The most natural state of the human heart is that of gratitude. And a grateful, open heart receives everything that impacts it in life, moment by moment, just like the ocean receives raindrops. There’s never any rejection or coveting of any individual drop; just each drop, each part dissolving into the whole.
Similarly, our heart has the innate capacity to open to both suffering and joy with equal acceptance. In fact, this is how it functions best. The heart’s secret is that it wants to feel everything. In order to thrive, it wants to be fully alive in order to learn all that it can from the trials and celebrations of life, but our ego/self has other plans. It encourages and supports all that is agreeable to it and discourages (or tries to block) everything that is not.
As sentient beings, it is nothing short of a miracle that we can experience everything from pain and suffering to happiness and bliss. It’s utterly amazing that we have a consciousness that can experience any feelings at all. Of course, it’s not quite so surprising when the ego/self steps in and grabs hold of the suffering and keeps us there, tormenting us with its blame and insensibility.
The practices of yoga and meditation ask us to confront our suffering directly and stay the course with it, experientially, until it reveals the seed of liberation that it contains.When we move closer to suffering, experiencing it fully, it transforms us and leaves us with an air of expansion and a greater understanding. When we allow this to happen in our lives, we are left humbled, and grateful.
Now, of course this is not easy work because we find it is painful to really, truly feel. It is terrifying to take that leap of faith, assured that on the other side of the abyss of suffering is the promise of a greater wholeness. Our ego tends to wonder if it’s worth the risk, or even possible. But when we soften the heart into non-judgment, then we are as we are. By releasing expectation, life is allowed to arise as it is.Whatever life is moving in you today is a miracle. Receive it with an open heart and you’ll feel gratitude radiate from those parts of you that just want to be?
Gratefulness can also arise by realizing how many things we take for granted. Consider this – the poorest people in America now live with more luxuries than royalty had 100 years ago. We have running water for a shower, it’s even heated! How about indoor plumbing, we no longer need to go out in freezing weather and sit in a stinky outhouse. It hasn’t been very long ago that indoor plumbing was a luxury available only to the very wealthy. We have electricity, which means that we can stay up all night reading and never have to worry about running out of candles. Not even Kings and Queens could do that throughout history.
Try starting each day reflecting on what (and who) you are grateful for. Focus with intent on heart-felt gratitude. Don’t allow “woulda, coulda, shoulda” to come into play, remain a witness, without judgments and you have opportunity to see all the things you have to be grateful for; things like the simple smile of a child, the smell of a flower or the sight of a cloud against the blue sky, or even just the ability to wake up and take a deep breath.
Use yoga practice and meditation techniques to develop your inherent quality of gratitude and infuse your life with a deep sense of peace and joy. And in that place, you’ll have come full circle, finding it very easy to be grateful.
Before we examine whether someone should strive to be “spiritual” or not, we should try to reach an understanding of what is meant by being spiritual.
Spirituality (being spiritual) implies different things to different people. For some people it may mean becoming more religious (religion generally referring to the worship of “God” and/or the various teachings of their accepted faith). When addressing religion, first it should be understood that performing ceremonies and customs is the ritualistic aspect of the religion and not the spiritualistic part, but some people have an inherent need for ceremony, ritual and dogma in their lives.Religion typically places more emphasis on outer forms and outer rituals. Religion often involves a congregation or community of followers that share common beliefs.
Spirituality is less concerned with outer forms and rituals. It tends to be much more private and personal. In its simplest form, spirituality means to look within. For one who is spiritual even the act of worship (or connecting with the Divine) is actually a form of going within, of connecting with one’s own perception, experience and awareness of the Divine (or God).
We often hear reference to “going within” what is actually meant by going within? Going within is basically establishing some sort of connection with something that provides us with an unending source of energy, irrespective of happenings in the outside world. Going within furthers the realization that there is no separation between you and the Divine/God/Spirit/Creator. And there never has been, ever! No matter what’s going on in your life, no matter what you did or haven’t done. You realize that you don’t have to “go somewhere” to be with God (or whatever you choose to call the Divine, Absolute or Supreme).
