Raja-yoga

Ingrained Tendencies (Samskaras)

2012-03-01T09:44:00.001-06:00

In our life we develop certain set ways of thinking and behaving. These are usually due to our past experiences and inclinations. Some of these can be linked to their sources e.g. memories of past pleasures and pains, of family, influential teachers and friends, and social norms. Memories and impressions, in BKS Iyengar’s words, are interrelated, interconnected and interwoven. Some of these settle in our unconscious mind, the chitta, staying dormant until something revives them. All these impressions and habits are referred to as samskaras in Sanskrit. They are like a grid and we get a filtered perception of reality through them. They structure, shape and maintain individuality. They act as stimuli in life and generate fresh cravings and fears leadings to further actions, which then reenergize them. Past experiences of present lifetime, as well as, as the karma philosophy says, from previous lives remain as potent influences. While keeping one connected with past experiences they play a role in shaping the future. There are good samskaras and harmful samskaras, outgoing and restraining ones, the different kinds of deeply ingrained habits that are in the form of either externally oriented behaviors or withdrawing tendencies and they are controlling influences on our mind.

The actions that we perform, either shaped by ego, in pursuance of pleasures or for avoiding painful experiences, or due to fear of changes, leave impressions. The impressions become more entrenched as a result of same types of actions. They trigger thoughts, strengthen certain tendencies within us and through our subsequent actions also produce effects on the world around us. Like a latent flame, the samskaras remain poised to reignite the fires of desires in the present. Al Biruni¹, the Iranian scholar of the 10-11th centuries, is credited with translating Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras into Arabic. He compared the embodied soul to grain within the husk, with the unconscious mind wrapped around its samskaras. And just as the grain in husk has the potential for sprouting and ripening, the conscious mind is directed by the samskaras to take certain types of actions. Nagasena², the Buddhist teacher, who lived in the 2^nd century BCE, responded to the question regarding why we have certain ideas, as follows: “Because of there being an incline, and because of there being a door, and because of there being a habit, and because of there being an association.”

Our thoughts, tendencies and behaviors change from time to time. While there may be changes in form or intensity, there is also continuity in the form of persistence of certain ways of thinking. Sometimes the changes are for the better and sometimes not. Some samskaras play an important role in our conditioning, in developing a sense of who we are, in preparing us to participate in life. However, samskaras can also lead to strong ego building. As a result, one resists changing habits and thought patterns. Knowing better does not always work. This resistance can have a dampening effect on creativity, on developing holistic attitudes, on awareness about the interconnections within and around us. The accumulated impressions cling to us, become part of what we think is our identity.

Many times deep-seated patterns are hard to recognize and therefore hard to transform but can be circumvented though sustained effort. We can influence the direction of change. Mahatma Gandhi said that our greatness lies not in remaking the world but in remaking ourselves. Samskaras can be reformed. By recognizing the energy of habits and becoming aware of their potential, one can work on weakening them. We are drawn to certain thought patterns and by thinking about the events associated with them we end up energizing them. It is when we become aware of them that we can work on not letting them intrude and make sure that they do not receive any nourishment. Yoga practices aim at treating the person as a whole, the body and the mind, by helping one to change attitudes and habits. Through the various practices that are part of the comprehensive yoga approach one can find ways towards reforming and restructuring the influences of past habits and experiences. When one works at energizing certain good samskaras the negative ones get concurrently weakened. But the relationship between opposite samskaras always remains dynamic and unless one maintains some degree of vigilance the negative samskaras can reassert their influence. By improving self-esteem, gaining clarity in life, increasing effectiveness of actions through prioritizing, one can connect within oneself. Bodily awareness helps. We tend to carry the tension associated with certain emotions in our shoulders, our stomach, in our face. By focusing on the specific parts of the body and learning to relax them with each breath one can ease that tension. During meditation the clarity and stability that one can experience can help remold, reshape and restructure the functioning of the mind.

BKS Iyengar³ says that the yogic goal is freedom and that freedom comes from un-conditioning oneself from the hold of past experiences, thought patterns and ingrained tendencies that can hold one hostage to repeating certain behaviors that one is not ready to accept any more. It is breaking the chain of causality and sustained and dedicated practice that can create lasting results changing the quality of one’s life.

Notes:

^1.Bryant Edwin F., 2009. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation and Commentary. North Point Press, New York, 598 p.

^2.Radhakrishnan S., 1929. Indian Philosophy. Vol. I, Seventeenth Impression, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 738 p.

^3.Iyengar, B.K.S., 2005. Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace and Ultimate Freedom. Rodale, 282 p.

Into Silence

2012-02-23T09:52:00.001-06:00

John Francis¹, born in 1946, witnessed the devastating effects on environment due to the oil spill caused by two tankers colliding under the Golden Gate Bridge in 1971. In opposition to the use of oil that the modern societies have come to depend, on he gave up riding in motorized vehicles and decided to walk everywhere, a practice that he continued to follow for 22 years. During those 22 years he walked from California, up the coast in Oregon, to Montana, and through Wisconsin to the Atlantic coast near Philadelphia. Along the way he went to graduate school and earned a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He had also given up talking soon after deciding to walk everywhere and maintained silence for 17 years. The silence that he maintained was a spiritual experience of awakening and peacefulness to which he returns periodically even now. He describes his experiences, along with the importance of listening, in one of his recent books, ‘The Ragged Edge of Silence.’ The ragged edge that he experiences and refers to is, in his words, ‘the experience from where our existence springs,’ the transition time between sound and settling into silence, when one keeps moving in and out of silence. Following is a brief account of what his experiences were, mostly in his own words.

Listening is important, because without listening we can recognize neither silence nor each other. We put up barriers between others and ourselves by not listening and to be an active listener is to be a better communicator. Finding resolution for conflicts within as well as between groups of people depends on listening. As many people have found, the most important aspect of listening or being silent is to be attentive and focused. The Native American people believe that in every act, in every thing, and in every instant the Great Spirit is present and that one should be continually and intensely attentive to its divine presence. Black Elk, an Ogallala Sioux elder, believed that being attentive in silence is of utmost importance because nothing happens by accident. Since all created beings are sacred and important, everything that happens to them is significant, clothed with symbolic meaning. By paying attention, we gain a little more wisdom and understanding of our own lives.

For Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950), the Indian spiritual master, real silence is a still mind, which once controlled, becomes natural. Francis suggests that as you move through your daily life, see if there is some correlation between your inner journey and the outer landscape. It is being still amid the rush to see the blade of grass breaking through a crack of concrete. In one moment you lose yourself and then be found, to understand that the miracle is not the turning of the water into wine, but the water itself. He says that silence is something to be explored. It is a place that is new and also a place that is very old. To be discovered there is healing, for the mind as well as for the spirit. For some, silence is absence of sound, a place to leave the business of mind behind when in fact in this state comes the consciousness of all things, of unity, of the One. By becoming empty vessels one waits to receive all that is necessary to be who one is meant to be and to do what one is meant to do, in this moment.

Perry, the gold prospector whom Francis meets in the wilderness area in the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon, says to him: You are recapitulating when not talking. It is like going back to the beginning of things and then working through all the successive stages of human development to where you ate right now. Recapitulation is a good teacher.

Francis also bring in sense control that is the beginning of the meditative experience, the yogic practice called pratyahara, in connection with shamanic practices. He says that the shamanic state of consciousness involves a deep respect for all forms of life, with a humble awareness of even the inorganic matter of our planet. The shaman knows that humans are related to all forms of life, approaching them with respect and understanding. Everything is deemed to have energy within and a person has to learn to sit in silence and feel the energy that abides in the earth, the trees, the rocks, the waters and so on. The shaman contacts the spirit world in a state of silence. The shamanic philosophy is that when you approach the spirit world in this altered state of consciousness, with love, respect and inner silence, nature in turn will reveal itself in ways that are unimaginable and unapproachable in an ordinary state of consciousness. He says:

Sometimes the changes come from within

Seeing with no eyes

Hearing with no ears

We begin

Nitsa Marcandonatou of the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, as Francis reports, illustrated that silence is part of five major religious traditions, as well as Psychology. Religions claim that they can transform our consciousness through the act of being silent. Awareness of mental processes is important for dissolving ego attachments. It is a prerequisite to being present to oneself as well as to others, and for experiencing enlightenment.

What does silent experience represent? A sample of participants in the study by Marcandonatou reported the following:

1. Experiencing the essence of one’s being

2. Experiencing one’s inner life with a heightened sense of awareness

3. Experiencing more acutely through the senses

4. Feeling connected and/or unified with various aspects of existence

5. Feeling a wide range of intense feelings and emotions

6. Perceiving the experience as ineffable

7. Feeling rejuvenated, and

8. Perceiving a change in the meaningfulness and significance of ideas and the nature of personal reality.

9. The naturalist participants reported a higher degree of positive interpersonal and intrapersonal integration.

The narrations by John Foster are insightful, entertaining and instructive, to say the least. Maintaining silence is a common spiritual practice. There is the long Indian spiritual tradition of maintaining silence or ‘mauna’ for introspection and for reflection. As Ramana Maharishi described it, mauna is living beyond the ego-sense. J. Krishnamurthy described it as the mind going on a long pilgrimage. There is immense power in being able to withhold speaking. And the Bhagavad Gita (6.19) says, (when) the mind is held still (it is) just like an oil lamp that burns with a motionless flame when the wind stops. And this is what yoga is all about, about quieting the mind or as Patanjali, the compiler of Yoga Sutras, said two thousand years ago: yogah chittavrtti nirodhah (I.2); yoga is the quieting of the mind movements.

Notes:

^1.Francis John, 2011. The Ragged Edge of Silence: Finding Peace in a Noisy World. National geographic, Washington DC, 267 p.

Choices, Shreya and Preya

2012-02-16T11:11:00.001-06:00

In life we are often in situations that involve making a choice. What is a better choice when there are two apparent options, especially when the apparent choice situations mean conflicting values? The Katha Upanishad (8^th-7^th century BCE) narrates the story of the dutiful and conscientious son Nachiketa. When Nachiketa sees his father Uddalaka, the king, offering old and feeble cows as presents, Nachiketa raises objections. When he persists his father gets angry and in his anger says that I offer you to Yama, the god of death. When Nachiketa goes to Yama, who is away, he waits for him for three days without food. On his return Yama offers him gifts to make up for the wait. One of the gifts that Nachiketa asks for is enlightenment that involves making appropriate choices. Yama tells Nachiketa about two ways, one that is good (shreya) and the other that is pleasant (preya). Both the good and the pleasant prompt action and only one who is wise selects the good over the pleasant. The Bhagavad Gita says that a choice for short-term ego or sense satisfaction is called ‘preya’. There is happiness when the senses are pleased, and this is material happiness. It is external, transient and is ultimately harmful, disappointing, causing pain. The other option is to follow the wholesome option that benefits others too and is described as being ‘shreya’. This is internal as well as shared happiness and it is obtained when one makes a choice intelligently.

Do we always know the difference between good vs. pleasant? Intelligent choice means placing material value below the importance of the purpose served. Thus, while gold may be valuable, iron is better for protection, sugar is sweet but we also need salt. At the same time, we also derive pleasure from things that may have little to do with survival. And some pleasures may be destructive. There is damage that leads and follows them. Instead when a need, not desire, is met one feels relieved, there is no pain and it is this relief that one seeks. For Nachiketa that meant making his father happy by returning alive, plus acquiring useful skills and gaining enlightenment.

The dichotomy between good and pleasant, shreya and preya, is part of life and more so in modern times than it has been in older cultures, which were more oriented towards serving the group, the society as a whole than towards the individual. Today through our individual actions, thoughts and words we, more and more, affect the larger order. Securing and establishing our well-being in a way that is in tune with our intelligence, buddhi, is important. When one looks for instant gratification and considers that it is oneself that matters, irrespective of how misinformed or limited the experiences might have been, it shows buddhi’s lower form. This can be a self-destructive way of choosing given the false or limited understanding of one’s own needs. When one learns to temper the desires with discretion, one finds real and lasting satisfaction. It can mean delayed satisfaction even though self-interest still matters. Most of us know what we want but not necessarily what we need. Wants are usually in the form of desires for pleasant things and experiences and these are due to our basic impulses and conditioning. Needs, on the other hand, are related to intrinsic desires of the soul for fulfilling its higher purpose. Depending on whether one can access and allow those intrinsic desires to guide, one is less compelled to act on desires that are born from fear, old patterns, low self-esteem, and past hurts.¹ The ego interferes with the operation of buddhi as it injects superficial and irrelevant factors into the process.

The higher form of buddhi, intelligence, is when it is based on the understanding that everything is interconnected. When interconnections and interdependence within the world as a whole are lost sight of, there are damaging consequences in the form of discontent and environmental degradation that has repercussions for all, including oneself. It is when buddhi operates from a greater level of self-control and what may be called maturity that it is capable of considering a larger picture of the world within which it must operate. One is inclined towards choices that can be beneficial or useful in the long run. Choices that are supportive of personal, social and spiritual growth are made. There is an understanding of the limits of selfish and self-centered action. It represents a higher level of awareness encompassing the family, organization and society.

The Sufi teacher Vaughn-Lee² says that the dynamics of duality has embedded our world in conflict and patterns of opposition. We need to direct our collective consciousness in a focused way. Directed consciousness has far greater potential than diffuse awareness. The ability to focus our awareness is an important step in its development. This involves incorporating spiritual practices that can restructure mind. Presence, attention, simple witnessing are spiritual practices that belong to an awakened state of being. They enable our consciousness to participate directly with the flow of life. The union of the inner and outer worlds paves the way towards a brighter future that fosters choices whereby the pleasant, preya, and the good, shreya do not need to cancel each other.

It is also crucial that directing individual as well as collective consciousness have to become ‘lived experiences.’³ It involves making a sincere and sustained effort towards quieting the ego. The lures of fame and fortune remain lucrative, but equally important is looking into one’s deepest real needs and questioning unhealthy self-focused views, and especially ensuring justice towards all components of the larger community. Suspending assumptions leaves the mind open to venture into new possibilities of attending to different avenues for cooperation and growth. Then the choice is made on the basis of what action is appropriate. That is the way to pursue the good, the shreya, and leave aside the pleasant or preya.

Notes:

^1.Stryker Rod, 2011. The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom. Delacorte Press, new York, NY, 327 p.

^2. Vaughan-Lee Llewellyn, 2003. Light of Oneness. The Golden Sufi Center, Inverness, California, 187 p.

^3.Hamilton Craig and Claire Zammit, ‘Thinking Together Without Ego:  Collective Intelligence as an Evolutionary Catalyst.’

http://www.integralenlightenment.com/pages/articles/index.php?id=763899701

The Worlds Within and Without

2012-02-09T09:43:00.003-06:00

Prakriti, the material world is the world that constitutes the ‘seen’ in yoga dualism. The ‘seen’ exists for the ‘seer’, for use and for gaining freedom from our life experiences. Survival depends on these experiences. Certain constituents of ‘seen’ may disappear for an individual seer after the purpose is served, but as a whole the ‘seen’ remains available for other seers. Through thinking, feeling and using the intuitive insights, we collect information about the world around us. Thoughts and feelings carry information from the past. Our experiences, pleasing or disturbing, likes and dislikes, fears and anxieties, tend to color our thinking and feelings. The stronger the hold of mind’s fluctuations on us, the more limited becomes our understanding of reality. This limited, afflicted understanding is the ignorance, ‘avidya’, that makes it less likely for us to see fully ‘what is’. It also gives an erroneous conception about the nature of our consciousness. Instead one perceives reality in a conditioned, selective manner. This leads to further tension and confusion and that is the norm in life. Until afflicted view, or avidya is brought under control, illusions, tensions and confusion continue. When the mind’s fluctuations are controlled through will, it is yoga, meaning the liberation of our consciousness, the real seer within, purusha, from the perceived world, prakriti.

Attaining the state of a liberated consciousness is the goal of yoga facilitated through introspective, meditative techniques. The objective is to see through the apparent dichotomy between our consciousness and the material world. The purpose of the material world is to serve consciousness for this purpose. This position, consciousness being of paramount significance, is thus not as antithetical to the advaita view as one may initially come to understand, except that yoga philosophy limits itself to the individual consciousness and not the universal consciousness or Brahman which is at the heart of the advaita philosophy. And in several other respects there is closer affinity between the philosophy and practices of yoga and Jainism and Buddhism than with Vedanta.

Wilber¹ thinks that consciousness forms an integral part of the world experience for which the corresponding objective and material based correlates cannot be found. Subjective elements are interwoven into the fabric of everything. As a result consciousness and form, subjective and objective, interior and exterior, consciousness and the material universe, are all equally part of the universe and neither can be dismissed. This thinking is reflected in yoga as practiced in modern times, combining the philosophical, psychological and physical aspects of our lives and with emphasis on the role of the body-mind in our lives. This way of thinking is part of many aspects of the Tantra philosophy too. Tantra is a collection of practical techniques for achieving liberation or enlightenment. The word "tantra" itself comes from a Sanskrit root that means "to weave or extend." Tantra practitioners have always seen it as a comprehensive system for extending knowledge and wisdom—for realizing that the whole world is a completely interwoven unity. Tantra functions not just as an enlightenment practice, but also as a system of practical techniques. In Tantra, the body is seen as a microcosm of the whole universe. According to noted yoga scholar Georg Feuerstein² (himself a practitioner of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism), "Hatha yoga grew straight out of the concern in Tantra for creating a transubstantiated body—a body that was totally under the control of the yogi, that he/she could manifest and de-manifest at will.”

Reality conforms to the explanation we impose upon it. As Stryker³ observes: Every perspective on reality is just that, one perspective – one degree of what is actually 360 degrees of reality. The human mind may be creating what we call reality, which mirrors us but also contains infinite possibilities unreachable by the ordinary human mind. It is the opening of those, or at least more of those possibilities that enlightenment is about, allowing one to be in the world without being shaped totally by our limited worlds, to be free of our limited views and conditioning.

Notes:

^1.Wilber Ken, 1998. The Eye of Spirit: An Integral Version for a World Gone Slightly Mad. Shambhala, Boston, Conn. 414 p.

^2.Jones Todd, ‘The Truth About Tantra.’ http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/463

^3.Stryker Rod, 2011. The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom. Delacorte Press, new York, NY, 327 p.

How to Meditate, Handstand, Practice

2012-02-04T09:48:00.006-06:00

Click on the link below:

http://intentblog.com/inspivideo-one-moment-meditation/

Also an interesting article by Kathryn Budig and video at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathryn-budig/yoga-briohny-kate-smyth_b_1202653.html

Yoga has been in the news lately, mainly because of certain arguments in a new book about the dangers of practicing certain yoga asanas. Go to the link below for some information.

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/07/146463156/the-risks-and-rewards-of-practicing-yoga

Inclusions and Boundaries

2012-02-02T08:15:00.005-06:00

Inclusion is being or becoming a part of an existing group. Given the multiple aspects of our historical, cultural, social and political lives, groups are for delineating some of those aspects and including those who share certain commonalities pertaining to them with others within that group. Groups strengthen relationships and the invisible bonds between people. We all hunger for connections and for harmony and seek emotional support through our interactions with others who are in some ways like us. When we seek and carve out our own groups we gain in some ways. Our collective perceptions shape our interpretation of the world around us and guide us. We become who we are by association with others within the group. There is emotional as well as intellectual growth that comes from the feedbacks within the networks of people.

Any time a group is formed it means that some are within that group and some are not. Those who are not part of a group are outside of the boundaries around that group. The boundaries within different groups represent compartmentalization of reality. In real life, peoples and landscapes always merge and transition to assume noticeably different faces and whenever an artificial line is drawn it takes away something from a coherent picture. Rivalries among groups are common. Some groups consider themselves to be superior and treat others as being less. Interests within the group are protected, at the cost of inflicting injustices on what is beyond. Eventually this ends up diminishing the quality of the whole.

Ardagh¹ describes an experience while living in Bali many years ago. He heard about a Japanese company clear cutting large areas of old growth teak forest. The trees were loaded onto boats, supposedly headed for Japan. Then he heard that the boats weren't actually taking the trees all the way to Japan. Halfway there, in the middle of nowhere, they were getting dumped off into the ocean. The motive? By buying up old-growth teak in Indonesia and keeping it off the market, the company was able to maintain their high price for the rare teak already available in Japan. He says that it is all coming from a feeling of being separate: separate from the earth, separate from other people, separate even from your children, who are later going to have to deal with the messes due to the environmental damage we are creating today. When we put up boundaries, try to hold on to certain conditions within, we sever the connections that bind us to the whole. The ‘we-concept’ sets itself as the only collective reality. It then considers itself independent from the rest of reality. It protects and continues its existence and when threatened wishes to drive away the rest. The world is split into us vs. the others.

Making the boundaries flexible is healing and nourishing for all. When limitations due to distance start evaporating, groups that allow different peoples tend to be richer in various ways. Inclusiveness is more peace-oriented and beneficial for the larger humanity. It allows group identification to respond to changing needs. Shared qualities span across the spectrum of groups that different peoples represent. The appropriate strategy is, as the poet Edwin Markham said:

“He drew a circle that shut me out-

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle and took him in!

From the poem " Outwitted” ―

It is our choices that determine who are and what we become. Breaking out of the small, self-centered point of view—with its ferocious expectations and demands—and appreciating the connections to the whole is much more satisfying than expecting the world to come through for you and complaining when it does not attend to you. There is the unseen and limitless web of intelligence, that is indicated by the word dharma, that sustains and supports the universe as a whole and each individual creation within it, a human being, a plant, animal, even a lowly rock. It is the organizing principle for the whole and throughout the universe. The eternal law or ‘sanatan dharma’ refers to that collective natural order of which we are all a part. We are sustained by the limitless intelligence that pervades everything. Through our individual actions, thoughts and words, we affect the larger order, scheme of things. It is important to secure and establish our well-being is a way that is in tune with this larger setting.³ We are supported continuously in literally countless ways by others beyond those boundaries and that is the highest wisdom of yoga, the truth of interbeing, of no separation. Meditators use different finger positions as part of the calming experience. In the Jnana Mudra the thumb and the index fingertips touch and the other fingers are extended. The index finger represents the individual soul and the thumb the universal soul. Joining these two fingers symbolizes the union of the ‘I’ with the ‘We’ part of our lives. And that is the state of being that is most peace-giving.

Notes:

^1.Ardagh Arjuna, ‘What Is the Spiritual Meaning Behind Occupy Wall Street?’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arjuna-ardagh/occupy-movement-and-consciousness_b_1081166.html?view=screen

^2.Stryker Rod, 2011. The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom. Delacorte Press, new York, NY, 327 p.

Reality: Oneness

2012-01-26T09:11:00.001-06:00

The philosophy about non-separation, non-dualism is referred to as the advaita view. This view is an important part of the Vedanta philosophy. The advaita view is that there is the unity of all existence, and that unity reduces itself in the end to the sole reality of the universal spirit. The unity means that there is the non-separation between the mind, the material and something beyond the mind. This view postulates that the entire universe represents an infinite pool of consciousness that the ancient Indians called the Vastness, Brahman. It is the essence of everything that exists.

