Our Viewpoint

A boatman was asked by a passenger who was a stranger to the area, “What kind of people live on the other side of the river?” “Well, the people on the other side are indeed very wicked, very bad,” was the reply. However, the stranger in his travel on the other side did not find anyone bad. In fact, the people were very good. He then asked the people on the other side, “What kind of people are on the opposite bank?” The people generously said “Well, the people on the other side are good people.” The stranger narrated what the boatman had said, they replied “Well, one or two persons may have had bad?? experiences but you can’t say all people are bad”. The stranger realized that goodness and badness lies in our own self.

Bura Jo Dekhan Main Chala, Bura Na Milya Koi, Jo dekhu dil khojke, Mosay bura na koi! (I went out in search for the crooked, I met not a single one. When I searched myself, I found none worse than me. )


As this Doha by Kabir suggests, we should not have a negative angle. But, by family background, by education, by culture, we have many prejudices. We do not see things as they are but rather as we like to see things.


We love our habits, our opinions, our beliefs, our ideals. We, as a result of such a strong way of thinking, also suffer. A child that is taught by his family to see only wickedness suffers a lot and is critical with all. He is apprehensive, tense; there is less of joy and selflessness. We should, at least, understand that our thoughts are not entirely our own. They are acquired from other sources. Many opinions are emotional and conditioned.


Yoga is a de-conditioning of wrong opinions. It makes us free from strong emotions, attachments, beliefs which are the cause of lot of our problems. We can learn a lot by putting ourselves in another person’s position.


In Ahimsa and Satya this is suggested. Try to realize how the other individual feels and suffers. Try and understand if your hurt is a grievous; done out of cruel intention, done by yourself or allowed to be done by others and you just instigated it; whether the hurt is through thoughts, words or actions. To understand another person and to appreciate.

Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra



Published in the October 2011 edition of Yoga & Total Health magazine.

PREVENTION OF DISEASE

~Hansaji

Vaidya S. C. Chaturvedi is a highly qualified medical practitioner of the Indian system of Ayurveda. He teaches at Ayurveda medical colleges, is attached to the Bombay Hospital and has written several books on the subject of Ayurveda. The following are the questions and answers as recorded by the interviewer.

Q. Ayurveda takes care of those who are sick. In yoga we believe that a person ultimately suffers because of personal ignorance or Avidya. Has Ayurveda anything to offer by way of preventing disease ?   

A. Aturveda is a total science of health and prevention definitely has a place in it. Ayurveda emphasizes care in terms of food, Ahara, and an adequate amount of activities, Vihara. It takes care of both curative and preventing aspects of health.

Q. Has Ayurveda anything specific to offer?

A. Yes, the right daily routine, Dinacarya, and the right seasonal discipline, Ratucarya. But in India many of the healthy habits of life have been integrated into religion. Preventive habits have, therefore, become a part of our way of life.     

Q.  What does Ratucrya mean ?

A.  To understand what is meant by seasonal discipline, one has to know that our body is made up of the same five elements as the universe is, i.e. earth, fire, water, air nd ether. If there is a change in the universe or season, there is a change in our body, too. If we are not aware of this and carry on our old routines, we might suffer.

Q. What role do seasonal changes play ?

A. They can disturb the physiological balance of the body through great fluctuations in temperature or extreme heat or cold. Insufficient cold during the cold season can also cause disease.

Q. What do you recommend during weather fluctuations ?

A. In India we say that there are six seasons, but actually there are only three: summer, winter and the rainy season. The blast week of a season and the first of the following one, i.e. 15 days, are called Rtu – sandhi. This is a period of disease where the body suffers the most. One should therefore rest more and make some changes in diet and daily routine.

There should be more of purgation and cleansing because congestion or blockage or tension will affect the system immediately. Release of tension is possible through conscious relaxation. As far as diet is concerned, vegetable and fruit help to clear up the system, and one should gradually change over to the diet best suited for the coming season.

Q. What do you suggest for the cold season ?

A. In this season the water and air elements are in excess. This should be balanced by hot food containing more fire elements. Dry fruits with milk , different milk preparations, jaggery and honey, some spices like pepper, jeera, cardamom and plenty of vegetables should be part of the daily diet. Cold drinks or ice-cream should be avoided. Likewise, swimming, getting wet or cold or exposure to the breeze. In winter one should never sleep during the day. One should have more exercise. Yogic asanas twice a day plus some recreation activities like games would be good. Of course one should also wear warm clothes.