So why seek to be spiritual?The beauty of spirituality is that when you commit to it, a world of opportunity and new experiences open up for you. The moment you decide that spirituality is for you, it’s as if the doors of enlightenment begin to open and you finally start to see the light.
The truth is that humans beings; in fact, all sentient beings, are inherently spiritual. They just aren’t aware of it yet. One of the saddest and most persistent beliefs in the modern world is that we are merely flesh and bone and that once we die, we go to heaven, or we go to hell or we become extinct. Well, whether you believe it or not, nothing could be further from the truth from a truly spiritual perspective. By aligning yourself with truth, the meaning of life becomes crystal clear, and that life is all about spiritual maturation.
Embarking on a spiritual journey is not about blindly believing in any dogmatic theories or stories that your own personal experience can’t support. Instead, it’s a process; integrating the practice open-mindedness, testing things for yourself, and aligning yourself with truth as closely as you can, all leading to Self-realization.
Spirituality also offers us a way to avoid accumulating stress and emotion (and more karma). Spiritual insights are not dependent on external objects and/or situations. By remaining non-dependent on anything external we prevent any energy dissipation.
When we start being more spiritual, we naturally begin to realize the meaninglessness of most things or issues that we would usually pay undue attention to. We start seeing the impermanence behind superficial material pursuits and their outcomes, and this happens in such a way, that we begin to enjoy the process without building excess mental and emotional baggage.
The impermanence of and meaninglessness behind the search for secular gains becomes a growing realization which, in turn, conserves our finer (subtle) energies that we would otherwise dissipate. The quality of our wants and desires improves from the gross to the subtle level and this establishes a virtuous cycle with every passing day, culminating in an ocean of peace and supreme bliss.
Spirituality offers us the realization that this world and everything in it is constantly changing. This change itself is constant and inevitable, but spirituality provides us with an invisible, yet stable anchor that helps us find our bearings, even during the most challenging times.
This alone, is a sufficient reason to find supreme merit in the spiritual path.The longer you practice spirituality, and the more devoted to it you become, the more it becomes the central part of your life, eventually becoming your very reason for living.
It’s also not just something you do. Meditation (Dhyāna) is a process, and may best be described as a continuous, unbroken, conscious awareness of the mind’s activities when in its raw state. Meditation, as a process, involves overcoming the distractions and dissipation of energies which then allows blissful awareness to arise.
When observing the activities of the mind we’ll see that at any point in time we are consumed with endless thoughts and assorted emotional baggage at both the conscious and subconscious level. This is perhaps the largest obstacle when it comes to preventing us from experiencing true, uninhibited bliss. Bliss naturally results from an expanded awareness of any and all happenings, but only in the absence of any attachments and/or bondages.
Meditation practice as a process will equip us with the necessary tools we need to experience this inherent bliss, showing us the path whereby we may live our everyday life using these tools.
Those who regularly meditate realize that they experience a beautiful inner space and peace as they disengage from the external world and go deep within themselves. They no longer identify with their ego-self and its accompanying emotional bondage in order to experience this feeling of peace. Sadly, as soon as they come out of it, they generally return to their so-called normal personality traits. These traits are accompanied by learned patterns of behavior and thinking in regard to who they are, and what they can or can’t achieve.
We must strive to integrate these two states; the higher meditative state and the daily conscious state. At any given point of time, we should then be able to become aware of our higher meditative state. Meditation practice is really mind management and helps us do just that.
What Meditation can do for us:
Meditation can help us overcome our assorted desires and eliminate distractions. It doesn’t directly “curb” these desires (they will always be there), but it will render them inconsequential in the face of an unbroken and expanded awareness of existence. The more we can retain the actual experience of our meditation practice, the easier it is to draw ourselves back from our seemingly endless desires and various distractions.
Meditation teaches us to how to be a “witness.” When we are meditating, we find ourselves detached and “in” the moment. But after we finish, we lose that “being in the now” experience and return to our ordinary distracted state. So, we need to develop a meditative lifestyle, where the meditative state is always available as our reference point. Adapting this meditative lifestyle will help us observe and understand why we tend to oscillate between a calm, peaceful meditative state and our daily unsettled state of mind. We then observe which lifestyle patterns disturb our calm, peaceful and potentially blissful state.
