Out of the Mouths of Yoga Babies!

[Guest guest]

Out of the Mouths of Yoga Babies! Excerpts from November Self Examination Sheet 39th Annual International Yoga Teachers Training Course October 2nd, 2007 to March 25th, 2008 At the International Centre For Yoga Education and Research (ICYER) Kottakuppam, Tamil Nadu – 605 104. INDIA. OMARU : Q. Swamiji in his article in November YOGA LIFE on Pratyahara says man has eighteen senses, not five. Discuss the idea and the implications it has for your Sadhana. A. My Sadhana has been in a constant withdrawal of the senses. As we have to be aware of the body while performing the Asanas and Jattis during the Hatha Yoga Class and the constant practice of remaining still while we are meditating in the morning. The Karma Yoga is also good way to

realize the way we move and think. The Pranayama Class requests for lots of concentration and control over the breathing, movements, thoughts. Every class implies restraint and control of the physical senses as well as the mind and the awareness I have over my body. I have actually found that as I become more aware of my body movements, my mental and psychic balance is more harmonious. My senses of sight, sound, smell, touch, taste become more subtle and sensitive. As if they were coming from the center of the brain, as a whole unit of senses. To take control over the senses has been very difficult for me because I need to be constantly aware, I should say, permanently aware! Otherwise, I just surrender under the hypnotic effect of the lower senses. These are at the same time, empowered by the thoughts obstructing the real unitary perception. FRANK : Q. In Sutra 16, Sadhana Pada, Patanjali says “Those miseries which can be avoided, should be avoided”. What does he mean? A. In this Sutra, Patanjali is referring to the fact that the only choice we have in relation to Yoga is whether to pursue it in this life or whether to postpone it until a future life. If we postpone it we will go through further suffering which is unnecessary and avoidable. Most religions of the world promise us happiness after death as long as we live a good life and put out faith in God. However, Yoga shows us that until we fully realize ourselves we will be stuck in the cycle of birth and rebirth, thereby facing more and more misery. All effort that we put into the spiritual path in this life will be rewarded in the next life, so we

should dedicate ourselves fully to it NOW, and thus avoid as much misery as possible. Interesting Observation on Ego! Thought of how my ego wants to flatter my mother’s ego and how there is a certain synergy when two egos come together and indulge in mutual flattery, creating two bigger egos than were there in the first place. – Is this the ego talking about itself? Q. Amma says that if one does not do one’s Dharma, one cannot experience Santhosham. Without Santhosham there cannot be stilling of the whirlpools of the mind. Discuss this idea in light of your own experience. A. The first time I began to think about Dharma (although I didn’t know it was Dharma I was thinking about) was four years ago, when I was searching for the keys to

Internet business success. Some of the most popular products on the Internet were information products, and it struck me that the happiest business owners were the ones who were selling information about something that somehow transformed their own lives. For example: - “How I lowered my golf handicap” - “How I learnt the secrets to dating loads of women” - “How I made loads of money” - “How we built a rock-solid marriage” I know now these people mightn’t necessarily be on one of the highest rungs of the evolutionary ladder, but what struck me at the time was that they were able to be successful in all areas of other life because they were being CONGRUENT with themselves. They had achieved something that was important in their lives at the time and then had started to teach other people how to do what they had done. Q. The Vibhaga Pranayama works on the different parts of the body separately (from the navel down,

between the navel and the throat, and between the throat and the crown). A. But I think what this question is referring to is that in Yoga we learn how to develop awareness of the body, the emotions and the mind. Adham Pranayama controls the breath going into the lower lungs and is linked to our food body, the Annamaya Kosha. Madhyam Pranayama controls the breath going into our mid-chest and is linked to the Pranayama Kosha, our vital energy body. And Adhyam Pranayama controls the breath going into our upper-chest and is linked to the Manomaya Kosa, the body that contains

our memory and conscious mind. This question prompted me to experiment with trying to visualize these energy fields while sitting in a meditative state and while chanting the Pranava. While sitting it felt that by breathing I could put some breath/energy between my thoughts and my body, thus distancing myself from them and beginning the process of stopping the Chitta

