Falling in Love with Life — With David Cross

“Spirituality is the way you listen to the world,” says David, and he advises Veda students to read and listen before reciting. 

By Sophia Ann French

“Death seems to be a great healer of wounds and seems to make us wiser — death makes us see things more clearly.”

— Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Swamiji’s words remind me of Pemberton-based (Canada) David Cross. David is a Yoga Teacher, he is trained in Jyotiṣa and recently graduated from the Indica Veda Studies Teacher Training Programme. At just 28, David has profound insights into the nature of life and death and feels “To be alive is a special gift. A happy dream, a melody, a blossoming flower on a cherry tree. It blooms, and then we have to let it go. So let it be full while we have it and give it away when it is time. Life isn’t ours to keep, but to be generous with what’s given to us is to make our piece shine with gold and silver.” David attended the TTC online classes from a hospital in Australia while he was taking care of his sister Julia, who was diagnosed with cancer. Julia passed away last year, and the beautiful lines above were a tribute that David wrote for her. He embodies the essence of those words every time he recites Veda, with his light-hearted humour that reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously and with his unyielding faith in divine grace. “My sister was diagnosed with cancer on April 6th of 2022. At the time, I was in engineering, but I didn’t connect with my job. As soon as she was diagnosed, I dropped everything and became her caretaker for two years. We spent the last five months of her life in Australia as she was undergoing treatment there. I was in the TTC with Shantalaji at the time. When Julia was diagnosed, I found a wellspring of capacity to deal with difficult emotions. I knew how to hold someone’s hand and help them face scary things. I found a strength, and realised it was the fruit of the practice. I felt held and empowered, and I think I have the practice to thank for that. I realised how important it is to ask deep questions when you’re well enough and have the privilege of practising when you can because that will start the fire to warm you when you need it. My sister heard me reciting Veda sometimes, and she loved the sound,” recalls David. 

The Completeness of Spirituality

Veda recitation isn’t David’s first spiritual practice. He is a yoga teacher and studied Jyotiṣa — I asked him how reciting Veda affected his existing sādhanā. “It is all part of the same song that is the heart of sādhanā. Practising yoga feels like a song that affirms the wholeness of life… When I heard what the premise of Veda is — hymns given like gifts from the universe, and then sung back — it reminded me of my yoga practice… a reciprocal celebration of being alive. When I recite, I feel relaxed and always have fun, but I pay attention. You have to open your ears to study and recite Veda.”

The Indica Veda Studies Teacher Training Programme trained us to do just that — listen to ourselves first and then use that skill to teach correctly. David feels the TTC gave him the skill required to teach Sanskrit mantras because of the thorough understanding we are given of the rules of Veda recitation. “It was useful to go through all the rules to eliminate any doubt about what the rules are. It is a rare skill to be able to answer a question about Sanskrit rules with precision. I appreciate knowing these rules precisely and having some kind of expertise that I can offer. I think it’s very enriching.”

The Theory of Culture

In the Veda Studies Master Theory course, Shantalaji offers an overview of Indic Knowledge Systems. I attended this course, and despite being born and raised in India, this course gave me more insights into Indic culture than growing up in India. Most of the students in the TTC have been to India and are familiar with Indic culture, but we all agree that we’re gaining a new understanding and insight into Indic knowledge with the theory we study at Veda Studies. “When we are in a relationship, we want to know more about that person so you can express your love. It is the same with knowledge systems. One of the nine grahas in Jyotiṣa is a planet called Rahu, depicted as a head without a body — like a disembodied head. Rahu is egotistical. I feel that when we are not connected to a living tradition, the way knowledge is received is in a kind of disembodied way. The idea of putting practise before theory is appealing because it makes us feel we can chart our path on our own. But, theory is the thing that puts it all together and connects you to something more endearing than your own experience. I think the theory connects us to the bigger picture so that we don’t become disembodied heads,” says David. 

The Ancient in the New

Having been to India a few times, he has witnessed first-hand how ancient Indian practices not just withstand but evolve and develop alongside the thrust of modernisation. “It just shows the strength of the tradition. The Western mind and experience only understand the present and change, so we make it all about the individual and how we want to design the future. But that is like a bird with one wing. In India, everything comes around full circle — the old and new are together, somehow,” observes David. What does spirituality mean to him, then? “I think it’s the way that you listen to the world. This is my only advice to anyone who wants to study and teach Veda. When you first start studying, just read the text while listening to Shantalaji. Don’t try and recite it. First, listen. I think listening is sort of the fundamental skill of spirituality. So take that to the bank.”

To get in touch with David, email him at [email protected]