Non-dualism is this ancient Indian world-view about seeing and experiencing the unity that prevails in all the diversity in the universe, the diverse life forms and diverse cultures. In this world-view all life is considered to be part of the natural world and the natural world as part of everything that exists. The world of things is the world of energy and matter. It is, in fact, the same one world for all of us. Brahman, the supreme spirit, is beyond everything and also into the entire creation it has caused. In the words of the Taittiriya Upanishad (iii, I), “That verily from which these beings originate, by which, having originated they live, to which departing, they return again – endeavor to understand that! That is the Brahman.”

In the Rig Veda, maya refers to multiple forms of the same substance. It also includes the world of experiences, of feelings, of drives and thoughts that can be assigned to have come from a specific part of the body, or explained on the basis of changes in the matter or energy levels within some specific areas of the brain. Shankara, the Vedanta philosopher says that reality is that which does not change. And that unchanging reality is Brahman, also referred to as the Universal Consciousness, and everything else is unreal. The material and experiential world of ours is an illusion, or maya. The Buddhists too describe our contrived, limited nature of perception as delusion.

Dasgupta¹ says that the Vedantic expression used to describe reality is that it is both real and not real. While we are in a state of ignorance it is said to be ‘is’ or existing. It exists for a time. But it also does not exist for all times. Once rightly comprehended it will be manifest that the world never existed, does not exist, and will never exist again. The Brahman, the universal consciousness, in its true and correct nature is not revealed to us in our objective consciousness. But when the veil of ignorance, avidya, is removed the self-luminous Brahman is realized.

Our sense perceptions constitute our experience of the world around us. Is the mind knower of reality? The answer is no, given that, based on our sense perceptions, we get an incomplete picture of the wholeness, the complexity of all that we are part of. The allegory from ancient India about the elephant and six blind men is about reality, as it is perceived. The six blind men represent the five senses plus the rational mind. The elephant is Brahman, the totality of all that exists. The elephant cannot be really seen by the five senses and the rational mind alone. The ancient Indian sages called the fundamental reality as ‘that’, the power behind all creation. It has come to mean the primary principle, which spontaneously manifests itself as the universe. The sage Vasistha said, it is that which we cannot imagine, is inconceivable, but from which imagination and thinking spring.

The eminent physicist Freeman Dyson observed that: It appears that mind as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent inherent in every electron. Chopra² who subscribes to the Vedanta view, says, the mind has always been there, plus there is a cosmic mind that surrounds us completely. It exists in our surroundings, in our heart, liver and gut cells as much as in our brain, providing intelligence, organizing power, creativity and everything else. The Katha Upanishad (II.1.10) says: ‘what is within us is also what is without. What is without is also within.’ There is no duality between humans and Nature. There are no others; there is an underlying unity of all that exists.’ The other modern writer Wilber says: There is a subtle essence pervading all reality. It is the reality of all that is, the foundation of all, the essence is the real. And as the wise father, Uddalaka in Brihadaranyka Upanishad, explains to his son Svetaketu about Brahman, ‘and thou, thou are that.’

Notes:

^1.Dasgupta Surendranath, 1922. A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume I, Motilal Banarsidass, 2006 Reprint, Delhi, 528 p.

^2.Chopra Deepak and Leonard Mlodinow, 2011. War of the Worldviews. Harmony books, New York, NY, 315 p.

^3.Wilber Ken, 2000. A Brief History of Everything. Shambhala, Boston. 330 p.

Practicing Yoga: Dangerous?

2012-01-19T09:36:00.001-06:00

From time to time someone writes about the ‘dangers’ of practicing yoga, the ‘waves of injuries’ that are due to practicing yoga asanas. A recent article in the New York Times¹ details the injuries that can be due to practicing yoga asanas. Sure there are pulled muscles and joint pains, mostly experienced by new practitioners, due to excessive effort and wanting to do as well or better than the next person. At the same time statistics show the relatively small number of yoga related injuries.² According to the Consumer Products Commission in 2007 about 3.5 out of every 10,000 yoga practitioners, 12 to 15 out of 10,000weight training practitioners, and 39 out of every 10,000 golf players incurred an injury. The statistics are self-explanatory and this does not even measure the beneficial effects of practicing yoga asanas. These include stress management, as a complementary treatment for diabetes, heart disease, plus addressing musculo-skeletal issues, such as, sciatica or arthritis.

There are hundreds of yoga poses and not all of them are appropriate for everyone, especially for someone with certain ailments. In addition, there is a lot more to yoga than practicing postures and breathing exercises; meditation being an important part of the range of techniques that are part of the comprehensive yoga technique. As Houston Smith says, Yoga is one of the most realistic, matter-of-fact, practical minded system of thought and training ever set up by the human mind.

Asana practice brings about an integration of the body, the breath and the mind. As Mohan³ describes, there is structural integration in the body, a functional integration that results from the use of the breath energy, and a psychological integration through mind work. The result is an overall state of balance. While the body is the focus, the different parts thereof are loosened and strengthened and, in the process, the different organs are massaged, and the effects of asanas going deeper. There is a refined awareness of the body. ‘Prana,’ the life force is efficiently circulated through the appropriate use of breath in asana and that brings about a revitalization of the functioning within the body and release of tensions. Through an attitude of surrender in a posture, it is the mind that relaxes and as a result becomes more receptive. Intelligence is awakened throughout the body. As one develops more cognizance and discriminative ability, that is at the heart our ability to cope, the integration results in attaining a blissful state of balance.

Brooks⁴ observed that people with self-control and self-discipline develop habits and strategies that trigger the unconscious processes that enable them to perceive the world in productive and farseeing ways. A successful yoga practice is based on nurturing both, control and discipline. Bhagwati⁵, herself a war veteran, while teaching yoga asanas to other vets, found that soldiers suffering from post-traumatic disorders especially benefit from asana practice. Physical movement is a way of processing stress. The hard work of adjusting an attitude towards a physical posture, or easing one's body into it, instead of forcing, can lead to small epiphanies.

Given the benefits of practicing yoga there are a few simple rules that one can follow to avoid injuries. These are, as suggested by Smith²:

1. Start at the beginner's level.

2. Learn to listen to your body.

3. Do your own pose, not your neighbor's.

4. Stay in your comfort zone and listen to the body.

5. Pick the right teacher.

Notes:

^1.Broad William J., ‘How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body.’

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?_r=1

^2.Smith Eva Norlyk, ‘Practicing Safe Yoga – 5 Tips to Avoid Injuries.’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eva-norlyk-smith-phd/yoga-health_b_1191479.html?ref=mostpopular

^3.Mohan A. G., 2002. Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind: A Guide to Personal Integration. Shambhala, Boston, 221 p.

^4.Brooks David, 2011. The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement. Random House, New York, NY, 424 p.

^5.Bhagwati Anu. ‘Yoga and PTSD: One Vet’s Story.’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anu-bhagwati/how-yoga-helps-veterans_b_948666.html?ref=healthy-living-spirit

Reality

2012-01-12T09:54:00.002-06:00

What is reality? Is what we see, perceive, real? Can reality be defined? Is my reality the same as yours? Or is it something more like a product of our imaginations? We experience things within and without and these experiences are part of our subjective and objective realities. When we refer to our objective reality we are describing the material world around us and when we refer to our subjective reality we are referring to a narrow part of the total that is meaningful only to us. In seeing the material, objective world, our viewpoint remains subjective, we interpret what we see and experience in our own way. A poet says: ‘We do not see things as they are; we see them as we are.’ The Sanskrit saying goes: ekama sat viprah bahudha vadanti (the universal reality is the same, but different people interpret it by different names).

Chopra¹ identifies three categories of thoughts about reality.

1. Dualism, which separates mind and body.

2. Non-dual materialism, which considers only physical things and excludes the spiritual, mystical, and supernatural.

3. Non-dual consciousness, which traces reality back to mind and beyond mind to the very potential for mind.

Keeping this categorization by Chopra in mind, first, let us take a look at what Yoga philosophy has to say about the nature of reality.

The Sankhya-Yoga system of thought is considered as one when it comes to the philosophy, since the two systems Sankhya and Yoga share many aspects of that line of thinking. In general, the Sankhya system is of a theoretical nature while the Yoga system represents its practical aspect. Together the Sankhya-Yoga system is also one of the oldest systems of Indian philosophy and second only in importance to the Vedanta system. Regarding the nature of consciousness, the Sankhya-Yoga system differs from both the Vedantic as well as the Buddhist views. The Vedanta followers consider consciousness as a common universal awareness and the only reality; the Buddhist view is that consciousness is dependent or interdependent on its objects. The Yoga system considers both matter (referred to as prakriti) and spirit (referred to as purusha) as ultimately real and eternal. But the spirit, instead of being universal, is represented in the form of many individual spirits or selves, purushas. The physical universe in this system is deemed to be the transformation within a complex, all pervasive primal substance. The material aspect of reality, prakriti, constitutes the ‘seen’ part of our experiences. Consciousness, purusha, represents the non-material, sublime aspect of reality and is referred to as the ‘seer.’ Purusha and prakriti thus represent the awareness and material as the two separate aspects of the total reality. They each have different functions. The phenomenal world, prakriti, is ever changing while each purusha, the witness consciousness, is eternal and unchanging. It is the eternally free, the true ‘seer’ within us, ever-present witness consciousness.² It is unconditioned by our biases, preferences, egoistic likes and dislikes and fears. It is non-reactive, simply looking on. Pure consciousness appears through individual minds, as unique perspectives towards life. It is the spiritual component of life, and works with the material component, prakriti. Ishvarakrishna (circa second century BCE), the author of the Sankhyakarika, the textbook of the Sankhya philosophy, made the remark that ‘Purusha without Prakriti is lame, Prakriti without Purusha is blind.’

What is the purpose of the interaction of pure consciousness with the material world? Patanjali indicates the two-fold purpose that is, first, experience and then freedom, wisdom, right understanding coming through those experiences. Yoga preserves the dualism between the spirit or consciousness and the objective material world while maintaining that it is the material that serves as the medium for the spirit for manifesting itself.³ The dualism in Yoga that Wilber refers to is not in the form of the mind vs. the material; the mind being the seer. Instead given the ultimately subsidiary role of the material universe, that includes the conscious mind, as serving purusha, the true seer, it comes closer to the third category of non-dual consciousness that Chopra mentions.

Next: a look into the Vedanta view about the nature of reality as non-dual consciousness.

Notes:

^1.Chopra Deepak, ‘A New Year, and Possibly A New World.’

http://intentblog.com/a-new-year-and-possibly-a-new-world/

^2.Hiriyanna M., 1948. The Essentials of Indian Philosophy. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, India, 216 p.

^3.Wilber Ken, 2000. A Brief History of Everything. Shambhala, Boston. 330 p.

Intuition (Pratibha)

2012-01-05T09:43:00.008-06:00

Intuition is defined in the dictionary as the faculty of knowing without the use of rational processes and represents immediate cognition. The Sanskrit word in the Yoga Sutras for intuition is ‘Pratibha’ and it refers to the transcendent spiritual faculty of perception which involves neither the senses nor the mind, but the consciousness itself. It is the flash-like quality of this type of experience that represents the consciousness, not something that comes through and is shaded by any sense perception or is subjected to the mind’s interpretation. Intuitive intelligence comes from the imaginative and creative side of the brain, from the right hemisphere, and not from the left hemisphere logical linear side. Sometimes it may bring forth information in some symbolic form. Complex problems are solved, patterns are found in chaotic situations subconsciously.

According to the fourth-fifth century sage Vyasa, the first commentator of the Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, intuition precedes the emerging of the discriminating intelligence in a practitioner. When the tendencies towards activity or resistance are becalmed and one is in a state of balance, the subtler levels of reality are open to perception. The dawn like quality indicated by the word pratibha represents the state between the fading aspect of night, the time of inactivity on the one hand, and emerging active aspect of the day. Intuitive abilities remain in latent states when one is entangled in the external, objective reality. Intuitive thinking occurs when a freer form of thinking replaces impulsive thoughts, which represent an unconditioned way of thinking. The creative impulse comes in moments of intuitive insight. With intuition one gets the knowledge of the subtle, the remote and of the past and the future, things that are normally inaccessible to conventional means of knowledge.

What Malcolm Gladwell¹ describes about ‘blink’ is similar to what pratibha represents. He says that he part of the brain that leaps to conclusions is called the adaptive unconscious, where lot of information is processed quickly and that there is much value in what one intuits in the blink of eye as in months of rational analysis. The rapid cognition in the form of, what he describes as, ‘thin slicing’ is an important ability of the unconscious to find patterns in situations and behavior using very narrow slices of experience/information.

Meditative practices are credited with the emergence of this attribute, an attribute that gets shrouded when one is under stress. As Vijnanbhikshu, the fifteenth century commentator, said: Intuition represents knowledge that is obtained without a teacher. In yoga tradition intuition is considered the inherent quality of pure sattva, the quality of discriminating intelligence, wisdom and peacefulness. Interpreted as reflection, the word ‘pratibha’ also indicates that the world as it is, without any interpretation attached to it, reflects itself to the practitioner with the sattva, which is the intelligence and wisdom of a tranquil mind.

An accident caused blindness in the French author, Jacques Lusseyran² and it changed his perspective. He began looking from an inner place to one further within. This redefined his perceptions of things and beings around. He became aware of radiance within, both light and joy. His intuitive powers increased. On the other hand, negative emotions such as fear, impatience and anger had a blinding effect. This is a testimonial for the value of the introspective aspect of yoga techniques, an aspect that is accessible in asana, pranayama and most of all, in meditation.

Notes:

^1. Gladwell Malcolm, 2005. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Little Brown and Company, New York, Boston. 277 p.

^2.Smith Huston, 2001. Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief. Harper, San Francisco, 290 p.

Yo Yo Ma and Yoga: A Revisit

2011-12-22T09:56:00.002-06:00

What do Yo Yo Ma and Yoga have in common? The answer is the Silk Road Project of Yo Yo Ma’s. The Cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded the Project in 1998. This is a project that has pulled in musicians from different cultures. The idea is the exchange of techniques and unique sounds for enriching the world of music. Music, as it is known to most of us, is usually deemed to be very regional: eastern and western, Arabic and African, Chinese and Indian. In the world of today the music that comes from a large demographic and financial backing gets huge exposure whereas the music coming from distant parts of the world keeps getting shrinking response. There is a valuable treasure trove out there that music lovers from the whole world can benefit from and find enrichment possibilities there from. Yo Yo Ma intends to draw attention to this resource. The Silk Road project of his involves reaching the music in distant lands and bringing it to the rest of the world. The interconnections among different cultures when strengthened this way will enhance the musical riches of the whole world.

Yoga is union, the union of the body and the mind with the soul. This union is to bring in a balance between our material side and our consciousness, the Prakriti and the Purusha in us. Just as Yo Yo Ma aims to bring together the improvisational techniques in the music from Mongolia, giving it the voice of his cello, or the music from the percussionist from India in fusion with music from other lands, yoga brings together the movement of energy within and around us, from our existence concerns to our deeper thoughts pertaining to vitalization of inner consciousness. Like Yo Yo Ma a yoga practitioner aims to pull in, balance and synchronize intricate energy dynamics within and without. The interconnections, when strengthened, strengthen the body both physically and spiritually. Regarding music, Yo Yo Ma says that being artistic is being prepared to ask questions about something that is very private and intimate within. If one locates the questions and brings them to the forefront, one can get connected to another person. The same truth can be extended to the practices in yogic contemplation. When one nurtures awareness through introspective practices, it helps one to connect with real individual needs and aspirations and not be swayed by the outside superficial influences. A well-integrated person also means one who is better able to connect and interact with the outside world.

Clinging to Life

2011-11-10T09:29:00.002-06:00

One of the impediments to a peaceful mind is our instinctive tendency to cling to life and what it means to us (Abhinivesha). It is the desire to hold on to one’s own state as a being, a unique being. The fear of being completely erased, of being annihilated is terrifying. Ceasing to exist means, to us, ceasing to exist sans all that we have experienced, enjoyed, and valued. The addiction to life experiences, to the gratifications that different life experiences present, have a strong hold. One cannot even imagine not being without them and as a result one stays attached to what is known and fear the unknown. The idea that there are things and situations beyond our control, the very control that has helped us stay in existence, is unsettling in the least. The instinct for self-preservation remains so strong that self-negation seems like an insult to our capabilities as autonomous individuals. Even the learned ones, with all their intellectual pursuits, are not free of this attitude to hold on to, to cling to life. As has been said, Halloween is the time to acknowledge our fear of death but making sure that we do it while having a good time. If the fear of death were inherent, unlearnt and untaught, it would not disappear for the enlightened individuals either. Perpetuating the ego through one’s lineage, through acquisitions and lasting structures is a common experience. When Yudhisthira, the wise Pandav prince in the epic Mahabharata, is asked about the greatest marvel, his answer was, ‘each day, death strikes and we live as though we are immortal. That is the greatest marvel’.

What is our real identity? The dialog in the Brihadaranyka Upanishad between Yajnavalkya and his wife Maitreyi is a classic example of paring down through the reasoning process of ‘not this, not this’ (neti, neti). It ultimately leads to the conclusion that the self is in all things, everywhere, and free. There is the universal dimension of the self and the individual dimension of the self. The individual dimension takes the form of individual dispositions and yearnings that spring from within, instead of emanating or being grafted from the external. Discovering the individual dimension in the context of its universal counterpart is a life-long process evolving constantly, and trying to hold on, to cling, to a phase thereof is what brings discomfort and imbalance. Chopra¹ recently made the following observation: The first life forms emerged about 3.8 billion years ago. Does this mean that the earth was dead before that? Is death the foundation of life? More real than death is flux. There is a never-ending process of matter and energy recycling and nothing has a fixed identity. Nothing then is truly dead. Spirituality takes the approach that nothing is dead. We fear our disintegration and dissolution, and we have given death more power than it actually has. Death is just a transitional stage, as one living form is reborn into another.

Some think that we do carry certain forms of awareness within us regarding previous experiences. Some forms of awareness may transcend from one lifetime to the next. The fear of death may have come from a previous life experience. Like matter, the mind is considered to be beginning-less, without any cause and it carries past impressions. Irrespective of the inevitability of death, we do face, throughout our lives, little deaths in the form of lost relationships, lost experiences and lost places. These little deaths are also times when we have to face the inevitability of changes that take place throughout our lives.

The world around us keeps evolving and the challenges that life brings to us always keep on shifting. There is upheaval and feeling of imbalance that a change can bring and one tries to grab on to what one has. It is the automatic, in many ways the inescapable tendency for looking for continuity of any state and situation. It comes from the comfort of being familiar with our environment, unaccompanied by fears, apprehensions, which usually come with change. As if, as Socrates said, one knows what happens with change is undesirable. Brain psychology tells us that whatever change happens, one adapts to it without realizing up front that one does and will. We are bad at ‘affective forecasting’, at predicting how we will feel in the future. We over-estimate the intensity and duration of our emotional reactions. It is change that contains vital information, not steady states. And when change happens we recalibrate, set new goals and pursue pleasure in seeking them.²

How to get over this fear of uncertainty is the question. Patanjali’s solution to this is skillful action. That involves our idea of who we are. Our identity is a self-constructed edifice, reinforced by our likes and dislikes. We own our experiences, making them part of our selves. We ‘become’ something through a selection process of our likes and by eliminating, putting away what we have come to dislike. Our identity is conditioned and relative. We establish a phantom self-presence, magnifying the importance of our experiences and making them part of our existence.³Misconceptions about the nature of reality tend to make our tendencies more rigid and magnify the significance of our perceptions. Skillful action involves seeing these aspects of our selves and through their evaluation liberating oneself from them. Freeing oneself from erroneous cognition is freeing oneself from disappointments. How does one gain the wisdom to access the form of skillful action? The answer that yoga philosophy offers is through quieting thoughts and going inwards. Weakening the tendency of clinging, holding on, does not mean that one should withdraw from the world, or withhold participating in all the drama that living entails. Withdrawal is very difficult to do and neither is it advisable. The Bhagavad Gita (2.48) says that yoga means maintaining balance or equanimity (samatvam yoga utchyate).

Patanjali’s point is that the main reason for suffering is our misconception about what life represents. While we rely on what we observe, experience and analyze and decide what reality is, we lose sight of its changing, transient characteristic. Our ability to control our circumstances is quite limited. But what happens to be in our control is how we react to the changes and disappointments. Instead of unquestioned submission, it is about achieving an enlightened engagement into the worldly affairs. We condition ourselves, our choices and remain rigidly fixed in the ruts of a familiar routine thus created and ignore other options. It works fairly well until things take a turn and change due to things beyond our control. A better option then is to evaluate the changes and, when they are unavoidable, letting go. It is an opportunity to discover unrealized aspirations and unrealized potentialities and growth opportunities.

Notes:

^1.In Chopra Deepak and Leonard Mlodinow, 2011. War of the Worldviews. Harmony books, New York, NY, 315 p.

^2.Haidt Jonathan, 2006. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. Basic Books, Persus Books Group, New York, NY, 297 p.

^3.Hartranft Chip, 2003. The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation with Commentary. Shambhala Classics, Boston, and London. 149 p.

Dysfunctional Breathing Habits

2011-11-03T11:20:00.000-05:00

Do we know how to breathe? A newly born infant is an efficient breather. But as one starts growing up, one begins to forget how to breathe efficiently. One develops certain dysfunctional breathing habits as a result of over-active and stressful lives, in particular. Dysfunctional breathing habits are especially common in people with asthma. Normally, these habits can, in turn, affect our energy and stress levels. In people with asthma, whose numbers keep rising in urban environments, being able to breathe normally is an issue of vital significance. How does one correct dysfunctional breathing habits? What are the different forms thereof? These include the following:

1. Chest Breathing: In this type of breathing the air exchange is more restricted to the upper and the middle chest. The lower areas of lungs, where there are blood vessels, are deprived of enough oxygen. One breathes in this fashion when one is stressed and in turn a stressed state of mind can result from this type of breathing. It is damaging to the heart and brain and the lungs hold on to the toxins in the lower parts, which then get circulated through the body. There is chronic muscle tension in the chest and abdomen, it increases our perception of pain and is tiring.¹ Poor posture is also a contributory factor as it leads to tightness in the chest muscles that restricts the ability of chest muscles to expand and contract.

Paying attention, focusing attention on how one is breathing is the first step as it tends to first slow down the inhalations and exhalations. For taking the breath lower into the lungs, lying down, with legs up the wall or on a chair seat, helps as the diaphragm’s downward move is aided by gravity. Inverted poses, such as shoulder stand, head stand, are useful if one can safely practice them.

2. Stronger Inhalations: If the inhalations are longer than the exhalations, one is over-breathing. Asthmatic persons have more problem exhaling. The inflammation in the bronchial tubes and accumulation of mucus narrows the overall space available for air exchange. There is more air left in the lungs than is exchanged and that affects the oxygen levels there. Breathing tends to be quick, and besides being inefficient is also stress producing. Weak abdominal muscles further complicate the problem.

