Commentary by Siddha Yoga Meditation Teacher Gita Haddad
Easefulness is defined in the English dictionary as a state of well-being and tranquility, a peaceful state of mind. In Sanskrit, a translation for easefulness is sukham, which means “comfort” as well as “ease.”
True easefulness results from staying connected to the ecstatic state of stillness within our own being. A life of ease is often associated with not having to work hard or with possessing material wealth. But an outer appearance of ease does not guarantee an easeful inner state—after all, we can experience mental agitation while lying in a hammock on a lovely day.
Bringing the state of easefulness into our activities in the ever-changing world is a skill we can learn. As we embark on this endeavor, we must apply effort, and one of the most effective efforts we can make is to cultivate an easeful practice of meditation.
In the Yoga Sutras, the sage Patanjali uses the term sukham to describe the perfect meditation posture:
स्थिरसुखमासनम्॥३.४६॥
sthirasukham āsanam ॥
Asana is both steady and easeful.1
This not only describes the ideal for the physical posture (asana) of meditation but also reflects the correlation between effort and easefulness that is at the heart of spiritual practice itself.
When we sit for meditation, there is effort involved in aligning our posture and keeping it steady. This steadiness in posture assists us to focus within and glide—easefully—into meditation. When we make the steady effort to meditate day after day, the stillness that we experience in meditation starts to be the foundation of every action we perform. We find that, just as we choose to bring our attention back from our thoughts to the Self when we meditate, we can choose to pause, remember, and reconnect with the expansive, relaxed place of perfect easefulness before speaking or acting at all times.
Gurumayi speaks about how learning to focus on the activities we engage in leads us to a state of complete stillness, the state from which easefulness arises. Gurumayi says:
In the midst of all your actions, there is total stillness. And it is no longer restlessness which is compelling you to do something, it is the inner silence. When your actions are born here, out of this inner silence, you experience such ecstasy, such bliss. Then wherever you go, you are utterly at ease, you are totally comfortable.2
With practice we get in touch with the natural easefulness of our own being, even in the midst of a busy life. We take delight in stillness within, and we communicate with the world from the place of inner steadiness and tranquility—with easefulness.
1Yoga Sutra 3.46; Christopher Chapple and Yogi Ananda Viraj (trans.), The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: An Analysis of the Sanskrit with Accompanying English Translation (Delhi, India: Sri Satguru Publications, 1990), p. 77. 2Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, “Look at This World and See God Everywhere,” Darshan magazine, no. 32, Honoring Work, p. 70.
As I read the commentary on easefulness, I began to reflect on the times I am easeful and the times I am not—and the consequences of each. I realized that when my mind is full of lists of things I wish to complete, I find myself rushing through to finish the list. At such times my breath is rushed, short, and ragged. I often forget some step in a task or the result is not satisfactory. This is especially true when I cook; there is too much salt or something will be missing to make it a great meal.
However, when I am feeling easeful within, my actions are purposeful, unhurried, and focused. My breath is smooth and aligned with my movements; I know just how much salt to add, or exactly when the food is cooked perfectly. Best of all, I am not fatigued at the end of completing everything.
Knowing this difference helps me become aware of my state and to transition to being easeful.
Montreal, Canada
It has always been easier for me to experience easefulness in less challenging situations. The moment things would become tougher, though, it was harder for me to experience this virtue. It was like not wanting to enter the sea until it was still or the waves more manageable.
Yet, as a Siddha Yoga student, I believe that, whether things are easy or tough, it is part of my sadhana to try to respond with easefulness to each situation I am faced with.
So it was very reassuring for me to read in this commentary that “Bringing the state of easefulness into our activities in the ever-changing world is a skill we can learn.” As I go through my days, I will now try to do this by focusing on these words of Gurumayi’s: “In the midst of all your actions, there is total stillness.”
Hosur, India
Every year, as I read these commentaries, I feel as though I understand or experience another aspect of them. Reading this commentary this year helped me recognize that there is so much more easefulness in my meditation, and in my life in general, than when I started following the Siddha Yoga teachings in 1982. This sense of easefulness has grown gradually over the years. I now understand the importance of making the effort to recognize it and treat it with gratitude and great care. This enhanced recognition has shown me, yet again, the importance of having a Guru and being on the Siddha Yoga path. It has also reminded me, on a practical level, of the state that I am aiming to attain, as I go about my daily activities.
Willemstad, Curacao
Recently, after preparing a chickpea and lentil bread and putting it in the oven, I realized that I had forgotten an essential ingredient. Feeling upset and irritated, I immediately stopped the cooking to add the missing ingredient. While stirring the dough again, I remembered Gurumayi’s words, “In the midst of all your actions, there is total stillness.” Immediately, I began to breathe in deep and breathe out long, in order to try and contact that state of complete stillness inside myself. After a few breaths, I felt deeply still and at ease. I was able to finish the bread in this state and put it back in the oven gently.
Plougonvelin, France
Reading this commentary on easefulness, I am reminded of how my engagement with Gurumayi’s Message each year, as well as the many talks by Gurumayi that I can read on the Siddha Yoga path website, have supported me in remaining connected with the ecstatic stillness within. This has naturally enabled me to function in my day-to-day activities from a state of easefulness, even during difficult times.
How fortunate I am to have Gurumayi in my life and to receive her priceless teachings! My heart is always filled with gratitude for the Guru’s compassionate grace.
Thane, India
This teaching of Gurumayi’s speaks to me powerfully: “In the midst of all your actions, there is total stillness.”
I love to go out on my stand-up paddleboard when the wind is at my back as the ocean unleashes its mighty force. The wind on the water creates waves in all directions, yet within the chaos there is a still place between the swells. It’s when I focus on these still places between the peaks of the waves that I am able to harness the glide of the swell—the rougher it gets and the bigger the waves, the better the glide. I laugh with amazement that I can travel so fast in the midst of chaos.
There’s an inner stillness as I engage each nuance of the turbulent water; it allows me to focus on the next entry point into the sweet glide. I look for the similar entry points during meditation, to glide between my thoughts. Like gems of possibilities within the turbulent mind, I focus on these still points as if they were the calm spots between ocean swells.
New York, United States
Gurumayi’s words, “And it is no longer restlessness which is compelling you to do something…” jumped out at me as I read this commentary. I suddenly realized how often I allow my restless mind to carry me into activities, and how not-easeful such activities are. To pause, remember, and become once again grounded in the inner state of easefulness is surely a balm and antidote for mental restlessness and agitation.