Important requirement for successful Meditation:
In order for successful meditation to occur, we must be “grounded.” Grounding is that essential “anchor” that helps us to remain stable during the meditative process. This grounding can be accomplished by anchoring to your breath or your body movement (e.g., yoga asana) during meditation practice. It’s quite common that as you proceed in meditation you reach a stage of unknown or unfamiliar territory, where you would ordinarily have no confidence to proceed further. It’s exactly these times that grounding is of great help as it establishes a reference point of where you are and of your purpose. It provides a stability to rest upon as energies start to shift and change while proceeding deeper in meditation.
Using Meditation to our best advantage:
During meditation, it is best to develop the capacity to use our energy to control and train our mind and the subsequent feelings that result. We need to be able to understand what is happening at our deeper levels. When and only when, we fully understand these issues can we confront them and eliminate them as distractions to our calm sense of being, enabling a blissful state.
In Antar Mouna (the “Inner Silence” technique) there are six stages to do this. In the 1st stage we witness the sensory information. In the 2nd stage we witness the spontaneous thoughts. In the 3rd stage, we consciously create and dispose of thoughts. The last three stages (4-6) are considered advanced and won’t be dealt with in this article.
But as you can see, meditation practice is a time to work upon ourselves, to take on issues that prevent us from being in a perpetual meditative state; one free of distractions where fear, anxiety, insecurity and desire are absent. As we progress in developing this medita
Do you wonder where to start, where to look to find a guru? You’ll find there are all kinds and types of gurus; often “guru” indicates a title for a teacher or a guide in most any subject, such as music, dance, art and sculpture, but especially religion and spirituality. We may find gurus’ range from musicians and storytellers to those whose message is transmitted without ever speaking a word. But what they all have in common is the ability and appointed authority to unveil some truth. For all too many, that authority is self-appointed, but for others it is a result of a long lineage or it is divinely appointed, the latter two helping the ego/mind (self w/small “s”) merge with the divinity within. You may call this divinity within, the Soul, Self, Jiva, Atman or whatever, but nonetheless it is immortal. There was never a time that it didn’t exist. There will never be a time that it will not be. The ego/mind is not immortal and never will be. It ceases to be at the moment of death, and according to yoga philosophy there’s an essence of what this egoic self has learned and accumulated in regard to spiritual value that continues into the next life, even if that life doesn’t find embodiment for hundreds or even a thousand years.
Yet this ego/self can become immortal if it so chooses. Naturally, this choice involves a clear decision, commitment, discipline, and Divine Grace, which often manifests in the form of a guru. Once the decision is made, a succession of teachers generally begins to appear; helping, teaching and guiding the aspirant or student. The ongoing quality that matters most is sincerity. We can make mistakes, wander from the path, and make short-term and careless choices, but if this is all done within a consistent framework of sincerity, then we’ll continue to get the guidance we need. In the process of preparing the ego/self to merge with the Divine within, negative qualities are stripped away, but only at the rate the aspirant can tolerate. Our rescue, within the bounds of our karma, is commonly afforded to us as we struggle, and eventually, we will meet our true guru.
Once we start looking we’ll see all sorts of self-appointed individuals hanging out their “guru shingle”. Sadly, they are mostly “wanna-be’s,” who “think they are” or “wish they were” – would-be spiritual leaders who have made a decision that this is their calling, perhaps in spite of their immaturity. Some of them are sincere, but many more are not. A true guru is never self-appointed. They are selected and trained by those who are already established as true gurus and sadgurus or else they’re genuine celestial enlightened ones (Avatars) who appear here from time to time. In reality, there are very few true gurus.
A true guru is endowed with spiritual gifts to give, and they give them (sometimes lavishly), to students, disciples, spiritual aspirants and on occasion to complete strangers. A true guru genuinely knows the appropriateness of the gift and can “see” how it will be applied. Although only a sadguru has this ability to know all possible outcomes, true gurus may not. Even still, a clear direction is apparent to the true guru which points strongly to how the gift will be employed. This is how the appropriateness of the gift is determined. All the while, the gift increases the ability of the ego/self to eventually merge with the Soul or Self and that is the determining objective.
