We are part of a very ancient tradition of course: ‘Come away… to a quiet place’ (Mk 6:31). This is what the Bhagavad Gita reminds us:
Day after day let the yogi practise the harmony of soul in a secret place, in deep solitude, master of his mind, hoping for nothing, desiring nothing. Let him find a place that is pure and a seat that is restful, neither too high nor too low, with sacred grass and a skin and a cloth thereon… With upright body, head and neck which rest still and move not, with inner gaze which is not restless, its soul in peace and all fear gone, and strong in the vow of holiness, let him rest with mind in harmony, his soul on me his God supreme… A harmony in eating and resting and sleeping and keeping awake. Then his soul is a lamp, whose light is steady, for it burns in the shelter where no winds come. When the mind is resting in the stillness of the prayer, and by the grace of the Spirit sees the spirit and therein finds fulfilment, then the seeker knows the joy of eternity.
That’s a beautiful image of our mind, our soul being like a lamp burning in a place where there is no wind. Just a steady, quiet burning.