Q. What are the usual causes of disease, according to Ayurveda?

A. Disease arises due to deficiency, excess or vitiation either in metabolic components, Dosas or in vital components, Dhatus.  They have to be kept in an equilibrium, which is done by means of diet, medicines and patient’s own deeds.

Q. Does Ayurveda believe that time is the final reality?

A. Since time preserves us, cares for us and destroys us, we are all affected by it. Time is the ultimate; in other words, we have to do the right things at the right time.          

Published in the September 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine

BREATHE AWARENESS

– Review

Article Bi Monthly 2009

Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, New Delhi.

                            by  Mahamandalersar Swami Ved Bharati

Image source-
http://www.lajollayogacenter.com/events-1010swamivedabharati.html

Alphabet of meditation is breathing in one of the Sufi traditions. Naqshbakdiandi order places the most prominence on breath awareness. One of the beautiful names of God is used as one may do mental recitation of ILLILLAH (but one God). With inhalation in the Gospel according to St. John some time after the crucifixion Christ appeared and breathed and breathed into them and said, “Receive Ye the Holy spirit” (John 2022). In Mount Athos at the Autonomous Monastic of holy Mountains boy the Greek and the Russian versions teach the system of remembering God a prayer with breath awareness. The texts advice that breathing practices with prayer be undertaken under the guidance of a master. In China the practice of breath awareness is as ancient as it is in India.   

Mahamandaleswar Swami Ved Bharati’s conversation with Taoist guides in China had confirmed that in China they continue to teach the breath awareness practices that parallel ones in Indogenic systems.

The practice of breath awareness is familiar to the Tamil Siddhas. The major saints of medieval India placed a great deal of emphasis of understanding breath and using it as a vehicle for higher realization. Guru Granth Sahib reportedly admonishes the devotees to pay attention to breath and let the name of God be remembered at each breath. The Buddhist follow this. Both the Chinese Ch’an and the Japanese Zen also teach concentration on breath from below the navel. There are debates among Jainas as to the efficacy of breathing exercises.

Yogi Yajnavalkya Smiti speaks of not forcible inhaling or exhaling (force would be if grains of flour kept in hand should not get stirred). Even non-jerky breathing is emphasized. Length of exhalation and inhalation should be even. No breaks. Exhalation is when meditation begins. Do not keep changing methods, one can later get into a state of consciousness and a physical and emotional correlation without using the technique by just a Sankalpa.

Published in the November 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine

TRUE STORY OF A MIRACLE YOGI

A big team of researchers medical men and media personnel thronged to Malad near Bombay to witness Yogi L. N. Rao walk on water some years back.

Yogi Rao came out of the enclosure, waved to the gathering, put his right foot on the water surface which did not hold his foot; he put his left foot into the water and that too went into the water and lo and behold he sank into water.  His disciples dived into the water and salvaged the drowning man back to earth.

Yogi Rao smiled and said the mistake was he did not have his bowel movement in the morning and this is why he was drowning.  He was clever, the audience was aghast, the world press moved away and Yogi Rao quietly slipped out from the backdoor..

He met Yogendraji after many years and laughed and said he was just checking how many fools there existed cheating the world even today. He was amazed that there are still many fools left in the world capable of cheating the world!

Published in the October2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine

Perspective

Ankita Shah

He swerved the car to the extreme right and slammed on the brakes. Straining against my seat belt, I frowned at him and then at the bike driver facing us. After a bit of angry exchange with the bike driver, we moved on.

I looked at him then and said disapprovingly, “Dad why do you purposely get into their way? Why not just let them be?”

Vehemently, he said, “He was going in the wrong direction! Just for convenience these people break rules and put lives in danger. If we would have got into an accident, he would have held us responsible. No one has any civic sense. We need to put some sense into them.”

But they never change, I argued. In fact, the man on the bike thought he was right and we were wrong. How could one improve if they weren’t even aware of their mistakes? “Everyone in Mumbai is like this. Why get our blood pressure high in trying to improve them unnecessarily? Might as well be cautious, peacefully accept the situation and move on. You will start getting heart problems if you keep this up,” I preached.

Dad became silent and thoughtful. I was happy that I made a difference in the way he looked at the situation.

