To Heaven and more with Yoga

If yoga is beyond religion, then hinduism is also beyond ‘religion’ as per the current rhetoric and has to be described differently. It is

more precise if we say Yoga is a ‘practical’ gift from hinduism that has universal application, instead of rushing to say ‘yoga is beyond religion’. I need to bring up this topic as the current trends in yoga and religion ask for clarity on this subject.

It is a very healthy trend these days that more people are looking for spiritual knowledge and solution than just succumbing to the pressure from religious ‘cult beliefs’ and sentiments. This is forcing the clergy in every religion to be updated, lest they be outdated!

Unfortunately, this is accompanied by another trend, a rather unhealthy one. This is the corruption of the spirit and understanding behind yoga and that of every religion. This is the result of  ‘mental laziness’ that looks for simplistic ‘feel good’ factors than real answers.While there are more qualified people to deal with the problems of religion, I shall try here to clarify some fundamentals about yoga and it’s relevance in organized religion.

Yoga is described as ‘Tattwa darshana upayam’. This means ‘an aid for understanding reality’. Mind is an instrument. In sanskrit we call it ‘Antahkarana’ ; meaning ‘Inner Instrument’. Yoga can be seen as a practice tool that keeps this instrument in good shape. With the success in the practice of yoga, one develops what is called as ‘viveka kyati’ or simply ‘viveka’.

This viveka can be understood broadly as ‘A mind that is available for reality’.

Even before ‘viveka’ develops in our ‘budhi’ ( faculty of perception/understanding), we gain the capability of ‘making the mind available for a given task’. Simply put, this is the ability to do something without much distraction and inner pressure.

Now, that is something that everyone is looking for! hence the universal appeal of Yoga.

Having said this much, we are ready to explore the relevance of Yoga in organized religion. Let me start with some versions of hinduism.

Yoga for a ‘Hindu’:

Yogic principles are found in every aspect of every branch of hinduism. Even a simple everyday ritual includes some form of pranayama.

A advaitin uses yoga as a tool for purifying the mind and making it fit for contemplation and devotion to the God based on understanding of reality.

A person who follows a school opposed to await is usually a ‘vaishnavite’, ‘siddhantin’ or a ‘madhwa’. They use yoga as a tool for disciplining the lower nature and allowing the mind to focus on their ‘Ishta devata’, the chosen form of their Lord.

So, for a hindu, yoga is part of religion, may be a higher aspect of religion. At the advanced level, different groups in hinduism use yoga with different intentions.

For a Hindu, Yoga opens the way to heaven and enlightenment that is ‘more than heaven’, that is the Highest.

 

Yoga for other religions:

Leaders from religions other than ‘Hinduism’ seems to have a problem with the increasing popularity of ‘yoga’ and the natural consequence of ‘yoga leading to hinduism’. This is where the yoga teachers rush to a simplistic defensive reaction, by declaring yoga as  being ‘secular’ and ‘beyond religion’.I can understand their business anxiety. At the same time, ‘thinking driven by fear’ does not befit a yogi.

We can find a simple solution by being conscious of the fact that yoga is a body of knowledge about the workings of the mind, vital body, their relation to physical body and the world around us; and a set of practices based on this knowledge. This knowledge is basically from the revelations of the veda, supplemented by detailed explanations by various sages and yogis (sruti and smrti). Without this body of knowledge,there is no yoga. This implies, there is no yoga without hinduism.

Even if you say that hinduism is only the rituals and culture, while this knowledge is ‘spirituality beyond religion’,  then it was this ‘hindu’ way of life that preserved the teachings and practices of yoga for thousands of years, inspire of all the cultural onslaught. A yoga practitioner disowning hindusim is like a child disowning mother.

With this clarity, we can teach yoga to members of other religions without denying the ‘hindu’ base of yoga, at the same time without ‘converting’ them to hindus.

When we present yoga to members of other cultures and religions, we can use the following points for clarity and a culturally non-invasive approach.

▪ Yoga does not require a hindu fashion statement. wearing indian dress, a dot on the forehead or a turban is not part of yoga, though these cultural habits may have a yogic basis.

▪ Vegetarian diet is helpful for yoga and essential for serious practitioners. No religion is against people who are vegetarians for health or environmental reasons, so they will not be against yoga for this alone. Lacto-Vegetarianism in yoga does not challenge any religious belief of christianity or Islam.