Vritti. And while chanting the Pranava I visualized the AAH sound vibrating in my body, the OOH sound vibrating outside my body, and the MMM sound outside again. I then had the thought that if there is something observing this process it must be consciousness, which must be located in a field outside all three of these. This is something to be experimented with more once my body is more open and I am more aware of the different energies this spiritual being is made up of. DEEPIKA

: Q. What does Pradakshana mean? A. Pradakshina means to go around in a circular clockwise movement, particularly in relation to some Yogic practices, such as pradakshina Pranayama, or when

going to the temples we circumnavigate the lingam clockwise. I liked the thought of the stability that the lingam gives that Nalini inspired thoughts on once. The Lingam is stable, fixed, one pointed, and over thousands of years many souls have gone round the Lingam. They live, they die, they go around, but the Lingam is there always as they flit past life after life… Q. What does the concept of Pratyahara mean in relation to the idea of 18 senses instead of convential five? A. Pratyahara – man has 18 senses not 5! Amma, I really did find this article tough to comprehend, I tried to read it several times, Swamiji’s really must have been so amazing and vast to believe! I love the way he turns everybody’s thinking upside down. The most startling thing is ‘considering spiritual life in regard to our senses, and Sadhana, I know I have such a terrible job of trying to control just 5… how on the Earth can I think to control 18!! Having said that, it was always obvious to me that science was missing a thing or two, even the so called 6th sense did not seem quite enough! Swamiji’s breakdown of the senses really opens my eyes to how complex and multi dimensional we really are, and

indeed how dull we are not to be aware of all these different aspects, how far there is to go, to be fully aware and awake – it’s a long long road. As Swamiji says in dealing with the higher senses, an open metaphysical view is needed, which are well known to the YOGI. It’s quite amazing that all these ideas that quantum metaphysics is discovering have been ‘discovered’ by the yogis thousands of years ago. Of course they didn’t so much discover, as tune into Reality. A strange thing happened to me the other day actually Amma… I think I can tell you, I was in the Shiva temple in Pondi, I had just walked around a few times inside and sat down on near to the central Lingam. I love the feel there, I felt a lot of blessings. I was just looking out in front of me and I saw like another world, just for a split second, existing here and now, at a higher vibration…. It was quite an insight, I can’t really say much more about it, beyond words really. I felt that my consciousness at

that time was really in the prefrontal cortex of the brain! My top of head feeling open too. In relation to Pratyahara it made me think afterward that we have to go beyond the 5 almost crude sensory apparatus, to experience these things. I realized these other Lokhas are here the whole time, but we (me anyway!) mostly exist on a lower vibration at a lower level of consciousness, so we cant see the ‘wood for the trees’. The rest of the our senses Swamiji talks about we cannot tune into, be aware of as our mind is not lifted up enough, we are dull and tamasic, we can’t see SAT. BHAWANA : Q. Why did the Gurus rate ‘ingratitude’ (Droga) as the most heinous sin? Why does Amma say ingratitude is the last bastion of the ego? A. The ego is unable to owe anything to anybody. The ego believes that the grass is always greener on the other side (as the French saying goes), i.e. what we don’t know looks nicer from a distance and likewise what we don’t have looks appealing to the ego which immediately induces us to want what we don’t have because it looks nicer. The ego complains about what it doesn’t have, what’s lacking, missing but is unable to recognize (i.e. be aware) and even less so to be thankful for what there is/it has got. The ego goes; I don’t have what I need and the Yogi goes: I have what I need and I don’t need what I don’t have. Gratitude is a matter of awareness and contentment, which are at the opposite end of the ego’s whims. Rousseau

said: ‘If only I could be happy for what I have and not waste my time lamenting for what I have not’. Q. Write a detailed description of your experience with Fasting, Eka Dasi, Shankha Pakshalana and coffee enema. A. It took another week after the end of the fasting and enema to really set up but now I can say I go to the toilet everyday (and more often than not twice a day)! This really influences a lot my daily lie. I don’t have this pervading feeling of heaviness anymore, I have more appetite and I definitely don’t feel anxious anymore about my body dealing with digestion. It’s such a bless!!! Another important consequences of that new found lightness feeling is a new awareness. Feeling lighter, I feel I have access to a new dimension to my meditation-relaxation-concentration practices. For instance, I experienced once very intensely a frame of mind (well,