To my chagrin, the next day, he had a heated exchange with a pedestrian trying to cross while our signal was green. He was fuming and I was upset. I realized that the previous day he was silent because he disagreed with me. He truly believed in his cause and felt he was right.

But wait a minute, what was I doing? I was telling him to accept people as they are, when I myself was not accepting him the way he was. He had his own set of beliefs based on his experience and learning and I had mine. I was trying to force my perspective on him too, getting upset in the process.

Come to think of it, how many times had my parents, friends and relatives asked me to change some things about me but I was adamant that I was right? I refused to change too.

So in the end, whose perspective would you say was right? The bike driver’s, Dad’s, mine, my friends’? Is it someone who sees from his point of view, or someone who steps into another’s shoes? Which perspective would it be?

The answer came smilingly to me. THE HIGHER PERSPECTIVE. One that sees neither right nor wrong. One that is non-judgmental and detached. It just sees.

The next day, I sat quietly in the car and just smiled at the drama unfolding all around me.

Published in the June 2011 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine

LITTLE DROPS OF WATER

Sarita Modi

In the days of Buddha the city of Shravasti faced a great famine. Rich people not only hid themselves, but also hid all the clothes and food available.

                      

At that time a girl named Supriya came forward and went house to house to collect food and clothes for the needy. Impressed by her effort and belief other people also joined her and a big movement to fight the famine was created.

However difficult the situation is, if some strong person stands up to the situation, the situation could improve.

In our personal life too we face many difficult situations. We do not have to get upset but rather keep patience and face things with faith and strength. The problems are temporary clouds; the sun will be shining soon.

To give an example, Lucy had a drunkard husband who quarrelled, did not do much work and was negative and demanding. Lucy quietly continued with her duties, keeping herself busy, tackling the problems which could be tackled and leaving the rest to God; strongly and happily living her life. In course of time Lucy became a model for the neighbourhood and the husband improved.

Published in the June 2011 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine

SINCERE COMMITMENT

A little blind boy was thrown out of his house when he was only a child. He was asked to sit on the steps of the temple and take God’s name seriously. He did exactly as he was told and became a saint. When there is sincerity and devotion, one can reach great heights.

There are few like Surdas who follow the path of Yoga sincerely. For them, Abhyasa and Vairagya are two things like a straight road, taking them to the highest They put in continuous efforts till the mind is fully controlled. These are the best students.

Other second class students are also very sincere. They follow Kriya –Yoga. The first three Niyamas are taken separately. The Niyamas are practiced in a determined way. Tapa is done sincerely, but not in an extreme way. It increases one’s bearing capacity. Swadhyaya includes thinking, perception and reading. It increases knowledge. Ishwarara  Pranidhana is Bhakti, it takes care of emotions. Emotions should be for God. In material world nobody is anybody’s and nobody satisfies emotions. Emotions get disturbed, happiness is followed by pain. So these students have emotions for God and they surrender to Him totally.        

Through Kriya-Yoga one can reach Samadhi. All these constituents are equally important. Bhakta may not be strong, so Tapa has to be done. One who does Tapa well, may lean towards Ahankara. One surrenders success or failure to God in Ishwra Pranidhana and does not become egoistic or depressed. He remains balanced always.

For the third class of students, eight steps are recommended.

The question is how sincerely committed are we ? If really sincere, we can reach the highest. Otherwise, is our efforts are half- hearted, we can play around and tell everybody that we are practicing Yoga.   

Published in the Sept 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine. 

SAVE SELF

Image courtesy OsaWaterWorks

Sudha N. Desai

If our house catches fire – what do we do?  We leave everything else behind and run out of the hose, to save our lives. So also in the case of any natural calamity – our immediate response is to save ourselves.

For a student of Yoga the Vrittis of the mind (chitta) are these calamities. One following the yoga path tries to save himself from all kinds of such thoughts. For him the self is the Purusha or consciousness or Atman and not the physical body or mind. His priority is to his self, his consciousness, not his body or his belongings or his thoughts. His goal is to realize this self.

In our daily lives – we are conscious of things, but that is at a gross level. We are not in tune with the deeper layers, that is our true self. Pure consciousness is mixed up with our thoughts which do not let us see our true self. It is only when our mind can be kept thought-free for a prolonged period of time, can one see beyond the mundane to the subtler and become aware of our true self.

