A Bit of Radiance for 2021 ~ by Marj Ivancic

A few years ago, I attended a yoga class in which the instructor read a passage to us that left me with a deep sense of peace and awe. I learned afterwards that it came from a book called, “The Radiance Sutras: 112 Gateways to the Yoga of Wonder and Delight” by Lorin Roche.

This book is a translation of a portion of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, which is an ancient teaching of yoga mediation. It is written as a conversation between two lovers, the God Who Is the Consciousness that Permeates Everywhere (also called Shiva or Bhairava) and the Goddess Who Is the Creative Power of the Universe (also called Shakti or Devi). Their exchange is centered on finding the divine in the everyday, in the world around us, and in our own hearts and bodies.

As we roll into a new year, I thought I would share one of the verses because it captures for me how I feel coming out of 2020 and also settles me into a hopeful, radiant mindset for 2021. I hope it might do the same for you.

Yukti Verse 89

“You are stunned, powerless.

You thought you knew

What was going on.

Now you realize you don’t have a clue.

You are stopped in your tracks.

Everything within your skin is shaking.

                                      Enter this shaking.

                                      Get curious.

Look around inside with wonder.

Unmind your mind.

All the walls have fallen down—

Go ahead and dissolve.

The One Who Has Always Been,

Who has seen much worse than this,

Is still here.”