All spiritual teachers, even ones who have reached the state of an advanced adept, are not automatically gurus, unless and until some divinely oriented appointment for the function arrives. As is the case for many advanced adepts, this appointment to become a true guru may never arrive.
The Grace of The Supreme flows through each true guru in wonderful and different ways; they’ve been embraced by Love and realize with every facet of their being that Love is both the method and the destination. It is the means and the end. There is no way to achieve a state of Love other than by loving. For the Divine or Truth speaks directly to the heart; the mind cannot apprehend Truth or the Self in its entirety, as a matter of fact, it can’t come close. It would be like trying to put the ocean in a teacup. It is easy to see how you can pour the contents of a teacup into the ocean and it becomes one with the ocean. But it’s a bit harder to dissolve the mind in the heart.
It seems astounding that some of the Avatars of the East (Shankaracharya, Vyasa, Buddha) and others do not agree on the finer points of what establishes Truth, or Reality, or the nature of the Self, and so on. They all see the same light, but don’t have the capacity to see it all at once so they each expound on it somewhat differently. Dattatreya, when asked to comment on the differences between Dvaita (dualism) and Advaita (Non-dualism), between Saguna (Realization with form) or Nirguna (Realization without form), looked kindly at the questioner and said, “If you are still concerned with such things, you still have a ways to go.”
Both teachers and gurus will agree that Love will take you all the way to the utmost goal of human existence, but true gurus are blessed with a unique set of skills and tools to help the finite part of us merge with the infinite part of us; dissolving our identification with the ego/self, moving us as expeditiously as possible into that state of being where we realize unity because we have attained it.
Both yoga and Ayurveda (the Indian Science of Healing) were inspired and developed by the great sages of ancient India, well over 5000 years ago. They were also both created to keep the body and mind strong, allowing students and practitioners to focus on what they considered their most important function, that of discovering the true Self and finding their true purpose in life. Although both these sciences are very old, neither one can be called “primitive.” Their advice is founded mostly on common sense, and has much to teach us about finding harmony and balance in the busy world we live in today.
Yoga happens to be the only science that has placed great emphasis on food, and it has done so for many centuries. There is actually a whole branch of yoga (called “Anna Yoga”) that is devoted to eating those foods that promote health and happiness.
Over these many centuries yoga has continued to develop a concept of a balanced whole-foods diet and an eating philosophy that stays current with changing times. These well established principles of good eating apply powerful techniques which are meant to help in creating and maintaining a strong, healthy body, a stress-free mind and a positive spirituality while living in this crazy, mixed-up world.
Never before has this yogic philosophy of a balanced whole-foods diet been more befitting than today when over 96% of all chronic illnesses and other health disorders can be traced directly to a diet insufficient in nutrition. Studies have shown that Indian civilizations (in the East) suffer less than Westerners from bowel problems, constipation, and indigestion plus a host of other food related disorders such as obesity. And the reason is because the Indian philosophy of cooking and eating draws heavily from the Ayurvedic and yogic philosophy of eating!
Ideally we should choose foods that are:
·Whole-foods in their most simple form possible,
·In season and as close to their source as possible,
·Unprocessed, chemical and additive free,
·In bulk and not pre-packaged.
Shopping for foods that we know are fresh and unprocessed is easier if we take as much of a hands-on approach in this process as possible.It’s always preferable to buy from farm stands and farmer’s markets, where we can meet the people that have grown the produce, which is often picked or harvested that same day.
Eating those foods that are both balancing and energizing will greatly aid and support us on the path of practice we have chosen to undertake.The very best diet for yoga students and practitioners is based on whole-foods, which generally means simple, unadulterated and unprocessed foods.Yogic cooking does not break-down foods into vitamins, minerals, protein, but rather demonstrates that the true benefits of whole-food ingredients can be had only when they are NOT isolated but are kept as true to their natural form as possible. Thus the key to optimal health and well-being is to have a balanced diet, one that ensures that all the faculties of the digestion process (absorption, assimilation and elimination) work efficiently and effectively.