The technique that a sincere student of yoga, therefore adopts, is Abhyasa and Vairagya, or in other words – study and renunciation. He keeps up his practice while at the same time gradually tries losing interest in the material world. This helps in reducing thoughts and mental modifications. He does away with laziness, doubts, logic and reasoning – knowing well that these cause the thought processes to start. He strengthens his faith and strongly believes that is God looks after everything. His belief in the larger processes makes him realize that likes and dislikes have no meaning. He tries to avoid not only the negative but even good thoughts.

One can see the bottom of a lake only if there are no ripples on the surface. For the Yogi, the mind is like a lake and he does not throw a stone in the form of a thought in it. No thoughts – no ripples. Pure consciousness, which is beyond the mind, then shines forth.  


Published in the Sept 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

REDISCOVERING MYSELF THROUGH YOGA

Ila Sanghani

There I was, a mental and physical wreck, a menopausal woman at 51, and it showed in everything I did. I needed a break and I finally took one from my mundane routine - a vacation trip to Goa with some close friends. It was a very good trip, a welcome break.  Sharing problems with friends helped but even then my depression and pain would not leave me. A very dear friend suggested the 7 Day Yoga Camp at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai.

I was in two minds, but then decided to join, figuring that if it was going to help, I had nothing to lose. At the camp, ours was a mixed group of some willing and some reluctant participants. I was the oldest. On the first day I could not sit on the floor and I also hated the food, to say the least. But as the week progressed, I started enjoying every bit.

Getting  up early, doing yoga exercises with Kavita Ma'am, a brisk walk, breakfast, followed by a  Karma yoga session -  it all involved a lot of learning but  with a lot of fun.

I looked forward to sessions with Hansaji. She would explain the complex things of life in such a simple and subtle way that I even shared my problems with her separately. I loved the sessions with Sujata Banerjee, with  young Ankita teaching us about Bhavas, Hansaji’s  video talks, Bhajans and games sessions, a session with my friend Ushma Shah,  Pranayama sessions, the evening yoga sessions with Daniel……they all imparted some really substantial lessons.

Yoga is very holistic. Apart from relieving my physical pain, it taught me the importance of loving myself. We are always taught to be giving and unselfish, but in the process many times we end up being unhealthy and negligent towards ourselves. At the camp I learnt how important it was to treat ourselves well. The calmness and stillness here helped me to love myself and learn that anger is destructive, first and foremost to the person who is angry. It became the start of a very healthy process.

It was one wonderful week that had come at a very important time in my life. I seemed like a new person. Despite this, I was apprehensive about whether I would be able to implement all this when I returned to my routine life. Little did I know exactly how much I would later apply all that I had learnt. After the camp was over, I returned home to Kolkata where some terrible problems occurred. Of course, I had left them behind for a vacation and could not expect them to magically disappear when I returned.

However, I was able to deal with them calmly and coolly. I could not believe I was the same person: the old me would have reacted negatively, crying and shouting, but I really feel that Savasana  helped me to remain composed and calmed me down a lot. My reactions were completely different; I was surprising myself by handling things so maturely.

 I continue practicing yoga exercises. I still feel depressed at times, but I am able to tackle it. I also re-discovered my passion for music and am now taking classical vocal music lessons. Now I tell people I meet to practice yoga to make their lives better. I thank everyone at the camp who helped me to re-discover the parts of myself I thought I had lost forever.

Published in the Jan 2011 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

Acceptance - The Way Ahead

Syamala Monie

I was a school teacher with a great passion for teaching. The fact that I started my career at the age of forty made it all the more challenging for me. Ten years into my job, I contracted paratyphoid, not once but twice. The medication left me with mild hearing impairment. As years went by it started getting worse. It was difficult to manage a class of sixty children and I had to leave the job. I went for an audiogram and it showed severe to profound neurological hearing loss in both ears. The doctor said there was no treatment for it. But I did not want people to know that I had a problem. In social gatherings I would try and lip read or anticipate the question in the given context and answer. Very often the answer would not even be relevant to the discussion. I started avoiding people or would sit quietly when among a group.

Around this time I attended a Parisamvada session by Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji. I put forward the question. “If one has a physical handicap, what is the best method to tackle it?” Dr Jayadeva’s answer was short and sweet. “If it cannot be cured try and accept it. That is the way ahead.”