First, instead of trying to lengthen the exhalation one should focus on shortening the inhalations. If one feels short of breath one can take a few normal breaths in between. One can work on lengthening the exhalations by exhaling through pursed lips. The abdominal muscles help in squeezing out the air over a longer time and when the inhalation takes place the air is pulled into the bottom part of the lungs. Engaging the abdominal muscles to squeeze air out is one such step. There is a device called peak flow meter that measures how much air one can force out with effort in a short time. One keeps a diary and determines a baseline. This helps the asthmatics recognize their own pattern and have awareness about when there may be an asthma attack. Relaxation and breath training help.²

3. Mouth Breathing: This dries the mouth and the throat and cold air is not good for the lungs and can exacerbate any inflammation there. The nose is a perfectly designed pathway for taking air in slowly instead of gulping it in when taken trough the mouth. The nostrils filter, warm and humidify the incoming air.

There are two options that one can use to correct this problem. One is to develop the awareness oneself about this and correct it each time. Or one can ask a friend, or a spouse, to make one aware of this habit.

4. Reverse Breathing: Normally the diaphragm descends with inhalation but with this type of breathing it rises. This is not conducive to taking a sufficient volume of air in as it constricts the lungs instead of letting them open up. The ribs contract on inhalation and expand on exhalation when it should be the other way around.

Devi³ says that this type of breathing is caused by the emotion of fear experienced frequently. The belly is sucked in as one holds the breath. When the danger passes, the breath and belly are released. It is obviously a restricted and insufficient breath and, instead of subduing the fear, it triggers one.

To remedy this one needs to lie down with the hands half on the ribs and half on the upper abdomen. This allows one to make sure that the diaphragm does not rise. The diaphragm needs to move towards the abdomen as a result of which the latter pushes forward. Intentional pushing of the abdomen is not advisable.

5. Over-breathing: Normally one takes 12 breaths per minute, but asthmatics tend to take many more breaths per minute. More oxygen is taken in but also more carbon dioxide is exhaled out. This makes the blood more alkaline and that way it tends to hold on to the oxygen. The cells are deprived of oxygen and this makes the asthmatic person breathe faster.

One can practice relaxed breathing either lying down or seated with the head resting on the folded arms on a table. By concentrating on taking slow breaths, the over-breathing tendency can be weakened.

Asana practices are especially helpful in dealing with respiratory problems, mainly through improving the awareness about the problem habits. One becomes more aware if one is holding the breath or engaged in any of the dysfunctional breathing tendencies listed above. There are pranayama practices and asanas that can help improve posture, lung capacity, strengthen the diaphragm and breathing efficiency in people who suffer from asthma and allergies. One can work on toning up the energy of the lungs. Some of the remedies may appear as being too simple, but as McCall⁴ says what is not so simple is maintaining a regular practice!

Notes:

1. Cope, Stephen, 1999. Yoga and the Quest for the True Self. Bantam Books, 358 pp.

2. Goleman Daniel, ed. 2003. Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, emotions and Health. Shambhala, Boston & London, 277 p.

3. Devi, Nischala Joy, 2000.The Healing Path of Yoga. Three Rivers Press, New York, 238 p.

4. McCall Timothy, 2007. Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing. Bantam Books, 568 p.

Calming of Thoughts

2011-10-27T08:10:00.003-05:00

In Sutra I.2, the very beginning of Patanjali’s yoga philosophy exposition, he defines yoga as the calming of thoughts. Thoughts are where our mind exists most of the times. Those are solely ours and we cherish them. We are also encouraged to think, to have our own opinions and evaluate and respect different opinions. We associate thoughts with our identity. But we know that we are more than our thoughts. The mind is constantly fluctuating from one thought to another and that is its normal tendency, ‘to be anywhere but here and to be concerned with any other time but now.’¹ While shifting thoughts is a normal experience, we also long for quiet and peace. Finding that peaceful state and the ability to recall it at will, having an understanding of who we really are, is a goal worth reaching for. Attaining this goal involves effort and a sustained practice. Patanjali presents it in the form of his eight-limbed, Ashtanga, yoga practice as well as in the form of several other practices that are geared towards self-transformation, towards bringing more balance in our life. In his definition of yoga, at the very outset, Patanjali states that it is the stilling of the mind, and through the subsequent exposition of that system, as a process of self-refinement. His concept of ‘nirodha’ consists of different practices geared towards redirecting and restructuring one’s learnt and long-held tendencies, achieved through a process of selective focus, and based on individual practice disciplines. When certain thoughts are put aside, through lifestyle guidelines, the mind can be freed from the tendencies that obscure the true nature of life. The aim is to find the state of silence that is free of the past, not by forgetting it but by developing the ability to be free from the effects of conditioning due to it. When the mind is in a settled state, attention shifts from the pull of external impressions to silence, serenity and peacefulness, to being one’s real self.

The goal of yoga is, first, to still the action/inaction-oriented tendencies, in the form of rajas and tamas gunas, so that the tendencies towards serenity and peace, as in sattva guna, are strengthened. The action-oriented, rajas, tendencies have a distracting influence on the mind and when they are becalmed one can become aware of the self within. This becalming needs a sustained practice of holding off the chatter of thoughts. We also have tendencies for not doing certain things. These are the inaction oriented or restraining, tamas tendencies. It is these latter tendencies that also need to be activated regularly. Such activation means strengthening them to resist the pull of things that routinely draw us in. A break in mental activity thus achieved, can be prolonged and has a liberating effect, freeing us from the noise that the chatter of thoughts can create. The ability to pull oneself away from absorption in oneself, one’s immediate and varied concerns, is a skill that, when learned, can be activated at will. Freedom is freedom to choose as well as freedom not to choose. But the negative aspect of not choosing acquires a new dimension. Because not choosing means separating from the thoughts, ideas and illusions. These owe their origin to choice. Identifying with our choices (vrtti sarupya)alienates us from our true selves whereas disentangling the mind from such identification helps one find one’s identity. Through the application of practice and dispassion one can redirect fluctuating thought patterns towards responsible intentions. It is a constructive process towards attaining a state of dynamic balance between two opposing tendencies, resulting in what a modern psychologist² will refer to as being in a ‘flow’.

There are various ways of building-up the ability to withhold oneself from indiscriminate thinking and instead restructure one’s thinking, behaviors and choices that are conducive towards maintaining peaceful states of mind. For example, the practices of non-violence, truthfulness and generosity and constructive action through contentment, introspective self-study and sustained practice help weaken tendencies towards self-centeredness. Sacred wisdoms guide and provide standards. By taking a more positive approach one plants seeds of wholeness and a continuing sense of wellbeing. Practice strengthens those. Cultivating restraint through mindful breathing helps in finding stillness in the mind. When one practices aligning and realigning attention to breathing, there is a stillness that is restful. Iyengar³ advises transforming the silent state into a dynamic but single state of awareness. Studying the silent moments helps find the way of mastering the senses, and the thinking process.

Meditation is also an effective way of practicing restraint, about being selective, withholding from getting caught in the flow of mundane thoughts, and that is the goal of yoga. The diverse tendencies are always there, asserting a hold on our minds. It is the constant push and pull of outgoing and restraining tendencies that one works at. The practice of restraining wandering thoughts through regularly practicing concentration put us in control, with the ability to control the direction of the flow. Meditation helps diminish distractions and the mind is oriented towards an unwavering state of full attention.

Restraining thoughts does not mean withdrawing from the world or forcing the mind to stop thinking. It is being selective, about not letting thoughts rule our lives, about liberating ourselves from their hold on us. When we are constantly interacting with the world around us, our afflicted mind states keep the previous impressions alive and active, preventing us from seeing the world without any presuppositions, without any bias. Restraining thoughts is a reversal of this process, weakening the conditioning, the compulsive tendencies within us and freeing us. Nirodha is a multi-faceted approach and by using, refining and restructuring our physical, psychological, social, and spiritual tendencies we can take control over our thoughts, actions and our choices in life. We create and maintain our own inner environment.

Notes:

^1.Ravindra Ravi, 2009. The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: A New Translation and Guide. Morning Light Press, Sandpoint, ID, 221 p.

^2.Csikszentmihalyi Mihaly, 1990. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper Perennial, New York, NY, 303 p.

^3. Iyengar, B.K.S., 1993. Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Harper Collins Pub. New Delhi. 337 p.

Aging: The Spirit

2011-10-20T08:28:00.001-05:00

According to the microbiologist Leonard Hayflick, most human cells are able to divide only a limited number of times. So even if one may escape all diseases, still when cells stop dividing, one dies. According to this theory, postulated in 1961, one can, at the most live to be 120 years. Modern researchers have extended this maximum to 150 years and expect it to become a reality soon, within the next few generations. Irrespective of the length of life, life is an ongoing process of change and in the autumn of one’s life one becomes aware of many new and different things, about oneself and about the rest of the world.

We all wish to have productive and contented times through the years we get. As one ages, one looks for answers that interpret life events, find meaning and purpose and affirm connection to the whole. Spirituality is associated with a search for the big picture, our connections within the universe and beyond what we experience, towards a greater consciousness that is apart from day-to day mundane living. Yoga, being a spiritual discipline, geared towards ways to seek answers, is to be looked at as a philosophy of life, ‘a philosophy of life that holds that everyone and everything is interrelated.”¹

Spiritual practices in the form of following ethical norms, such as non-violence, being generous, and individual disciplines, such as introspection, contentedness, are for helping the mind rise above limited perspectives. According to J. Krishnamurthy, “that which is eternal cannot be sought after; the mind cannot acquire it. It comes into being when the mind is quiet, and the mind can be quiet only when it is simple.” That simplicity comes from letting go; letting go of too many possessions, too many distractions and too many commitments. Practicing non-attachment or vairagya about material possessions helps to keep away desires, as they are strong driving and disturbing forces. The later years are the years for consolidation and for streamlining, for being more selective and for paring down to fewer demands on one’s time and energies. Impulsiveness, lack of control, grabbing the next option that presents itself, entertainment mentality; all these have the potential to strengthen feelings of groundlessness. They usually result in strengthening feelings of isolation whereas containing oneself results in building up wholesomeness. At the same time, containing oneself, being selective, is not about checking out. On the contrary, it is giving oneself the freedom to focus on what one may be passionate about, for seeking new interests. Human beings are drawn more by the future than by the past. Having an objective keeps one looking forward towards new experiences. When life is organized around a few but preferred options, time and energy levels meet up the demand. The meeting place of inner stillness and high energy is where life satisfaction finds its place. Randi Gunther²has the following advice: “To live life fully in the later years, you must dedicate yourself to feeling reborn each day. Whatever spiritual beliefs comfort and rejuvenate you, you must embrace them in a more meaningful way. Don't despair at the inevitable ending, but live each day as the amazing gift it has always been.”

Aging is not about loss; at the same time ‘amortality’ or the idea that age has no meaning is also ignoring the impermanence of anything. It is clinging to what one has for fear of inevitable changes, inevitability of losses. Resisting aging, or any inevitable change, does not help. Lao-Tzu wrote, "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them -- that only creates sorrow.” While there may not be any growing pains related to choosing a career path, getting into a college, having a family, advancing age is the time in life when one is looking for wholeness, meaningfulness and contentedness. One thinks about harmonizing inner life with everyday living.

The post retirement years are the ones when the seniors are exploring new options. Finding, maintaining a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life can be quite vitalizing. Without continued and genuine growth in growing older, aging can become all about loss. Wiser and seasoned "elders" can help others find meaningful ways to live instead of simply becoming "olders" who are focused on seeking ways to hold onto life at any cost.³ Psychological maturity is the shift from a self-centered life to one of finding meaning in service to others. Decision-making abilities are known to improve with age. Thus, while there may be decline in some cognitive abilities, aging can mean better insight and wisdom needed for sound decisions and passing them on.

Singh⁴ recommends asking the following questions in the context of healthy aging.

1. How have I used gifts of my human life?

2. What do I need to ‘clear up’ or ‘let go of’ in order to be more peaceful?

3. For what am I grateful?

4. What have I learned about the human condition and how great is my compassion?

5. How can I best share what I have learned?

Reaching out to others is rewarding in many ways. Wilber⁵ says that the ‘I’ and ‘We’ dimensions can only be accessed through introspection and interpretation. It is the focus and wisdom that one can access through introspection. Through interpretation in the context of the societal and community and varied relationships one develops inter-subjective awareness. It is the worldly approach that reaches out to the here and now. The integration of individual wisdom and outreach through compassion, sharing and contributing to the greater good, brings personal rewards in the form of a sense of well-being that is more satisfying than any other form of happiness.

Notes:

^1.Tigunait Pandit Rajmani, 2006, ‘How to Live a Truly Joyful Life.’ In Yoga + Joyful Living, July-August, pp. 32-7.

^2. Gunther Randi, 2011. ‘50+: Recommitting to the Rest of Your Life.’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randi-gunther/50-plus-aging-advice_b_999080.html?view=screen

^3.Meade Michael, ‘Where Have All the Wise Men Gone?’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-meade-dhl/older-vs-elder_b_954780.html?ref=healthy-living-spirit

^4. Singh Kathleen Dowling, 2000. ‘Taking a Spiritual Inventory.’ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/onourownterms/articles/inventory2.html

^5.Wilber Ken, 2000. A Brief History of Everything. Shambhala, Boston. 330 p.

Aging: The Mind

2011-10-13T09:42:00.005-05:00

‘Amortality’ is the term that Catherine Mayer¹ coined for the fast growing trend of living agelessly. And as she says, ‘the meaning of age has become elusive, visual clues untrustworthy. Rising numbers rely on exercise, diet, and cosmetic procedures to remain transcendentally youthful, while glowing teens and 20-somethings are propelled by some of those same procedures into a semblance of premature aging.’ So aging perhaps should refer to a state of mind as much as to chronological age or ‘apparent’ age.

Aging, increased longevity without extended vitality, increasing anxiety due to financial worries and/or due to isolation, are not uncommon problems. As has been said, it is tough to be ‘on’ all the time. But many can feel ‘off’ more often than one would like to accept to oneself. Feeling dejected, or feeling anxious are not uncommon experiences, especially amongst the elderly. People who are anxiety-prone are inclined to focus on threats and bad news, amplifying them, and even tending to suppress positive events. The tendency of some towards excessive verbalizing does not help either. John Milton, the English poet (1608 - 1674) said: “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” There is a bias towards negativity in us. Aging also lessens the ability to rebound emotionally and disappointments and worries affect energy levels.

Sages have always focused on serenity. When the mind is serene there is no delusion or fear. Introspection is a tool towards attaining serenity that can be cultivated through practice. Introspection is considered to be the best indicator of good judgment. Paying attention to the inner disagreements means one stays less focused on uncertainty. Introspective thinking is helpful in making one aware of one’s own weaknesses and mistakes, as well as one’s own strengths and for putting them to use. We cannot control everything and everyone around us. We can only control our perceptions and conclusions somewhat, how we experience the world, and how we choose to live.

An important yogic concept in this respect is that of awareness, awareness that comes from having the peace of mind to consider, to evaluate, and to plan and have a direction. Focused and intentional breathing is the tool for that. When the inhalations and exhalations are smooth, slow and regular, the resulting alpha waves in the brain associated with relaxation and calm mind states are stimulated. There are breathing techniques, such as diaphragmatic-abdominal breathing, that are effective in relieving stress, helping one revisit such relaxed states. Such breathing is then open, relaxed and free. The lungs, diaphragm, muscles of the rib cage, and the chest are unconstricted. This type of breath moves through the lower abdomen, the mid lungs and the top of the lungs. It involves the expansion of the abdomen as well as the chest. As the circumference of the chest expands, so does the space in the lungs. The collar bones rise slightly and this whole expansion means increased capacity in the lungs. This can increase the amount of air we take in the lungs by 600 per cent. Techniques like these are effective in raising energy levels and in reaching for emotions that regenerate and rejuvenate. We cannot hold two opposite thoughts in mind at the same time and attending to the positive ones is a practice that always needs to be attended to. There are mental, physical practices such as certain kinds of meditation, yoga asanas, labyrinth walking that help strengthen introspective and positive thinking.

Memory impairment is a problem that is frequently experienced among the elderly. Stress, especially the ability to handle stress also weakens as one ages. Stress is a major risk factor since it affects brain function. The stress hormone cortisol is toxic to nerve cells in the memory-related part of the brain. Cognitive weakening comes with aging, but constant fear of losing one’s job, health, or just being afraid of issues related to maintaining a safe environment can lead to weakening concentration, forgetfulness and even memory loss. Experiences tend to reinforce certain neural patterns while weakening others. Brain cells tend to move in response to learning but they do not remain stuck together for long when one is stressed. Yoga practices can play a crucial role through asana and breathing practices and through meditation in not just stress reduction but also in strengthening cognitive abilities. Although the exact way yoga practices work may not be known, based on evidences of improved brain function in the form of improved concentration, memory and ability to handle stress one can safely say that it is a great option for preventing or delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.²

Sternberg³, in her recent book, provides details regarding how the different sense perceptions can be involved in healing as well as in one’s emotional well-being. For example, simple visual access to nature, to melodious music, soothing touch, can have significant peace giving, calming properties. The different senses can reduce the amount of pain information that the brain receives and attends to. According to the pain management concept called the neuromatrix the brain chooses to attend to sensory information rather than pain information.⁴

Freud thought that all human action was to avoid anxiety. The ancient proponent of positive psychology and yoga philosopher Patanjali, ca. 200 CE, thought that when one is overwhelmed and unable in some way to come out of feeling so, a better strategy, instead of avoidance, was effort and action directed towards reaching better states of mind. Simple breath work like the diaphragmatic-abdominal breathing referred to above, is an example of the action one can undertake for slowing down an over-active body/mind and allowing it to self-regulate, and for loosening the hold of negative mind states. Meditation is another form of self-regulation that is accessible, without requiring dozens of hours of practice.⁵

(My sincere thanks to Dr. Stephanie Dollinger of the Department of Psychology at Southern Illinois University for sharing the Moyer et al. article listed below.)

Notes:

^1.http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2065254-1,00.html

^2.Dowdle Hillari, 2008. ‘Good Memory.’ In Yoga Journal, October Issue No. 214, pp. 43-4, 46, 49.

^3.Sternberg Esther M. MD, 2009. Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 343 p.

^4.Kaplan Ronna, ‘What Music Therapy Can Do for Health, Disability and Trauma?’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronna-kaplan-ma/music-therapy-and-technology_b_972955.html

^5.Moyer Christopher A., Michael P.W. Donnelly, Jane C. Anderson, Kally C. Doty, Aaron S. Rehlinger, and Brianna L. Rice, 2011. ‘Frontal Electroencephalographic Asymmetry Associated with Positive Emotion Is Produced by Very Brief Meditation Training.’ Psychological Science, XX (X), 1-3.

Aging: The Body

2011-10-06T09:47:00.001-05:00

Aging in modern societies is taking on a different form. The proportion of the population in the upper age groups is rising. While many remain active in different ways, aging also means certain problems that can impair the ability to do certain things in various ways. As one ages, one thinks that the body has started failing us, when in fact, the body continues to carry out the processes of life with unwavering devotion. As long as it can, the body will continue moving, living. The body holds memories and unlike the two dimensional mental experience it is a three dimensional experience. The body is conscious, like the mind and recalling what the body could do in younger years is not as formidable as one may assume. By listening to the body, connecting with it, one can regain at least part of that experience with practice. In addition, when different parts of the body are aligned, there is an effortless and fluid connection with the mind. The mind and the body that we have are the only ones that we have. They deserve our attention and by giving it one receives much more in return.

When it comes to practicing a discipline like yoga there are certain misconceptions that many share. First, if one is a regular walker, runner or tennis player, there is no need for another physical practice. Practicing yoga differs from the above mentioned activities in that, unlike them, it is a full body workout that can be a fast paced aerobic or in the form of a slower controlled movement. It helps regain flexibility and build up strength, the last being essential for maintaining strong bones. Another misconception is that practicing the different postures is something that only flexible people can take on; when in fact practicing is what makes one more flexible. And third, that some things, like flexibility, and strength are gone forever and even trying to regain is being foolhardy. Norman Cousins said that belief is biology. Putting beliefs like the ones mentioned above aside is the first step one can take.

Muscles do wither with age. Comparisons between age groups underline the muscle disparity: An 80-year-old might have 30 percent less muscle mass than a 20-year-old. And strength declines even more than mass. Older people can lose so much muscle during a prolonged hospital stay that they have to move to a nursing home. Causes of the loss of muscle mass or strength might include hormonal changes, sedentary lifestyles, oxidative damage, infiltration of fat into muscles, inflammation and resistance to insulin. Some problems stem from the brain and the nervous system, which activate the muscles. Experts say the best approach to restoring or maintaining muscle mass and strength is exercise, particularly resistance training and practicing yoga postures can be a safe and less taxing option. The popularity of yoga in all age groups, especially in the more mature persons has also been increasing fast. Hatha yoga can be helpful to older adults in many different ways. First, one needs to experience where the flexibility seems to have been lost. And it is flexibility in those different areas that one keeps in mind and keeps working at to regain, a little at time. This is where work is aimed at. Consciousness can be reached by not turning away from some simple, basic and straightforward routines, like taking two breaths.¹ The variety and different adaptations of ages-old techniques can be customized even within a group of practitioners of different ages, each participant following one’s own form of movement.

Fear of falling is common among older people. It can affect their social and physical activity. This has the effect of diminishing health and quality of life. In a study, older adults participants in Hatha yoga reported reduction in their fear of falling, an increase in lower body flexibility, and also a significant reduction in leisure constraints. Increased range of motion, increased flexibility and improved balance were also experienced.

Folan’s² recommendation for these as well as for the new and returning practitioners is to exercise caution as the resiliency of muscles and tendons is less as one ages. She recommends simple techniques such as self-massaging. Massaging the soles of feet helps release tissue throughout the legs and back. When extending, stretching the hamstring, shoulder muscles, tapping or thumping with a cupped hand or fist increases their range of motion. In supine postures, rolling up and down the back, and rocking the lower back, the shoulders from side to side, are other forms of massaging. These are example of the various techniques that are available for practitioners of all ages, techniques that make a discipline like Hatha Yoga accessible to all. Cyndi Lee’s³ advice is to aim at strengthening what's weak, balancing what's asymmetrical, releasing chronic contraction, and building proprioceptive (spatial, positional) awareness. Yoga is a process and mastering the forms of the postures is not important. With practice one can achieve kaya kalpa, reorganization, reconstruction and rejuvenation of the mind and body.

While there can be a decline in the mental abilities as one ages, at the same time, as recent studies have found, there are ways to regenerate brain matter. Learning new things is always helpful and effective in strengthening neural connections at any age. So reviving lost abilities, learning new ones to whatever degree feasible, plus the varied breathing techniques, meditation routines, all remain accessible at all ages and have revitalizing effects irrespective of whether one is homebound, wheelchair bound or bed-ridden. Making those techniques accessible to seniors living independently, in assisted living facilities or people in nursing homes, making them a part of the daily routines, is an area of possibilities that can provide deeper nourishment to the body, and the mind.

Notes:

^1.Sanford Matthew, 2006. Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence. Rodale Inc., 241 p.

^2.Folan Lilias, 2005. ‘Aging Gracefully: A Yin Approach to Warming Up.’ In Yoga International, Nov., Issue 86, pp. 88-95.