It’s extremely important for us to realize that all 3 of these aspects (absorption, assimilation and elimination) work very well together, for when they work in harmony it’s very unlikely that we’ll suffer from chronic illnesses and all the many other health disorders (including obesity) that are epidemic in modern society today. “Synthetic” and/or “processed” foods (refined sugars, saturated fats/partially hydrogenated oils, fast foods, etc.) create conditions that disrupt this delicate balance, inevitably leading to numerous physical and psychological problems. Over time, the consequences can be dangerous and/or debilitating.
By being more discriminating and remaining consciously aware of how we feel in regard to the dietary choices we make, we’ll find those choices will start to become extremely supportive in our quest for optimal health, wellness and also a boon to our happiness.
Like many other things in life, fear and guilt (in themselves) are neither good nor bad, they simply are. In any given instance, they can serve to further our goals and needs or just the opposite, they can push us further away from them. In any event, they are not to be ignored, but instead, when these feelings arise, they warrant some compassionate reflection; that way we can discover what attributes they possess that might be useful or helpful to us and which ones we should just let go of.
During yoga practice we may find fear to have its place. A healthy fear of injury works well to prevent our egos from pushing us into asanas that we’re not ready for, or it may give us pause when we feel driven to force ourselves to go further into a pose than we should. it seems guilt is not quite as useful in most yoga practice, but now and then, it is that guilty feeling about not practicing regularly that keeps us coming back to our mat. So, as we all have probably realized, it can be a motivator in many cases.
Due to our conditioning, fear and guilt are commonly perceived by us as negative emotions. But come to think of it, they may be not so bad.
Would it be going too far to state that fear and guilt are good? It’s easy to see that both these emotions have played important roles in our evolution, and they continue to do so. They are necessary for our conscious and spiritual evolution, making us more thoughtful and capable of more compassion.
Fear functions well when it comes to instilling in us the necessary respect for life, and often prevents us from behaving recklessly. Almost all young children have fears (like the fear of darkness, loneliness, fear of animals etc.). These fears ensure that the child seeks to remain in safer situations. As they grow older, they gradually shed these fears, evolving beyond them.
Feelings of guilt ensure that we evaluate our thoughts and actions from time to time in order to become better human beings. When we commit a misdeed, or bring harm or suffering to someone or something it is natural for us to feel bad about it. This makes us want to correct it and make an effort not to repeat our mistakes, but rise above them instead. If it weren’t for guilt we would become insensitive, perhaps even ruthless.
Humans are fortunate to have evolved above other forms of animal life. Animals have no guilt but possess lots of fear. As a result they do not evolve as humans do and develop compassion or any understanding of empathy for the suffering of others. But some may protest, saying animals do feel guilt, citing dogs as an example. But this has been proven to be a mistaken notion. Recent studies at Barnard College in New York, uncovered the origins of the “guilty look” in dogs and found that it is a response to the owner’s behavior, and not necessarily indicative of any response to its own misdeeds.
Yoga philosophy teaches us that balanced emotions equal a balanced personality. As in everything else, a balance needs to be there to hold everything in check; similarly excessive (or obsessive) fear and guilt can ruin our personalities.
Excessive, and especially irrational, fears (aka phobias) hamper one’s life. One begins to become afraid without any reason. When fears persist after we should have outgrown them, they should be addressed and if need be treated by a trusted health care professional.
Also, too much guilt, will often lead to a flawed and/or dysfunctional personality. When a person feels guilty most or all the time, they become apologetic about everything. From this an inferiority complex will often develop.
When we’re not able to properly balance and manage such emotions as fear and guilt, it affects our relationships as well as our physical health. Unhealthy, unbalanced guilt and fear lead to excessive adrenalin production, prompting other hormonal imbalances; this in turn establishes the breeding ground for a host of ailments.
Yoga practice fosters mindfulness and compassion that can help you replace negativity with self-acceptance. When you feel physically tight, yoga allows you to breathe into the muscles to relax them. It’s the same when you encounter difficult emotions such as fear or guilt. You learn to inhale and exhale through that too, working toward a place of greater balance, understanding and confidence. Therefore, when properly balanced, the emotions of guilt and fear are beneficial. One should not be overly bothered about them. They are a natural and inherent to our state of existence. As a person evolves spiritually, their usefulness dissolves and they tend fall away on their own.