for lack of a better term because I really don’t know how to put that into words) in which the observer, the observed and observation became one. This feeling of fusion that I could contemplate for a while was so amazing it did have a lasting effect and I now know through experience how it feels and hence what I can look for as a state of ‘meditation’, which I find very encouraging! I found it also developed my sense of state very much. Or maybe it’s related to a no longer stressful frame of mind when eating, which means I can enjoy food in a very different way. Both are certainly

linked. Eventually, all these practices developed my awareness at different level: awareness of the body, awareness of mind mainly. And it definitely means a new dimension in my daily life! Thank you Shankha Prakshalana! (and the ashram which made all this possible!!) Q. Sit down for 30 minutes only with pen in hand and write down every thoughts. A. An afterthought after tonight’s discussion. To restrain from greediness is also to develop santhosha contentment. Greediness from the fact that there is an emptiness to be filled (and extra filled) with something else than what would really make a human being contented. People go for excess of food, words, work, etc. as a form of compensation. But they are trying to compensate on a gross level a very vital need at a higher level. The need for sacredness. If man denies his own divine nature, he creates a big hole, an emptiness inside of him that nothing can fill. Gross forms of objects (and of desires) cannot bring any satisfaction at all. The issue is to be (and to become) and not to have (and to possess) and one is mistaken for the other. There are flowers

everywhere (for those who can see them) when one has access to his higher nature. Contentment is to realize one’s own nature; it is revelation of our innate divine dimension. It also requires a good deal of humility to recognize. God’s creation and for instance to be able to marvel at the endless beauty of the world, a rising sun and bow to it as if to say I am part of it; when other people would say:” so what, no big deal, it’s only a planet’! (as I was told once when I tried to explain the deeper significance of Surya Namaskar). The ego is one of the tools we have to vanquish the ego. Eventually, we could be grateful for our ego to exist. It shows us the way out of it. It indicates by its very presence, the presence of the divine. But as the saying go:’ When the wise points at the moon, the fool stares at the finger. Without ego, there is no possible realization that we are not only ego. We need our ego to transcend our ego. Millions of years ago, men chose to stand up on two legs (and renounce to crouch on all 4) and since then, they are looking for God. The progression, the natural movement is upward, skyward and not downward, whatever the strength of the gravity force gluing us to the ground (gravity which is also positive because it gives us a ground, the possibility to be grounded to be able to go even higher), we want to fly towards heaven. We are called to go up. ISABELLA : Q. Swamiji in his article in November YOGA LIFE on Pratyahara says man has eighteen senses, not

five. Discuss this idea and the implications it has for your Sadhana. A. I feel a bit like Yogacharya Muralidharan – If five senses are so difficult to control, what can I do with eighteen?! In fact, I believe no matter how many senses we have, all of them are part of

the same mind. As soon as we control the mind all the senses can be controlled – the Jnanendriyas and the Karmandriyas. That is a long, long and hard path that can take many life times! But I am not in a hurry, and I even enjoy the journey. Some days I have more success than others, but every effort is a valuable attempt and when I fail or commit a gross mistake I know that sooner I will pay the price, and that makes me more aware of my future acts. I try to accept whatever comes to me. One day is good, the following day not so good but is always positive in the aspect of learning, and burning karma and sometimes we learn even more on those days! I try to follow a

middle path, following my Dharma and not forcing myself in severe practices of Sadhana for which I am not prepared. It’s “Sadhana Step by Step. Brahmacharya – Abstinence – continence of sexual energy. Sexual energy is a very basic but powerful energy – an animal energy. Sexual continence is the use of this energy to amplify the power of mind, the will and ultimately the spiritual force, this is also a view of Tantra, that uses sexual energy instead of letting it be wasted. This creative energy can be converted anywhere or

