Turning Point

The life goes on. Some of us have been seen or heard how our great grandfather lived and many have written about their family history, autobiographies. From all that we have read, heard or know is that life is an adventure. But, little do we understand that there is 'an unseen hand' (kaanada kai) , luck (adrushta), fate (hane baraha / karma), destiny, may be a great struggle to be what one is.A 'Turning Point' comes in life when these destiny or luck shows its miraculous power. But for a serious tragedy in the family, or loss in business or some such thing a few souls have turned into divine and have become God-head whom people worship even today! May be, some are lucky that they have lived a very happy-go-lucky life, enjoyed so fully a life that they want to return never to come back to this mrutyu loka. It is also said, that 'unless one stands naked in the street' there is no redemption. 'Enlightenment' comes when a person faces such problems in life that he surrenders to God totally and gets redeemed. 

   There are many instances of people surrendering to God and one such is that of Shree Shree Gopala Dasaru. He was an industrialist in South Africa running a textile mill during the Pre-War days. When the World War I broke out (1918) his business slumped and there was a strike and he declared 'Lock-out'. The matter went to Court and the decision to close the factory was to be taken. He had to pay the wages and other expenses. the swamy. He met a person who advised him to chant Gayatree mantra and said, everything will be alright. The judgment was to come next day at 11 a.m. This person immediately went home and started Gayatree japa and continued upto the time the Court opens. He had such a faith that little wonder, the Judge declared the strike illegal and upheld Lock out. He also gave permission to sell the Mill and other assets and pay off the dues. This industrialist was so happy, thanked God and the Judge, sold everything and came back to India. He went to Himalayas and got a Guru and later took to Sanyasa; he attained enlightenment and is now known as the much revered saint Gopala Dasaru. So also, the case of Gurudev Ranade. He was the President of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Pune. He lost his wife and child and was disillusioned! He became almost a mystic, He held very high posts as Professor of Philosophy, and Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad University. He hails from Nimbal, near Bagalkot (Karnataka). He lived his life after retirement in seclusion in Ashram and wrote a number of original books on mysticism and comparative philosophy. Mysterious are the ways of Nature and God' intervention in life of people.

   Hence, it is some strange even in the life of man that turns him away from the daily routine of mundane life and makes him realize the futility of all this exercise. People little realise that there is something higher than just eke out a living, rearing a family, and discharging the duties and obligations of the householder. Grushastashrama dharma does not preclude anybody from surrendering to God, or doing one's duty selflessly, seek divine intervention, or take to yoga, study of scriptures and seek a Guru. It is avidya, sheer ignorance to blame the family for one's own weaknesses.

    Sage Yajnyavalkya decided to retire to forest and seek a secluded life to perform his dhyana, dharana and tapas. His wife Maitreyi also joined him in his spiritual pursuits. Lo, Maitreyi is equally an authority and her writings known as Maitrayani Upanishat is a beautiful guide for us. How many are willing to join their husband in spiritual pursuits these days? As and when a person seeks the company of wise people (jnyanis) in satsang and turns his/her mind to higher aspects of life, turns away from the attractions and desires to live a mundane life, the God's blessings as daiva anugraha comes and there will be a divine intervention to redeem from the repeated births and deaths on this earth. But people do not understand this. The reason for this is simple.

   The appearance of man on this earth traced to just one lakh years! The evolution of mankind has just begun. First came the Great sages the tapojanah (Tapoloka). Then came the Gods and Goddesses (Devaloka); The deva-devatas, yakshas, kinnaras, gandharvas, siddhi purushas, saadhyas, sages and saints are followed by pitrus (manes)- that is our Grand-grand parents, Grand parents and parents whose children are now running the same traditional life of drudgery.

   What prevents a person from seeking a better form of life? Is it the parents insistence that children are driven in the gullies, by-lane of customs, traditions, religious dogma binding them and condemning them for life? Is there no freedom for the children to live as they like? Why should the children suffer for the foolishness of parents and Grand-parents? Is there any Heaven (svarga) or Hell (naraka) that one likes to go or fears, respectively, and has to follow certain dictats- dos and dont's?