▪ Worship of God is essential in Yoga, but this does not mean the ‘god’ has to be in a ‘Hindu’ version. Scriptures of yoga use the methods prescribed  by the veda when relating to God. But, Connecting to ‘God’ through any method of prayer and surrender as given by any mystic tradition is compatible with yoga. Hence ‘mantra initiation’ or ‘shaktipat’ is not essential.

▪ Yoga is not about ‘psychic powers’ or ‘trance experiences’. Yoga is the process of developing a relationship with God, freedom from addiction to experiences, and the knowledge of one’s true nature.

▪ Practices of breath awareness and control  are aimed at keeping our lower nature in check and making our mind available for any conscious task. Even ‘kundalini’ is for the same purpose of ‘freedom from habits and compulsions’.

▪ Different imagery used in yogic literature that come from Hinduism are only artistic and symbolic representation that reflect the above mentioned purpose of Yoga and are not to be taken literally. we can emphasize the meanings and leave the imagery that does not appeal to the members of other religions. We don’t have to deny hinduism for this reason.

Yoga for Christians :

Patanjali’s yoga sutra says (chapter-2, sutras 52 & 53)

“pranayama  removes the covering of light and makes the mind fit for meditation”.

This is the purpose of pranayama. So the church need not be afraid of pranayama being ‘satanic’ and essentially ‘evil’ that gives one access to ‘dark forces’. In fact pranayama keeps the ‘dark forces’ away by giving us inner strength against temptation.

St. Francis of Assisi, in his exposition of the ‘Our father ‘ prayer, interprets “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” as,  so that we may love Thee with our whole heart (cf. Lk 10:27) thinking of Thee always, with our whole soul desiring Thee always, with our whole mind directing unto Thee all our intentions, seeking Thy honor in all things and with all our strength expending our every strength and sense of soul and body in submission to Thy love and nothing else; and may we love our neighbors as ourselves drawing all to Thy love to the extent of our abilities, rejoicing over the good things of others just as over our own and compassionating them in evils and giving offense to no one (cf. 2 Cor 6:3).

Pranayama and the practice of ‘Iswara pranidhana’ helps a christian to “desiring Thee always, with our whole mind directing unto Thee all our intentions,”

About vegetarianism, It is very common among Eastern orthodox christians to maintain vegetarian diet during the month preceding christmas and Easter, for the purpose of purification. (In Romania it is my favorite period to enjoy eggless cakes and pastries which are almost impossible to get at other times!)

One can extend the same logic for entire life, in the name if the lord, son and the holy spirit, and yoga, to remain pure for praying ceaselessly!

 

Here I have given only two examples, to explain how practice of Yoga and meditation techniques can be helpful for ‘Christian Prayer’. I can point out numerous other examples. As I read about the practice of christian religion, in any version, I see a helpful role for yoga in almost every aspect of their religion, without having to succumb to the ‘sin’ of syncretism’ that the pope really dislikes.

Yoga will help a christian ‘attain heaven’ without need for much purgation.

 Yoga for Muslims:

I have to admit that my knowledge of Islam is much lesser than my knowledge of christianity. But I often quote a traditional Islamic statement “Insha Allah”  whenever I teach the concept of ‘Karma Yoga’.  Insha Allah means ‘God willing’. Every muslim uses this expression even for the simplest of daily activities.

They say. “Insha Allah, we will meet tomorrow”.

I would quote here Ramana maharishi’s Upadesa Undiyaar, where his first verse is

“As the result of Karma ( action) is by the command of God, can ‘karma’ become God? No. Because, Karma is Inert by itself”

( translated from Tamil)

The essence of Karma yoga is recognizing the fact that results of our actions come from God, and not only from our effort. What we mean by God in this context may be  philosophically different from classical mohammedan Islam, but the spirit behind it, the ‘Bhava’ , is the same.

Islam and ‘Iswara pranidhana’ mean the same thing in the level of practice.

Another simple benefit from yoga is to help a muslim pray 5 times a day without giving in to laziness. Of course their  ‘namas’ ritual can be done with the added flexibility that comes as a result of yoga practice.