to anything we need. The approach of Hinduism and Yoga to sex is quite different from many religions or cultures that consider sex as something impure and not compatible with a spiritual life. Sexual energy can be a form of polarization, once is joining the solar and lunar, the Ha and the Tha, the masculine with the feminine together in a union. So Yoga doesn’t deny sex but embraces it in the right way. In fact in this philosophies sex is something natural, a legitimate animal need that should be fulfilled, yet in the right way, in the Dharma. Indian old Rishis were married men with children. The human body is a wonderful tool and holds several subtle energies that can be directed to achieve higher stages in the spiritual path if not wasted in Adharmic sexual practices. So by controlling, directing and refining the sexual creative energy one can achieve higher goals in life. The practice of Brahmacharya as complete abstinence is to be observed on the first stage of the Chatur Ashramas – the Student life when one needs to be fully concentrated in the studies. Passions and sex lead to lots of emotions and mental disturbances. Brahmacharya as complete abstinence of sexual life is also recommended for a Yogi wishing to achieve higher states of Yoga. AISHWARIYA : Q. What does the Sanskrit word Hamsa mean? A. All words coming from the Sanskrit

language have various definitions and meanings. It is difficult, even impossible, to translate them accurately, as language is generally a reflection of the culture it springs from and since Sanskrit is an old language, encapsulating concepts, Truths or realities that are out of reach for the younger and more modern languages. Here is a tentative interpretation to convey the meaning, rather than a translation, of the word Hamsa. Hamsa can simply

mean swan. Simple yet exceedingly beautiful when exploring the symbolism of this bird within the Hindu culture. Among other metaphors, it suggests the discriminative ability. It is said that a swan is able drink the milk from water and milk mixture. Hamsa may also be understood as a mantra, in this case an Ajapa – the subconscious repetition of what is happening inside. We are referring to the breath: when breathing in, we produce the

sound SAHA, which signifies the Self, and while breathing out, we create the sound HAM, signifying the Ego. So the Sanskrit word Hamsa has very beautiful, deep and esoteric meaning; with each breath, we purify our being of the Ego, making place for the Higher Self, the Eternal Soul. Q. Yama is the name of the Hindu God of Death. How does this relate to Yama, as the first step of Ashtanga Yoga. A. Yama, the first step of Ashtanga Yoga, was intelligently and purpose placed there by Patanjali. The Yamas may be taken as the “restraints” for ethical, Yogic living. It is understood that Yoga is the purification process through which one truly becomes humane. Most humans are animals disguised as human beings. So Patanjali helps us in becoming real human beings with guidelines on sublimating our animal tendencies. In other words, we are meant to let go of our animal nature to allow our Higher Nature to blossom. Consequently Yama, the God of Death, relates to the Yama of

Ashtanga Yoga, in that the animal nature must die for the human nature to come to life. Death is therefore seen as a very positive and desired occurrence, as it is simply and beautifully change, Shiva, Eternal Goodness. Q. In Sutra 16, Sadhana Pada, Patanjali says: “Those miseries which can be avoided, should be avoided.” What does he mean”? A. Patanjali is referring to the prospect of choosing our destiny. To avoid that which has not yet come to pass, is a real possibility. We attract karmically determined situations that can cause harm or miseries, if we don’t pay attention. These miseries may be interpreted as Karma manifest, the purpose of which is not suffering, but learning. From this angle, we should develop proper conscious living and a discriminative eye to avoid these preset miseries. We are born again and again, only to learn that Ultimate Truth, and because we do not fully know it, we come back. So being born is also a kind of suffering. The underlying key concept I believe Patanjali conveys is that we can learn the lessons we are born to learn, without necessarily having to suffer. Suffering these miseries is in fact a last resort from the Universe to get our attention. Subsequently, if we manage to become subtle and sensitive enough, we gain the capacity to foresee things, alter our behaviour and positively modify the pattern set up by unconscious past behavious. We won’t need to go through the school of hard-knocks (as Swamiji calls it), through the proper cultivation and use of consciousness. Furthermore, in addition to this Sabija Karma, there is the Karma of actions not yet performed, thereby amplifying the importance of a conscious and healthy lifestyle. Q. Amma often says if one does not do one’s Dharma, one cannot experience Santhosham. Without Santhosham, there can be no stilling of the whirlpools of the mind. Discuss this idea on light of your own experience. A. Santhosham is translated as contentment.