  To be very rational and  scientific, as also spiritual, every jiva comes here to fulfill its desires. "Desire is brahman" and, as such, whatever the desire, the desire is always fulfilled, but there is no time limit. This may take a thousand years and in the mean time the jiva takes ten or twelve lives.  The Lord only becomes a jiva and experiences the creation what He himself created is the fundamental principle here. There is nothing one can do in this matter. He only gives  the thoughts, ideas, images and imagination, and drives to fulfill them. Those who surrender to the 'Will of God', will always succeed! However, the jiva is given 'free will' and ego that prevents it from seeking divine intervention. This happened in the case of Yudhishtira when the Blind King Drutarashtra's children Duryodhana and Dushyasana challenged for a game of Dice, used Shakuni and won the Kingdom and drove the Pandava's exile. Dharmaraja was betting everything, one by one and losing the game had to go in exile. Uddahva asked Shree Krishna, why he did not help his friend Yudhisthira in times of distress. Shree Krishna says, Dharmaraja was a fool, aviveki, did not seek His help and kept Him (God) out of doors thinking that I (Krishna) should not see his actions. Little did he know that I am a trikala jnyani and know everything! I am the witnessing self (Sakshin) and I am always standing within, as well besides, every jiva looking at the behaviour and actions. Whoever calls Me for Guidance, help, I shall immediately guide them, help them as I did in the case of Draupadi. But people think that I do not see their actions and, they use their 'free will' and do as they like and suffer due to their action (karma). I shall not interfere in karma of the jivas, said Shree Krishna.

  This should help open our eyes and see what we are doing due to avidya. If we want divine intervention, we can just shout loudly and call 'Krishnaa' as Draupadi did. We will certainly be redeemed.

(to be contd..)

kundalini (contd.)

  When it is said, the awakening of kundalini leads to enlightenment by the sudden bloom of the thousand-petal lotus in the head (sahasrara) it means the divinity inherent in the person manifests and thereby the person is elevated to a higher level of consciousness, i.e., daiva prajnya. Thus, it is clear that the humans are endowed with power of reaching the ultimate by yoga sadhana. Many determined sadhakas take to any hardship in order to attain this highest level of existence on the earth in human form. They retire to secluded places and take the help of attained persons, siddhi purushas and practice hatha yoga, kundalini, and fulfill their desires of attaining to the full stature possible in this life. Most of us are happy and contented in this worldly life getting some name, fame, wealth, power and before even we think of what else, we die miserable! Why die miserable? This worldly life is a miserable one due to sickness, old age and death. This is the question that bothers any sensible person. With all the worldly attainments, laurels, accolades, the poor creature lies paralysed, or suffering from alzheimer, dementia, cancer and such other ailments. People who see them pity and say, "what a life for such a great man?"  

   In fact, this is exactly the problem that made Siddhartha Gautama go in search of answer. He wanted to know why the people suffer and what is the remedy. He was a prince- young, married, had a small child, and could have enjoyed his life. But, he woke up at the middle of night and left the palace, wandered in the forests for several years and... they say, he attained 'nirvana'. We do not know what is nirvana.  Does this  nirvana means death, mukti, moksha, eternal peace? Who knows? The enlightened person, the Buddha, never spoke a word after that (nirvana / enlightenment)! He became a sakhya muni, a friendly sage in silence. He used to give darshan for an hour in the evenings and people of all age-groups, young and old, used to sit around him in silence and disperse, happy and joyful. A statue of the Buddha delivering His sermons in silence is placed in Darjeeling. Lo, who are the devotees? The deers, the elephant, the peacocks and birds! 

  We do not know whether he really found any solution to the problems of sickness, old age and death and even today we suffer. But, we do not understand the fact that it is the ignorants, the egoistic ones, the people who are clinging to the sensuous life and aggrandizement of physical or intellectual prowess that suffer, and not the wise (jnyanis). It is here we find answer to the worldly, mundane problems. It is definitely possible to overcome the problems that bother us by taking recourse to satsang and spiritual discourses, yogabhyasa, scriptural studies (svadhyaya), dhyana, dharana and finally a state of equanimity (sthitaprajnya). It is very important to know the secret of life and purpose for which the human form is given to us by the grace of God. It is reiterated here that "Paramatma only shrinks to the state of jivatman, takes any form He likes, and runs the errands for His own Self. He, the Lord wants to experience what He has created. He is conscious of His own Self and Conscious of the other He only has created. When He becomes conscious of the other, the world begins; when He becomes conscious of His own self, He goes to yoga nidra. He, the Lord, is Narayana; He takes a journey as a jiva on the earth. He uses our physical body as a carriage, a Taxi Cab, sits in it as paramatman and runs the jivatman all around; finally, He leaves the carriage, our physical body on the way side and departs as Shree Krishna did at the end of the dvapara yuga. 

