SAMRAJYA LAKSMI : “Possessed of Soverignty” – What does it mean to be soverign? For some yogis, soverignty is a matter of control – and so to be a soverign yogi is to be a master and commander of one’s own consciousness. However, be careful. Paradigms of yogic dominance veer quickly toward dictatorships! And dictators last only as long as they are able to squelch the next revolt – which inevitably comes with great upheaval, violence and general distress – sooner or later. In contrast to the dictator model, the shaktas of my lineage look toward a “princely” model of soverignty. That is, soverignty NOT as a commanding and conquering model of power kingly power; but rather, soverignty as an EXPERIENCE of service and receptivity.
The best kinds of soverigns certainly know that they are ultimately in charge, just like the yogi who knows that life is a gift worth expressing well – that life is here to freely engage however one chooses. Princely soverigns rule not by dominating, but by serving their kingdom. And they know how to listen to a close company of royal advisers. (Make sure you listen to the voices of SUCCESS which surround you! Encircle yourself with a court of diverse, knowledgeable, joyful, thriving individuals. You ARE the company you keep!)
If you’ve been following it over the past days, this list of Laksmis is like a roadmap toward ever more expansive auspiciousness. The Laksmis certainly unfold in a particular order, but they are not a vertical model of ascendent achievement. Too much of yoga in the west is presented in this way for my taste, “Let’s take it to the next level!” What if “the next level” weren’t the achievement of the thing you don’t or can’t do yet, but instead was the deepening appreciation of the life you’re actually already living? It’s incredibly satisfying to stick a new pose, to achieve a goal in your life you worked at. I love that too. Alot. But there’s much MORE than the consumptive processes in which we ”climb the ladders of life.”
The things that are the most valuable are the things we do over and over again, like loving our children – or cooking dinner. The Laksmis then are like a garland of recursiveness. They circle and weave. They are not a ladder to climb. Samrjya Laksmi is a state of consciousness in which one is BEING possessed of soverignty. In other words, any moment in your day when you know that you know your life is serving you and those you love well, you’re SOVERIGN.
Eric Stoneberg 