^3.Lee Cyndi, ‘Take It Back.’ http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2728

Breathing, The Process:

2011-09-29T08:59:00.000-05:00

Respiration is the mechanism through which energy flows in the body are maintained and breathing plays a major role in the energy patterns within. When we take oxygen in the lungs, it is conveyed to the blood stream and distributed across the body to the cells. As infants, we are efficient breathers using the lungs, the diaphragm, and the muscles of the rib cage, and the chest in an unrestricted way. The natural breath is open, relaxed and free. It is in the middle of the torso. It involves the expansion of the chest as well as the abdomen. As the circumference of the chest expands, so does the space in the lungs. The collarbones rise slightly and this whole expansion opens up the full capacity of the lungs. There is a gentle expansion at the midriff. It involves little effort. In inhalation the domelike diaphragm, a connective tissue and not a muscle, stretches. As the diaphragm extends and pushes down on it, the abdomen expands. In exhalation the direction of movement in the rib cage, chest muscles, the diaphragm and the abdomen is reversed. Muscular effort is limited. Breathing is effortless and rhythmic. In between an inhalation and exhalation and between exhalation and inhalation there are natural pauses. These are the silent intervals.

Breathing through the nose helps maintain the correct balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our blood. Breathing through the nose also stimulates olfactory nerves and thus the brain. The brain maintains its natural rhythm, a condition needed to support full consciousness. When breathing through the mouth we gulp in a larger volume of air and exhale air quickly in large volumes. This often leads to over-breathing, or breathing too fast. This not only affects our body but our emotional health too. The amount of carbon dioxide in our blood generally regulates our breathing. When breathing out through the mouth, we exhale too much carbon dioxide too quickly, and the arteries and vessels that carry the blood constrict. The red blood cells get sticky and hold on to the oxygen, making it unavailable to reach the brain cells and the body in sufficient amounts. This turns on the sympathetic system, making us tense and irritable.

The skeletal and muscular network in the torso contains the breathing space where the air taken in is circulated. Middendorf¹ describes the breathing space in the body in terms of the lower, middle, and upper breathing spaces. The lower space includes the pelvis and legs, the middle space is the area between the navel and the middle of the thorax, and the upper space consists of shoulders, neck, head and arms. The lower space tends not to participate fully in breathing most of the times until one has developed some awareness about the importance of this space. This is the vital space. Once that awareness is nurtured it helps in strengthening the overall efficiency of the breathing process.

The middle breathing space is between the navel and the middle of the thorax. This is where the diaphragm is located. The drive associated with the upper breathing space is replaced by attentiveness and earnestness that energizes the middle space. The chest cavity expands horizontally. The upper breathing space is the area below the sternum and Middendorf describes it as the space of development. When the breathing is focused in this area and the diaphragm is ignored it is usually when the will is in control directed towards some purpose. Habitual high breathers tend to be driven and usually tense. Urban concrete environments also tend to foster high breathing. Green expanses, wading in safe waters, are both relaxing as they tend to enliven deeper breathing. Awareness about breathing has a similar effect in the sense that exhalation takes over and the breathing space downward comes into use.

We each have our own way of breathing, our breathing signature. Some breathe in slowly following it with a quick exhale. The pauses following inhalation and exhalation are of different durations. Some have a tendency to breathe through the mouth or hold the breath at certain points in the cycle. Thus, there are varied ways in which we breathe. The differences in breathing pattern include: Ratio of inhalation to exhalation, evenness or unevenness of flow, duration of pause at the end of exhalation or inhalation, differential use of chest muscles, nostril predominance, depth of breath and frequency of breaths. Subtle and non-subtle variations in breathing have important implications in terms of our mental states.

According to the well-known Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, ‘Breath is the bridge that connects life to consciousness, which unites body to thoughts’. We are usually not conscious about our breathing pattern and it goes on uncontrolled. But while we may remain unaware about it, our breathing is influenced by our state of mind at any given time. Our accumulated experiences, our immediate experiences, our apprehensions or anticipations all get reflected in how we inhale and exhale. The breath is the vehicle of consciousness.² Hindu ascetics from ancient times focused on inhalation and exhalation for developing consciousness regulation. The tenth century commentator Bhoja said that by making the respiration rhythmical and progressively slower the yogin can access certain states of consciousness that are inaccessible in waking states, or during sleep.³ Efficient breathing requires practice, but with practice respiration can remain so rhythmic that it becomes automatic. Steady and rhythmic breathing ushers in calmer states of mind. While we automatically start breathing at birth, when we breathe in a deliberate way, monitor the efficiency of our breathing, we gain an understanding of the breathing pattern, the associated states of mind and consciousness levels.

Notes:

^1.Middendorf Ilse, 1990. The Perceptible Breath. Junfermann-Verlag, Paderborn, Germany, 222 p.

^2.Iyengar, B.K.S., 2005. Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace and Ultimate Freedom. Rodale, pp. 282.

^3.Eliade Mircea, 1982. A History of Religious Ideas: From Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity. Volume II, Translated by Willard R. Trask, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 565 p.

Our Identity

2011-09-08T09:46:00.001-05:00

Each one amongst us is unique in some way, the way our bodies are made, the experiences we have had, and lives we lead. We have a certain temperament and through interaction with others as well as random events we undergo change. We encounter situations that affect us. Sometimes we adapt. Through this process we develop a sense of who we are, the ways in which we are unique. There is nothing more powerful and volatile and fundamental than human identity.¹ How we view ourselves has a significant bearing on our thoughts, objectives, interactions and the level of wellbeing within us. Generally, we feel possessive about whatever gives us uniqueness. At the same time, we are also aware of the shared commonalities with others and we feel secure and comfortable in those. The question is how unique are or can we be?

Self-identity is many times viewed as self-importance. The former can be energizing in a positive constructive way. But the latter, the feeling of self-importance, can be pretty limiting, confining one within one’s own concerns and priorities. It contributes to selfishness. Albert Einstein said: "We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us." Our perceptions about our uniqueness find expression in different ways. Possessions, the level of economic wellbeing, have become important indicators of identity when in fact; they can be duplicated by anyone. But as John Stuart Mill said: It is … by cultivating the individual in us and calling it forth, within the limits imposed by the rights and interests of others that human beings become a noble and beautiful object of contemplation; and as the works partake the character of those who do them; by the same process human life also becomes rich, diversified, and animating.”

When we believe ourselves to be unique in certain ways what we fail to recognize is that others’ thoughts and behaviors are as complex and as varied as our own. ‘Ubuntu’ is part of African philosophy, and loosely translated it suggests humanity and says, I am through you and you are through me. John Donne, the English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, observed 400 years ago that: No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. Besides, there are multitudes within us and it is not easy to reconcile them all. There are different aspects of our beliefs, actions and thoughts and sometimes we get caught in our own conflicts. These can result in anxiety, guilt and embarrassments. The Buddha rejected the idea of an independent, fixed and invisible core of our personality. A static individual entity is illusionary. One is in the process of a mental and physical life that keeps fluctuating and is totally interconnected with all levels of the environment.²

The most significant factors in shaping our self-identity pertain to our relationships, within the family and within the larger community that one is a member of. As we grow, our identity sphere starts enlarging, from the family, to the neighborhood, the school and other institutions, and so on. We have ethnic, social identities and some things come given with a certain social standing. Another way to express the Ubuntu concept is, I am because you are. The poet Tennyson said, I am part of all that I have met.

Does the world belong to man or does the man belong to the world? While despots and egocentrics may think the former to be true, it is the latter that represents continuity. Our sense of self develops through close relationships that sustain love, encouragement and sharing. Even our thoughts are not our own since they rest against a background of cultural practices, languages and contexts. What would the individual thoughts be without these? Out of relationships one develops a meaningful sense of being an integral part of a community. Emotional and social development is linked to how large is the sphere that we consider ourselves to be a part of our identity. As Wilber³says: It is when we are able to expand identity, make it inclusive of all the different dimensions of our existence that we can become really aware. Instead of an exclusive identity we need a wider and higher identity. That means differentiating the body ego from the material environment, the mind ego from the body, and the subtle self from the mind, body and the material world. When this differentiating is done and integrated one arrives at a higher dimension of awareness.

The Bhagavad Gita says, we each have our own svabhava (essential nature), svakarma (function) and our svadharma (duty). Our essential nature or svabhava is a reflection of the dynamic balance between our energetic (rajasic), inertial (tamasic), and serene (sattvic) tendencies. The actions that we take reflect our own essential nature, our inner tendencies. It represents our unique self, which is an immaterial thing. It can be described as, to use Merton’s words, a principle of activity, an energizing principle. It is the life of the body, and it must have a life of its own.⁴

Our actions, functions follow our motives, our aspirations in life towards what we deem to be the appropriate goals. Our desires could never be absolute; they must necessarily be conditioned and modified by contacts and conflicts with the desires and interests of others.⁵ When these do not conflict with our expected duties (svadharma) to our fellow beings, our actions and aspirations remain concordant with the greater whole of which we are a part. And then, as Radhakrishnan⁶ said, “The song of the individual is not lost in the music of the world march.” This agrees with Aristotle’s idea that if we go against our nature, we incur costs and when we live in accordance with our true nature; there is happiness and fulfillment. Fulfilling our natural potential is what brings rewards.

Notes:

^1.Tippett Krista, 2007. Speaking of Faith. Viking, 238 p.

^2.Thurman Robert, 1998. Inner revolution: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Riverhead Books, New York, NY, 322 p.

^3.Wilber Ken, 1998. The Eye of Spirit: An Integral Version for a World Gone Slightly Mad. Shambhala, Boston, Conn., 414 p.

^{4. and 5.}Merton Thomas, 1948. The Seven Storey Mountain: An Autobiography of Faith. A harvest Book, Harcourt Brace and Co., 467 p.

^6.Radhakrishnan S., 1929. Indian Philosophy. Vol. I, Seventeenth Impression, 1999 Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 738 p.

Legs up the Wall Variations

2011-08-30T10:00:00.001-05:00

Good variations for this pose shown and described in the following:

http://blogs.yogajournal.com/activeyogi/2011/08/multitasking-recovery-for-hips-and-hamstrings.html

Weight Loss with Yoga

2011-08-29T09:10:00.000-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/04/21/dnt.mans.yoga.weight.loss.plan.WXYZ?hpt=T2

The Body Wisdom

2011-08-25T09:41:00.001-05:00

The world of senses is powerful, a world full of rich and informative perceptions and varied impressions. From this world arise thoughts and feelings, the internal bodily sensations. We tend to attend to these internal bodily sensations only when they are of an intense nature, in the form of pleasures, pains and discomforts. There are stresses, disappointments that leave imprints on the body, there are memories attached to the body, at times revealing their hold in the form of posture. We stay unaware, most of the times, of tension in our bodies. It builds up until we experience pain. But even when these are not intense, they constantly communicate with us. They can direct us in understanding our selves through their wisdom. The mind senses the connection to the body, to the leg, to the hand, or to any other part of the body. There are times when the mind seems to occupy the whole consciousness in the body, and there are times when the consciousness seems not be a participant in the body experience of the moment. When the consciousness is moved into technology, for example, listening to the radio while walking, there is disconnect from the body experience. The industrial and technological revolutions have meant that we move farther away from our bodies, and one cannot rely on the daily course of life to ensure a healthy connection between mind and the body.

As we age, we think that the body has started failing us, when in fact the body continues to carry out the processes of life with unwavering devotion. The body will continue moving, living, as long as it can. The body holds memories. It is conscious, like the mind, and its consciousness can be revitalized with patient and sustained practice. It keeps on communicating, sometimes at a different frequency, nonetheless it does not stay silent.¹

According to B.K.S. Iyengar² the body is considered to be the microcosm that reflects the macrocosm of the inner world. That inner macrocosm surfaces to the body in various ways throughout the body. And the recognition of the ways in which one can be conscious of our deepest held emotions, concerns and yearnings depends on whether one is listening to, paying attention to the clear as well as less clear, subtle, ways in which the body communicates to us. Posture reflects psychological states. Persistent stress reveals itself through chronically stressed and tensed muscles, a defensive postural pattern, either in the form of hunched shoulders, rigid chest, or abdomen that is pulled in. The ‘character armor’ represents the accumulated assaults on the mind coming from the varied directions. Our movement patterns, our activity level, the type of work, our health and injuries all these differentially affect our body. Moreover, a part of the body can affect another part, the state of the back influences the way we breathe, whether we favor certain body parts over others, and whether we are comfortable working, relating to others. We can sense and perceive our internal bodily states – fear, excitement, or butterflies in the stomach. Marion Woodman, the author, has said: when the body is listened to, it becomes eloquent. It is like changing a fiddle into a Stradivarius. An attempt to feel what is going on inside the body creates a mind-body connection and when that connection is made one becomes aware of whether the sound is one of harmony or discord.

Tension build up can mean pain. Awareness itself is the most important factor in finding relief. This awareness comes through progressively tensing and relaxing different parts of the body. Focus on relaxing movements, comfortable postures also takes one out of the hold and control of unpleasant, painful memories on our bodies. It is a form of non-verbal psychotherapy. The progressive relaxation of each part of the body is an introversion technique that is effective. One brings awareness to each part of the body, from the toes to the scalp, muscles and joints. Breathing is synchronized with awareness moving up and down within the body. It is referred to as breathing the body, with a whole body scan done sequentially. Using breathing, attention is systematically directed to and focused on specific parts of the body. The breath is used to focus on a tense or pain area, to relax it, in-breath bringing healing in and out-breath to take the tenseness and pain away. It has been found to be an effective visualizing technique and mental discipline. McGonigal³ recommends first tensing a specific part of the body and then relaxing it. Second time, she recommends using only half the effort for tensing, and then even less effort. Next, one repeats the process in mind only. This conscious relaxation is a deeper form of retraining the body and the mind and experiencing the healing state of full relaxation. It is nurturing the ability to let go of tension at will.

Tension and relaxation are opposite reactions in the body. Other such opposites are lightness and heaviness, stillness and movement, warmth and coolness, and discomfort and comfort. Focusing on and practicing desirable opposites is referred to as ‘pratipraksa bhavana’ in Patanjali’s philosophy. There are similar pairs of opposites in mental states, such as calm/stress, happiness/sadness, gratitude/anger, hope/disappointment, love/loneliness, courage/fear and self-confidence/self-criticism. When there are unpleasant, nagging, worrisome thoughts, remembering their opposites is a mental practice that can restore balance in thoughts.

Wisdom constitutes the coordination of knowledge and experience and the ability to use it to improve our wellbeing. The body and the mind constitute a system. All the functions need to be in balance. The two hemispheres of the brain, the functioning of the organs, the vitality of circulation systems within the body, are all interconnected. An adequate resource base in the form of a balanced and well-integrated body-mind system together is closely connected with the sense of wellbeing.

Notes:

^1.Sanford Matthew, 2006. Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence. Rodale Inc., 241 p.

^2.Iyengar, B.K.S., 2005. Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace and Ultimate Freedom. Rodale, 282 p.

^3.McGonigal Kelly, 2009. Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind and Heal Your Chronic Pain. New Harbinger Publications Inc., Oakland, CA, 182 p.

Science and Scientism

2011-08-18T09:36:00.003-05:00

We all share the basic desire to wonder, to know. That desire leads to enquiry and is the reason for all forms of knowledge, science, arts and literature. Science is a certain way of knowing the world around us. The scientific way, method, is based on the use of direct observation, measurement. When something can be quantified, is reproducible, and yields consistent results it leads to a better understanding of the way things work. Evidence, instrumentation and logic form an integral part of any scientific enquiry.

Till the seventeenth century faith played an important role in the quest for knowledge. Wonder and curiosity about the world that could not be explained logically took the form of worshipping the unknown that in many cultures was described as God. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries rationalism became more important than faith in the pursuit of knowledge. Preference for answers in the form of ‘yes’ or ‘no’, explanations based on logical reasoning were the preferred way. Logic and reasoning involved breaking a problem into parts and focusing on those. This is called reductionism. It is deemed to be straightforward, with certain crucial parts representing the mechanism of the whole.

Many modern knowledge systems have incorporated the techniques and methods of science based on investigation and inquiry. Maintaining objectivity and protecting against bias are important in science. But the strong hold of science in the modern world has also been questioned. The questions are aimed at bringing into relevance the multiplicity and complexity of the fundamental dimensions of reality, all of which cannot be adequately accounted for nor can they be always directly observed or measured. Thus, Brookes¹describes two types of systems, neat, orderly systems and dynamic irregular systems. While an orderly system like a clock can be defined and evaluated using logical, mechanical methodology it is hard to study a dynamic, changeable system like a cloud. The latter can be described in the form of a narrative but not through numbers. When one pretends to apply the methods of the orderly systems to the dynamic systems, the latter is studied partially. Human life, human mind, is dynamic and multifaceted, like a cloud and while some aspects of either are quantifiable, the character of some other aspects cannot be so assessed.

Scientism is the extreme form of rationalism. The principles of rational enquiry are stretched, and any factor that does not fit the observation techniques or formulas is discounted. What is valued is conscious cognition of what can be seen, quantified, formalized and understood. Whatever is hard to see and impossible to formalize is categorized as conjecture, unproven, debatable. Scientism is the belief that the entire world can be explained in the third person, the it-language.² It is the assumption that all subjective and inter-subjective spaces can be accounted for, explained through analyzing the behavior of objective processes. But the subjective elements are interwoven into the fabric of everything in life. Consciousness and material form, subjective and objective, interior and exterior, Purusha and Prakriti, are both part of the universe and neither can be dismissed.

Reality cannot be depicted in terms of some universal laws calculable by mathematics. Scientific solutions are inadequate to answer philosophical questions. As Wilber³ says, the ‘I’ and ‘We’ dimensions of our experiences can only be accessed through introspection and interpretation. Only the material part is open to perception and empiricism. The brain can be seen objectively, but not the mind, which is subjectively experienced. Science does not represent the whole truth and what is truth in science is invalid when it comes to ethics, spirituality and our sense of what ought to be. There are no values to questions in science. Values come up when the answers are put to use in life. The language of emotions is not science but as in music, poetry and art. The brain can be seen objectively, measured, and quantified but the changing states of mind are an individual experience. According to Polkinghorne, the physicist and Anglican priest, reality is the interplay between order and disorder, between random possibilities and patterned structures. Science defines life in its own way, but life is also filled with mystery, love, courage and heroism and these cannot be measured or totally unraveled, but they still are valuable.⁴ Thomas Jefferson said that rules of conduct are not a matter of science. Man has a sense of what is right and wrong in the context of the society. It is part of human nature like hearing, seeing, feeling and is the true foundation of morality. All beings and people are born with certain moral senses, the ability to see injustice, feel compassion and desire to help, even by putting aside self-interest at times and these are activated in different situations.

Scientists tend to see the world in perfect order. Everything is deemed self-consistent, beautifully described by the mathematical language. It is argued that it is not an imperfect world that needs constant intervention to run properly.⁵ If the world is deemed to be perfect it does not mean that it is not complex. Separating the crucial variables is a significant problem in any applied science. While science is a particular kind of knowledge and has reproducibility and clarity, history is another kind of discipline, dealing with unique events, and a similar reasoning can be applied to other disciplines, such as art, or law. There are different ways of knowing and the whole cannot be understood by focusing on a part. Among these, there is the experimental way of learning about objects and there is the experiential way of learning about the subtle and the sublime. There is experiential knowledge obtained through contemplative experimentation validated over generations of practitioners. The knowledge about the effectiveness of yoga techniques is of this type. As the scientist and philosopher Ricard⁶ says: Anything that we learn by means of experimentation and that has been tested methodically and rigorously can be considered scientific. The notion of ‘an exact science’ should not be restricted to quantifiable facts, accurate to ten decimal places.

Notes:

^1.Brooks David, 2011. The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement. Random House, New York, NY, 424 p.

^2.Wilber Ken, 1998. The Eye of Spirit: An Integral Version for a World Gone Slightly Mad. Shambhala, Boston, Conn., 414 p.

^3.Wilber Ken, 2000. A Brief History of Everything. Shambhala, Boston. 330 p.

^4.Tippett Krista, 2007. Speaking of Faith. Viking, 238 p.

^5.Ecklund Elaine Howard, 2010. Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think. Oxford University Press, 228 p.

^6. Ricard Matthieu, and Trinh Xuan Thuan, 2001. The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers where Science and Buddhism Meet. Three Rivers Press, New York, NY, 312 p.

Bliss Within Us

2011-08-11T09:45:00.000-05:00

Do we know who we are? There are many masks that we wear.¹ The self is a composite of our perceptions, sensations, mental images, an idea or a concept.² We are busy performing acts and think that they represent who we are. We cling to herd for comfort, trying to fit in and in the process play varied roles, incurring continuing discontent and restlessness. There is a range of selves within us, from the isolating ego to the more open self that is aware of the connections with other selves and to a self that is universal, the Self or the Brahman. Moreover, while growing up we inherit certain viewpoints. Certain capabilities are passed on to us through being members of a family, of a society. One becomes part of a web of connections and interactions, and our interests and skills are built upon foundations that we have had little part in forming.

According to Freud there is what is called a super ego in us, that deep personal standard of right and wrong. It is like the conscience but at a more personal level, the sense of what one is and needs to be. One is at peace when one is without any conflicted notions about this super ego. Jung³ refers to the ‘collective unconsciousness’ the shared common psyche that transcends all racial and cultural differences. Parts of the contents of this unconscious can become conscious but there also exist dispositions in a latent form towards identical reactions. There are also unknown potentialities within us that one can grow into. He describes these as the psychic expression of the identity of brain structures across population groups.

In Indian philosophy the essence within us is one with the essence of all other beings, or as the great saying goes, tat tvam asi, or thou art that. We all have a certain potential for that realization and not realizing it can mean not capturing the fullness of life. Socrates said that learning is a process of recollecting what one has forgotten. There is innate knowledge within us that remains under the shroud of our ignorance of reality, our self-centeredness and our desires. The ancient teaching of Vedanta is that the identification of our selves as limited physical beings is an illusion. There is the unbounded consciousness that expresses the diversity. Just as one piece of gold can be made into various shapes of jewelry and still be gold, our unlimited nature gets trapped when we identify with our bodies and our egos. We simply forget who we are.⁴The world we create around us, in our thoughts and through our actions is only part of the story. We attend to it and that attention may be called our routine, first attention to living. The rest of the story belongs to the subtler levels of our being and attending to these subtler levels is an inward directed process, involving what Chopra⁵ calls the second attention. It is only through contemplative thinking and introspection that one can evaluate the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that stand in the way of getting there. There is a place deep within us that is observant, objective, peaceful and open.

Smith⁶ quotes the musings of the blind French author, Jacques Lusseyran, who describes how an accident-caused blindness changed his perspective. He found that negative emotions such as fear, impatience and anger had a blinding effect. But then he began looking from an inner place to one further within. This redefined his perceptions of things and beings around. He became aware of radiance within, both light and joy. His intuitive powers increased.

We can use focused attention to sense and alter the wild flow of energy and information in our minds. Mindful awareness is often defined as a way of intentionally paying attention to the present moment without being swept up by judgments. It is a form of mental activity that trains the mind to become aware of awareness itself. It requires paying close attention to the present moment from a non-judgmental and non-reactive stance. It teaches self-observation. It is a form of internal ‘tuning in’, thereby promoting a foundation for resilience and flexibility. Temporary states of brain activation when repeated, induced regularly, become long-term, enduring traits. With practice a mindful state becomes a mindful trait.⁷ It is the process of dislodging all preconceived limitations on our ability to know.