  This journey of the jiva on the earth is called nara yana, narayana. Many a great saints like Ramadoss shouted from the roof top addressing the passers-by saying, "You mad ones, (hucchappagaliraa in kannada), do not waste your life. the birth human form (manava janma) is given to you (with a purpose) by the divine grace."  But nobody listened to him. They even said, this old man has gone mad.

   Shree Krishna says, "Arjuna, a person may take birth in any lower form like insects, birds and animals due to his thoughts, actions, and deeds, or may even attain to Me".  Do we understand this statement of the Gita?

  We do not realize the greatness of the human form in which we are living. The human form is the ideal one to pursue spiritual practices such as asanas, pranayama, samadhi and bring all the dispersed energy (vital airs/pranas) and turn it towards God and attain God-hood. The Upanishads say that the human form only enables a person to get back to the divine status from which it arrived here on this earth where it suffers hunger, ailments or sickness, old age and death, Moreover, even if the Puranic Gods and Goddesses like yama, indra, etc of lower ranks (not the Vedic Gods who elemental ones) want to attain to the highest 'brahman' they have to take a human form and take to spiritual practices (see kathopanishad). Thus, strict practice of ashtanga yoga sutras such as - yama, niyama, pratyahara, Ishvara pranidana, asana, pranayama, dharana and samadhi are essential to make our life meaningful, and our journey on this mrutyu loka is to end. Everyone can become immortal in the sense that he/she need not fear death and there will be no rebirth (punarjanma na vidyate, assures the Lord Krishna. The most important and that too immediate benefit is good health till the last breath and a very peaceful death without being dependent.Everybody wants a peaceful death and nobody wants to strive for it. We have seen some divine soul simply passing away without any suffering!

  We can definitely make our old age happy, joyful, and peaceful if we take to Shree Krishna's advice to Arjuna in the Gitopadesha seriously. First, one should be aware of 'who he/she is" ; this is jnyana, viveka and vairagya. There is no way out but to realize the self through yoga as advised by Lord Shree Krishna in the Gita. One should give up sensuousness and attachment to worldly life, at least after 70 years of age. It is absolutely essential to give up all wealth (keeping a little just for survival, day-to-day needs for oneself). This will bring ample peace. This happened to Rockefeller who met Swami Yogananda paramahansa. When Rockfeller complained of his sleeplessness Swami asked him, who he is. Rockefeller told him that he was the richest man in USA at the time. Swami advised him, "then give away all your riches, you will be happy". In fact Rockefeller said all these Indian yogis are fraud, they want our wealth and went away. After two days he contemplated on what Swami Yogananda had said, and soon realized that all his problems were rooted in this wealth. So next day, he came back to Swami, paid his respects and placed the pen and a signed check leaf and asked Swamiji to write any amount he wants and gave away his mansion to him for the yogada ashrama (see Autobiography of a Yogi by Swami  Paramahansa Yogananda).
    Our attachment (moha) is our problem. Our desires are our problem. We see many lying in ICUs on ventilator on oxygen and food given through pipes. The jiva is suffering (albeit, there is no consciousness) but the life-force, prana, is not leaving the body, and rich people suffer more! Doctors and Hospitals also take advantage and fleece them.

  Then, why not start spiritual journey? Take the first step with satsang, meet wise people who are not interested in worldly affairs, gossip, and spend their time always reading and talk about divine aspects and scriptures.  Half the problems are solved. Although one cannot avoid death, at least one can keep his/her conscience clean by 'yajnya' (sacrifice) dana (donations) and tapas (dhyana/ meditation) as advocated by the Lord (Bhagavad-Gita).  These spiritual practices will bring immense peace and happiness in old age.
  Unfortunately, a person, however intelligent, successful in worldly life, or willing to take to yoga, will not think of these spiritual aspects of life during his prime life time, particularly when he was healthy, fit to take to yoga, and repents later. It is the karma that prevents! It is  the Lord's privilege to bestow His grace and jnyana, viveka and vairagya to whoever He wants. It is all due to  purva punya, daiva anugraha, adrushtha, and may be, his/her ardent desire to seek mukti. When the seeker is earnest and his desire is towards redemption his cries will be heard! "You seek, ye shall get" says the Lord.  Remember: "yoginaam brahmaa bhavati sarathi"- like Lord Shree Krishna driving the Chariot of Arjuna.

