Being austere is not highly regarded in contemporary culture. We over eat, over sleep, over mate, and over defend. The concept of having less or doing less is something that may be admired from a distance but generally not considered so welcome when it’s closer to home.
In yoga teachings, austerity is considered the wealth of those who seek self realization and an understanding of how to discover our love for Krishna. Wealth. Think about that for a moment. Who does not want wealth? However this wealth is all about the things that money can’t buy. Austerity, when done properly, brings a veritable treasure – wisdom, an opening of the heart, feelings of love for Krishna and an understanding of everything around us!
Vows are part of the practice of austerity and the Kartik month, which started yesterday, is considered the best month of the year to take a vow. Depending on who we are and where we live, our vows will be shaped. Many go to Vrindavan India for this month and practice austerities like eating once a day, chanting 64 rounds on japa beads, or walking without shoes to Krishna’s sacred places.
For us here in comfortable USA we can choose vows that work for us (not a good idea to go barefoot to the office :). It can be a small thing that we do for Krishna every day, for one month, but it should stretch us. We should feel the pinch a little bit and in that struggle the offering becomes sweeter.
We don’t have to tell anyone our vow, although it is helpful to have a ‘vow buddy’ whom we can lean on. The mind loves to take down vows so we may need a support group :)
Here are some ideas to get us started. Do something. Our life will be all the better for it.
give up sweets
chant 4 extra rounds
read 10 Gita verses a day
do a daily act of charity
give away a book about Krishna every day
don’t criticize others
don’t complain
take a cold shower
do menial service
do what no one else wants to do
give up TV
give up Starbucks
sleep on the floor
join the outdoor kirtan on the weekends
become a monthly donor
skip a meal
give up chocolate
be a vegetarian
drop caffeine
drop alcohol
give 50% of your income away for that month
only take ahimsa milk
offer a ghee lamp every day to Krishna
sing the Kartik prayer
don’t watch the news
pray more, speak less
love more, hate less
live more, give more, and be more
Source:http://iskconofdc.org/whats-your-vow/
Comments
Hare Krishna
Thank you so much for this suggestions, which are very practical and can be practiced one at a time.