In preparation for my next Radiance Rising Circle, I am reading a section in Jesus, Buddha, Krishna and Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings, a beautiful book edited and with an introduction by Richard Hooper, Sanctuary Publications, Inc., Sedona, AZ, 2007. The section is entitled “Cutting the Ties That Bind – The Path of Renunciation.” One of the author’s spiritual heroes is Mahatma Gandhi. Hooper writes, “For Gandhi, the search for truth required that he follow the path of renunciation – being in the world, without being of it.”

I especially like the following paragraph: “Nevertheless, Jesus, Krishna, the Buddha and Lao Tzu all considered renunciation a necessary part of the spiritual path that cannot be avoided if one wishes to achieve enlightenment in this lifetime. But the path of the renunciate is a path that only a few will ever take in any age. Such a journey is even harder to contemplate for those of us who live in a materialistic culture that places little value on spiritual pursuits.”

As materialistic as our culture has become, there IS hope for it changing. Gandhi-ji said that first you have to change yourself and BE the change you wish to see in the world. As more and more people realize the importance of changing themselves through spiritual practices, our culture will gradually become less materialistic and more spiritual. (If you know someone who needs guidance on how to begin doing regular spiritual practices, tell them to check out my new book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living.)

Since very few people are destined to renounce everything and go to meditate in a Himalayan cave, how can we apply the teaching of renunciation to our busy, modern, daily lives? Jesus said, “Be in the world but not of it,” and so many other spiritual masters also stress the importance of renouncing the world, but how can we practically renounce the world when we are so in it?

We can gradually learn how to renounce through understanding spiritual principles and dedicating ourselves to doing daily spiritual practices. One of the most important spiritual principles to understand is that expectation causes suffering. If we practice renouncing expectations and accepting what IS, then we minimize the disappointments which cause anger and stress.

Releasing expectations and accepting what IS sounds great in concept, but how do we actually practice that in our daily lives? We have so many expectations: of ourselves, of others, of our computers, of our holidays, and on and on… It is not so easy to release even one of our expectations, so the spiritual practice of releasing expectations is something we gradually become skilled at doing.

Before I began doing regular, daily spiritual practices, I often experienced bouts of anger. Very soon after beginning the spiritual practices, I noticed that I hardly ever got angry anymore. (To learn how to begin doing regular spiritual practices yourself, check out my new book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living.)

Although I have healed myself a lot through spiritual practices, I am not perfectly calm all the time… I do still experience anger at times, but it is different now because I am more skilled at witnessing the anger and allowing it to move through.

Even so, this week I became quite angry about a situation, and it took me a while to calm down. As I witnessed the anger, I thought about how it used to be popular to encourage people to really get their anger out, but now current research shows that anger releases the dreaded hormone cortisol into our bodies. Cortisol is the stress hormone that causes a lot of harm to the body. Once released, it remains active for up to 6-8 hours. Even talking about an incident that made us angry can release cortisol.

This current research validates what the spiritual masters of India have long since been teaching: that getting angry is not good for us.

Anandamayi Ma, a blissful mystic who lived in India 1896-1982, said the following on anger, “When anger arises in your heart try to cast it away… At the slightest indication of anger drink a sufficient quantity of cold water. Anger harms a human being in every respect. It produces the action of poison in the body. Pray to God to preserve you from this mood.” (Women of Power and Grace: Nine Astonishing, Inspiring Luminaries of Our Time, by Timothy Conway, Ph.D., the Wake Up Press, Santa Barbara, CA, 1995.)

Neem Karoli Baba, the Guru of Ram Dass, Bhagavan Das, Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, and myself, also encouraged people to let go of anger. One devotee said the following, “Whenever I would get very angry, Maharajji would have someone bring me warm milk, or sweets, or some cardamom pods to chew. He said these things soften anger.” (Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba, by Ram Dass, A Dutton Paperback, E.P. Dutton, NY, 1979.)

So, when I got really angry this week, did I remember to drink cold water and chew on cardamom pods? No, unfortunately, I did not remember to do those things. However, I did manage to accept that I am not perfect and to know that I am doing the best that I can. I also managed to keep focused on witnessing the anger, rather than becoming the anger.

I also understood how I could have prevented the anger in the first place – by not having the expectations that I had in that situation. Much of the time now, I do really well with releasing expectations and accepting what IS, and when I ‘fail’ at this practice, it is not really a failure because it is an opportunity for me to learn something which will help me to do better the next time.

Each time we release an expectation and accept what IS, we prevent ourselves from having to experience disappointment which leads to anger and stress. So we can each practice renunciation in this way in our busy daily lives here and now. We can practice releasing expectations and accepting what IS in each moment of each day. This practice will gradually change us so that we can enjoy the peace of the path of renunciation right here in the midst of this living world.

May all beings everywhere know peace and happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Himalayas photo by ilkerender - CC license