An even better Tuesday explanation

As promised in our first post, we'll highlight the writings and goings-on of the five teachers who will lead the Confluence.

Tim Miller posted his weekly "Tuesdays with Timji" piece a short time ago, and this week's is a good primer on what Tuesday is all about and what the Ashtanga practice means, too:

Regarding Tuesdays, Guruji used to say, “Tuesday is a bad day.” When I asked him why he replied, “Some fighting.” In Vedic astrology, Tuesday is associated with the planet Mars. Of the planets, Mars is known as the “lesser malefic”—Saturn being the “greater malefic.” In Roman mythology Mars is the God of War--one of its primary associations has been with conflict, and accidents as well. Guruji would never shave on Tuesday because of this association of Mars with accidents, particularly accidents involving the head, since Mars rules the sign Aries, which is linked to the head. In Mysore, Guruji never gave anyone a new pose on a Tuesday, because of this potential for accidents.

I tend to think of Tim as as much Vedic astrologer as Yogi, if one can unwind those two. Check out his thoughts if you haven't already or don't normally.

He gives a little shout-out to Hanuman, too.

Note: We've moved to http://theconfluencecountdown.com/.

If it's Tuesday, it must be Hanuman

Those of you who follow or are at least familiar with some Hindu practices know that Tuesday is a day when we worship and remember Hanuman.

Hanuman, to be all too brief, is Rama's great, devoted servant. A vanara, a monkey-like race, Hanuman is the one who (spoiler alert!) finds Sita after she has been abducted by the demon Ravana. That story is from the Ramayana, a version of which Bobbie talks about below.

Often, I think, we have an image of Hanuman that emphasizes his "monkeyness." Yes, we know he's brave, we know he's a great warrior, but he's still just a monkey -- not even a more powerful looking ape.

In Ramesh Menon's Ramayana, however, when we first meet Hanuman, he easily picks up and carries both Rama and his brother, Lakshmana. Menon describes him as "tall as a tree." The monkeyness isn't downplayed, but it is clear that the description is really just our -- humans' -- best approximation of what a vanara is. We are, after all, hearing a story from two yuga ago -- the treta yuga, when things weren't nearly as messed up as they are now. How are we supposed to grasp the nuisance of Hanuman's nature and being?

That's one of our great challenges, of course: to understand the meaning of those ancient stories.

For me, thinking of Hanuman as much more than just a monkey, but certainly not as an ape, helps mightily with grasping the complexity of his devotion, his faith, his service and, yes, his strength.

And his strength is awfully attractive come Urdhva Dhanurasana.

Note: We've moved to http://theconfluencecountdown.com/.