We embody an intrinsic happiness but we get lost in our desires. Fear, trauma, or social conditioning, have a tendency to keep suppressed our inner joyful, blissful nature. By looking inwards, tuning in, one can access the hidden joyful aspects within us. Certainly, there are aspects of our deepest tendencies that are aggressive, fierce, as well as needy and selfish, but this is where discerning wisdom, viveka, helps in their proper channeling in ways that in the end are more beneficial and healthy overall. And once that discerning wisdom is cultivated one can find the answer to the query, Koham? Who am I? The answer is, Soham, I am that. ‘That’ according to Upanishadic philosophy is sacchidananda or the pure essence of truth (sat), awareness (chit) and joy (ananda) within. As the Svetasvatara Upanishad says (1.15) it is there, like oil in sesame seeds, as butter in cream, and one simply needs to look for it with truthfulness and austerity. In Buddhism it is the inherent, the essential perfect Buddha nature.

Notes:

¹Ravindra Ravi, 1984. Whispers from the other Shore: A Spiritual Search – East and West. A Quest Original, the Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton, IL, 139 p.

²Ricard Matthieu, 2006. Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill. Translated by Jesse Browner, Little Brown and Co., New York. 281 p.

³Jung C. G., 1978, Psychology and the East. Translated by R.F.C. Hull, Bollingen Series XX, Princeton University Press, 211 p.

⁴http://www.intent.com/deepakchopra/blog/limitlessness-consciousness (Accessed 5-27-11)

⁵ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/dealing-with-stress_b_920989.html (Accessed 8-8-11)

⁶Smith Huston, 2001. Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief. Harper, San Francisco, 290 p.

⁷Siegel Daniel J., 2010. Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Bantam Books, New York, 314 p.

O Say, What You See?

2011-08-04T08:10:00.001-05:00

Francis Crick, a physicist and biochemist, along with James D. Watson, won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA. According to Crick¹ when it comes to analyzing the information that the eyes bring:

A. We are easily deceived by our visual system.

B. The visual information provided by our eyes can be ambiguous; and,

C. Seeing is a constructive process.

Regarding A, Crick says we get a clear image of whatever is in the direct line of our vision. Things that are not so placed are not as clear and are essentially blurry at the peripheries. Second, the same visual information can be interpreted in different ways and we usually make sense of that information by putting it in the context of other clues, like shape, color, or movement nearby. Last, but most importantly, it is the brain that interprets that information by filling in more details, by filtering out what it deems is redundant, and by using previous information. In this interpretation the brain prefers to keep what it deems sensible, and does not drastically change the established worldview. The brain thus reformulates, constructs what one perceives.

This echoes the findings regarding how the same events can produce stress in some while others may take them as challenges. Threats and pressures are highly subjective in nature and we have our own strong or not so strong defensive mechanisms. Whatever information comes towards us it is scanned for meaning, selectively filtered through our memory, and all this is happening in a fraction of second. We see only what we want to see² and based on that we construct our own image of the world, of reality and it stays as a fixture in the background of our experiences. This self-construed image is a composite of bits and pieces instead of the whole, multifaceted one as it is. There is the story of the elephant and six blind men. Each blind man grabs a different part of the huge animal and has a different impression regarding what the elephant is like. Thus, the blind man who grabs the leg says, ‘An elephant is like a tree,’ or the one who grabs the trunk says, ‘An elephant is like snake.’ Fragmentation is a distortion of totality. When a process is fragmented, isolated from the whole, that particular piece of the whole takes on the significance of the whole, it competes against other pieces, and the result is strife. In reality, as the sage Vasistha said:

Infinite worlds come and go

In the vast expanse of consciousness,

Like motes of dust dancing in a beam of light.

The Vedantists believe that the world is an illusion and that it is both real and not real. While we are in a state of ignorance it is said to be ‘is’ or existing. It exists for a time. The term ‘maya’ is derived from the root ‘may’, which means to change, or, a system of changes devoid of reality. But it also does not exist for all times. Modern physics has established that the universe has no solidity. The Satpatha Brahmana proclaimed: ‘Man is born into a world put together by himself’ (6.2.2.27).

Guy Deutscher, writing for the New York Times, said we all acquire certain habits of thought that shape our experience in significant and often surprising ways. Our culture shapes our orientation to the world and our emotional responses to the objects we encounter. They can have a marked impact on our beliefs, values and ideologies.³There is the story about a city in Italy that barred pet owners from keeping goldfish in curved bowls. Why? Because it is cruel, the city council argued, to give the fish “a distorted view of reality.” We are, in some ways, similar to those goldfish. Our perceptions are limited and warped by the kind of lenses we see through, our tendencies and experiences. We create our own interpretations of reality by observing it, howsoever limited that observation is. It doesn’t create us. The people who live in the Rift Valley, near Nairobi, Kenya view time differently. For them, the past, that we have seen and experienced, is in front of us. What is unseen, the future, is behind us, unknown to us. When a person dies the memories of that person belong to the past. We walk backwards into the future.

Our interpretation of the world around us guides us through life. We have expectations and there is the inertia of the mind. The expectations color the perceptions, which can be valid, or simply conceptualized, invalid, sometimes drawn from memory. And the mind, because of its resistance to expending energy, prefers the status quo. There are unconscious processes that can enable us to perceive the world in productive and farseeing ways and for that the mind needs to quiet. Patanjali defined yoga as the stilling of mind. He said: yogah chittavrtti nirodhah (I.2) or Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of mind. Otherwise, (the seer) is absorbed in the changing states (of the mind). With the cessation of misidentification with thoughts, one does not misidentify one’s self with one’s thought patterns. Human identity tends to be in the form of conjunction between the real ‘seer’ within us, our intrinsic, spiritual self and the ‘seeable,’ which is the extrinsic, material world. An inquiry into the nature of that conjunction is of an experiential nature⁴ that can be realized through following the eight-fold yoga system that Patanjali devised. This system provides the options that can help see the difference between our mind, the mentally created self, and the pure seer within us.

Notes:

^1.Crick Francis, 1994. The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul. Maxwell Macmillan International, New York, 317 p.

^2.Goleman Daniel, 1985. Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self Deception. Simon and Schuster, New York, 287 p.

^3.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29language-t.html?sq=Guy%20Deutscher%20on%208-29-10&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=2&adxnnlx=1311890305-W09cb4LhH/sK+kAS09uYaw

^4.Whicher Ian, 1998. The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga. State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, 426 p.

Yoga and Health

2011-07-29T09:48:00.002-05:00

For an excellent account of the multi-faceted health benefits of practicing yoga go to:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/yoga-heart-health_b_900621.html

The Vedas

2011-07-28T09:43:00.000-05:00

Indian philosophy had its beginnings in the Vedas. These are considered to be the revealed scriptures or authoritative texts that contain the thoughts and practices that developed into Hinduism and also a comprehensive field of philosophies covering all aspects of life. As there was no writing system to preserve the whole literature, the ancient Indians memorized it and it was transmitted verbally for centuries thereafter, a practice that continues to the present day. Therefore, the Vedas are also referred to as Srutis, literally meaning ‘heard’. Opinions differ regarding the period of the earliest material, ranging from 4000 BCE to 1200 BCE. They were put into writing between 300 BCE and 200 BCE. The Vedas contain mostly hymns in praise of natural forces such as wind and fire, referred to as gods, due to their powers. There have been little interpolations over this extensive time period. There is not much philosophical discussion, but there are philosophical questions expressed in poems.

The Vedic literature evolved over several centuries. It constitutes the four Vedas; namely, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda. The Rig Veda is probably the earliest. There are over a thousand hymns, mantras in this, supposed to be a small part of the voluminous collection huge parts of which have been lost. The Yajur-Veda is about the ritualistic procedures to be followed in the yajnas, the sacrificial rites. These are arranged in a certain order to be sung at the sacrifices. The Sama-Veda is a collection of chants, sung is certain ways, set to music, at the sacrifices. The chants are stanzas taken from the Rig Veda. The Atharva-Veda is about spells, witchcraft and incantations towards destroying the enemies.

The Vedas have four parts and they are known as - Mantras, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. Mantra and Brahmana deal with sacrifice and other rituals and are referred to as Karmakanda. The students who lived with their Gurus were educated in the proper use and meaning of the mantras. When they became householders the performance of rituals was an important activity. The Brahmanas are in prose and explain the importance of different rituals. In later years when retirement in the forests was opted for, the Aranyaka portion of Vedas that included symbolic worship and meditation was developed. The Aranyakas are concluding parts of the Brahmanas and they discuss philosophical problems. They were for meditation in the forests, the aranyas. The old men who had retired to the forests used and practiced meditation instead of actual rituals to represent sacrifices. Here one sees philosophy replacing ritualistic practices.

The Upanishads came about slightly later and represent the culmination of this shift away from the ritual-dominated practices and are of the most philosophical and spiritual nature. The Upanishads are also referred to as Jnanakanda, the wisdom treatises. The focus is not on a creator, something outside, but instead on the self, the within. The main focus is on philosophical inquiry and the mind that is free of attachments. Transforming the individual to reduce pain and suffering, and finding peace were the objectives. The greatest reality was seen in the form of the true self of man. The truths expressed therein are formulated on the basis of intuitive and analytical reasoning. They are monologues, dialogues and collated thoughts. There are as many as 108 Upanishads. Among these 12-14 are identified as major ones. The authors of these were different rsis or ascetics. The Upanishads represent their respective thinking and as a result there are the inevitable contradictory ideas. Each Upanishad was not necessarily authored by the same person.

The Upanishads have dominated philosophical thought throughout the history of India. Sitting beside the teacher the pupils received knowledge. In the early centuries of the current era came the Sutras. These are the aphorisms, very brief statements, necessitated by the need to transmit knowledge orally, from one generation to the next. At the same time the conciseness meant that they could be interpreted and various commentaries followed as a result. Among the well-known commentators were Shankara (8^th century), Ramanuja (11^th century) and Madhva (13^th century). According to Shankara (788-820 CE) the word Upanishad means to loosen, destroy and to attain. It shatters, destroys and kills avidya, or ignorance. The seekers approach the knowledge (upa), cultivate it with utter devotion (ni), by sitting on the side (shada) of the teacher. It is believed that only a qualified teacher can pass it on. The knowledge contained therein is eternal but gets obscured by ignorance or avidya. The recipient of this knowledge needs self-restraint and humility. The Upanishads contain the secret and profound wisdom about Brahman, the supreme consciousness and ways to reach it.¹

The philosophy and the practices of Yoga do not appear as distinct ideas in the four Vedas. But the Upanishads (ca 600 BCE onwards) contain basic concepts as well as several practices that are part of this discipline. Yoga philosophy that evolved on the Indian subcontinent over millennia and centuries, thus, represents a wide span of practices and thoughts. The development of a philosophy of yoga was of an incremental nature. From appropriate breath work with chanting of ritual mantras and sitting positions it gradually evolved as a comprehensive philosophy of life and provided ethical and practical guidelines for living. The philosophy, ethical and practical guidelines are still relevant and applicable to living in the modern world.

Notes:

^1.Nikhilananda Swami, 1949. The Upanishads, Vol. I. Harper and Brothers Pub., New York, 312 p.

Over-active Life?

2011-07-21T09:35:00.001-05:00

Stress is a fact of life, especially a life aimed at maximizing opportunities and enjoying varied pleasures. It is, for most of us, less due to any threat to one’s physical well-being, such as an attack by wild animals or being caught in a cross fire in war zone, as much as it is due to mental pressures. Modern life involves worries about finances, relationships, job security and feelings of inadequacy of one sort or another. One can feel stressed by the pressure of having too much to do, feeling overwhelmed by chores and obligations towards family and friends. Burnout is one of the common experiences in hectic lifestyles. One may experience being physically tired, or emotionally exhausted or wound up with nervous energy. Unfortunately, many mental pressures have a tendency to persist and they keep the sympathetic, the stress producing nervous system, persistently activated. The stress hormones, norepinephrine, adrenaline and cortisol, remain active in the blood stream for a long time and more are released in response to stress related memories. The stress situations do not even have to be real.

Many times, remaining active all the time without giving oneself a down time is itself indicative of avoiding nagging issues. The idea is to keep running away from stressful thoughts and keep the mind occupied with busy-ness in something else. An overly active sympathetic system gets out of balance with the restorative parasympathetic system. And the imbalance gets reflected in ailments of different types.

When we are hurt or something does not work out as expected we tend to blame ourselves or someone else. Minor expectations take much significance. Either way, it is a peace disturbing thought process. As someone has said, judgment is like cholesterol, there is the good kind and there is the bad kind. Judgments can lead to feelings of injustice done and one may be spurred into taking some action instead of passively letting things go on. Or one may blame oneself and feel let down. Either way, using judgment in a productive manner, in terms of reassessing one’s choices, scheduling, evaluating the importance of having certain things done, and in the desired way, may be better options for preventing feeling overwhelmed. Learning to discern, to evaluate priorities is more helpful than judging or blaming someone, something else. Self-inquiry, instead of self-valuation, can many times provide workable solutions for situations.

What one needs to do is find some extraordinary time, time that totally absorbs one, time that refreshes, time that puts you in a state of calm. Such extraordinary time is always there in the form of a quiet walk, focused breathing, or an engrossing hobby. Anything that takes us out of self-involvement and provides the respite needed for gathering thoughts, allows oneself to stay open to the feelings that one goes through. These have the effect of opening, humbling, and making us look into alternative ways. One allows the difficulties to transform our selves, rather than making one feel the need to run away. Staying with the pain is being friendly with oneself, developing a compassionate relationship with all those parts within us that we do wish to stay away from. In life, pleasant happens and unpleasant also happens.¹ It is an opportunity to connect with others when they go through similar experiences. Wide, open heart and mind allow one to have an unprejudiced, direct and unedited relationship with reality.

We owe it to ourselves to honor the needs and health of the body, to feel all emotions and to be able to detach from anything that limits our growth. We need to make time to monitor negative mind chatter and to transform self-damaging thoughts into positive inspiration. When the negativity is understood we recycle the same life force into productive or creative activity.²

This is where the question of meaningfulness in life arises. This is where the spirit requires nourishment. Non-material values such as exercising restraint (brahmacharya), focusing on generosity instead of greed (aparigraha) and most of all, contentment (santosha) have more lasting rewards to offer in terms of peace, health and happiness. They also open up, make us more receptive, to other options to consider for relief from stress. Breathing correctly is a skill and practicing it with awareness provides the needed break from overwhelming, energy draining thoughts. The ability to concentrate on one point or ekagrata is in the mastering of the ceaseless flow of thoughts, sensations and fantasies. The Buddha emphasized that instead of suppressing unwelcome, unwholesome thoughts and tendencies, focusing on the positive counterparts is better. Patanjali incorporated that as a technique (called pratiprasava) to be nurtured for calming the mind. The ability to choose one thought over another is the greatest weapon against stress.

What is a stress-free life like? It is when one can access the wisdom of the body, be cognizant of from the gut feelings. There an emotional balance, one feels alive and at ease, and able to stay focused and clear. It is the ability to monitor and then modify energy flows that can take one out of unwelcome states of mind. It is when the impulses are restrained and one can consider options for response. It is when communication with others is attuned, when one feels that one is making a contribution to the society. It is living as an integrated being, in balance, which is yoga.

Notes:

^1.Chodron Pema, 2007. ‘Turn Your Thinking Upside Down.’ In Shambhala Sun, May, pp. 58-61, 105.

^2.Sams Jamie, 1998. Dancing the Dream: The Seven Sacred Paths of Human Transformation. Harper, San Francisco, 274 p.

Meditation

2011-07-15T09:57:00.009-05:00

1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/15/7-fascinating-facts-about_n_899482.html#s309278&title=Its_Pain_Relieving

2. This link is to a meditation event in San Francisco.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mallika-chopra/collective-intent_b_892368.html

3. The story (4.23 min. long) is on the link below.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/07/18/138166813/rethinking-tinnitus-when-the-ringing-wont-stop-clear-your-mind

Obstacles to Serenity (Kleshas)

2011-07-14T09:40:00.003-05:00

The portal to deeper levels of awareness, where serenity is experienced, is through calm states of mind, a mind that is free of any fluctuating thoughts. However, it is difficult to arrive at calm states of mind, to quiet thoughts, mainly because of the fivefold obstacles or kleshas that one faces. The word ‘klesha’ is derived from the root ‘klis’ which means to afflict, cause pain, and trouble or torment. The kleshas or obstacles are the reason we keep on going through cycles of changing thought patterns that bring moments of happiness separated by seemingly long stretches of stressful or unhappy states. They are the reason for our misidentifying our real selves with the material world, the body and the conscious mind. Not realizing our true identity keeps us on the wrong path, away from reaching those deeper levels of awareness, the serene states of mind.

Patanjali’s theory regarding the nature of kleshas, the afflictions that are related to our thought patterns, forms the basic concept in his Ashtanga Yoga system. There are five different kleshas or obstacles that are the reason for our changing thoughts. These are our ignorance or avidya about the nature of reality, ego or asmita, likes or raga and dislikes or dvesha and our misapprehensions and fears about survival or changes, described as abhinevesha. Among these five it is the ignorance about the nature of reality that is the most important obstacle since it is also the main reason for the other four obstacles. This ignorance comes from our misidentifying our real selves, the seer, purusha, within us, with our thoughts and experiences, with what is seen. From ignorance come ego, attachments, our likes and dislikes, and our fears of changes. These distracting factors cause us to look at the world from a narrow viewpoint due to feelings of self-importance, filtering our perceptions, and giving us a fragmented picture of reality. And when the fragments become the focus, and the whole is ignored, the result is suffering.

Not all thoughts or experiences cause suffering. We have afflicted thoughts, in the form of desire for power, for possessions; there is ignorance about and apathy towards thinking in a discriminating fashion. And we also have thoughts that are unafflicted, drawn towards virtue, knowledge and not drawn towards accumulating possessions, for gaining name and fame. Both types of thoughts can exist in latent or in active states; some can be withheld, or can be temporarily blocked from exerting their influence. The unafflicted thoughts need to be activated, and strengthened more frequently and that requires practice and cultivating dispassion. Different yoga techniques are directed towards this objective.

Kleshas can be attenuated through the reversal of the flow of the usual tendencies of the mind, through metanoia, referred to as pratiprasava in Patanjali’s yoga. It is turning inwards when our natural tendency is to turn outwards as we follow our sense impressions. It is an introspective process. It needs self-discipline and self-study, and both these require perseverance and dedicated effort. It involves monitoring, attending to the negative mind chatter and working at transforming self-damaging thoughts into positive, inspiring ones. By withholding our energy back from negativity, the life force can be channeled into productive or creative activity. Energies directed towards self-examination and through the personal choice of non-interaction selectively undertaken, help self-understanding.

Getting rid of kleshas or obstacles is difficult and the solution lies in developing a discriminative intelligence that can, with patience, see through the nature of obstacles and thereby prevent them from affecting one’s thoughts and actions. Discriminative intelligence depends on the ability to focus attention without any wavering. The ability to withhold distractions develops through practice, through introspective focus whereby one can weaken the hold of past experiences through objective examination of individual, group, societal and cultural influences. We tend to be caught in the details when we need to attend to all sides that shape our understanding. The consciousness is distributed across diverse areas of influence and recognizing their effectiveness is helpful in learning to dissociate oneself from afflicted ways of thinking. One-pointedness in thinking can be cultivated through meditation and also through practice of postures and regulation of breathing. These latter two are more than just bodily acts but have psychic correlates.¹ Wilber refers to prana (life/breath energy) as a form of subtle bio-energy that can be the link between intentional mind and the body.² Using these techniques as consciousness is progressively unified, and purified, one learns to dissociate oneself from ego driven urges and desires. There are levels of integration, of samadhi, arrived at through deeper states of meditative focus, that can lead one to realizing one’s authentic identity, the real ‘seer’ or ‘purusha’ within us.

Notes:

^1.Whicher Ian, 1998. The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga. State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, 426 p.

^2.Wilber Ken, 1998. The Eye of Spirit: An Integral Version for a World Gone Slightly Mad. Shambhala, Boston, Conn., 414 p.

Breathe

2011-07-10T09:35:00.001-05:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-hoff/deep-breathing_b_888005.html

Consciousness

2011-07-07T09:17:00.002-05:00

Our consciousness, awareness, is a multidimensional aspect of our lives. Normally, when we refer to awareness, it is in the context of attending to some specific object/s that is/are the focus of our attention. While an object is the focus of attention, the subject is the individual, the observer, and the implication is that there is a gap between what is observed and the one who does the observing. Whenever there is a separation, a distance between two entities, there is an element of dis-harmony, of separate identities. The dichotomy between the subject self and object is the reason for ordinary life experiences. Life experiences include both pleasures and pains and there is also a craving for calm, illuminative and serene states of mind. The yoga philosophy, like the Buddhist philosophy, is an inward oriented system geared towards taking one to deeper states of awareness that reflect those desirable calm and serene states. Here follows a look at how we become conscious about the world around us, the process of information reaching our mind.

In yoga psychology the mind has four aspects. These are 1. The active mind or the manas; 2. The ego or the I-maker, also called ahamkara; 3. The intellect or buddhi; and 4. The unconscious or chitta. The active, sensory mind or ‘manas’ represents the first level of awareness. It uses the five senses, i.e., sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch through the sense organs, to connect with the surrounding world. At any given time of contact with objects, not everything about it, around it, is perceived. The ‘manas’ perceives certain aspects of an object and other objects remain unperceived. The perceptions arrive in a rapid sequence as one takes in a variety of information in an instant. When we look at the tree we use the eyes and hearing the wind may come next, smelling the freshness of air after that and so on. Then there is information that is lost to the eye due to in-attention. ‘Manas’ is constantly changeable and does not have the ability to make effective choices and is therefore referred to as the lower mind.

In the contact between the sensory organ and the objects of contact the ‘seer’ in us is the sensory mind. While the result of sense-contact is perception, sometimes other elements such as memory and inference may be involved. The sensory mind is driven by emotions and one easily gets distracted and usually tends to be drawn in different directions. As we narrow our attention we interpret what we observe. Our I-ness is the self-definition of perceptions and impressions.¹ It is called ahamkara, usually referred to as ego, which is defining oneself in terms of some aspects of the body, personality and opinions. It is part of life and also provides information to the mind, the manas, its acquired impressions and perceptions. The I-ness expands as more and more impressions adhere to it and clouds our assessment of who we really are. Ego leads to the belief that it is the ‘seer’, separate from the world around it. There is a built in bias within us due to ego, a bias that is caused by ignorance about the real nature of reality and is the main reason behind our likes, dislikes and fears.

The mind can also act when it is so directed by buddhi, or intelligence. This is referred to as the higher mind, the seeing instrument that we use to make decisions about what is and is not of value. It is buddhi that brings some sense of order to the mind. This is where an impression becomes a thought, as an impression is interpreted, contextualized and evaluated. Krishnamurti describes this process as being the transformation of a percept into a concept.² The thoughts linger and there is some sense of coherence and regularity brought to them. Appropriately focused it can lead to a sense of calm and clarity. Through buddhi one can access the storehouse of knowledge from the deeper recesses of the mind. It is buddhi that takes us above the animal instincts in us, above the learned habits and gives us the ability to distinguish between what is attractive but momentary and what is lasting and perennially joyous. The buddhi eventually becomes the deciding factor and the effective agent of the ‘seer’.