  However, there comes a "turning point" in everybody's life. There is divine intervention, a total change comes, and such persons will not turn back! It is for this divine intervention, Lord's grace, anugraha, that we should pray the Lord. Chant the name of the Lord and walk into the realms of God. There is a beautiful Marathi abhang: "koi Shree Hari bhaje ...  ..  ..parama pada pavega" beautifully sung by Bharata Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. This is available of youtube. The Lord dances in front of him who prays or chides Him. See in youtube and hear Sant Nama Deva and Brahmananda's abhangs in Marathi sung by Bhimsen Joshi. The highest level of Bhakti mixed with jnyana will redeem one and all. Kundalini rises without any effort and brings sahasrara level of consciousness, daiva prajnye and this is fulfillment, purushartha sadhane..  .

  

Kundalini

There are a number of techniques of yoga such as hatha yoga, laya yoga, raja yoga, kundalini yoga, that are aimed at different goals.Of all these, the kundalini is the most misunderstood one. almost all scriptures hint at raising the consciousness level with the help of opening up the dormant serpent power at the muladhara, end of the sushumna nadi. It is much easier said than done. There are many teachers who make you believe that your kundalini is aroused. The person who has experienced the arousal of or activating the kundalini will be normally expert in yogic trance and can attain to the highest level of existence, say sahasrara prajnya. But, once a person crosses the anahat prajnya level during the ascent the dualities drop and there will be no mundane worldly life and he becomes a yogi, a jnyani who has got atmajnyan! that is also what is called sadyomukti (instant release from bondage) and such a person is a jivanmukta; he will be bereft of all desires for he has experienced the supreme bliss. But, the question is: Is it possible to activae the dormant serpent power within?

  The Serpent power is one of the most interesting aspects of spiritual development. Sir John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon) has written elaborately on it and we do not know whether it is just a theory he describes or has himself experienced it. However his explanation is satisfactory to some extent. His knowledge is appreciable. But, it is true that almost all of us experience a little of it (activated divine power) sometime or the other in our life when we get a bright idea, some intuitional knowledge or some deep insight into problems. But, totally opening up and reaching the head from the bottom cutting across the knots at the navel level (brahma granthi), and the knot at the heart level (Vishnu granthi) and the knot at the third eye level between the eyebrows (ajnya chakra) called the Rudra granthi seems to be impossible for us.

  The problem of kundalini is very simple. When the Lord created the jiva it was not functioning. He was perplexed and entered into it through the brahmarandhra at the top of the head and got settled down at the bottom / seat level as the life-force, prana shakti. The seat of shree hari is the Lotus heart (Hridaya kamala), the heart level,  The term 'hridaya' means the seat of shree hari. This is quite different from the three nadis that carry the air we breathe in and out through the two nostrils- left or ida and the right, pingla. Between these two lies the central nadi sushumna nadi. The air we breath goes in and comes out, alternately, through the ida and pingala in a cycle of seven regularly; and, we breathe in and out 21600 times every day, the body temperature is thus maintained. The ida and pingala represent the moon (soma) and the sun (surya),respectively. The central nadi, the sushumna, will remain closed at the bottom and appears like a coiled up serpent (with its tail in its mouth) 3 and 1/2 inches! The upper end is like a Lotus bud bent down. It blooms into a thousand petals with brilliant light when the energy passes through the sushumna as if the serpent rises its head in anger and hisses and stands straight on its tail. This extraordinary feat is achieved by a very strong person only who can withstand high voltage current released by the plexus (chakras) normally, the power explodes the nervous system and blood vessels and shatters the brain cells if the power is not channelised and controlled. Shree Ramakrishna advises students of yoga not to try this. Many go mad after trying the kundalini yoga.

  This is the reason why activating kundalini is beyond the powers of ordinary mortals. But those who have successfully opened up the sushumna nadi and breathed up prana in udana (upward moving) reach the sahasrara have completed their journey as a wandering jiva on this earth (mrutyu loka) and reach the heavens (stellar sphere) the source of all jivas.