If I read the Quran, I am sure I can find a lot of  opportunities for a muslim to use the acknowledge and practice of yoga in a way that is helpful in the practice of Islam.

For a muslim worrying about ‘many Gods’ in hinduism, I would like to point out that for many of us hindus who are advaitins, it is only many ways of relating to the same God, just like how we use different browsers for surfing the internet.

Wherever God comes in Yoga, a Muslim can substitute with Allah, and instead of Mantras, a Muslim can say his traditional prayers. It is perfectly compatible with yoga and will give the same benefits, again, without the ‘sin’ of ‘syncretism’ and sending the muslim to heaven by making him/her stronger in the faith.

Conclusion:

As I have treated the relevance of yoga for christians and muslims, I can include every other faith group in the world, be it the Yoruba of nigeria, Jews, Makumba, Shintoist, Taoist, Mormons, Newage, Atheists, Scientologists, Agnostics, or the Gnostics.” and show how yoga can be practiced without any socio cultural intrusion; that Yoga is Hindu in essence, with scope for universal application.

Yoga is based on the knowledge that everyone is fine in reality and only has to discover it with maturity. Hence, there is no pressure for a real yogi to ‘save’ souls and the world. This gives us the flexibility, freedom and grace to give the knowledge of yoga in a way that is appropriate for every individual, without encroaching their socio-cultural space.

May this article facilitate a sense of ease among the leaders of other religions  regarding the practice of yoga by their followers. May this open them to discover the ‘right approach’  for the members of their faith to reap the full benefits of all aspects of yoga without having to ‘become a hindu’. May there be so much love of God in every Muslim and christian preacher that he or she shall see the futility of offensive Jihad and religious conversion.

May more christians go to church after practicing yoga, May every muslim yogi consider a moment of true prayer to Allah more worthy than all the wealth in the world. May every Hindu remain a better hindu by the knowledge and practice of Yoga and understand the true meaning of their scriptures. May every atheist understand the secrets of Reality. May every agnostic discover the true faith and knowledge. Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi!

God as Diety

.In the Hindu approach for tapping God’s grace, there is a concept of ’God with attributes – personal deity’ (saguna Brahmam – Ishta Devata). This feature is one of the most misunderstood by people of other religions and theologians. This feature makes hinduism appear as polytheistic or pagan.  Let me try to explain in our everyday terms.

Let’s take ‘God’ as the intelligence in  another dimension of consciousness that is the ‘field’ of infinite knowledge and power. This God is abstract and is formless; but is capable of operating  through a form also. This is just like telling pot is clay but clay is not pot. Clay is essentially shapeless but can take any shape; Like water that has no form but can flow into any form.

With this understanding, for all practical purposes,God’s grace can be understood as ‘Availability of this infinite knowledge and Power in the dimension of consciousness in which we live, for the purpose of our welfare. For this we need a ‘user interface’. A simple example of ‘user interface’ is a web browser. You access the knowledge represented in this article through the use interface of this web browser. The knowledge itself is in the abstract form in my head, that can be presented in any form; in english, in sanskrit, in romanian, in italian or as a painting… Right?

The user interface that helps us to connect to the ‘God dimension’ in a tangible way, is called as ‘Ishta Devata’ or diety or more technically ‘saguna brahmam – God with attributes’. As there are some practical rules with regard to user interface in order to make it work, we have some ‘rules’ regarding the use of ‘Deity technology’. This manual is given in the vedas and other sastras given in the hindu tradition by the ‘spiritual – geeks’ called ‘Rishis’.

Now, as each one of us don’t try to break our head about the ‘system architecture’ and ‘web programming’ regarding the browsers when we use the internet. We have faith in the geeks who do these stuff at the google or microsoft head quarters, and we carry on with our blogging and e-mailing. Right?

(of course if you want to be a geek yourself, you are welcome. but that is another game altogether!)

In the same way, for all practical purposes, there is something recommended called ‘Shraddha’ or ‘Useful Faith’ in the words of the Veda and the Acharya, that gives us a certain openness to the knowledge  of God and to use these ‘deity technologies’, that in turn enables us to carry on with the prayers, and other practices by following the prescribed rules. This gives the results.

There are times when things don’t work. In these times we first think ‘What did I do wrongly?’ and not blame the tool straight away. This is part of the faith strategy. After all our efforts if still things dont seem to work as they are expected to, then we go for expert advice and re-check the effectiveness of the tool. Here is the ‘acharya’s job’ (Job of the spiritual teacher).