Those words gave me clarity. I realized I was wasting my energy by fighting the situation. Soon I got a pair of hearing aids. I would request people to talk a bit loudly. With acceptance life was much lighter. During one of the morning strolls with Hansaji I expressed my wish to do the teacher’s training. But I was still very apprehensive. She encouraged me to try it out and I felt really happy when I completed the training within the stipulated time. I enjoyed making lesson plans and giving lessons and talks. More than anything I have found a place in the great ‘Yoga family’ with so many friends and the list is still growing.

Published in the June 2011 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

June 2011 Editorial

Dr.Jayadeva

Look before you leap!  Do some thinking before you take up responsibilities.  If you have hurriedly taken up a job and you come to realize gradually that the task is more than you can manage, be honest enough to confess this and inform the concerned persons about it.

    I will learn yoga, I will practice the techniques like Asanas and Pranayamas etc. and I will look for the results like Siddhis and Samadhi; or I will perform Sirasana for half an hour and expect wonderful reactions in my brain and my nervous system.

    All this is wrong. If I wish to learn yoga I should introduce myself to this deeply interiorised science by being conditioned, by being quiet, by being aware of physical, psychological, and psycho-physical functioning in my body and mind.

    Contrarily when something physical is done like speaking violently with gestures and emotions a wave of agitation sets in and ends in angry behaviour.   The action leads to psychological and sub-conscious impression, numerous attitudes and subsequent behaviour.

    Such apparently simple looking “hurting” has been divided into 81 categories in the Yoga sutra commentaries.  And that is why in an exaggerated way, they say that, “if you master Ahimsa you master yoga”.  Ahimsa Paramo Dharma.    

Published in the June 2011 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

JET SET YOGINI

Jayashree Patil

Hansa Jayadeva dispels whatever archaic notions one might have about yoga teachers. She is vivacious, confident, articulate and very stylish!

She runs The Yoga Institute, Santacruz, jointly with her husband Dr. Jayadeva, whose father Shri Yogendraji founded it way back in 1918. This makes it one of the oldest international yoga foundations in India.
The Jaradevas are a study in contrast. She is the practical doer; he, the shy retiring thinker. In spite of an age difference of 19 years between them, the Jayadevas present a unique whole.

Dr. Jayadeva with a doctorate in philosophy and psychology, ideally suited to his retrospective self-effacing nature, has had a brilliant academic career. Hansa on the other hand has had more than her share of scholastic ups and downs.  She was forced to give up her cherished career in medicine, due to severe asthma.

Swallowing her disappointment, she enrolled back to college, completed her B.Sc. and studied law as well. She also pursued her interest in classical music by learning classical music by singing as well as the sitar.         

Throughout this period, the asthma was a constant factor in her life. When all remedies had failed, she finally joined The Yoga Institute. Here, her instructor was none other than Dr. Jayadeva.

Seeing her prowess in the most difficult asanas (which she had been practicing since childhood) he encouraged her to join the advanced teachers training course that the Institute had to offer. Here, for the first time Hansa was exposed to the theory behind each asana. She learnt the various elements that went into making yoga such a complete science and in the process of learning, her asthma vanished. Magically or so it seemed. It hasn’t recurred to date!

Her decision to marry Dr. Jayadeva was heavily opposed by her parents. He was so much her senior and did not come from an equally affluent background. And anyway wouldn’t  she be happier married to some green card holder?

But Hansa was adamant and the marriage took place. Now began progressive years for the institute, under the charismatic guidance of Hansa, ably supported by Dr. Jayadeva.

The first thing she did was to streamline the residential course, mostly frequented by foreigners. Till then the Institute had only offered them lodging, while they had to fend for themselves for their daily meals. Hansa changed all that. She installed a hygienic kitchen, where the students were assured of fresh, wholesome food. She also restructured the residential courses so that each day was meticulously organized and given to constructive activity.

She was instrumental in starting a yoga research department as well as setting up a library and a museum in the premises.

Her activity has not been confined to India alone. Since 1974, she, along with Dr.Jayadeva, has conducted Yoga workshops and seminars in various countries of the world, including Australia, Canada, Europe and the U.S.A., gaining support and admiration all the way.

Not being content with international acclaim, Hansa set her sight on popularizing yoga amongst Indians. To gain the vast audience she had in mind, there was only one medium – Doordarshan! Her program, ‘Yoga for Better Living’, was being telecast every Wednesday and Sunday mornings on the national network and had even received an extension due to popular demand.