 Diagrammatic presentation of the chakras and kundalini and the processes is a bit difficult to upload here. However, I have presented them in my books and, i shall send by attachment to e-mails to those who send their e-mail address addressed to my <divinegracefoundation@gmail.com> 

   

The Secrecy Aspect

  The secrecy aspect, rather the esoteric renderings in spiritual texts, has to be clearly understood. The teachers were cautious and very careful while teaching students and knew full well that some of the students were not trustworthy; the teachers were afraid that the powerful mantras may be misused. Hence they devised means of introducing dummy words, words having double meanings, conveying opposite meanings, some times even words that are meaningless or just funny remarks. Hence these words have to be deciphered, decoded in order to get the appropriate meaning. The Vedic texts, Upanishadic or the statements of Bhagavad-Gita are full of hidden meanings. 

  The Bhagavad-Gita has certain statements spread throughout the eighteen chapters. The Chapters are not intended to convey any particular idea only. For instance, the adhyatma yoga is entwined and the sayujya aspect is woven into the text in all the chapters. We tend to overlook the fact that the main theme of the Gita is to redeem us from earthly existence. It is not to encourage us to go on doing action (karma) endlessly, or adhere to devotion (bhakti), or even study scriptures and acquire knowledge (jnyan). It is intended to terminate the mundane existence of attachments, anger, ego, and relish sensuous life. The Gita advises the devotees to take refuge in the name of the Lord (constant chant of Hari nama / Krishna nama japa) and surrender their ego and become one with the Lord (sharanagatim). The most significant aspect of the Gita is the methodology regarding the Kundalini (Serpent power). There are verses which are aimed at chakra dhyan. The names that appear here have deeper connotations. Let's remember the Bhagavad-Gita is older than the Veda and Upanishads since this was told first to Vivasvan, the Sun God. The statements made in the Gita are found in the Veda, Upanishads, and other texts.

   The ancient Rishis have successfully carried out the yogic practices and reached the highest level of Consciousness (brahmn), the sahasrar prajnya, unity consciousness, what is called Krishna Consciousness.  We will try to bring out these secret aspects one by one later. But, it is necessary to prepare ourselves for this long spiritual journey starting with the preliminary steps of Yoga.

(to be contd.)

Why Take to Yoga (contd.)

     As stated earlier,  Patanjali has put forward an Eight-fold Path to Salvation (ashtanga yoga). This system culminates in the spiritual seeker attaining 'unity consciousness' (samyak-prajnya). The starting point as well as the destination of the journey of the jiva* (nara yaana / jivana yatra) is the same; it is one full circle. (* See "The Advent of the Soul" by the same author. ask for a copy by e-mail). The celebrated Sage Ghora Angirasa is said to be the teacher of Sri Krishna and the latter has learnt yoga from him. He, the Lord Krishna, in turn is teaching yoga to Arjuna as Yogacharya in the Bhagavad-Gita. Here, in the Gita, the yoga is defined as the intelligent ways of doing things- yogaasu karma koushalam | One should do action in life without acquiring its effect of rebirths and bondage. He, the Lord says, "It is impossible for anybody to keep quiet. The jiva has to perform some function or the other and each desire (icCha), thought (vichara), resolve (sankalpa), and action (karma) brings its fruit of action (karma phala) that becomes the seed for continuation of the journey of the jiva on this 'land of death' (mrutyu loka). This chain of action and reaction should somehow be ended. The chain reaction starts with the desire and 'desire is brahmn', This 'desire' is at the root of the problem. The jiva is initiated to action by desires and the desires are prompted by the Lord!  The desire itself is untruth and the entire universe is based on this untruth! The moment this untruth (maya) is realized, the jiva is released from the shackles of bondage, rebirth. The Truth is nothing else, none else but the Purna-prajnya, the Lord Shree Krishna, the embodiment of 'Pure Consciousness', (shuddha vidya).

   This entire universe is founded on asat, and it is asada according to nasadiya sukta of Rk Veda. What do we seek here? What do we want here? Whatever we get will not be the truth! It is a make-believe world we are living in. Lord Krishna says, "I am the magician (mayavin / mantrika). I wield my magic wand and create things that are illusory; the magical world comes into existence with my desire." Thus, Lord Krishna is the only 'Truth' and all else His magical play. Thus, the prayer to the Lord- asato ma sadgamaya | The answer to this prayer is very beautiful. It is "thou art that" (tattvamasi).
    The entire Bhagavad-Gita, as a brahma vidya and yoga shastra educates a person as to the 'reality of existence', the true nature of this world, and makes His devotee realize that- "What he seeks is himself". Here, the fundamental principle (mahat tattva / tat tva) is that there is only one, and, that is the I, the self and there is 'no other' besides oneself, "thou art that (tattvamasi). This is what the Sage Aruni Uddalaka said to his disciple Shvetaketu.
  "Everything is Krishna"; Everywhere (all disha) is Krishna! Krishna is everywhere as pure consciousness, shuddha vidya. This is what is: sarvam khaluvidam brahmaa |This reality (truth) is to be realized only by yoga, attaining sayujya (yuj), oneness with the Lord, and, the Lord Himself becomes a yogacharya and teaches karma yoga, jnyana yoga, bhakti yoga, dhyana yoga, raja yoga, etc. for this purpose,  It is also stated: yoginaam brahmaa bhavati saarathi |

