A Simple Eight-Point Program for Translating
Spiritual Ideals into Daily Life

   On festival days in India, a gaily decorated elephant is often paraded through villages. The elephant is preceded by musicians and the townspeople follow behind.

   There is one difficulty. The trunk of an elephant rarely stands still, and the narrow streets are lined with stalls of fruits, vegetables, and sweets. It is nothing for an elephant to swallow a whole bunch of bananas!

   To keep the elephant from pilfering food or getting into other mischief, the mahout asks the elephant to grasp a firm bamboo shaft in its trunk. With the elephant's trunk occupied, the procession passes safely through the streets.

   The human mind, Easwaran explains, is like the trunk of an elephant. "It never rests…it goes here, there, ceaselessly moving through sensations, images, thoughts, hopes, regrets, impulses. Occasionally it does solve problems or make necessary plans, but most of the time it wanders at large, simply because we do not know how to keep it engaged."

   In Meditation, Easwaran explains an 8-point program for translating spiritual ideals into daily life. His program is fully compatible with any religious tradition. It is a perfect introduction to the teaching of a gentle, humane, and compassionate soul.

   Eknath Easwaran founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation. Originally a college English professor, Easwaran moved as he often said, "from education for degrees to education for living." Each quarter the Blue Mountain Center publishes a small journal which contains articles he wrote or talks he gave.

   Easwaran was known for his warm, down-to-earth manner of speaking. He was the author of 27 books.

Other Titles by Eknath Easwaran

The Mantram Handbook focuses on the mantram itself, a means of steadying the mind through the systematic repetition of a word or phrase.

God Makes the Rivers to Flow: Sacred Literature of the World is a collection of passages for meditation and daily inspirational reading. It draws on Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Native American sacred literature, and is a useful reference and guide to world mysticism.

(The story of the elephant and the quote from Eknath Easwaran are found on pages 57-58 of Meditation: A simple 8-point program for translating spiritual ideals into daily life.)