 Given this frame work, we may see a ‘devata’ or ‘deity’ as a tangible manifestation of God that acts as a user interface for a person to relate to ‘God dimension’ in a useful way. As there can be many browsers for internet with different designs for different individual temperaments, there can also be different deity forms for the One God. The basic rules of ‘deifying’ God have to taken care, to make it effective. The procedures based on these rules can make ‘God’ out of a ‘stone’; which is what we see in Indian Hindu temples.

Diety technology for relating with God usually has the following components in the ‘user interface’. They are, Mantra- the sound form of the ‘consciousness- structure’ that it represents (the deity), Yantra or Rupa which is the form, Tantra or prayoga which is procedure of relating to the user interface. When these three are combined, God Dimension becomes a   ‘tangible person’ to whom we can relate personally with feeling and emotion called ‘Bhava’. This entire procedure of relating to the God dimension’ in a personal emotional way is called as ‘Bhakti’.

Each person can have his or her own unique style of ‘Bhakti’. Generally there are some broad categories of ‘Bhakti’ recommended in the scriptures that can be initially imitated by a novice and these become innate in time. One can also ‘naturally flow’ into one’s own unique relationship with one’s personal representation of ‘God’.

Now, there can be a practical issue. This is something like a chinese guy who knows only Chinese wanting to use the web browser made by an American who does not know Chinese language or attitude!

There are two solutions for this situation.

One, is to make a browser with a chinese user interface but works on the same basic principle as the english browser. This can be used by any Chinese guy! The second solution is to teach the Chinese guy how to use the browser designed in English only, for the american mind.

In spirituality the situation comes in the form of ‘cultural packaging’ of the ‘deity technology’.

When ‘Indian Spirituality’ gets exported to the western aspirants, a whole chunk of time gets used up in familiarizing with the ‘cultural packaging’ to make the tool anything of practical significance to the spiritual aspirant. This is necessary only when the aspirant has some attraction to the culture package as much as to the main knowledge and the tool.

In spirituality, it is usually based on a person’s unconscious tendencies (may be past life impressions) to imbibe certain cultural traits. If this innate tendency is not there, It is important to package the same technology in a form that is culturally and emotionally relevant to the practitioner. This is again the job of the ‘Acharya’ (In this context, the spiritual teacher) who initiates the aspirant.

So, if you don’t resonate with the ‘hindu forms of God’ or with the strange sounding ‘mantras’, you dont have to bug yourself with unnecessary effort and anxiety of being ‘spiritually behind’. Be open to your teacher about the issue. A usually compassionate and knowledgeable ‘acharya’ will find a way to package the technology for your ‘temperament’ and cultural type. It is just not fair to expect every sincere western seeker to become an ‘Indian’ or a ‘Tibetan’.

Knowledge is common to all. Technology is common to all. If there are enough seekers sincere to themselves and in their feedback, We will find a way to package it for you. If there can be a Google search engine in chinese, There can be ‘prana pratishta’ and ‘shodasopachara puja’  exclusively designed for the westerner

I know these words ( ‘shodasopachara puja’ and ‘prana pratishta’)are hard, and that explains the purpose of this article! You don’t have to know what these mean. But you may google it if you want!! .

Let’s work on it together!

Om Tat Sat,

Yogeshvar

To hell with yoga?!

Before we go ahead, I would suggest you read my article  https://yogeshvar.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/a-generic-history-of-spiritual-traditions-4/.This would give us a similar frame for understanding.

I was watching on sunday-Aug7-2011, a documentary done by some pro christianity group in USA and aired by a romanian channel TVR3. The whole program was aimed at labeling all the new age movements and resurgence of yoga as a way of life as a conspiracy to convert the world to hinduism.There was a lot of mention about new age movement along with yoga. But I would like to confine our discussion to the yoga topic alone as this is my domain.

Though the film was predominantly a childish prattle, it does point out some deep issues regarding the human psyche and our general approach to religion and spirituality. There were also lessons for every yoga teacher. This video is not alone. There are a lot of orchestrated attacks on yoga and hinduism by organized christian groups all around the world. calling hinduism and yoga as ‘pagan’ and ‘satanic’.