In spite of the heavy demand on time, she is forever innovating and restructuring the various programs at the Institute as well as introducing  new courses, be it for working women or one specially crafted for cardiac patients. She still finds time to lecture advanced students and play table tennis. Certainly not a stereotype yoga teacher as we said earlier and we’re sure you agree too!

Published in the Oct 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF YOGA EDUCATION

Promil Jain Sequeira

Yoga education can supplement school and university education. It can prepare the students physically and mentally for the integration of their physical, mental and spiritual faculties so that the students can become healthier, saner and more integrated members of the society and of the nation.

Yoga education helps in self discipline and sel-control, leading to immense amount of awareness, concentration and higher level of consciousness. Briefly the aims and objectives of Yoga education are:
1)    To enable the student to have good health.
2)    To practice mental hygiene.
3)    To possess emotional stability.
4)    To integrate moral values.    
5)    To attain higher level of consciousness.
. All these objectives could be dealt with in an integrated manner.

Yoga education could help to equip oneself with basic knowledge about one’s personality, to learn to handle oneself well in all life situations, to learn techniques of gaining good health, to develop a discriminative mind capable of knowing the real from the unreal and to face the dualities of life with equanimity.

Yoga education can start from standard II up to standard IX. This would require about 480 sessions. For details of core learning, skill learning and concomitant learning – refer Cyclopedia Vol. II on Yoga education; Vol. I on Asanas.

Yoga education can enhance all the activities of the students, be it academic or sport or social. Yoga techniques provide improved attention in studies, better stamina and co-ordination for sports and a heightened awareness and balanced attitude for social activity.   

Yoga education can be integrated in school education during the time set aside for P.T. but in a calm and quiet place creating the proper atmosphere for its proper study and practice.

Clear concepts are necessary in teaching Yoga. Yoga practices can be built around concepts like conditioning (preparation), synchronization, concentration, relaxation,  self-reliance. (These have been elaborated in “Teaching Yoga” – a publication of The Yoga Institute. Yoga teaching/learning should be experience based, i.e. the student should gain direct experience of the subject taught. Here the skill and knowledge of the teacher come into full play. A dedicated and dynamic teacher can create an atmosphere for learning. The teacher should have a deep experience of the concept he is teaching. Moreover, he can teach only what he knows. The teacher should have good rapport with the students. The teacher should be trained and experienced in knowing the physical and psychological needs of the students in various age groups. As Yoga deals with life and learning, these concepts should be integrated into life situations through various methods available to the teacher.

As the Yoga teacher gains experience, he may have to acquire skills of a counselor for the problems the student faces at the physical, psychological and spiritual levels of his personality. Counseling can be done during the time allotted for recreation.

Teachers and parents should acquaint themselves with Yoga; they could attend a short introductory course on Yoga. This will help them to understand the special needs of a student practicing Yoga.  

The course of Yoga for the student should be well formulated in terms of contents, aptness and graded so that what is learnt earlier works hand in glove with what follows. Practices should be progressive – from easy to difficult; ideology should only be explained students of a later class who are mature to understand it.
An ideal number for a Yoga class is 20 students; if there are more in number, one assistant would be useful. It is difficult to handle large numbers in a Yoga class – the teachers could lose contact with the students and the Yoga class in turn mechanical.  
As Yoga experience is subjective – any mechanical means of evaluation may not provide a good guideline. An experienced teacher can notice the progress of a Yoga student through his behavior and through his life activities. The Yoga Institute has worked on all aspects of Yoga education and through its pioneering efforts, it has provided the finest training for Yoga education teachers.

Published in the November 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

TANTRA AND YOGA

Santi Vicente, Sadhaka from Spain

From times immemorial India has been known as the land of the mysterious and magical, a land of Rsis, Yogis and ascetics.

The Vedic Rsis are the progenitors of the Indian spiritual ethos, of Indian culture and philosophy. From the magico-mysterious domains of the Atharva Veda, mantras, rituals, mystic practices were forged into Tantra.
The primal Being who propounded Tantra is considered to be Shiva – the archetype of the Yogis. There is a story of Shiva initiating his spouse in the secrets of Tantra, in a boat on a lake, so that none could hear the secret doctrine. Matsyendranath, transforming himself into a fish heard the secret doctrine, and it is said that Shiva was pleased with his enthusiasm, and for his earnestness, Matsyendranath learnt Tantra from the very lips of Shiva, albeit in the form of a fish!