The essence of all yoga practice is to remain positive in any situation that we find ourselves in. By remaining positive, our interactions with ourselves, others and the world at large become brighter, more productive and perpetuate a feeling of self-satisfaction, often referred to as the “feel good factor.” As a result we become healthier and more peaceful.
So how can yoga practice be used to develop this positive disposition? Simple, there’s a 3-step approach:
1 – Awareness
2 – Acceptance
3 – Attitude
Well now, let’s consider these three factors…
1.Awareness:
We can begin by becoming aware of what we’re thinking and how our thinking process actually works. We systematically train ourselves to be aware at all times of how our mind is working; our thoughts, thinking patterns and tendencies. Practice making this a habit and if it seems difficult, there are two meditation techniques which can be of great help – Antar Mouna and Yoga Nidra. Both these techniques help in the withdrawal of our senses into introspection or silent witnessing.
*Antar Mouna (inner silence meditation) is a pratyahara technique, pratyahara being the first of the four inner limbs of Raja Yoga anddeals with the activities of the conscious mind. Antar Mouna is the development of conscious awareness of all thoughts and mental activity. The technique involves creating, transforming and finally gaining control of the entire thought process.
*Yoga Nidra, generally referred to as “Yogic Sleep” is a 4000 year old guided meditation technique that leads to a deep and exquisite state of supreme stillness and insight where the body and mind can restore and rejuvenate. It can enable you to experience unshakeable peace, even during some of the most difficult times.
2.Acceptance:
Ironically, increased awareness brings about a heightened sensitivity to the issues at hand, where we are at risk of becoming too judgmental and critical of both ourselves or of others. This can set the stage for sending us into a vicious cycle of negativity unless we learn to first accept things as they are.
Develop a stance of “it is okay” to simply observe things the way they are, without being obsessively driven to try to change or control them. Just by being a witness of all that arises establishes an attitude of acceptance that leads to genuine love and real compassion, establishing the “bedrock” of positive thinking.
3.Attitude:
After we have fully accepted what lies within (or behind) our thoughts, we can then start working on how we “choose” to look at any particular situation, person or thing. These yoga techniques are essential in helping us to change our attitude. The Sankalpa (or resolve) that we establish through Antar Mouna and Yoga Nidra assists us in shaping our mind. This resolve in yoga is always takes the form of a positive statement e.g.; “I am becoming more positive every day”. Such positive conditioning when regularly used to fuel the mind will help greatly in shaping a positive attitude.
By regularly practicing these three (awareness, acceptance and attitude), you
Thought can become the master of us all, and as we all probably already assume, a good thought can be a good master and a bad thought can be a bad master. Good thoughts uplift us, making our mood brighter, and making us feel like we’re “on top of the world.” Bad thoughts on the other hand, can be compared to a backpack filled with rocks, slowing us down at every stage of our journey, often overcoming us with lethargy, disinterest or even violence and aggression. Hostile thoughts are especially destructive; even if we “hold them in” they tend to “eat us up” by draining our energy and vitality.
It seems as if every moment we’re alive we are continuously guided by our thoughts. Even when we’re sleeping; a good thought (as in a dream) can bring a smile to our lips, while a bad one can make us break into a cold sweat. So as long as our thoughts are our master, our mind is endlessly enslaved by them. This then would imply that even good thoughts are not really good as long as they are our master.
One of life’s hard realities is that a master/slave relationship will always result in the exploitation of the slave. This practical reality applies to all aspects of life and our relationship with our thoughts is no exception. As long as “thought” remains our master, it will continue to exploit our mind and through our mind we are exploited.
This can be quite humorous, but actually it is in fact humbling to realize that we are nothing more than a product of our thoughts; our actions, behaviors, and all that we are is just a consequence of the dominance that “thought” has upon us.
We become the vehicle and allow thought to be our driver. Now suppose this driver is having a bad hair day and decides to take their anger out on our vehicle (us). As the thought transforms from good to bad, our vehicle starts to get shaky, and all the jolting around causes it to experience excessive (and destructive) wear and tear.