Yoga is hinduism:

One of the main points the film was trying to convey was ‘yoga is not secular; It is just hinduism repackaged’. I am very happy to see this as boon in the disguise of an allegaion.The intention of the producers might be to scare their christian crowd with fear of hell. A malicious intention indeed. But from one angle yes, they are right!

Yoga is not secular. It is out and out hinduism from start to finish. And, I dont know what was the problem for all the early ‘yoga missionaries’ in the west for marketing yoga as secular. This tragic nonsense is going on even in India with the blessings of the ‘top ten gurus’.

This film gives a golden opportunity for all the yoga teachers and ‘gurus’ around the world to come out loud and clear that ‘Yoga is Hinduism’. In fact they can even say ‘Hinduism is Yoga’. That’s even better!

This is very important especially after the late pope John Paul-lI gave an official papal statement that practice of yoga and meditation is against the spirit of christian prayer. (I am sure this news comes as a surprise for many.)

Now, another main point in the film was this:
” The benefits of yoga, meditation and self-realization are psychological and physical. Not spiritual. The spiritual solution for human problem lies outside oneself, with God ( God of the Bible).”

(In this context they even presented the psychic powers promised in yoga are the powers of satan. I dont want to respond to this as this is just a evangelic joke for any sane person.)

I would say the main responsibility for all this lies with the half baked hindu gurus and yoga teachers who repeatedly try to package a ‘godless, self centered secular yoga’ for the arrogant, pleasure addicted western audience.

Here I would like to point out that yoga is a ‘Astika Darshanam’ that is based on the faith in ‘Veda as pramanam’;meaning, a teaching based on the fundamental faith in Veda as a valid means of knowledge.
This means, liberation is attained only by knowledge of oneness of Self and God; The knowledge is in the form of words revealed in the Veda. Yoga is the method of Self purification that prepares one’s mind to recieve this knowledge.
Here the tradition is so generous to tell us that what liberates is the assimilated knowledge and not the veda by itself. Not by some power hungry God sitting in heaven either. The veda also teaches us ‘What is God’ according to the context of explanation, and tells us that only by God’s grace one is able to understand the Truth.
This is very different from the ‘salvation’ promised by bible.
From this we can understand that, in a sense, even yoga is based on the knowledge that ‘salvation is outside oneself’ and not ‘within oneself’ as wrongly presented by many yoga teachers and gurus.
But here, ‘Out-side oneself’ is very clearly defined contextually. The salvation or Moksha is not a whim of a ‘God’ saving a ‘soul’ that believes in a ‘saviour’.

There is one more issue presented in the movie which I would like to address here. This is especially for my friends who would like to think of themselves as ‘christians’.
The issue is, by practising ‘yoga’ are you slowly becoming a hindu? Answer is Yes and No!
If so is it a problem? Answer is No and Yes!

Just by practicing some asana and mind training exercises based on yoga you are not ‘becoming a hindu’, though i should tell you that the basis of all these practices is hinduism.

In course of time as your mind gets more purified, you will start seeing the fallacies of mind constructed by fear and desire and you will clearly see the utter nonsense in the concept of ‘salvation’ promised by the christian church, be it evangelic, catholic or orthodox!

In this context you will also see how much authenticity is there in hinduism even in it’s organized form!! This seeing itself is the ‘Religion’ called ‘Hindusim’. In this way yes, you have ‘become’ a ‘hindu’.

Is this a problem? No. This is a much better proposition than a life as person ‘guilty of sin’ and ‘scared of hell’. Is this a problem after death? No again. Scriptures of Yoga say, what happens after death is dependent on the ‘quality of your mind’ irrespective of whether you lived as a Hindu, Buddhist, Christian or Atheist.

Oh yes, may be this ‘conversion to Hinduism’ is a problem for the different churches of the world who are fast losing their crowd to the truth of science, sensibility and sincerity.

If God is the Truth, then Lie is Satan. A Lie cannot hold on for long. So, Who is ‘satanic’? It is healthier for all if church shifts the focus of  marketing from ‘Satan’ to ‘God’ , from ‘hell’ to ‘heaven’. You dont need revelation to tell you this. Any basic study of psychology will tell you this.