Tantra became a pan-Indian vogue from the 6th Century of our era. The teaching and practice of Tantra remained a secret, to be learnt directly from the teacher. Thus it became a secret and esoteric doctrine. Generally it was not accessible to the layman and to the untrained.

The philosophy of Tantra was an amalgam of the knowledge of Samkhya-yoga and of Vedanta. The bi-polar view of Reality had two aspects, Shiva – Pure Consciousness and Shakti – the female creative Divine principle. The Tantric sadhana consists in unifying these two principles into a unifying whole. A variety of rituals and Yogic practices are used for this purpose, most of which can be learnt only from a competent Guru.

Published in the Aug 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

UNCONCERNED OBSERVATION

A woman is cursed to see but does nothing else. She enjoys sitting at the window.  Once she sees a charming prince who waves out to her.  She gets carried away, gets up from her chair, goes to meet him and dies.  She had stopped being just an observer.

The Yogi is an observer. He sees others carrying on, acting – reacting and suffering.  He just sees, unconcerned.  He is just an observer.  We can’t remain like that.  We enjoy the drama of actions – reactions. For us there is no sense just in experiencing peace.

This quality of being an observer, being aware and not getting involved is considered as the highest in Yoga.  Awareness about things is primary,    carrying out actions is secondary. We don’t catch the source, the presence, because, we are too involved in things emanating and actions. Involvement with material things has its disadvantages; we can get involved and get carried away from the source. Even a little involvement leads on and on.  Man happily living in a jungle is given a cow.  Looking after the cow, fear of wild animals keeps haunting him and he gets so busy that he loses his peace.  Even slightest involvement with the material things robs us of peace and quiet. When we suffer, we want to give up involvements and be interested in the spirit. But after a short while we again get busy.  That thorough understanding and detachment never comes.

The Yogi enjoys the experience of whatever we consider as the highest. We don’t attain it because we can’t remain neutral to whatever is happening around us.

Published in the Oct 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

THE VEDAS

T.M.P. Mahadevan.

His holiness Chandrashekhar Saraswatui Vyasa classified Vedic literature.                                                                                                               

It was vast, five thousand years back there were 1180 branches of the Vedas.

Today we have only 8 left.  

The division contained all details about performing activities from birth to death.

Kural in Tamil is equal to the Vedas. It is part of Indian culture.

Five thousand years back Vyasa classified the veda into branches (Shakha) to make it possible for a simple individual to study and benefit. The Shakhas have a threefold division.

The kings of those days granted srotriyam village to scholars who studied the Veda all their life.

No tax was levied on such villages even till this day. India is the only such country where generations of families performs duties relating to spiritual welfare without engaging themselves in ---- profession. Upasana mantra are recited. In Kerala Nambudiar Brahmins are known for their vedic study.

Gayatri Japa should be done without fail. Gayatri is the quintessence      
of the Vedas.


Published in the Sept 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

PLEASURE AND MORE PLEASURE

Our desires have to be understood. Likes and dislikes are a fundamental trait of all living beings. Just because you like something you should not keep indulging in it, till it harms you and ruins you. There are objects that are pleasure giving. But we can not blindly pursue till they hurt and ruin us. If we are in our senses we stop when pleasure starts leading to pain.

A foreigner descended upon a small village that was simple and did not boast of a factory or any of large machines . It was simple and poor but quite happy, peaceful and content.

The foreigner gathered to gather the villagers and spoke to them about their nearby town, where the people worked together in a large factory and earned good wages. Some of these men went to pubs and enjoyed drinks. Liquor was tasty. He made a few to actually drink it and inquired if they liked it and gave more. Some consumed a lot of alcohol and were dizzy. Later they went away He kept up this “introduction to alcohol sessions” on and off . And very shortly many in the village became alcoholic. The foreigner made money. This is the power of allowing desires to have free run. Controlling these deep seated urges, instincts, needs rigorous work. The understanding and deep effort to stop these instinctive desires like for food, for drink, for sex, is not easy.

By repeated practices and deep insights one begins to recognize and control them. So often in old writing they talk of person immune to heat and cold, pleasure and pain etc.

Suka, a young boy passed through a pond full of unclad young girls, frolicking and bathing. Suka does not even bother to look at them, but looks ahead to reach a very wise man, Janaka, to learn about spirituality! That was his upbringing.

Published in the November 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine