Times with my Teacher

From Robert Meredith 

All in all I spent about two years studying at the feet of my teacher Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. 

Well, not exactly at his feet – for most of the time I was in my room doing what we called ‘rounding’.

A round consisted of twenty minutes of yoga asanas, five minutes of pranayam, thirty minutes of meditation, followed by another five minutes of pranayam, so each round took an hour. We did between twelve and fourteen rounds each day, beginning at about 4 am.

But in the evening after dinner we would meet with Maharshi for teachings, which basically were
question and answer sessions on everything from the development of higher states of consciousness to learned distinctions on the meaning of the Vedas (ancient Sanskrit texts on aspects of spiritual life).

One of the more prosaic subjects that students were always pressing Maharshi for specific guidance on, was the endless debate on whether, as teachers of meditation, we should be vegetarian. This was something that he did not want to be prescriptive about and would generally avoid by saying things like “Mother’s food is best”, (“Why?” “Because it is made with love!)

However, one day when the group just kept coming back to the question and wouldn’t let it go until we had some kind of more definitive answer, Maharshi said this:

“Alright, I shall make one statement about food, and this shall be the end of it.

Bought meat is better than stolen rice!” 

That shut us up. What a great answer! The karma behind the action is the most important factor, not the action itself. I’ve never forgotten that answer, or more importantly, the principle behind it.

Thanks Robert.   Yes, so important that we tune into principles and values for our choices in life.   

How about you?    What have been some of the best teachings you have gained from your teachers over the years?   You are invited to share them here: