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the yoga of devotion
august 21, 2012 – courtesy yoga
journal
years before having a child, a door
to
bhakti yoga
opened to me. make that several
doors.
there was my jivamukti yoga teacher
ruth lauer manenti and her wise and
devotion filled talks given at the
start of each class. (you can read
some of these inspiring life lessons
in her
books
“an offering of leaves” and
“sweeping the dust.”)
there was a precious book of guru
stories about neem karoli baba
called “miracle of love.”
there were the gurus and artists and
musicians whose pictures were framed
on the walls of the yoga center i
attended. everyone from john lennon
to the dalai lama.
and there was krishna das—from my
hometown of long island who became a
seeker and yogi—who, through his
devotional music, introduced me to
the world of kirtan chanting. i
listened to his cds, went to his
concerts, spent many long drives
through the country with my then
boyfriend (now husband) neil singing
along to his yogic grooves.
i poured my heart into my devotions.
i prayed, i fasted, i meditated. i
practiced asana and offered up my
practice. and then i had a child.
naturally, without planning to, my
devotions changed. i had a new
vessel to pour my love into, to
practice the act and art of giving
with. now there was a baby to nurse,
diapers to change, and soon a
growing child to nurture and support
and encourage. my books and cds grew
dusty. my asana practice changed,
too.
***
for a long time my devotions were
one sided. that’s what happens with
a baby, of course. that’s changed,
too. lucien tells me several times a
day, “i love you infinity plus
infinity!” now that he is old enough
to express himself i can see the
fruits of my devotional labors. the
love i have given him is reflected
and offered back to me, a hundred
times over, like an offering of
prasad given to the gods and
then distributed back to their
devotees.
lucien has never been to a krishna
das concert, or any kirtan for that
matter, unless you count the time i
was nine months pregnant and neil
and i went to chant with kd at a
beautiful church in new york city’s
upper west side.
next week krishna das comes to
vancouver and even though the
concert starts at 7 when lucien is
usually in pajamas, we’ll be taking
him with us to chant and sing. or at
least dance around. i can’t wait to
bring the two parts of my devotional
life together—the connectedness that
kirtan gives me and the utter
rightness and joy and purpose that
comes with loving lucien.
jessica berger gross is the author
of enlightened:
how i lost 40 pounds with a yoga
mat, fresh pineapples, and a beagle
pointer (skyhorse).
she lives in vancouver, british
columbia with her husband and
four-year-old son.
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