Then there is the fourth aspect, chitta, the unconscious part of the mind. Our experiences are recorded in the chitta. Memories of previous experiences can stay dormant or can get activated. There are processes at work that we are not aware of, and apparently only about 5% of mental activity goes on at the conscious level.³ When we sleep, the mind is working at sorting and storing information gained during the day. During that process it also refines and selectively stores information as memory, discarding parts that it decides to be irrelevant and unnecessary.

Chitta is the focus of the yogic endeavor towards attaining peaceful, serene and illuminative states of mind. It is through the shaping, interpreting of the information from our observations and how we interpret, act on and record it in our memory, that living becomes an enjoyable, happy experience or a painful one. The aim of the techniques that are part of Patanjali’s yoga and the answer to the quest for peace is getting an understanding and working with these different aspects, stages of awareness. There are still deeper levels that are part of the wider spectrum of consciousness, where the real ‘seer’ resides, and not in the sensory mind, intelligence or accumulated tendencies and memories, the chitta, within us.

Notes:

^1. Rama Swami, Ballentine Rudolph and Ajaya Swami, 1976. Yoga and Psychotherapy. The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, Honesdale PA. 278 p.

^2. Krishnamurthy J., 1973. The Awakening of Intelligence. Avon Books, 507 p.

^3.Punset Eduardo, 2007. The Happiness Trap. Chelsea Green Publishing Co., White River Junction, VT, 160 p.

Anxiety and Depression Relief

2011-07-06T11:28:00.006-05:00

Go to the link below for asanas that help alleviate stress and anxiety.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/06/6-yoga-poses-for-depressi_n_890836.html?#s303647&title=Child_Pose

Non-violence (Ahimsa)

2011-06-30T09:47:00.000-05:00

Nonviolence or Ahimsa is the principle of non-harming. The word comes from the Sanskrit root ‘hims’ which means to kill, hurt or injure. With the prefix ‘a’ added it becomes non-harming, not killing or hurting. It is in the Hippocratic oath and is at the heart of living. One of the earliest references to the principle of Ahimsa is found in the Yajur Veda (one of the four Vedas in Indian philosophy dated approximately the second millennium BCE), which prescribes looking at all beings with friendly eyes. The Upanishadic philosophy grew out of the rejection of the sacrificial rites during the early Vedic times. Soon afterwards non-harming came to be considered an important religious principle. According to Mahatma Gandhi ‘nonviolence is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by man’. Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931), the American inventor said that nonviolence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. According to Albert Schweitzer “A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.”

The concept of non-harming applies to us personally, in our social interactions with others and as we use our natural resources and the environment. The principle is not about actions as much as it is about non-performance of actions.¹ It is about restraining oneself from doing any harm, from withholding acting on impulse, from letting go of certain options. To make noise one has to clap the hands together. When we practice non-harming or ahimsa it means that we have the strength and the ability to do harm but we decide not to do that harm.

Violence can be unintentional, as when it is related to a profession and self-defense. Some level of violence is inevitable when one is working to have a livelihood. No activity or industry is possible without a certain level of violence. Violence is an inevitable part of living. All actions achieved in the external world by motor or active senses cause some harm to other living things, affect the quality of non-living, material objects. What one needs to do is minimizing the harm as much as possible.

Mahatma Gandhi put the ahimsa, non-violence concept to very effective use in the campaign for independence. In the fight against the British he and his followers used the non-violent approach that proved to be more powerful than the weapons wielded by the soldiers. So did Martin Luther King when he and his followers fought for civil rights. When it comes to using some form of ahimsa for self-defense, there is an interesting story: The Sadhu and the Snake. (A sadhu is a wise person, a holy man, who has renounced worldly possessions and attachments).

A sadhu came to a remote village and he found all the inhabitants had locked their doors and the streets were deserted. A few brave persons approached him and asked for his help. The problem was an aggressive snake, a cobra, which had attacked several people. The sadhu went to the cobra’s den and gave him a lecture about ahimsa. The snake saw the error of his ways and agreed to mend his behavior.

Some months later when the sadhu visited the same place he found the cobra weak and hurt. He said that since the people knew he was not going to hurt them, they mistreated him. The snake stuck to his non-harming ways but suffered as a consequence. The sadhu admonished him saying ‘I told you not to bite, but I never told you not to hiss’.

The moral of the story is ahimsa is to be applied to the self too. It is important when one needs to protect oneself and needs to make sure no harm is done to one’s own person and well-being. The ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, says, Ahimsa paramo dharmaha, Dharma himsa tathaiva cha (i.e., ‘non-violence is the greatest Dharma, So too is all righteous violence'). An army general is reported to have said that: “We want peace, but the only way to have peace is by destroying those who do not keep peace.” Violence and fear are connected in the sense that one reacts with violence as a result of some fear. Protecting oneself from harm and in that process, inflicting harm does not constitute violence. It is the motivation that decides whether a particular action is due to one’s ego, furthering one’s own cause at the expense of the other, or ignorance about the real causes of the conflict, especially when there are some justice issues involved. When one realizes that everything is interconnected and that nothing exists by itself, one becomes aware that by doing harm to others we also do harm to ourselves.

Ahimsa or nonviolence is different from aggression. Being aggressive is a normal characteristic in the struggle for existence. It is when one takes an aggressive stance for doing some harm that it becomes violence. Bullying by stronger kids in schools is violence and thus a problem. When people harm others or have hurtful thoughts about others, usually it is because they hold on to some extreme opinions, pertaining to justice or to morality. Events and behaviors are perceived as being good or bad. Instead of feeling empathy towards others one may feel antagonistic or hostile. Bullying is not limited to school kids, there can be bullying in nursing homes.² It takes the form isolating, of social manipulation, turning public spaces into private areas by excluding some and in general some form of nastiness. These represent unhealthy ways of feeling powerful, having control, dominating others so the perpetrators can feel that they are important. In the wake of such behaviors some others who are vulnerable can suffer from anxiety, depression and desertion. Ahimsa is not simply non-violence; it also means non-manipulation and non-interference. ³

Actions usually tend to be grayish in character, that is, they have a mix of positive and negative effects. It is the duration and scale of effects that makes a difference. It is the yogic action that is needed, one that is undertaken because it is just and needed, without expectation of rewards, as indicated in the Bhagavad Gita, in Krishna’s advice to Arjuna on the battlefield. Thich Nhat Hanh says that skillful means that are flexible and intelligent are more effective than any war, any violence. It helps to look deeply into the nature of what is happening inside us and around us. We can examine our habits and life styles to recognize the violence within, to see how they too are intimately connected to the conflicts elsewhere. Actions against injustice are always needed, there are no righteous options, all actions have consequences.

Notes:

¹Aranya, Swami Hariharananda, 1983. Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali. Rendered into English by P. N. Mukerji, State University of New York, Albany, 483 p.

²Span Paula, ‘Mean Girls in Assisted Living.’ http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/mean-girls-in-the-nursing-home/

³Ravindra Ravi, 2009. The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: A New Translation and Guide. Morning Light Press, Sandpoint, ID, 221 p.

Busy Minds

2011-06-23T09:13:00.002-05:00

The mind is a restless place. There is a constant whirl of thoughts passing through the mind throughout the day. Thoughts arise and demand attention. Multiple chores and responsibilities, the pulls of things one wants to do, to have, plus the constant clamor of the outside world demanding attention, all these result in frayed nerves and exhausted bodies. The happenings in the present are not the only things that occupy our minds. We spend time on remembering and, many times, reliving past experiences, especially the ones that are associated with strong emotions. And then there are our dreams and aspirations. We tend to spend a significant amount of time thinking about the future. And it is hard to tell the mind not to think that way. Mental stimulations keep on arriving without any effort on our part. All these, the time we spend on remembering and the time spent on dreaming, usurp the present moment, the present that could have been used to experience and to explore. There is an interesting story about the invisible saffron monk that Chopra¹ relates. It is as follows:

A group of seekers of wisdom about the soul and afterlife attend a discussion group. When the talk got heated a young participant stepped out for some air and when he returned there was a monk in saffron robes sitting on a side. No one else saw or realized the presence of the monk except the young man. The monk accompanied the man and stayed by his side and this the man found comforting, joyful and peaceful.

The young man asked J. Krishnamurthy, the renowned philosopher and teacher, about the monk, whether he is a figment of the young man’s imagination. When asked whether the monk is with him at that moment the young man nodded, but admitted that the monk was starting to fade. He also admitted that he feared losing the monk and with that his peacefulness.

Krishnamurthy said that this was living in the past and even though pleasant, that means one is missing out on what is. The mind finds it difficult not to live in a thousand yesterdays. A memory inspires, like the dead inspiring the living. The mind is conditioned by the past and living in the past does not reveal the working of one’s own mind. One becomes a prisoner of the past. One fears losing it. Greed also comes in as one wants to hoard the experience. One loses self-knowledge and without that every experience is an illusion. To be really free is to be oneself. When no event is so important that one wants to give oneself for it, the door to new experiences is kept open, life remains fresh and the need to renew it every moment is fulfilled.

When one is thinking about the future, the next moment becomes the present moment and part of the past soon thereafter. When the attention is focused on the ever-changing and fluid character of the present, thoughts about the future are relegated to the back seat. One observes the totality of the phenomena unveiling before us. As has been said, the process of a bud blooming into flower cannot be broken up into time slots; it is a single and continuous process. By perceiving the totality we understand its beauty. Instead of attending to the bewildering dance of choices, the greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another, one choice over another. As William James said: Attention is the taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focus and concentration are its essence. It implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.

Dwelling on the objects of sense leads to attachment, to desire and to anger. In Patanjali’s language our minds get afflicted with raga (attachment, especially the negative sort), dvesha (aversion and varying degrees of anger) and we have fear of letting go or abhinivesha. Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, a well-known mystic of 19^th century India, said the mind is like milk. If you keep the mind in the world, which is like water, then the milk and water will get mixed. That is why people keep milk in a quiet place and let it set into curd, and then churn butter from it. Then that butter can easily be kept in the water. The mind will float detached on the water of the world.

Amy Wink² wrote an interesting article titled ‘Even the Hummingbird Rests.’ During summer the humming birds come. You can see them flitting from flower to flower and if there is a feeder they visit frequently. They are flapping their tiny wings at supersonic speed, flying up and down, forwards and backwards. And then they fly off to the nearest tree or bush and rest before they drop in again, feeding feverishly. Our busy minds and busy lives also need restful breaks. Modern lifestyle is hectic. We tend to live in our minds while ignoring the messages from the body, storing the hurts and frustrations in the muscles and tissues. When one is confused and entertains varied thoughts, energies are drained. The ego lives in time, grieving over past losses and looking for future gains, whereas the body lives in the present and finds fulfillment in the gifts of the moment. Attending to the body, getting to know about the places where the blocks and hostilities are means to have a full bodied, full-minded awareness.³ Seeking opportunities to relax becomes vital. Simply paying attention to what is happening around, simply observing, can be helpful. Children tend to have over-organized schedules and that deprives them of engaging in repetitive, aimless games and plays, putting their imaginative powers to work. This comes in the way of their cultivating their own interests and inborn tendencies.

Notes:

¹Chopra Deepak, 2000. How to Know God: The Soul’s Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries. Three Rivers Press, New York. NY, 319 p.

²Wink Amy, 2007. ‘Even the Humming Bird Rests.’ In Yoga + Joyful Living, Jan.-Feb., Issue 93, pp. 68-70.

³Wilber Ken, 1979. No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth. Whole Mind Series, Center Publications, Los Angeles, CA 160 p.

Mundaka Upanishad and Ego

2011-06-02T09:24:00.002-05:00

Using the word ‘Mundaka’ which means a shaving razor, or a person with shaven head, this Upanishad is about attaining the right knowledge that can remove the veil of ignorance. The Upanishad comes from the Atharva Veda and is meant for both householders and renunciates so that they can gain knowledge and realization of the supreme truth through self-knowledge.

Like other Upanishads knowledge is imparted through dialogue, between Angiras, the teacher, and Shaunaka, the eager student. Shaunaka’s question is: What is that by knowing which all becomes known? Angiras replies that there are two types of knowledge, higher and lower, and that a seeker should acquire both. The lower knowledge comes from the study of Vedas, rituals, linguistics, arts and astronomy, all the empirical knowledge. It is about the manifested universe and helps one enjoy material prosperity on the earth and happiness in the hereafter. The higher knowledge is about the Supreme Brahman, one that is the ultimate cause of the universe and all its beings. It is the knowledge of the Supreme Brahman that leads to self-realization. Rituals or pleasure and profit driven actions do not help in crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Only one who has given up everything can obtain the highest knowledge.

Nothing came into existence all at once. Brahman is described as Pure Consciousness, or Nirguna Brahman. No attributes can be given to it. But when in association with maya, it is called Saguna Brahman. Saguna means with attributes. Saguna Brahman is the direct cause of creation and also the form of creation. The universe, all animate and inanimate objects therein, have no existence apart from Brahman.

Brahman, Pure Consciousness, dwells in all as the innermost self. How does one comprehend Brahman? It is through giving up all vain, ego-driven actions and through concentration. It is the result of a gradual process towards attaining self-knowledge that comes through practicing truth and self-control. Inner strength, alertness, and renunciation or freedom from ego, are the means that help. One of the well-known verses from this Upanishad is verse 3.1.1. This verse is about two birds in a tree. While one is frantically flying about tasting fruit after fruit, the other like a sage watches him. The situation represents the two aspects of one’s being, the bird that is eating and enjoying the fruit is the individual consciousness or soul, the jivatman, and the other who is simply watching represents paramatman, the higher soul, God, or pure consciousness. The individual soul within us has the universal or para as well as the particular or jiva aspect. Bound by ignorance one misidentifies one’s self with the material body, the mind and the senses. It forgets its true nature and until it learns and becomes non-attached to the body, mind and desires it remains bound in the ups and downs of life.

The dance of life keeps us enmeshed, into the charms and temptations and through them into the sorrows and disappointments of life. Until one is able to take an unattached attitude towards life, when there is neither attraction nor repulsion, one remains bound. Liberation comes from practicing truthfulness, staying away from selfish pursuits and helping others. As the well-known phrase (from this Upanishad) and the motto inscribed on the seal of India says: Truth alone conquers, not untruth or satyam eva jayate nanrtam.

Like the two birds perched on the same tree the ego and the self reside in the same body. While the ego is about enjoying the sweet and experiencing the sour fruits of the tree of life, the latter, the self, looks on with a detached attitude. Meditation can help one understand one’s motives, behaviors and thus lead us onto the correct path and find our true nature. It is when one has reached the state of self-realization that the duality and the sense of separateness are resolved. When one identifies oneself with miseries, it is separation between what one’s own self is, and what one experiences in life and thinks. The life experiences are thought of as the experiences of the real self within. This duality is destroyed when vidya, the knowledge of Brahman, is realized.

There is the old story in Vedanta about the elephant and the man. The sage tells the man about the identity between the Supreme Brahman and the consciousness that resides within us. The man starts thinking that since the Supreme Brahman is also within him nothing can harm him. So while on the way he stands in front of an oncoming elephant. The elephant rider warns him and keeps telling him to get out of the way. But the man thinking nothing can hurt him refuses and does get hurt. He returns to the sage and questions him about the universality of consciousness, of God being everywhere. To this the sage replies that yes, the Supreme Brahman, God in the form of the elephant rider and elephant were telling you to get out of way. Why did you not listen?

Wilber¹ refers to focus on the individual self as the superman self. When one puts the focus on one’s limited self, discounting the role of relationships, community, social and cultural influences, one is cutting oneself off from the rest of the universe. Like a psychotic one thinks that whatever one thinks, experiences, represents reality when actually the universe in the form of relationships, community, social and cultural influences, is also contained within us, within our groups, communities, surrounds us and, at times directs us to get out of the way.

Notes:

¹Wilber Ken, 2000. A Brief History of Everything. Shambhala, Boston. 330 p.

The Ego (Asmita)

2011-05-26T09:47:00.001-05:00

Asmita is ‘I-am-ness’. In yoga philosophy the word is described as ego, an affliction. It is about how we view ourselves and how that view can be the reason for many of our problems in life. We describe ourselves in terms such as, ‘I am a man’ or ‘I am a mother’. This refers to the material aspect of being, what we do, what other can see, instead of what we are like inside, what our true self is like. While we tend to define ourselves narrowly, as being separate, different from others, we are, in fact, multidimensional. As Einstein said we are part of the whole and the idea that we are separate is a delusion. We are both individual, social, part of a culture and universal at the same time. There are deep desires within us and our inclinations lead us towards finding their fulfillment. And there is the larger societal, cultural and universal setting that shapes and gives form to them.

To say ‘I am happy’ is to attribute a state of thinking to our selves. Thinking and intelligence are simply the instruments that the consciousness uses to know about the happenings in the material world. Identifying solely with the mind gives a sense of who we are and this is externally driven, because the mind is outward oriented. Therefore, we define ourselves in terms of what we do, the possessions and social status, beliefs and other choices. However, these associations are exactly the ones that make us feel vulnerable and insecure. The deep-rooted consciousness, our being-ness, is really the seer, the ‘I’ within us. The mind and body are the instruments of that seer, the actual self within us. Because of ignorance about our actual self within and of the nature of the world around, we mistake our changing, evolving understanding as being the experience of our true self. We consider the subjective reality of ‘me’ as being independent of the rest of reality. We are protective about its separateness from others.

Our feelings about other people are usually subjective and give us an incomplete picture of reality. Usually these feelings are about us. When they dominate us, they limit us and prevent us from realizing our full potential. Our life experiences, fears and hopes generally are specific, although we tend to mistake them for being the true reflections of reality. This means we, to use Tippett’s words¹, ‘bracket ways of making meaning and defining personal conscience out of our spheres of action in the world’, howsoever limited they may be. Self-orientation, self-gratification, possessiveness and apprehensions together define us, motivate us and constitute our ego. The patterns are formed in our mind and other possibilities are ignored. While suffering is inevitable, one needs to seek the way to have serenity, access creativity and replace envy, dislike, with kindness and that requires overriding the confining ego. There is the otherness or separation and also the togetherness that is part of day-to-day experiencing. As someone has said, ‘To be is to be related.’ There is the Mayan saying En Lak Ech, which means “you are the other me.”

The ego acts as a protective shield that works at keeping a status quo, keeping us from bending or surrendering to changes when actually it may be in our interest to yield rather than resist. As one pursues pleasures, thinking that is happiness, one can inflict injury and bring misery to self and to others. Ego shrinks our world and the mind is like a bird that keeps on slamming into a glass wall.² Realizing that the wall happens to be our mind’s creation can help in achieving an inner freedom that allows us to be more open and appreciative of the world around us. This inner freedom is what keeps away frustrations and pain and opens us up to a peace-filled state of being. One sees the oneness in all the emerging phenomena and states. It is our relationships with the world around us that keep us connected and relevant.

The Katha Upanishad says: There are two selves, the separate ego and the indivisible Atman, our soul, our real essence, the seer in us. When one rises above I, me and mine, the Atman is revealed as one’s real self. According to Patanjali (Sutra 2.6) the mind is the instrument of the self within. Awareness and tranquility come when the unity between the mind, which is the seeing instrument, and the seer, referred to as Purusha in yoga philosophy, is attained.

It is only through securing freedom from the hold of the material objects and values and that we can apprehend reality as it is and not as we think it is. Having an ego is not always a bad thing. Ego is involved in any disciplined effort and such effort is needed in the process of interacting with others and for looking within ourselves. It is when the ego becomes the dominant force that it becomes a problem. What one needs is to be able to distinguish between when it overshadows what is within us and when it becomes a hindrance to our finding peace. The ego is also, as Iyengar has called it, a relentless task master and tends not to know how to balance activity and passivity, in asana as well as in the choices one makes in life. It is only when it is quiet that we can be aware of the reality of the soul, and the light of the soul then gets reflected in our awareness. The self is the sun and our consciousness, awareness is the moon and when the lens of the consciousness is clean and unblemished, the illuminating light of the innermost soul can be reflected clearly in it.³

The answer for weakening ego’s hold is in leading a righteous life. A righteous life is a life that includes following the five ethical norms or yamas and the five self-disciplines or niyamas that Patanjali refers to. Thus, when one follows the principle of non-harming (ahimsa) one essentially acknowledges the value of the other. When one exercises control (brahmacharya), shuns greediness (aparigraha), one acknowledges the needs of others. When one refrains from wrongfully acquiring what belongs to others (asteya) one concedes their rights to have and to own. By practicing contentment (santosha) we allow others to have their fair share. By maintaining honesty and purity in our speech and thoughts (shoucha) we keep the avenues of communication clear, and through self-examination (svadhyaya) and devotion to some higher power (ishwara pranidhana) we can maintain humility. In following the ethical norms and exercising the different self-disciplines, one is surrendering to something higher, something more comprehensive than one’s own limited self. It is putting aside the expectation, as Kabat-Zinn describes⁴, of having control over the future and of feeling entitled to the rewards for effort. Weakening the energy of the ego means that it is not in control. In the constantly changing, interconnected and interdependent world in which we live, as the philosopher Kierkegaard said, we need to allow ourselves to be persuaded that, many times, by ourselves we can do nothing.

Notes:

¹Tippett Krista, 2007. Speaking of Faith. Viking, 238 p.

²Ricard Matthieu, 2006. Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill. Translated by Jesse Browner, Little Brown and Co., New York. 281 p.

³Iyengar, B.K.S., 2005. Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace and Ultimate Freedom. Rodale, 282 p.

⁴Kabat-Zinn Jon, 2005. Coming to Our Senses. Hyperion, New York, 631 p.

Emotions

2011-05-19T09:22:00.001-05:00

Emotions are described as strong feelings, of joy, sorrow, reverence, hate or love, that arise in us, subjectively, rather than through mental effort. Emotions are spontaneous whereas thoughts arise from paying attention. Both the body and thoughts are associated with emotions. Emotions are expressed through the body, its posture and movement, through words and via facial expressions. And these reactions can be pleasant sometimes and sometimes not. There are physical effects of emotions. It is hard to understand or describe feelings without descriptors such as rapid beating of the heart, sweating, or a choking feeling in the throat. The physiological responses too vary. Whether the hormones being released energize the sympathetic nervous system or the parasympathetic nervous system depends on the type of emotion itself.

In life, we seek out different emotional experiences; especially emotions like happiness, feeling satisfied, loved and valued by others. We also prefer to stay away from negative emotions such as anger, fear or sadness although they help us learn about gauging different levels of intensities in them, learn to handle them and to stay away from them. Some emotions are associated with instincts. There are four instincts related to feeding, protecting oneself, sensing danger and reproduction. The emotions that are due these instincts are strong, automatic and self-centering. There is an immediate reaction with no thought about the past, or of the future. Bright colors, hiss of a snake, rotten smell, grasp our attention. It is the perception at the first moment of association of the senses and their objects. It catches our attention, distracts, alerts us to the here and now, and is referred to as the bottom up attention. Our experiences and our environment also mold our first impressions. Emotions also tend to be contagious, as can be seen in mob sentiments that pull in others.