My, oh my, if only that good thought had remained good, why did it have to turn bad? So, as you can see, what is a good thought today can become bad tomorrow, and it seems to do that totally by its own whimsical nature, without “you” even having a say in the matter. Now just imagine what our entire life would be like if it is continually dictated by our thoughts. We do what we do (action or inaction), in the hope that it will stimulate our thoughts (in other words, please our master), who in turn, will then gratify our senses. But we only hope for the best, when in fact, we have no control on how our master interprets what we do (or don’t do).
This begs the question; can we really enjoy the beauty of life, as slaves, without any control? If we look closely we’ll see that none of us even knows what this “beauty of life” really is, and honestly, these words will remain hollow as long as we continue to be slaves.
Time to Turn the Tables – “Role Reversal”
Now, consider what would happen if the role was reversed; if you could become the master and change the content and nature of your thoughts like you use the remote for your TV. What if you could be “genuinely” rejoicing from within, by simply willing it so, even in the face of the worst adversity! What if you could somehow “disconnect” your thoughts from the situation at hand and manipulate them to produce feelings of being totally free and blissful – in other words, you become the master of your thoughts, rather than the other way around?
The main point here is that can this be done? This relationship between slave and master can be altered? That is exactly what the science of yoga and the practice of meditation will achieve. And this is according to the great masters and the ancient scriptures.
As you explore the meditation process and begin to discover its secrets, you will start seeing situations with a new perspective, more as a “witness” than a victim. You will start feeling the control slowly flowing back into you when you establish your practice with a true spiritual purpose. Issues that would normally irritate you become surprisingly fewer in number; while an aura of peace starts to descend over you. You can start “switching off” disturbing situations and the thoughts that produce and/or accompany them with an ease that you never had (or realized) in the past.
This should certainly be reason enough to embark on the path of yoga and meditation without the need to “achieve” or “attain” any other goal?
Siddhis are the development of super natural powers by a student or aspirant of yoga when they reach the initial level or stage of samadhi called samprajnata samadhi (aka savikalpa samadhi). In this state, we are not fully immersed in the Universal (or Divine) Self. We are connected to it only from the outside and are not “one” with it. So, there is a sense of duality; “I and Universal Self”. It is at this stage that siddhis develop (or arise). There is the common yogic concept of the Ashta Siddhi (eight major siddhis). These are:
1. Anima : reducing one’s body even to the size of an atom
2. Mahima : expanding one’s body to an infinitely large size
3. Garima : becoming infinitely heavy
4. Laghima : becoming almost weightless
5. Prapti : having unrestricted access to all places
6. Prakamya: realizing whatever one desires
7. Isitva: possessing absolute lordship
8. Vasitva: the power to subjugate all.
Although Patañjali mentions the occurrence (and recognition) of 64 minor siddhis and 8 major siddhis (above) in the third chapter of his Yoga Sutras, he is very particular about warning the aspirant not to seek or be distracted by them. These siddhis become great obstacles to evolving spiritually. Patañjali warns that siddhis are not the aim or purpose of yoga practice. They are to be seen as signs that our sadhana is progressing toward the goal of unity (the ultimate goal of yoga). Siddhis are likely to tempt the aspirant, student or practitioner by powers and pride of one’s own achievements. But Patanjali says that the aspirant may be tempted even by the gods (who are jealous of mankind) to prevent him/her from reaching their goal. Steadfastness is the only way and no one should even develop any ego-sense that they are beyond such temptations. States similar to Samādhi can also be gained by various other means (like drugs) but they too are not to be pursued.
The attraction to these spiritual powers or siddhis is a common among spiritual seekers. It is an obstacle that causes us to divert from our path, thus stalling our progress towards Self-Realisation. It is rooted in our egotistic desire for fame and recognition. Because we do not yet have these powers, we can easily assume that those who have them are more advanced spiritually, even though they may be as much a slave to their past conditioning, negative thoughts and emotions as we are.
Even some of the most highly evolved spiritual beings like Swami Rama were not spared from this common desire.
I will close this article with the following story…
In his book, ‘Living with the Himalayan Masters’, Swami Rama told a story that he once met a swami who could shoot fire from his mouth for several feet. Swami Rama thought to himself that this man must definitely be more spiritually advanced that his master. Even the fire-thrower swami said to him, “You are wasting your time and energy staying with your master. Follow me and I will give you some real wisdom. I will show you how to produce fire”.