The solution for the churches to keep their crowd could be then, to just be open to Truth. Probably they too have the truth in some small pockets, in some rare mystics and monks living in some remote monasteries. Time to put them in-charge, instead of crying foul on Yoga and Hindusim.

Sathyameva Jayate! ( Truth alone Triumphs!)
Om Tat Sat.
Yogeshvar

Death on B’day!

It is really interesting to see how the human mind operates! We are the only species who are able to be conscious of the fact that we are born and to celebrate it.( some wierd people mourned it, but that’s another story). But what do we do on a birthday, especially in the western culture of indulgence? Blow the candle, drink alcohol, smoke tobacco or drugs and eat meat. To top it all we wish the person a long life! what a contradiction!!

The situation is worse if that person who celebrates the occasion is religious in the ‘common-normal sense’.( I mean the conventional western religion… That prays to a ‘Mr.God’ sitting in heaven.) After doing all that is against the mechanism of life, the person prays to ‘God’ and expects ‘God’ to bless him with a long life in the body and ‘eternal life’ after a religious burial. Atleast a rational person wont blame his/her death on God, but on laws of nature.

Blowing the candle is a burst of what we call as ‘ado-gati’ in yoga…which means loss of life force. It puts the light out; both inside and outside us. In a yogi’s eyes, this is an act that symbolises ‘death’; not life. Of-course I dont have to tell anyone about meat, alcohol and smoke. It is well proven that all these three just rush us towards the grave. But the human mind , rather the confusion between the animal and the human in our mind, has made these ‘death rituals’ a part of  every major celebration of life! I dont know whether to laugh or to cry!!

This inconsistency between desires and modes of action at the individual level is the root of all terrestrial problems. poverty, hunger, war, political and social conflicts…and everything else. A solution may be to begin by celebrating one’s birth day in balanced vegetarian diet, pranayama, meditation and charity. May be, if the person is religious or spiritual, can add a prayer to ‘God’ or ‘Ishvara’ for a long and healthy life along with these actions that are in keeping with the spirit of the birth day prayer.

Today I have to attend a  70 yr old man’s B’day party in a restaurant. This old man is very tense that he is getting old. But that does not stop him from gulping down spirits, wine and chunks of read meat. What should I pray for him? May be “Oh Ishvara, Pls bless this nice old man with a better discretion and self control during whatever life he has got to live more”     …???

Types of Thinking

Scriptures of Yoga recognize two kinds of thinking. One, the ways of thinking that help you become free of different conditionings and compulsions in the form of karma and vasana. These are called ‘painless modes’ of the mind. Two, the ways of thinking that bind you more to the cycle of samsara by reinforcing the habit pattern, preferences and conditionings.These are called ‘pain-causing modes’ of the mind. When we think about apparently pleasant things it can be a ‘pain-causing mode’ if we are promoting our habits. Similarly, even if we are thinking about apparently painful things it can be considered painless if it promotes inner spiritual growth in the direction of elightenment. The emphasis is not on ‘what’ you think but ‘how’ you think.
This is the essence of the ‘yoga sutra’ class we had today in bucharest. OmTatSat

Surfing The Life

There is a cliche popular with people exposed to Indian spirituality, (be it through parenting, preaching or paper-backs); the ‘jnana path’ thing…

Whenever things dont seem ok, they say, “All this is just Maya!” (Actually the spiritual teaching says all this is Brahman! But saying ‘all is maya’ is also ok some how)

This is a very powerful statement that can help us live life fully; if we are able to understand and appreciate the scope of this phrase.

This statement “All this is Maya” actually means,  I am fine and life is fine too, always!

What is this maya?

Maya is the power in the absolute reality that provides the ground for the srishti ( creative projection of life).There are the two powers of Maya.. the Avarana (veiling) and vikshepa (projecting).

When the power of consciousness in the absolute being- consciousness- infinite, the Brahman shines through the maya, creation become possible;  Just like how the different designs of the kaleidoscope become possible with one light and a few colour pieces placed between three mirrors.

This maya has three gunas (qualitative modes) called  Sattwa(serene), Rajas(active) and Tamas ( inert, forgetful). All life situations are just combination s in these three modes made possible by the different natural rhythms of life in keeping with the different laws of the universe that operate in different dimensions.

With this understanding of Maya, we can categorize all life situations in sattwa, rajas or tamas and different combinations of these three gunas.