Emotions evoke memories. How long does it take to evoke a memory, perhaps as little as a few milliseconds? How long does it take for a memory to affect the mood? No more than some seconds and minutes. Hormonal responses follow in a few minutes. And the immune cells get affected in minutes to hours. However, fleeting emotions and moods do not cause any lasting effects. It is the constancy of stresses that can cause problems. The pull of emotions can be strong and can lead one into situations that one may regret later. Channeling emotions, attending to emotional buildup and responding appropriately is thus needed to avoid unwanted consequences, to find relief.

We humans have the reasoning ability by which we can reflect on the world and on ourselves and hold in check the primitive instinctual passions and the emotion-driven responses to them. There are options for changing the experiences that affect the impressions, such as, through paying attention to misunderstood, neglected areas, stereotypical views, where the changes in right direction are called for. It is the top-down attention, which is active, is the result of voluntary focus and that is what allows and enables one to pursue goals of choice.

There are mental exercises, vigorous physical activity, engaging in some creative activity, and these can help maintain calm, composed, cool, patient and collected states of mind. Even in the torturous environment of the Nazi death camps, those who concentrated on their inner experiences avoided depression. According to the psychologist, Csikszentmihalyi, learning to control one’s inner experience is what matters and determines the quality of life.

Houston Smith says, Yoga is one of the most realistic, matter of fact, practical minded system of thought and training ever set up by the human mind. Mental training through techniques, such as Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga system, has the promise of strengthening certain positive traits and weakening the negative ones. There are yogic practices that are valuable options in cultivating desirable states of mind. Seeking freedom from negative emotions begins with cultivation of detachment. One disengages and learns to transcend certain emotions. Then comes focusing on developing the ability to choose and use emotions. Expressing emotions in constructive ways, such as sharing thoughts, introspection, is a practice. Emotions also expand into the body and one can access the emotions through the body. There are yoga asanas that help build confidence, that help fight tension, cultivate balance. Simply standing tall like a mountain, or taking the stance of a warrior, of being confident, can help one feel a sense of rootedness, give the feel of dignity and strength and thus face the challenges in life.

Pain, sadness, anger, regret are all a part of life. Sometimes the healthier option is to accept negative emotions and experiences. Curiosity also helps. When one observes one’s negative reactions without judgment and sees what one can learn from them, intelligent steps can be taken for reaching one’s goals. Struggling, resisting or stressing about emotional states, is draining and distracting. If one focuses on right actions or behaviors one can make better decisions. According to Michael McCullough, the psychologist, revenge and forgiveness are both instinctual; but while it is easier to get swept by the first, the latter, forgiveness, tends to remain forgotten. Unusual circumstances, hardships and suffering spontaneously bring out the capacity to forgive and forget, to help out and to lend a helping hand. But do we need to wait for those to bring out and nurture what is inherent, within us? Making choices, being selective in which emotions to focus on is indicative of psychological flexibility and is a form of mental yoga.¹

A region in the right side of the brain is involved in regulating emotional responses. The meditative practice of labeling and interpreting emotions helps in modulating emotional experiences. Meditation fosters the ability to shift away from sticky undesirable focus and cultivate focus in an intended direction. It is putting away metal chatter and judgmental thoughts and one can go deeper within. Recognizing fears and engaging anxieties can be energizing. When the impulses are restrained, one can consider options for response.

Cultivating emotional intelligence means nurturing certain abilities, such as, motivating oneself and persisting in the face of frustrations; controlling impulses and delay gratification. All these can help regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think, to empathize and develop the ability to handle emotional relationships. With commitment, discipline, restraint as well as a strong intention, it is an ability one can master. Emotional balance is reflected in feeling alive and at ease, and in the ability to stay focused and clear. Excessive response can lead to chaos. It drains vitality and too little response is a state of rigidity or depression. What helps is response-flexibility and that involves putting temporal space between input and action. The ability to pause before responding is an important part of emotional and also of social intelligence. ²

¹ McCarthy Jeremy, ‘Mental Yoga: Why Psychological Flexibility Matters.’ In Huffington Post, accessed on 5-17-11.

²Siegel Daniel J., 2010. Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Bantam Books, New York, 314 p.

Rewiring the Brain?

2011-05-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

The brain has the capacity to change in response to systematic training. A western educator once said to the Dalai Lama that ‘love grows brains’, to which the great thinker said ‘brains grow love’. Nerve cells and thoughts are linked, and medical evidence indicates that thinking also creates nerve cells. Different parts of the brain, normally associated with specific functions, can be literally and figuratively rewired to take on new functions.¹ Mental training can physically alter specific parts of the brain.² There are certain techniques that help nurture one’s ability to focus to concentrate. In Indian psychology concentration has been valued because it allows the practitioner with knowledge and a methodically trained practice to reach the far recesses of mind and the varied range of life experiences.

One such technique for concentrating is labyrinth walking. A labyrinth is an interesting spiritual tool. Drawing, tracing or walking through a labyrinth is very helpful in focusing inwards. The Hopi symbol for mother earth, and the Ojibwa medicine wheel, are both shaped like a labyrinth. Labyrinth walking involves switching directions. The switching from logical sequential thinking to spatial thinking has a calming and comforting effect. The sense impressions coming in from all directions are quieted and the mind feels open and free of stressful thoughts. This also has an effect on the dominance of left vs. right brain, establishing a balance between the two.

We do not use both nostrils evenly when we breathe. The right nostril corresponds with the left side, the logical, reasoning side of the brain. The left nostril energizes the right side of the brain, the side that is the locus of intuitive, feeling side of the brain. EEG changes show a similar shift between right and left hemispheric dominance. Each of us, also, has a pattern regarding how even or uneven our breathing is with respect to nostril preference. However, depending on which nostril is in use the body metabolism is affected differently. We are likely to be in a more active mode, with the sympathetic nervous system in control, when breathing through the right nostril. The right nostril also activates the left side of the body and the brain. On the other hand, when the left nostril takes over, the parasympathetic nervous system is in control, and one tends to be in a more restful mode. Old yogic texts provide information on how the flow through the nostrils can be managed, such as, through supine position changes, by sitting with pressure on the armpit, concentration on sensation and other techniques, such as, alternate nostril breathing or Nadi Shodhanam.

Alternate nostril breathing is a balancing technique that can bring in a feeling of calmness. In this technique one breathes through the left nostril, closing the right. Then one opens the right nostril, closing the left and breathes out. Next time one breathes in through the right, closing the left, and out through the left closing the right. Again one inhales through the left and so on. This has a centering effect, as it energizes the two brain hemispheres alternately. It supposedly balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system, the stress related and relaxing sides of our nervous system. For example, visualizing alternate nostril breathing helps overcome insomnia, usually indicative of stress.³

Meditation has now been recognized as an effective stress control technique. The left region in the frontal and prefrontal cortex (the region roughly behind the forehead) is linked with expression of positive emotions, whereas negative emotions are linked with the right side. Our emotional disposition and temperament represent the relative strengths of these two hemispheres. In meditation, one learns to observe one’s own mind and in the process subdue any agitated states. There is evaluation of thoughts and desires. There is the de-conditioning of the rapid response tendency to take action in response to senses-driven impulses. Reactivity plays a dominant role in our lives and the idea is to slowly weaken its hold on us. Meditation is also a way of observing one’s thoughts, feelings and past experiences without being judgmental. Gradually through one’s intended focus, by becoming an observer of one’s own thoughts and worries, the negative thoughts are made feeble if not erased. False impressions get corrected and one becomes more aware of how we respond, how we function, and this plays a more important role in guiding actions in life. One’s mind is cleared and through introspection and contemplation one can arrive at a more tranquil state of mind.

Mindfulness-based meditation can play a significant role in changing the balance between these two hemispheres in a positive direction.⁴ Mindfulness is practiced through simply observing and feeling the breath. Although at first it may seem simple, one soon realizes that the mind wanders off. One needs to practice bringing the mind back to the breathing process. Once the mind gets steady, a sense of calm can be felt. One can withdraw the mind from reacting to thoughts and instead dwell on observing thoughts. By looking inward we get a better understanding of our inner selves as well as an increased sensitivity to signals from others. The latter is especially helpful for interpersonal relationships, for nurturing feelings of empathy.

Developing and nurturing positive ways of thinking is a practice. Diligently monitoring the energy flows in the body and in the mind keeps on providing the direction in which one needs to focus. There are unrealized possibilities within us and accessing them not only opens us up to the wisdom within us we use the mind to reform, restructure itself, all the way into the structure and flows within the brain itself. It is a skill that is crucial for our wellbeing and that is open to all. A strong intention and perseverance can provide the needed energy to develop such a skill.

¹Noe Alva, 2009. Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness. Hill and Wang, New York, 214 p.

²Begley Sharon, 2007. Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain. Mind and Life Institute. Ballantine Books, New York 304 p.

³ McCall Timothy, 2007. Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing. Bantam Books, 568 p.

⁴Siegel Daniel J., 2010. Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Bantam Books, New York, 314 p.

Right and Left Brain

2011-05-05T09:30:00.001-05:00

Our brains have a right and a left hemisphere. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left hemisphere the right side. The left hemisphere is associated with logical, sequential thinking, for language. On the other hand, the right hemisphere is involved with taking an overall view. Artistic abilities, spatial orientation and recognition, are the domain of the right hemispheric influence. Left hemisphere is about words, analytic categories and the right hemisphere is about pictures, associated with emotional, interpersonal and spatial realms. Left hemisphere seems to be more oriented towards happy thoughts, optimism and the right towards pessimism, reaction, and hostility. Negative emotions are processed in the inner right hemisphere in the front part of the brain. The left side represents our head and the right side our heart.

The activation of the right side of the body comes from the left hemisphere and vice versa. At a given time one of our nostrils is more active and the breath alternates between the right and left nostrils every 60-90 minutes. When the right nostril is predominant the left hemisphere is activated and when one breathes through the left nostril the right hemisphere is activated. When both nostrils are operative energy is transferred from one hemisphere to the other. At that stage there is equilibrium between hemispheres and the mind is still.

We are born with a huge number of neurons and gradually they get connected in certain ways. Early in life a huge number of neural synapses (connection points between neurons that are used in cell-to-cell signaling) take place. As one grows and learns, these synapses are pared away to make the brain function efficiently, and that is the basis of long-term learning. If the brain or any part of it fails to get information from any inputs, then that part of the brain will atrophy. In the use-it-or-lose-it sense, the brain does not waste energy building and maintaining processes that are not in use.

The right hemisphere gives us a more direct sense of the whole body, our emotions and the pictures of our experience. Nonverbal signals are created and perceived by the right side of the brain. It is more active active during the first years of life. Later as the left hemisphere becomes more active words become more important. There are cyclical phases of growth and development in the right and left hemispheres through childhood and adolescence. The right side is sensitive to the subtle cues of language, facial expression, to body language; as a result one can observe the difference between what someone says and what they may really mean. The left side is the intellectual, motivating and driving part of our mind. It represents our individualistic side.¹

Conventional education focuses on factual knowledge and problem solving, which is the domain of the left hemisphere. The right side is more process oriented, taking into consideration the larger picture. The right side sees the overall content in things. It is also what makes us feel connected to the universe, as being part of the big picture. While the two hemispheres complement each other and work together when we interact with others, sometimes one side is more dominant than the other and represents two aspects of our personality, different set of values. In the modern world, more and more, anything that needs a logical, sequential reasoning is being relegated to computers and what is needed is expertise of the managers, directors and overseers who can view and process disparate pieces of information, bring people with different skills and viewpoints together, which is the type of work mostly for the right hemisphere. Using right hemisphere directed abilities such as forging relationships rather than executing transactions, tackling novel challenges instead of solving routine problems, and synthesizing the big picture rather than analyzing a single component are the potential growth areas.²

The two hemispheres with their different types of influences play a role on how we feel, behave and interpret our experiences. These are also amenable to our differential nurturing. Neurons are the primary cells of the nervous system. For the most part they do not multiply. However, based on our experiences connections between neurons change. This is called neuro-plasticity. There are also linkages between the two hemispheres of the brain and those are needed for them to work together for creative, rich and complex processes. Neuro-plasticity when harnessed brings more coherence and deeper insights in our thinking and in interpersonal communications. We can focus on our physiological awareness and through that awareness energize the desirable response patterns within us and thus change neural connections within the brain. We have power within us to selectively nurture or negate the way our body and mind react to our environment. It is within our control to decide how we develop ‘the garden of our mind’. ³

While the differences between the two hemispheres of the brain are noteworthy it is also important to remember that the brain works as a unit. So if the left side of the brain recognizes the words, the area of the brain that makes sense out of those words is on the right side of the brain. If the left half is missing the right half can take over its functioning modes. Thus with just half a brain one can have a complete, full mind. Normally we engage both hemispheres, each in its own way, and each complimenting the other. It is in our interest to keep a healthy balance between the different types of influences that the two hemispheres exert on our mind, our motivations and perspectives in life. We like to maintain a certain direction to our lives but at the same time as circumstances change we need flexibility so that we can adjust our course.

¹Siegel Daniel J., 2010. Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Bantam Books, New York, 314 p.

²Pink Daniel H., 2005. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future. Riverhead Books, New York, 275 p.

³Taylor Jill Bolte, 2006. My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey. Viking Press, New York, 183 p.

Sheaths in Body or Koshas

2011-04-28T09:37:00.001-05:00

There is more to us than just our body and the mind. Ancient Indian philosophers hypothesized the body as being made up of sheaths or layers of material/energy. The Upanishads (e.g., the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Paingala Upanishad) provide details regarding the structure of the body and the type of material/energy levels within. These layers have also been described as being the dimensions in the human system, each dimension being the ‘embodied soul’ of the outer dimension¹. The deeper one goes into the body the more evolved is the nature of the level existing there. Hidden deep inside outer body the layers are in the subtler forms of awareness and at the core is our true self. Because of it being underneath the layers or koshas we remain unaware of our true nature and by focusing on the outer aspects we essentially limit ourselves. Awareness can remain bound with the external and superficial and bringing it inwards, within the deeper levels of our consciousness is needed to find the balanced, integrated states that take us to progressively deeper states of bliss. Through ‘openness to allow the many layers of our inner world to enter our awareness without rigid restrictions’ one ensures ‘health at all levels of our experience, whether it is the microcosm of our inner world, or our interpersonal relationships and life in our communities’². We are far more than the aggregate of these layers, or koshas. Once we understand their place in our life we experience a deeper connection to the world around us while becoming aware of our true unchanging nature³. Deep within us there is an awareness that observes and it is objective and steady. It is connecting with that place and finding the ultimate truth within us that we seek and it involves connecting our physical as well as mental body with our self, the soul.

There are five different layers, dimensions that constitute our being. The outer kosha or layer, encasement, is the gross or sthula body, the annamaya kosha, the food layer. Inside it is the sukshma body, the subtle body that is made of finer substance or energy. The subtle body consists of, first, the pranayama kosha or energy body, that contains within it the manomaya kosha or the mental body, and then deeper within the vijnanmaya kosha or the intellectual body. Farther in is the anandmaya kosha or the divine body. The suffix ‘maya’ for each of the koshas means, “that which spreads” and is distinguished from the concept of ‘maya’ as illusion. The different dimensions are not to be looked at as physical structures but instead as being part of the process by which one can experience one’s true self. We are more than what our body and mind represent. The Jewish Kabbalah refers to four worlds, which is also a concept associated with spirituality, and they are described similarly.

The separate koshas when connected with the soul represent union, yoga. Yoga practices help integrate these koshas, starting with the outer body and then into the interior worlds of the mind and further in. These levels of being, the successive koshas, observe and control the one below and occupy a central position in yoga psychology. While penetrating each of these levels there are obstacles that may be encountered, in the body, breath or the mind. There are layers of inner processes that are part of our total mental experience. The varied yoga practices help one become aware of those and help towards weakening them so that one can live a contented and healthy life. Yogic techniques are used to explore, develop and experiment with these successive levels. There are different degrees of bliss that can be attained as one delves deeper into the practice. For example, the asanas tone the body and energize it and also affect the practitioner’s psychological make up. The energization of the outer body is passed on and reflected in the toning of the pranamaya kosha or energy body. The circulation of energy is made more efficient throughout the body, the different organs and systems. A more intimate connection between the mind and the body develops. Practicing dharana or concentration and dhyana or meditation results in calming of thoughts. The mind is studied through introspection with progressively deeper focusing. A calm mind becomes a discriminating mind that can selectively digest, assess and reconstruct insights and understanding. One attains a higher level of wellbeing, a refined discriminative ability and finally a feeling of bliss in complete absorption in the state of samadhi. When the whole process penetrates deeper to reach the vital and true self, the deep-seated awareness, all illusions disappear, one realizes one’s true self and understanding of reality shines through like the reflection in a spotless, perfect mirror.

¹Kraftsow Gary, 1999. Chikitsa: Yoga for Wellness. In Yoga Journal, Sept.-Oct., Issue 148, pp. 58-63, 138.

²Siegel Daniel J., 2010. Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Bantam Books, New York, 314 p.

³Janaka Jon, 2005. ‘I Am the Food.’ In Yoga International, Sept., Issue 85, pp. 58, 60, 62-4.

Leading a Spiritual Life

2011-04-21T09:58:00.005-05:00

We have certain basic needs and needs that are innate within us, such as, the need for love, being part of a community and for meaningfulness in living. Once the basic needs have been taken care of we attend to satisfying the innate needs. While we work at putting away the fears or apprehensions and uncertainties that are part of living a routine life, we also look for experiences that make us wonder, that are awe inspiring and capture us with their grandeur, beauty and are meaningful. The search for meaningfulness in life is related to our inner consciousness and is the spiritual aspect of our life. Leading a spiritual life is a practice that comes through nurturing a certain awareness regarding the context within which one carries on various activities in life and that practice moves through a progressive series of stages. There are tangible benefits that accrue along the way and these are joy, compassion, wisdom and peace¹.

Spirituality represents a worldview characterized by certain attitudes and choices, based on a set of principles associated with ethics and understanding regarding how the world operates. The foundations of spiritual life are honesty, simplicity, humility and absence of vanity, readiness to help those in need and generosity. Being part of an interconnected and interdependent universe, the less one remains focused on oneself and the more one remains aware and accepting of the differences, the greater are the chances that one can maintain a sense of balance in life. At the same time questioning difference and defending it at times remains important.

A spiritual person is not immune to the ups and downs in life. Such a person is not always able to be serene and peaceful at all times, without emotional ups and downs. There are three types of tendencies or energies (gunas) within us. These are, one, the fiery, motivating, energetic tendencies (rajas guna) within us as there are also, two, the withholding type, sluggish tendencies (tamas guna). While the motivating, energetic tendencies can manifest as agitation and impatience, the latter take the form of dullness and lethargy. But we also embody the third type of tendencies that take us towards perfection, and towards peaceful states of mind (sattva guna). If one thinks that these tendencies are the ones to be nurtured and the previous two types need to be overcome or controlled for spiritual growth, the result is imbalance. All three are needed and without one or two of the three one gets in a contrived state of being. We need to be as we are, at times angry and at times dejected. Accepting these emotions is part of living; learning to maintain them on an even keel is the practice, of not letting the emotions direct our day-to-day living, or taking control of our basic selves.

Spirituality is a developmental process. For one aspiring to lead a spiritual life there are obstructions, traps and diversions. The mind’s negative chatter of thoughts is destabilizing. Quieting that chatter is foremost and that involves nurturing certain spiritual qualities. These qualities include understanding, tolerance, forgiveness, and having non-judgmental, inclusive and accepting attitudes. Understanding others involves keeping an open mind, maintaining a healthy curiosity that can help looking at differences, when ethical principles instead of dogma, are the guiding principles. The objective is to reach the serene center of our own spiritual center. Any spiritual discipline, followed faithfully, can allow a person to enter a serene state of stillness. Spiritual practices are for helping the mind rise above the limited and mundane perspectives.

Understanding oneself is important, especially when it comes to self-criticism. This requires introspection and is a constant practice. The Katha Upanishad (in I.2.24) says that desisting from evil ways, keeping the mind tranquil and concentrated is vital towards attaining right knowledge about oneself. Self-discipline is the first step in learning to live a spiritual life. Spirituality is a state of mind, a way of life and needs attention. Nelson Mandela² says that a saint is sinner who keeps on trying. Old thoughts, behavior patterns can reassert themselves and unless one maintains vigilance and self-discipline one can get off-track easily. Forgiving oneself, being non-judgmental regarding what one does or thinks, is vital in the face of difficult situations and stressful times. Thomas Merton said that anxiety is the mark of spiritual insecurity. One needs to seek answers that are needed to maintain harmony and balance and these need introspection, taking time away.

Spiritual traditions emphasize self-giving and self-sacrifice, nurturing humility and compassion. Meditation is a spiritual practice that involves introspection and that introspection is oriented towards gaining an understanding of one’ own thoughts and feelings. It is constant witnessing of the movements in one’s consciousness, for ridding psychological conditioning. Practicing yoga asanas, walking, running or any other body-focused activity has transformative power. Matthew Sanford is a paraplegic and also an expert practitioner and teacher of yoga. According to him the more completely we live in our bodies, the more compassionate we become toward all of life. And he is not referring to the body obsessed culture, but to the awareness that such activities can help cultivate. Pentecostal worshipping involves the body, swaying, waving, hands lifted, and so does the twirling dance of dervishes of Turkey. Daniel Siegel describes the mind as an embodied and relational process. Through release of tensions in the body comes release of tensions in the mind. Mental and emotional awareness is directed towards finding a balance, equanimity towards pleasure and pain, hope and despair, compassion and disregard. It means being aware that everything and everyone is connected. Whatever we do, it affects our life and also the lives of others. Spirituality is about how one acts and interacts in the world and leading a spiritual life is about nurturing the behaviors and attitudes that help.

¹ Goldberg Philip, 2010. The American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation – How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. Harmony Books, New York, 398 p.

² Mandela Nelson, 2010. Conservations with Myself. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 454 p.

Detachment (Vairagya)

2011-04-14T08:22:00.000-05:00

In the world where confusion can reign due to varied options and priorities, renunciation is a powerful alternative. The Katha Upanishad (I.iii.5) says a distracted mind is an uncontrolled mind. Like the unruly horses of a chariot the senses become uncontrolled. The rider needs discrimination and needs to firmly hold on to the reins of mind. Renunciation needs an attitude of dispassion and non-attachment, or vairagya. It is not merely rejecting an experience due to sense objects, or withholding oneself from enjoyment but remaining indifferent to them, irrespective of whether they are present or absent. It is freedom from both attraction and repulsion. It is not passive, not isolation or running away from temptations, but an active state of attentiveness aimed at freedom from what is known or thought of. There is no emotional energy invested in the happenings around, simply witnessing them, participating in them without being held captive in them or thrown away from them. One is in control of oneself, un-swayed by the lure of a desire or aversion towards an undesirable experience. One experiences real freedom. Mahatma Gandhi said that only by renouncing the world can one enjoy it. We have to engage in activities, but we do not need a multitude of desires pulling us in all different directions. It is related to the concept of brahmacharya, which is containment of all energies, of sex, of mind, of speech and of feelings and seeking the right balance between indulgence and deprivation (Ravindra, 2009). It comes from strength within, the strength to remain unmoved and not be pulled into ego-driven response choices. It is the attitude of a centered self and not that of a self-centered one.

