As I prepare to begin my meditation teacher training with Davidji, I’ve been reviewing the required reading list. It includes timeless spiritual classics like the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, alongside contemporary wisdom from teachers I deeply admire, including Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart and Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Then something unexpected happened.
Without consciously searching for it, a Sanskrit mantra began playing through my speakers.
Purnamadah.
I stopped what I was doing and listened.
One of the most beloved mantras from the Upanishads had found me before I had even opened the book.
It is traditionally translated like this:
That is Whole.
This is Whole.
From Wholeness comes Wholeness.
Even when Wholeness is taken from Wholeness,
Wholeness remains.
I sat quietly with those words.
How much of our lives is spent trying to become enough?
We imagine that one more accomplishment, one more certification, one more relationship, one more success will finally make us feel complete.
Yet this ancient teaching offers something entirely different.
You don’t become whole.
You remember that you already are.
Those words landed deeply for me because they echoed a lesson I’d been living.
Earlier this week, an interaction stirred old feelings of being unseen and dismissed. For a moment, my younger self believed that my worth depended on someone else’s recognition.
But as I sat with those feelings instead of reacting, something shifted.
I realized my work had already been done.
I had made the introductions I was meant to make. I had opened the doors I was meant to open. It was time to step back with gratitude and allow others to continue the journey.
Nothing had been taken from me.
My worth hadn’t changed.
I was already whole.
Then another connection made me smile.
The mantra is called Purnamadah.
My upcoming Osher Lifelong Learning Institute special event at Lila Yoga Studio is based on The Dalai Lama’s Cat: The Art of Purring.
No, the words aren’t related linguistically. Purnamadah comes from the Sanskrit word pūrṇa, meaning whole or complete. “Purring” comes from the English word describing the sound a contented cat makes.
Yet in my own life, they seem to be having a conversation.
One reminds me that I am already whole.
The other reminds me that peace isn’t something we achieve.
It’s something we embody.
Perhaps that’s why cats purr.
Not because they’ve achieved perfection.
But because, in those quiet moments, they simply rest in their own being.
As I prepare to begin meditation teacher training with Davidji and gather with fellow lifelong learners for The Dalai Lama’s Cat: The Art of Purring at Lila Yoga Studio through Osher Lifelong Learning, I’m beginning to see that these are really the same invitation.
To stop striving.
To soften.
To become still enough to remember what the Upanishads have been teaching for thousands of years.
Wholeness was never missing.
Maybe…
that’s the deepest art of purring.
May you remember that nothing essential is missing.
You are already whole.
With love and gratitude,
Sandi Greene 🪷🩷
About the Author
Sandi Greene is a writer, meditation guide, teacher, and lifelong learner dedicated to helping people create lives of greater clarity, purpose, joy, and well-being through The Art of Living Well.
Her work is inspired by the timeless wisdom of A Course in Miracles, Davidji Meditation, yoga philosophy, and the transformative power of mindfulness, reflection, and authentic community.
Sandi is an Instructor and Ambassador with the University of Utah Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, where she teaches courses that encourage lifelong learning, meaningful connection, and personal growth. She also serves on the Board of Trustees at the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City, teaches New Member classes, and facilitates small groups that foster belonging and thoughtful conversation.
Whether through her writing, meditation, teaching, or individual conversations, Sandi invites others to reconnect with their inner wisdom and discover that nothing essential is missing.
The Art of Living Well • Meditation • A Course in Miracles • Osher Lifelong Learning • Well-Being