  The eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad-gita brings out the principle of tat tvam asi and the student becomes one with the Lord on attaining to samadhi through this yoga. The first six chapters deal with the aspect of Arjuna as 'tvam' (thou/ you/ Arjuna) and the next six chapters bring out the Reality ('sat' and 'chit'). This is the 'tat' aspect. The Vibhuti yoga (Ch. X) makes this point amply clear; everything we see is nothing but 'Him'. In the last six chapters of the Gita, we find very interesting aspects of sayujya, being one with Him. He says all my devotees reach Me. This 'asi' aspect of tat tvam asi is very important. Here lies the magical transformation of the iva from its mundane existence with limited awareness (individualized consciousness) to Krishna consciousness. 
    The supreme Lord advocates the principle of sharanagatim meaning total surrender (of the self, the jivatman to the higher self, paramatman). The aspect of  moha, attachment to the phenomenal objective world, the world of sensuous objects and relationships, is created by nescience, avidya. One has to get rid of this 'asmita', ajnyan. It is removed only by realization of the Self, Atmajnyan and enlightenment (jnyan). The jiva is thus redeemed by knowledge of the Self through yoga! The last six chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita are of highly esoteric nature and pose a challenge to the scholars. Unless one has taken to yoga the secrets enshrined here cannot be understood. The person who contemplates on these last chapters are sure to attain to brahmn. tasmaat yogirbhavaarjunaa | says Krishna.  He also says maamupetya tu kounteya...mokshayishyaami | Thus the jiva is redeemed.
    So far, no scholar of repute, or well-versed in the Gita, has come out with commentaries on these verses; the antrartha, inner-most secret of the secret (guhyatama guhya) or the esoteric meaning of the Gita here remains a  secret forever. It is difficult to understand many of the subtler aspects of jiva and the secrets hidden here despite the fact the Lord Himself explains these. What blinds us is our attachment to earthly existence and attachment, moha, abhinivesha, that prevent from taking to the teachings of the Lord seriously.
  Even a small plant like tulasi, tumbe, bilva or a tree like coconut and banyan becomes divine once the devotee of Krishna attains to sayujya in samadhi taking recourse to yoga. "All living beings (jivarashi) are dear to Me", He, the Lord says. "I am in all and nobody is in Me", He says. Again He says, "All are in Me, and I am not in anybody". These statements of the Lord are very confusing, contradictory, and very difficult to understand. But, 'Understanding' takes us to Him. The very term "Understanding" is Brahmn. 'Understanding' is not an ordinary word since contemplation (dhyana) on understanding takes us to Brahmn, Shree Krishna.Understanding requires deep contemplation (samadhi state in yoga); it requires reflection (deep thinking about Self, atma avalokana. It is not possible without steadfastness. Nothing can be attained without faith.

  One should attain to 'brahm sayujya' , sarupya, sayujya, and oneness with the supreme Lord (nirakara parabrahmn, just not salokya (entering His world / brahmloka), sameepya (closeness) or sannidhya (at the feet of the Lord), by the time one completely merges in the Gitopadesha. Contemplate on the sayings of Shree Krishna will redeem us from Bhavasagara. However, this is not for those who are still interested in mundane world.

Why Take to Yoga?

  Yoga is a must for all age groups. Here, yoga does not mean mere asana and pranayama that are normally taught in Institutes, It is more of advanced techniques of an inward journey consisting of dhyana, dharana, and samadhi (sama dheeh / equanimity). Unless, one perfects in focused attention (dharana), contemplation, that needs faith, reflection and steadfastness it is of no use (for spiritual development). The ultimate goal of life is to perfect oneself in samadhi and attain to sayujya, merger (yuj) in the highest 'unity consciousness' and, that is the real meaning and purport of yoga (merger, oneness).
   The benefits of yoga are numerous. Dhyana and dharana will help concentrate, focus attention, and get clarity, insight into the problems. Moreover, dharana helps to excel in any field. With this a person can finish a work just 45 mins. what others take 6 Hrs. Dhyana keeps the mind cool, composed and this brings out the best in a person. Thus, the last four steps of yoga bring out the potential in a person and help to attain excellence, as also, the divinity inherent in the being/jiva.