Desires can be for material objects, and also in the form of attachments, for honor or respect. Pulling away from desires, resisting their lure is a spiritual practice and a form of sacrifice. According to the Rig Veda sacrifice is the navel of the cosmos around which everything turns (I.164.35). Renunciation is not rejection. It is an attitude, letting go of what one believes one is, such as, I am a teacher, a leader, a businessman, or an actor. We build a world around us thinking what we do represents us, what we are, defining us. When one is able to see the reality behind the material world, attention is pulled away from such attachments and the material rewards thereof. Thus a rich person can be a renunciate while remaining unattached to the rewards from an occupation whereas seemingly unattached, greedy, ‘renunciate’ monk is not. Vairagya is when there is dispassion and when one is able to distance oneself away from worldly desires.

Our sufferings can be held in check by cultivating non-reaction. Patanjali’s recommendation is to fix attention on each flicker of responsiveness, of reaction that arises. Watching the phenomena arise without getting drawn into the drama thereof is a practice and it is calming. The process of cultivating vairagya can transform our perceptions, their quality, and our ideas about the nature of the perceived objects. Dwelling on those perceptions without getting pulled into reacting to them allows us to see their ever-changing nature. Pure perception, as Patanjali’s Sutra III.55 says, is ‘kaivalya’ or eternal freedom. The insight obtained in this state is comprehensive and lasting. Temptations do not ensnare. Determined effort and practice are crucial in attaining such a state of detachment. This does not mean that one needs to pull away from good and beautiful experiences in life. Nor does it mean tolerating blatant greed, deceitfulness, stealing. But as Ricard (2006) says, it is about disentangling oneself from the unsatisfactory, discarding or fighting for some things and moving with determination toward what matters.

In practicing postures vairagya is bringing balance. Patanjali says that a posture should be stable and pleasant. This comes from the right balance between effort and ease. While practice is motivated by desire for change, to evolve, it is about discovery and outward oriented. On the other hand, non-reaction is inward oriented and thus involves withdrawal. Moderation is cultivated and that is more fulfilling than extending too far. In any practice one has to be selective. First the pull of the desire to excel needs to be resisted by the reigning in of the mind. Energy is invested within instead of expending it outwards. Like a skilled charioteer it is by over-riding, or sidestepping obstacles or by simply taking an alternate pathway that the desired objective can be reached.

Cultivating dispassion, vairagya, is a process that evolves through stages. One starts with attempting resisting the pulls of senses, by not choosing the options that senses bring in. Gradually the pulls weaken but the mind may still be drawn towards them, like that of an alcoholic to drink. Mastering and controlling the mind comes last and remains a constant practice. What makes dispassion or non-attachment fragile is samskaras, the impressions that previous experiences leave, or the tendencies that are nurtured through their repetition. These can crop up while we are unaware and influence the choices we make. It is only when one can remain a non-choosing onlooker, can see through the options that one can say one has arrived at the state of ‘pure seeing’, like one of the two birds referred to in Mundaka Upanishad, the bird that simply observes and is not like the other one who is frantically looking for the sweetest tasting fruit.

References cited:

Ravindra Ravi, 2009. The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: A New Translation and Guide. Morning Light Press, Sandpoint, ID, 221 p.
Ricard Matthieu, 2006. Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill. Translated by Jesse Browner, Little Brown and Co., New York. 281 p.

Practicing Silence, 'Mauna'

2011-04-07T09:48:00.004-05:00

We are constantly under the assault of vibrations due to sounds from everywhere, especially in urban environments. Like air pollution, sound pollution has become a fact of life. In many social interactions talk is preferred over silence and relationships tend to be superficial. Reaching within, on the other hand, is always calming and helps one gain some needed perspective. How does one hear the inner voices within us, and unless we hear those dialogs, how can we have union of body, mind and the spirit?

‘Mauna’ or maintaining silence is part of different spiritual practices. Practicing silence is common in monasteries. It is considered the language of the wise. The Indian tradition of maintaining silence for introspection and for reflection is an exercise in brahmacharya or restraint. As Ramana Maharishi described it, mauna is living beyond the ego-sense. J. Krishnamurthy described it as the mind going on a long pilgrimage. There is immense power in being able to withhold speaking. The Bhagavad Gita (6.19) says, the mind that is held still is just like an oil lamp that burns with a motionless flame when the wind stops.

The Flower Sermon that the Buddha delivered was wordless. It had the effectiveness of direct communication. When the Buddha offered a white flower to the followers it did not convey much to them except to Mahakasyapa, a disciple who smiled. It was an indication that he understood the concept and significance of the simple gesture. The Buddha was pointing to the impermanence of things. Enlightenment does not need words. It can come from silence and direct experience can bring it. Mahakasyapa was the patriarch of Chan Buddhism. The Chan monks and nuns prefer silence and focus on following the meditative approach.

The root ‘man’ of the word Mauna means thinking, meditating. It is supposed to signify remaining present in the inner environment and there is no chatter of thoughts. It is a sacred silence. By remaining silent one opens up oneself to the world. And by remaining silent one can also opt to close off the external world. Speaking involves interactions and can be draining, whereas holding off speech helps conserve energy and more likely to promote thinking and introspection. It can also have a powerful healing effect when there is stress, disappointment as well as anger. Closing off the external world is not necessarily separating ourselves from everything that keeps us connected. In fact, we always nurture our separateness and opting for stillness opens us up for investigating and for transforming our negative ways of thinking and behaving in the interconnected and inter-dependent world.

Mahatma Gandhi used to practice mauna every Monday; a practice that he began in 1921 and continued till his death in 1948. Aurobindo (1872-1950), the Indian philosopher and yogi, practiced mauna for 17 years. The thinking mind needs rest and mauna is more than just maintaining silence. The mind needs to be silent. Then it watches the world as a spectator, with equanimity. Experiences arise but do not produce any disturbance. When the outside is left out things begin to be seen in a vivid and clear fashion. Thoughts come and go, disturb nothing and leave no trace, quality of a tension-free state of mind.

William Butler Yeats once said, "We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us to see their own images and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even a fiercer life because of our silence." Silence also helps others to go inwards and dwell on those quiet moments. It is for this reason that many times the simple presence of great thinkers, without any verbal communication can be enlightening. Looking into the eyes of a whale was a deeply moving spiritual experience for Katy Payne, the acoustic biologist who studied whale songs and how elephants communicate among themselves. Brief wordless encounters can communicate a lot more than any sounds.

One can also practice silence through ‘pratyahara’, practicing sense withdrawal. Not seeing objects mentally, or not hearing sounds mentally, by remaining still, are other forms of remaining silent. This does not mean that the mind will stop imagining, reflecting but by closing off certain doors at least the onslaught of the outside happenings is likely to be reduced somewhat. Can we visualize that great stillness in which there is no movement of thought or feelings? It is a mental discipline and willpower is nurtured when one practices mauna, remaining silent. This does not mean that one should keep mauna as Aurobindo did for 17 years. It is neither practical nor is it desirable. Overindulgence and repression are both equally depleting, making one feel anxious or insecure. The middle path of moderation is always enjoyable. Some moderate discipline in maintaining silence can have profound effects in terms of accessing those peaceful moments. Simple practices, such as, eating a meal in silence, take a one-day vacation from e-mails, phones, radio or TV, walking in silence, maintaining silence on a day (let family and friends know beforehand) are the options that can bring significant restorative results.

Pranayama

2011-03-31T08:25:00.001-05:00

The Latin word for soul, anima, means both air and breath. Breathing is our connection to our soul. According to Thich Nhat Hanh, ‘Breath is the bridge that connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts’. Middendorf (1990) says that ‘it (the breath) connects human being with the outside world and the outside world with his inner world’ (p. 12). When one breathes with awareness, aware of the cool air passing through the nostrils and the warm air moving out, the mind quiets down, the inside and the outside become one.

Pranayama is the yoga practice of breath regulation and through it the regulation of prana, the subtle energy within us. We start breathing at birth and at times we also breathe in a deliberate way. Respiration can be left to the body or we can purposively regulate it. However, neither the mind nor the body can control it alone. The way we breathe affects our mind and our body and in turn is affected by both. The breath is also the medium through which the body and the mind interact. Our emotions and mental states are reflected through the rhythm of our breathing. Our breathing patterns are different when we are angry vs. when we are calm, afraid vs. when in awe, or when we find relief. Like body language there is the language of breath (Rama et al, 1996).

Circulating the prana, however, does not simply mean breathing, and is not just a physiological activity. In yoga philosophy prana is considered the vital energy. Taimni (1974) argues that pranayama plays an important role in yoga because of the close connection between prana and the mind. It is the link between two forms of matter i.e. the body, and the mind. Prana is also the link between the mind and consciousness, the essence of all experiences or samskaras, attitudes, sensitivities and opinions. Through prana the body reaches consciousness. ‘Prana’ is breath and more, it is life energy and ‘ayama’ is regulation, extension and retention of that energy. Inhalation and exhalation are involuntary, but consciously manipulated breathing has life enhancing effects. Breathing is our way of accessing prana, the life energy.

Iyengar (1993, p. 153) says, ‘Prana becomes focused where chitta (consciousness) is, and chitta where prana is’. Through prana the body reaches consciousness. According to Muktibodhananda (1993) ‘ayama’ more appropriately means dimension and the practice of pranayama aims at expanding prana’s dimension. Through breathing the life force within us is activated and energized with minimum physical exertion. Pranayama brings clarity to the body and a feeling of radiant warmth to the body.

Pranayama constitutes one of the eight limbs or angas in the Patanjali system. The use of the word anga is indicative of its position of equal significance in relation to the other angas. This means that there is no sequential order to be followed in the study of the yoga system. However, as Taimni (1974) points out, the way Patanjali deals with them shows a sequential relationship. Moreover, in a systematic practice of Patanjali’s yoga system, they follow each other in a certain order. Thus, proper pranayama practice needs a certain level of familiarity is asana practice. Moreover, meditation techniques also depend upon whether the body and breath have been prepared for concentration unhindered by bodily discomfort of any sort.

Reference cited:

Iyengar, B.K.S., 1993, Light on Pranayama. Harper Collins Publishers, India, 296 p.
Middendorf Ilse, 1990. The Perceptible Breath. Junfermann-Verlag, Paderborn, Germany, 222 p.
Muktibodhananda Swami, 1993. Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India. 641 p.
Rama Swami, Ballentine Rudolph and Ajaya Swami, 1976. Yoga and Psychotherapy. The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, Honesdale PA, 278 p.
Taimni, I.K., 1974. The Science of Yoga. The Theosophical Society of India Pub. Madras. (1^st edition, Tenth reprint, 2005), pp. 448.

Discriminative Intelligence (Viveka)

2011-03-24T10:03:00.001-05:00

The banishing of ignorance (avidya) regarding reality is needed to overcome the miseries of human life. There is the reality and there are appearances and the aim is to narrow the gap in between. We have a limited control over the world around and it also tends to be temporary. It is difficult to change the world, but it is possible to change the way we look at it.

Viveka is discrimination and discretion. It is the ability to discriminate ‘between that which is unreal, insubstantial and illusory and what is real, substantial and abiding’ (Ajaya, 2008, p. 142). Vigilance, concentration, non-attachment and self-study are some of the tools that help in developing a discerning ability. An emancipated being is one who has reached this state; the way one perceives life changes for such a person. But until that stage is reached, as said in Sutra II.26, one continues to have afflictions or kleshas caused by ignorance.

A person with the ability to discriminate, who has viveka, is aware of the great problems in life and the illusions therein. In life there are things of real value, that are permanent and not of passing interest and becoming aware of them is part of our spiritual development. Our worldview is restricted and conditioned by our perceptions and thoughts, turned upside down and distorted. The inability to recognize the difference between real and perceived is the cause of the mind drifting about in different directions, of confusion in life. One finds it difficult to adapt to the ever-changing existential dramas. Whatever understanding one may have developed remains fragmentary, resulting in confusion and conflict. Discerning intelligence enables one to remain in control, to be able to rein in the mind that is driven and at times limited by samskaras or life experiences and our nurtured tendencies. When a detached perspective is gained, attachments and desires are exposed and weakened, thereby reducing suffering in life. When our awareness, within the body, and about our feelings and intuitions, is cultivated and we take it deeper within ourselves we get a better understanding of ourselves. It is a spiritual, non-material, non-sensual experience. A new, peaceful way of living evolves.

This deepened awareness is developed through cultivating virtues and eliminating thoughts and activities that cause harm. This means restructuring, reforming our tendencies and purifying actions. The Katha Upanishad (I.2.24) says that desisting from evil ways, keeping the mind tranquil and concentrated is vital towards attaining right knowledge about the self. Being ethical is part of being spiritual. There is need for a sustained practice, abhyasa, of maintaining the attitude of non-reaction, non-attachment or vairagya, to sensations, thoughts or feelings as well as material possessions. The discriminating ability or viveka and vairagya (non-reaction) are closely related and they strengthen each other. Together these can progressively lead to weakening and eliminating any karmic experiences and effects. Discriminative intelligence flowing into thoughts, words and acts destroys avidya or ignorance about reality that causes pain and suffering. Through the eight practices in Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga the sattva energies in the form of serenity and clarity, usually overwhelmed by the drive of rajas or the drag of tamas energies, are revitalized. The mind becomes free of self-centeredness and self-indulgence.

Viveka needs steady focus. With focus one can perceive and comprehend the subtleties in situations. There is intuitive understanding of the situations, of the other participants in one’s life and it comes from nurturing the inborn free faculties. Sams (1998) calls this setting up energetic boundaries through using discernment, intuitive sensing of energies directed towards oneself and through the personal choice of non-reaction.

Insightful knowledge grasps the totality of information as one learns to dislodge limitations that are due to our preconceived tendencies and thus enhances the ability to know. It does not mean that one remains immune to pain, and that one can always take a dispassionate attitude in the face of difficult moments in life. There is attentiveness in changing situations. The past and the future exist in the present moment and reality exists there and dwelling on the moment is the practice of focusing on the present.

When one reaches the highest state of viveka or discrimination, there is nothing that is expected, or to be gained, from the insights, attainments. The dispassion is total and one is liberated while embodied. All the afflictions and all karma are uprooted. The highest virtues rain in effortlessly. The three energies or gunas reach a refined level, thereby removing what obscures reality. The luminous or sattva energy is the ability to discern, the activity oriented rajas energy is free of attachments and the tamas energy reaches the state of relaxed stillness that does not hinder the contemplative state. Reality can be observed at its most basic level, with its essential qualities, and characteristic properties. It is not seen as a collage of movements, colored by mental patterning, but as distinctively vivid and clear. One lives in total the harmony and order of universe. It is ‘living a physical life with boundless grace, heightened awareness, grounded presence, and compassion while continuing to evolve and serve’ (Sams, 1998).

Reference cited:

1. Ajaya Swami, 2008. Healing the Whole Person: Applications of Yoga Psychotherapy. Himalayan Institute Press, Honesdale PA, 179 p.

2. Sams Jamie, 1998. Dancing the Dream: The Seven Sacred Paths of Human Transformation. Harper, San Francisco, 274 p.

Breathe

2011-03-22T09:38:00.007-05:00

Go to the link below to read about breathing on Andrew Revkin's New York Times blog.

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/in-a-fast-forward-world-a-pause-to-breathe/

Below is the link to breathing awareness techniques by Dan Siegel, the psychiatrist at the UCLA. The breathing routines are of varying lengths, the ones that I followed were about 8- 11 min. long.

http://drdansiegel.com/about/audio_video_clips/

Staying Connected

2011-03-10T10:02:00.006-06:00

Inventions and innovations bring about changes in the human environment, in terms of products available and also in terms of our understanding of the world around us and in terms of how we relate to and our ability to participate in the world around us. The philosopher Walter J. Ong has observed that technologies are not mere exterior aids but also agents that can transform our consciousness. In recent years we have seen the momentous revolution in information technology. The structure of the society as a whole has been affected; including the way we think, communicate and understand.

Recently Conley (2011) wrote about how social media are reprogramming our children’s brains. He is referring to the tendency to stay constantly connected and the implications of that in terms of learning abilities. Poring over the electronic media tool of the month, being in a state of continuous partial attention, to texting, talking or listening, or driving, media usage has taken over huge chunks of time during an ordinary day. A recent Stanford University study found that heavy media multitasking lowered performance levels among the participants.

We have top down or intentional focus and reactive attention in response to novel stimuli. While we need both, in today’s media saturated world we seem to be nurturing our reactive attention side compared to intentional attention side. Both use different parts of the brain. The reactive attention side is good for learning prescribed procedures. But what is needed is the ability to understand abstract concepts, solve novel problems and in that respect the ability to multi-task does not help. What is needed is more personal interactions within the age group, less over-scheduling and more down time, sleep. Instead of connecting myriad neurons, pruning some connections can give time for strengthening ones that matter.

In today’s world, as Richtel (2010) observed, when the computer provides the whole story in 6 minutes who wants to take time to read a 200-page book? When there is immediate gratification, who wants to spend the time? The computers and cell phones have become the new challenges in the learning process as the ability to pay sustained attention is jeopardized. If one is prone to procrastinate, the multiple ‘apps’ are there to further strengthen it! In making a choice between homework and entertainment the young ones are easily captured by the latter option. At the same time the modern world demands more and more technology use-related skills. But neuroscientists have found that playing video games led to markedly lower sleep quality than say, watching TV, and has also led to a “significant decline” in the ability to remember vocabulary words. This is attributed to the strong stimulus that comes from video games.

Channels of communication are varied in the modern age. But we narrowcast as there is no longer sharing of different views (Sacks, 2003). Television has created a culture of sight rather than sound and the visual images speak louder than sound, especially the still, small voice of reason. No understanding is generated and the culture of confrontation gets attention. When the future depends on understanding, this culture has a destructive effect. The wide-cast net of friends on a site like Facebook can include more than a few hundred ‘friends’, where such far-flung sociality represents relationships of a lifetime on a somewhat superficial level. The optimum size for a relatively well knit and functioning group is at most about 150.

The power of technology is far reaching. There are also immense risks and pitfalls. The pursuit of more has come to mean pursuit of less and less. Innovative abilities keep flying out. There is the story in the Mundaka Upanishad about two birds sitting in a tree. One hops from tree to tree and fruit to fruit and not finding what it wants becomes agitated. The other sits quietly and as the other fretful bird gives up its search and sits next to the one that is peaceful, gradually weakening its desire for the perfect fruit, it too quiets down. What we need is quiet time, when we can rediscover the joy and peace of doing less instead of more.

References cited:

1. Conley Dalton, 2011. ‘Wired for Distraction?’ In Time, Feb. 21, pp. 55-6.

2. Richtel Matt, 2010. ‘Growing Up Digital: Wired for Distraction.’ In The New York Times, Nov. 21.

3. Sacks Jonathan, 2003, The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations. Continuum, London, New York, NY, 216 p.

Spirituality and Religion

2011-03-03T09:05:00.001-06:00

Spirituality is not religion and not all religious practices are spiritual. When evaluating how "religious" someone is, social scientists and the general public tend to rely on the frequency of religious activities, strength or type of religious beliefs, relative importance of religion in one's life, or some indicators of these aspects of religious life. The pivotal concept in any religion is about God, as the creator of the universe, as a Supreme Being having absolute sovereignty over everything or as a symbol of an indescribable entity, or concept. Ethics is also part of religion and is closely linked with spirituality.

Spirituality, as commonly understood, does not focus on God, is not institutionalized and this exempts it from the problems that inevitably come with institutional rules, organization and hierarchical structure. Tigunait (2009) defines spirituality as the ‘science pertaining to the understanding of our core being and spiritual practices are the disciplines leading to the direct experience of this core being’. It is directed towards something intrinsic, it is a self-understanding and voluntary self-discipline, unlike religion, which is institutionalized and thus represents an external authority. In religion one is seeking the meaning of the world around, the ultimate reality and there are prescribed set of rules to be followed by all participants. Spirituality is universal and non-sectarian and not limited by geographical or historical and sectarian divisions. Spirituality rests on the support of religions, and the feelings of love, compassion are also values that religions promote. Different religions are needed to suit different dispositions of populations. The Vedas tell us about how there is one God, given different names by different people. One does not have to belong to a specific religion to be spiritual.

Spirituality is not about a particular faith. One may have a belief system and follow what are considered to be the absolute truths within that system but that does not necessarily make one spiritual. Spirituality ‘is the quality of being, reflected in bodily stillness, in emotional generosity and compassion, no less than in mental clarity and serenity’ (Ravindra, 2002, p. 10). Being spiritual is developing loving and caring qualities, it is a reorientation of the mind and the heart. Spirituality is about feeling grounded and is for finding out who we are. It leads to goodness so that one can see the suffering of others and do something about helping them.

The philosopher Hegel (1770-1831) saw reason and philosophy as superior to religion, the latter being ‘stuck in representational modes of thought.’ His contemporary Schopenhauer (1788-1860) believed that only art and music and a discipline of renunciation and compassion could bring in a measure of serenity.

Feuerstein (2003) mentions that spiritual life many times involves a reversal of conventional values and attitudes. The unconventional thinkers promote alternative ways of thinking, different values. Thus, princes and rich persons in different cultures have renounced their family and riches and taken up life as ascetics. Examples are the Buddha and Saint Francis of Assisi. The God-intoxicated mystics in Sufism is another example.

When we think of ourselves as being separate, it is alienation and that is indicative of the spiritual problem. The Dalai Lama (2005) makes a distinction between religion and spirituality. There is no room for ritual in the cultivation and nurturing of spirituality, it is strengthened by questioning and by seeking answers oneself. It is a journey into our internal resources, for understanding who we are in the deepest sense and finding ways to live according to the highest possible ideas. Wisdom and compassion come together in spirituality. Human beings can do without religion, but they cannot do without love, compassion, and tenderness. Religion and spirituality are different ways of looking at the world. The two ways represent different ways of understanding and life choices based on both do not need to be in conflict. If at all they give better meaning, depth to one’s understanding of reality.

If one thinks of God as the whole universe then we become a part of that universe, and seeking God in that universe is also seeking within us; our own abilities, creativity, caring, forgiveness and compassion, all in the context of that universe. In that search religion and spirituality merge together. If, on the other hand, one thinks of God as the other, as the almighty, the creator, the benevolent, forgiving, at times punishing redeemer but leave unattended introspective, self disciplinary, wisdom seeking practices (that are also part of religion) out of routine pursuits in life then one may be called religious but not necessarily spiritual. Nurturing compassion is a spiritual practice and needs understanding, especially when it comes to having compassion for those who are different. When our thoughts and acts tend to be motivated by and under the sway of ego, possessiveness, and uncaring attitudes towards others and towards the surroundings, then a separation is created between religion and spirituality.

References cited:

1. Dalai Lama, The, 2005. The Universe in a Single Atom. Morgan Road Books, New York. 216 p.

2. Feuerstein Georg, 2001. The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Hohm, Prescott, AR, 513 p.

3. Ravindra Ravi, 2002. Science and the Sacred: Eternal Wisdom in a Changing World. Quest Books, Wheaton IL, 190 p.

4. Tigunait Rajmani, 2009. ‘Absolute Clarity: Meditation for Spiritual Awakening.’ In Yoga + Joyful Living, Summer, Issue 106, pp. 34-7.