This power of maya works as

1.The universal life rhythms, in the laws of nature, the Samasti prakriti(universal matrix of natural order) in different dimensions simultaneously.

and

2.Working within us as Avidya and vasanas (Ignorance and habitual tendencies).

We cant do much with the category-1 but we can make a complete ‘sirsasana’ (head stand) with category-2 with self culture and enlightenment.

When we have cleared the Ignorance and its consecuences in our mind, we will be able to see that the alternating activity of the three modes of nature are not a disturbance to our happiness and harmony.

Then we dont try to manipulate the flow of life according to our subjective desires and fancies. We flow with life like a surfer does with waves… appreciating the rise and fall as two complimenting sides of the same situation.

Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas… all these three are beautiful in their own way when they are in their place.The good news is that they are always in place as long as we dont poke our nose unnecessarily into the rhythm of life… the Rthythm that is Satyam ( the true thing on which everything exists)!

The maya show in the cosmic level is done by Ishwara; the all knowing and all powerful Supreme being, the embodiment of perfection. Trying to improve on God’s job is just redundant, to say the least.

You may then ask, Is there nothing to improve in life?

Oh yes! We can get better at our ability to flow with the universal flow of life

that is both within us and around us!

I remember an example given by Ramana Maharishi..

“When you go in a Train, why would you carry your luggage on your head? It is the train that carries both you and your luggage anyway! Why dont you just keep your luggage down, Relax and enjoy the ride?! ”

Have a pleasant Ride.

OmTatSat.

smile of the supreme

yatra yatra mano yati tatra tatra shivavastha! says vignyana bhairava tantra. same idea is echoed by shankaracharya too in the words.. “yatra yatra mano yatayaha tatra tatra smadhayaha”..

when knowledge is established well in the bidhi, the knowledge of the one reality as all that is, a particular state of silent mind is not essential anymore to behold the supreme being. wherever the mind rests on an object, through any sense experience or thought, the knowledge of the one shines in that experience as a background wall paper through a transparent background…

I call it, the ‘smile of the supreme’ . the scriptures call it abheda jnana vritti…

There is a video that  may be of help to understand it better.

here is the video….

the audio and video are not together due to some technical flaw, you may listen  closing your eyes… better for contemplation I guess?

we shall have more discussions on this topic.

Om Tat Sat.

Enlightenment on a Motorbike!

If Self – realization or Enlightenment, the way many would think, is an ‘event’ that happens under a metaphorical ‘bodhi tree’, I dont see any reason why it cannot ‘happen’ to ‘me’ on top of a motorbike!
One day in India, after finishing a yoga class, I was on my bike (a yamaha YBX to be specific! may be it is a mystically important detail; like the bodhi tree or a cave for example),in my usual passive contemplation on Self…waiting at a traffic light, for the red to turn green… churning the statements of vedanta and trying to grasp the way to ‘Realize’ the Absolute, The Brahman.

Suddenly I was in a very receptive mood and there it was… A clear ‘voice’ in the head… as though from outside my personal sphere of consciousness….

Here it is… in exact words as I heard it… (may be it is relevant mystically too!)…

” No experience is absolute,

The absolute is not an ‘experience’.

You  ARE  the Absolute.

Just Understand this!!”

In a split second, everything fell in place. There was a great sense of joy and supreme un-conditional satisfaction. Ignorance about the Self was cleared for ever!
In the minutes that followed, the intellect was expanding this statement into it’s logical extensions relevant in different contexts of life and for teaching; all happening automatically!

In the months that followed I was fortunate to hear traditional vedanta teaching from Swami Dayananda Saraswati at Rishikesh. It reconfirmed the motorbike enlightenment, clearing some grey areas in contextual understanding.This also equipped me with an improved set of communication tools as a teacher.

Now let me explain the ‘motorbike enlightenment’ in traditional terms…

What ‘the voice’ facilitated was the transition from ‘mumukshutwam’ (seeking an undefined freedom) to ‘jignasutwam'(clarity that The Freedom is in the form of knowledge, the right understanding followed by openness to knowledge).
What ‘happened’ in the split second that followed was a spontaneous ‘mananam’ of the mahavakya that was heard before, resulting in aparoksha jnanam.
The rest that continues to happen in this direction of the advaitic revelation is for improving the ‘nishta’ in the jnanam .This ‘nishta’ is basically not giving into errors in thinking and acting that WERE based on ignorance, but now continue as a pure mechanical habit without need for support from budhi.