This contentment does not refer to a fleeting sensual pleasure, rather, a calm happiness that naturally arises after having positively exerted oneself. This positive exertion can be identified or evaluated by whether it is in accordance with the pursuit or performance of Dharma. This is an automatic rule, which is part and parcel of the Natural Law, and dictates the relationship between these two concepts. If Santosham isn’t felt, the mind feels restless as it keeps on searching. Conversely, if there is a sense of Santosham, our being as a whole experiences a level of satiety which helps focus and calm the mind. For example, I was extremely stressed about getting my thesis, study sheet and small thoughts on assigned Niyamas on time and ‘perfectly’ done. I had basically asked Amma for an extension on my thesis because things were ‘getting out of control’, I wasn’t able to focus, there wasn’t enough time, there was so much to do, virtually, it was impossible! Then, when

Nalini said: “No, you have to make the effort to get it in on time”, it confirmed that the part of me that asked Amma for the extension was full of excuses. I then looked back and evaluated to see what I could’ve done differently and was astounded by the question that came up: “What have I been doing this whole time? This situation is not anybody’s fault but mine!” It was hard to take because I had been constantly and consciously focused on doing my Dharma, doing the right thing, at the right time, etc… And to come to realize that I totally missed the mark, just because my set of priorities were off, was hard and good. This realization has helped me in that it has

shifted my focus to what needs to be done rather than what I want to do. I was in a state of constant self-justification, finding all the excuses, to support the reasons why I needed to do what I wanted to do. I hope I will be able to maintain this state… I find this to be a perfect example of the intricate and dependent correlative relationship between Dharma and Santosham. I was in a state of restlessness because I wasn’t doing my Dharma (all the while thinking I was doing it, but they were excuses) and I am now able to concentrate because I know I am doing exactly what I need to be doing, right here, right now; so I am content. Q. The Ego

is a cunning fox as well as a rat. It knows how to escape the hunter (Guru). What does the hunter need to do to catch it? Explain this statement in light of your own experience. A. The hunter must be able to perfectly mirror the rat or fox and expose it for what it is. To be able to do this, the hunter must possess the same qualities as a fox or a rat (following the dictum: “It takes one to know one.”), and in addition to that, the hunter must have total control and mastery over these qualities, but mainly be wise, extremely

quick and alert, and detached. In fact, there are so many things the hunter must be and do to catch it as it is such a lengthy, arduous, selfless and on-going process! In dealing with the Ego, one must be so gentle, yet firm, intelligently unbending on basic principles yet understanding, as well as extremely patient and compassionate. I suppose all these essential qualities in a hunter are possible only through Vairagya (total detachment from the object that is hunted), Swadhyaya (total self-knowledge, therefore self-mastery) and Ishwara Pranidhana (total faith in knowing that what is being done and what occurs is in complete accordance with the Divine will). In my own experience, this hunter emerges at many levels, some of which I am conscious, others of which I am totally unaware of, but aware of the fact that I am unaware of them, so I must always be vigilant. I feel the hunter catches parts of our self we are strong identified to, exposes it clearly to make us understand it is part of us, then through that realization, if understood, we can let it go and be grateful to the hunter for freeing us from that load and making us lighter. The hunter exposes our patterns of behaviour through the revelation of our thought-patterns, which dictate our actions. The actions which are not in accordance to Dharma, the

hunter catches and must correct. So it is a tough lesson for the fox who thought it knew better and for the rat who wants to hide and strike back simply because he can’t face it. For these reasons, the hunter must be exceptionally skilful, always on guard (aware) and compassionate. ON FASTING: Knowing I wasn’t hungry, still, this animal body had a very strong reaction to being deprived of food: on the night between day 2 and 3, I woke up at 2 am, feeling horrible and almost in a panic. It felt nauseous, cold, dizzy, weak and extremely sensitive to sound and my heart was

