SOME THOUGHTS ON THE DAY OF MIRACLES AND THE DAY OF AT-ONE-MENT

OCTOBER 8 Yom Kippur. A day of atonement.

Or, a Day of At-ONE-ment.

Becoming one with our potential. Becoming one with who we really want to be.

The Sanskrit word for retuning, reconnecting, becoming one with our ultimate self? ‘Yoga’.

The Hebrew word? ‘Echad’.

Hear, O Yogis, All is One.

OCTOBER 9 IS THE BIRTHDAY OF GURU RAM DAS. Guru Ram Das is the 4th Sikh guru who

resides in the realm of the heart. He is the Lord of Miracles. It is a very special day for Sikhs

and for those who practice Kundalini Yoga as we are all descendants of the Golden Chain.

"He who calls himself a Sikh of the True Guru, He must get up in the morning and say his prayers. He must rise in the early hours and bathe in the holy tank. He must meditate on God as advised by the Guru. And rid himself of the afflictions of sins and evil. As the day dawns, he should recite scriptures, and repeat God's name in every activity. He to whom the Guru takes kindly is shown the path. Nanak! I seek the dust of the feet of the Guru's Sikh who himself remembers God and makes others remember Him."

It is a blessing to immerse oneself in a mikvah (ritual bath) on Erev Yom Kippur as well as it being customary to wear white. Every day is like Yom Kippur for a Sikh... the day of "at-one-ment" because we observe the good and the bad and make the necessary adjustments on a daily basis when we rise in the morning for our sadhana. We merge with infinity and become one with God.

Before Yom Kippur, Jews seek out and reconcile with friends, colleagues, family members and even enemies. Yom Kippur is the time to forgive and move on. Yom Kippur is the day to deal with your "sins" and misdeeds. We all make mistakes and for the Jews who observe this ritual, it is the time to reconcile relationships and set things straight.

In yoga, EVERY day is an opportunity to forgive and move on.