  The Patanjali Yoga System is of eight steps (ashtanga) and it starts with yama and niyama. Strict code of conduct is enforced here. Before going into the details of these eight steps, one by one, let us consider the first one, say, adherence to truthfulness and honesty'. The students are instructed to follow the rules strictly. My yoga teacher used to give special importance to satya and astheya (truthfulness and honesty) and we were not to give excuse, whatever the situation. Punishment is given for not adhering to rules. This is the first step where we shed our ego! He used to tell us that every time we tell a lie our blood flow is affected. Our breathing rhythm is affected and this causes mental aberrations. But, we do not care! By repeatedly telling lies we become sick internally since the heart, the mind, and the brain work at loggerheads and create problems subconsciously by creating cross currents of thoughts. Humans are so designed that the mind is very sensitive and the nervous system is extremely delicate. One should desist from telling lies, even for a joke, and stick to honesty, truthfulness, openness under all circumstance. This is the first lesson in yoga; we all fail this test. It seems it is not possible to take to yoga without passing this first test.
(to be contd. )

Ashrama and Ananda

Ashrams as a retreat for spiritual seekers have been described in scriptures. Accordingly, those interested in spiritual development can leave the humdrum of busy life and go to ashrams and seek the guidance of a teacher. Normally, the life of a person passes through childhood (balya), youth (youvana), Middle age which he /she spends as a householder, and old age (vruddhapya). Childhood is spent in studies and play, where as, the life in youth and middle age is spent in some avocation, job and earning a livelihood. In old age, one is left to take care of oneself either in an ashram or an old age home, if there is no body to take care of at home. Thus, life is not easy for anybody at any stage since it is full of uncertainties. The elders have found some easy way to spend old age in mathas or ashrama and it is this retreat we are dealing with here. 

  An ashrama is supposed to be headed by a learned person who can guide people- organising lectures on spirituality and teaching yoga. Some people collect funds and build  ashrams in secluded places for this purposes, as also provide food and shelter to visitors. This system of providing some retreat for spiritual development is one of the greatest contributions of our society to the needy, especially the elders, poor, and the helpless.

   Thread ceremony (upanayanam) is celebrated and children are given some training in study of scriptures after eight years of age (among the brahmins). They are advised to maintain strict celibacy (which of course, is not strictly enforced these days!). Much of this time of  childhood stage II (8 to 16 years) and youth goes in studies and learning some job. The early system of Gurukuls do not exist today.  When we come to old age, the ashrams definitely serve some good purpose. However, it is not easy to build and run an ashram; the organisation and management of ashram itself becomes a big business, a burden, a problem for those who want to retreat from worldly life. Ashrams, these days have become centres of abuse and scams due to selfish and unscrupulous people who do not abide by rules of morals and ethics. 

  The head of an ashram is normally a  swamy, teacher, or a sanyasi. This person is expected to be a learned person in spiritual texts, renunciate worldly life and work in the interest of people who seek spiritual development. But, these days, it is difficult to find such divine souls; great learned renunciates are hard to find. Hence, the quality of ashrams has deteriorated. A person who has experience life and realized the futility of mundane existence only comes to this highest life of a sanyas. Such a person gives up his name, and function of gruhasta (householder) and thereby really qualifies for the ascetic life (through study of scriptures, practice of yoga, etc). 

  The paradox of the situation is that ordinary people do not understand this level of existence of great teachers, sanyasins. Ego, ahankar, comes in the way of accepting another person as a swami/teacher/guru. Moreover, ordinary people are so accustomed to sensuous life that they do not show interest in spiritual studies. It is almost a pastime for some people, and it has become a fashion to spend some time in ashrams. For most of the people, there is no real interest in spiritual development, let alone seek mukti, moksha.
   The real purpose of setting up an ashram is thus defeated and most of the existing ones are just a misnomer, utmost a business centre these days!
  But nobody can deny the need for good ashrams and the need for spiritual development.