenges we are reassured by Easwaran’s reminder of our boundless capacities. We see these capacities emerging in people around the world as they strive to live out their spiritual ideals and serve their families and communities, and that fills us with hope.
Everyone at the BMCM and Ramagiri Ashram is doing well, including Easwaran’s wife, Christine. We are following orders to stay at home, and BMCM staff and volunteers continue to work from wherever they are. Our Press Team continues to work on long-term book projects, our Editorial Team continues to work on the Blue Mountain Journal, and our Programs Team has launched BMCM Satsang Live, a twice-weekly video satsang. Our mission to share Easwaran’s teachings with the world feels more urgent than ever.
The BMCM began 2020 with three organization-wide strategic planning goals: to simplify, get sustainable, and go deep. Though the year is unfolding in ways we could never have imagined, these goals feel more and more applicable to our organization, our mission, and our collective spiritual practice.
At this time, with great faith in our future and as painful as it is to do so, we’ve decided to cancel all our remaining 2020 in-person retreats and internships. We have made this decision for the safety of our retreatants, presenters, and community, but it also enables us organizationally to plan more effectively for the immediate future. Instead of watching and waiting from month to month, we can now settle down to working on the possible online offerings we can provide to support passage meditators right where they are.
We make all these decisions secure in the knowledge that, through Easwaran’s books, talks, and eight-point program of passage meditation, each of us has everything we need to turn inward, deepen our spiritual practice, and draw on our inner resources to support all around us. Please also take full advantage of the video and audio talks on the Easwaran Digital Library to learn directly at this time from Easwaran himself.
In the face of so much change, we are reminded of Easwaran's message that our passages come from a place that is changeless. We’ve been meditating on the passage United in Heart and invite you to join us. There has also never been a time to lean so hard on the mantram. Let’s all keep our mantram going like never before, and draw on that changeless security to calm our minds, go deep, and serve in whatever ways we can.
Everyone here at the BMCM is keeping your well-being and good health in our thoughts and prayers. We are wishing you the very best.
Warmly,
David Bishop
BMCM President