Swami Rama then went to his Master and told him, “I have found someone more advanced than you, I have decided to become his disciple.”
The Master replied, “I am delighted. Go ahead, I want you to be happy. What does he do?”
Swami Rama told him and his Master requested to meet this fire-thrower swami.
They walked for two days to meet this swami. When they arrived, Swami Rama was shocked to see the fire-thrower swami bowing down to his Master.
Swami Rama asked his Master, “Do you know him?”
His Master explained, “Of course. He left our monastery some time ago. Now I know where he has been hiding.”
At his Master’s request, Swami Rama asked the fire-thrower swami how long it took him to develop this ability. He proudly replied that it took him twenty years of practice to master this unique ability.
Swami Rama’s Master then said to him, “A match will produce fire in a second; if you wish to spend twenty years to produce fire from your mouth, you are a fool. My child, that is not wisdom.”
As Krishnamurti once said; “all these powers are like candles in the sun; they are like candle light when the brilliant sun is shining.”
To quote Eckhart Tolle, “Not to be able to stop thinking is a dreadful affliction, but we don’t realize this because almost everybody is suffering from it, so it’s considered normal. This incessant mental noise prevents you from finding that realm of inner stillness that is inseparable from being. It also creates a false mind-made self that casts a shadow of fear and suffering.”
To put things in proper perspective takes real intelligence (Buddhi – to be awake; to understand; to know), not more mind chatter. Then it is possible to realize that thought is only a tiny aspect of our intelligence. Tolle goes on to say: “All the things that truly matter – beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace – arise from beyond the mind.”
The obsessive thinking mind and yoga practice – a bad mix
When the ego-self (established by the thinking mind) is the one performing asana, the mind is actively engaged in self-criticism, comparing your performance with others, thereby judging yourself and those around you. Your mind becomes restless, agitated and engaged in internal conflict while your body is engaged in performing asanas. This internal conflict causes you to be emotionally reactive to whatever is happening at any given moment during your practice and you are engaged in the posture of ego which is contrary to the purpose of yoga – the deconstruction of the ego.
In the Yoga Sutras (1:2) Patajali defines the purpose yoga by saying, “Yoga means stopping the mental modifications.” (chitta vritti nirodah). There is no exact English translation, but roughly translated these Sanskrit words mean…chitta = stuff of the mind, vṛitti = modification (altering perception) and nirodaḥ = to control (find tranquility).
Basically this means that whatever form of yoga you are practicing, the highest priority and the fundamental purpose for the practice is to eliminate mental agitations and emotional reactions. Whenever performing yoga asanas, it is necessary to change from an ego-driven posture that is externally placing the body in a so-called “yoga asana,” while internally, the mind is engaged in conflict. This equates to practicing conflict and calling it yoga. So it stands to reason that in order to convert this ego driven posture into true yoga asana, you need to remove the ego-mind (which is continually engaged by external motivation).
Whenever a student of yoga is able to connect with the part of themselves that is aware beyond any ego-conditioned perception, they have an opportunity to change their reactions to external circumstances. These “knee-jerk” reactions are automatic and unconscious, arising out of the past (or the anticipated future) and can only be dismantled in the present moment. Even though these unconscious reactions tend to happen automatically, there is a part of us that is conscious and can become a witness, thus changing the reaction. When we are able to change our reaction, we can change from our very core and that will change us from the inside, instead of simply altering our external conditions. This is your divine potential, your inherent “Self”. Accessing this Self (or divine potential) has nothing to do with what we’re doing, but how (or from where) we are doing what we’re doing.
Five kinds of thoughts
According to Patanjali, there are only five kinds of thoughts. Although there are countless thought impressions that come into the field of the mind (chitta), which form the source and substance of the barrier (or veil) covering the true Self (Divine consciousness), they all fall into one or more of these five categories. In other words; while there may be many individual thought impressions, there are not countless types of thoughts to deal with, but only these five. This can help students and practitioners of yoga greatly in seeing the underlying simplicity of the science of Yoga, without getting lost in the apparent multiplicity in both the gross and subtle realms. These five thought impressions are:
1. Pramana/right impressions (or though