racing. I really wondered how I was going to have the strength to go for Aarthi. This was the one thing was no way I was going to miss, but how could I make it in this condition? Well, morning came and I managed with difficulty, as my heart wouldn’t slow down. Nalini saw me and told me she noticed I wasn’t doing well, and then, as she usually does, she cured me with words. She explained to me that it simply was Abhinivesha: my body was holding on for dear life and tried its tricks to get me to give something, just a little something! It was hard to hear, as I didn’t believe her at first, but the deeper Self knew she was correct. So I did what had to be done, cultivate a bit of Shradha and go with it. And after Hatha Yoga class, I was fine! Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani Chairman : Yoganjali Natyalayam and ICYER Hon General Secretary, Pondicherry Yogasana Association 25, 2nd Cross,Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry, South India-605 013 Tel: +91-413 - 2622902 / +91-413 -3203314/+91-413 -2241561 Mobile: 9842311433 Website: www.icyer.com www.geocities.com/yognat2001/ananda

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

[Guest guest]

Dear Ananda,

Thank you for sharing the

answers with us.

They were thought provoking.

Also I congratulate Amma & you

for your man-making and nation building activity.

As a relief from their serious dissertations

I add below the whale’s sense of gratitude, which belies belief.

love

Sri Bala

Yoga Therapist

Founder, Vibrational Breath Therapy

(based on Rishiculture Ashtanga Yoga)

www.vbt.com.au

(under reconstruction)

 

 

On Behalf Of Yogacharya Dr.Ananda

Bhavanani

Wednesday, 12 December 2007 5:37 PM

 

Out of the Mouths of Yoga Babies!

 

Out

of the Mouths of Yoga Babies!

Excerpts

from November Self Examination Sheet

 

39th

Annual International Yoga Teachers Training Course

October 2nd,

2007 to March 25th, 2008

At the International Centre For Yoga

Education and Research (ICYER)

Kottakuppam,

Tamil Nadu – 605 104. INDIA.

 

 

Q. Why did the Gurus rate

‘ingratitude’ (Droga) as the most heinous sin? Why does Amma say

ingratitude is the last bastion of the ego?

 

A. The ego is unable to owe anything to

anybody. The ego believes that the grass is always greener on the other side

(as the French saying goes), i.e. what we don’t know looks nicer from a

distance and likewise what we don’t have looks appealing to the ego which

immediately induces us to want what we don’t have because it looks nicer.

The ego complains about what it doesn’t have, what’s lacking,

missing but is unable to recognize (i.e. be aware) and even less so to be

thankful for what there is/it has got. The ego goes; I don’t have what

I need and the Yogi goes: I have what I need and I don’t need what I

don’t have. Gratitude is a matter of awareness and contentment, which

are at the opposite end of the ego’s whims. Rousseau said: ‘If

only I could be happy for what I have and not waste my time lamenting for what

I have not’.

 

A beautiful story & message.... May 2008 be filled with joy

& love!

 

The Whale

 

A female humpback whale had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and

lines.

 

She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of

traps that caused

her to struggle to stay

afloat.

She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail,

her torso, a line

tugging in her mouth.

 

A fisherman spotted her just east of the

Faralon Islands (outside the Golden Gate in San Francisco ) and radioed for

help.

 

Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived

and determined that she was

so bad off, the only way to save her was to

dive in and untangle her; a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

 

 

 

 

They worked for hours

with curved knives and eventually freed her.

 

When she was free, the divers say she swam in

what seemed like joyous circles.

She then came back to each and every diver,

one at a time, nudged them, and

pushed gently, thanking them. Some said it was

the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

 

 

 

The guy who cut the rope

out of her mouth says her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will

never be the same.....

 

 

May you, and all those you love, be so fortunate...to be

surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from

the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of

giving and receiving gratitude. I

pass this on to you, my friend, in the same spirit.