All practices and satsang, including my work as teacher is meant for this ‘nishta’ . From a materialistic point of view, I have to pay them for giving me an opportunity to teach!

How compassionate the universe is! My students and friends already help me improve my ‘nishta’ and on top of it even give me donations for sustaining a healthy lifestyle!!
I feel so pampered and thankful when I think about this!

From this ‘one more story of enlightenment’, we can see that ‘Self-Realization’ is a growing clarity and not just a ‘freak event’. The ‘freak event’ may be called a quantum leap in perspective or a paradigm shift; but it is definitely not a ‘full stop’.

In this context I remember the Zen saying… “As enlightenment is infinite, practice is also infinite” .

Oh yes, the motorbike was fine, I reached home safe and rode that bike for a couple of years more. Now somebody is riding it in chennai I guess!
Bikes may change, but biking continues…

Teachers come and go but the teaching continues…

OmTatSat.

interview

Recently a web sports magazine interviewed me on the topic of yoga, specifically Hatha Yoga. The journalist was a sincere person and was keen to disseminate right information.

Usually when it comes to media, I am all prayers so that my words are not misquoted. praying for  the words to be reproduced correctly may be asking for too-much!

Upon seeing the article published today, I guess she (the jounalist Mara) did a good job with respect to maintaining the spirit of our discussion. I thank her for her sincere efforts to mend the image of yoga in romania.

here is the link for the article. the article is in romanian language, i tried to get a feel of it with google transalator  (which is pathetic, and often gives the opposite meaning! ). you may try it too if  you are not a romanian.

http://www.gsp.ro/timp-liber/hobby/yoga-are-ceva-pentru-fiecare-yogeshvar-karthik-iti-explica-cum-gasesti-echilibrul-te-relaxezi-scapi-de-fumat-si-opresti-imbatranirea-cu-hatha-yoga-243972.html

waiting for your feedback,

Omtatsat

Yogeshvar

Mantra based Meditation- Japa,Dhyana

When we  do japa, a repetitive chanting of mantra with feeling (bhaava), in a few minutes we will be in good concentration. Then suddenly we will find ourselves distracted by something and this is the beginning of inner struggle between wanting to focus on the mantra and mind running away. This is a very common phenomenon. How do we proceed with the meditation in this situation?

There are two aspects of the mind; viz- manas (the mechanical indecisive part) and budhi (the willful decisive part). The one that is on the job of meditating with the mantra is the ‘budhi’. The one that suddenly picks up an object and runs behind it is ‘manas’. Using this concept we will explore the technique of japa- dhyana.

After the inner fighting starts, you can recognize two tendencies;

1. Tendency to go in the direction of the distraction ; and

2. Tendency to focus on the mantra.
Now, stop pushing yourself to focus on the mantra and just recognize the tendency towards the object of distraction, which is coming from somewhere in the background mind. You now know only that there is this tendency and dont feel the source yet. Stay like this for some time ( a few seconds will be enough to go to the next step) just in the recognition but not struggling to stop it and at the same time not participating in the distraction.

Now you will be able to feel the force that is behind this distraction, just a pure mental force that moves towards the object of distraction… just feel this force… allow this force to pick up the mantra…use this force to chant the mantra…till this force is naturally chanting the mantra like it previously moved towards the object of distraction. What was indecisive before now becomes decisive…Allow it to continue like this…

Then the next distraction will pop up in a much subtler level. Repeat the same process. The new level of distraction is manas and what was manas before is now budhi… Like this the silence and focus can travel into subtler and subtler levels of the mind…

If you do japa- dhyana in this way, there will be a very profound feeling of relaxation and being refreshed. The mind will be with minimal conflict and focus will be effortless on everyday activities, at-least for a couple of hours after that.

This process of progressing gradually to the subtler levels is referred to in the japa jargon as vaikari, madhyama, pashyanti and para. Just for traditional info. The process and result is more important.
If there are any doubts (after you try a few times) do not hesitate to ask.
Try it out and give me your feedback.
Om Tat Sat.
Yogeshvar