Yoga, zen, cookies and filter coffee

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2:53 PM Partha: If all these plans work out, ill get more confidence about doing yoga practice full time. i think only that will make me do my practice with total regularity 

Karthik: In zen they say your desires and needs are not served by practice
2:55 PM But your practice is fueled by them

2:56 PM Partha: totally opposite :)2:57 PM mine is totally fuelled by my need to make my life in a certain way
we can say, the practice will suit our desires if it is truly the divine will :)

2:59 PM Karthik: i must add this opposite is present to acknowledge the delusion that one can predict divine will

3:00 PM Partha: lol :)
not sure what to tell about that 

Karthik: But yes, given delusion is workaday we have to acknowledge its presence too


3:01 PM Partha: in the pair of opposites
3:02 PM what is good, eternal and beautiful (satyam, shivam & sundaram) is gods will
what is not is gods test to the individual on whether he/she can obey the divine will
:) 

Karthik: Hmm
3:03 PM Great faith and great doubt
3:04 PM May be there is divine will. May be there is not. Chewy chocolate cookies and sleep are easy. ;-)
3:05 PM I have faith in those :-P 

Partha: haha :)
they certainly are
for me it is filter coffee

Yoga Sadhana

To me yoga sadhana or the practice of yoga constitutes the following:

• External
• Asana, pranayama, bandhas, diet regulation, sleep regulation, brahmacarya, ayurveda, silence, right speech, right action, right effort, right livelihood, manifesting divine will

• Internal
• Meditation, concentration, awareness, silence, stillness, brahmacarya, right view, right intention, complete understanding, development of the heart, surrender, manifesting divine will, liberation

• Social
• Ecological living, equality, holistic development, ahimsa, right education, holisitc health care, sustainable and just economics, right livelihood, social cleansing, brahmacarya, manifesting divine will

From the above list, almost everyone will fail in more than one count in every category. The idea is to keep this supreme goal in mind and relentlessly try to match up to it! God willing, one will be able to touch the goal often enough in ones life!

Education

Education is the cultivation of discriminative knowledge between the following and the skill to use them appropriately:

• Patanjali's psychology vs Jung's psychology
• Ramana's I vs Descarte's I
• Buddha's rules vs Newton's rules

மொக்கை போடுவாரை பொறுத்தல்

அகழ்வாரைத் தாங்கும் நிலம்போல் மொக்கை
போடுவாரை பொறுத்தல் தலை!

Photos from FB

Forgetting seeing!

I forget I can see
Knots appear in my sight
I step into the ditch
I remember I can see
I see
This seeing invokes grace
Grace descends
Knots dissolve
Out of the ditch!

Dharma pravrittih; Adharma nivrittih

"Janami dharmam, na ca me pravrittih;
Janami adharmam, na ca me nivrittih."

I know very well what is dharma and yet I cannot follow it.
I know very well what is contrary to dharma, and yet I cannot abstain from it.

  -- Duryodhana!

Many instances of this fellow are within us! When shall we cleanse ourselves?

Prana shatakam

I shape mind, intelligence ,
ego, and thought positively
My five parts enter you, produce the seven elements in you,
I help ears, tongue, nose and eyes function well,
I give voice, move hands, feet and other organs,
The movement of life is due to me,
I am prana, I am prana, servant of Narayana!

I participate in the game of enmity and friendship,
In the game of competition, money and assets
In all games I participate; victory and defeat do not matter
What matters to me is the desire to
ameliorate things and push everything towards the divine
I am prana, I am prana, servant of Narayana!

I am present in Science
In minuscule amounts in that science
which is swayed by power and greed
But, in huge amounts in that science
which is at the sole service of discovery of truth
that which is without prejudice, without bias, without falsehood
I am prana, I am prana, servant of Narayana!

I am present in Spirituality
very little in that kind which is sold as a product
little more in that kind which is built on personalities
But in immense amounts in the one
which is built on genuine inner quest for the divine
I am prana, I am prana, servant of Narayana!

I am present in Social Work
very little in the one that is partial
even little in ones with motives
much less in ones without sincerity
but in vast amounts in that which works for true change
a total change - inner and outer
I am prana, I am prana, servant of Narayana!

I help bring about change
from sins to good deeds; from suffering to happiness;
for one and all; without discrimination!
I have no death, nor do I worry of it!
I am not worried of personal liberation!
I will be around until his leela goes on!
I am prana, I am prana, servant of Narayana!

5 faces of Yoga

Depending on ones state of being, different definitions of Yoga work. From a very high view point, all of them may be equivalent. But, it may be useful to hold and relate to all of them.

• In a religious state of mind, Yoga is that which connects one to ones ishta devata or favourite deity. For me, Yoga is that which shows me Ram in my heart and helps me surrender to him!

• In an utilitarian state of mind, Yoga is that which cleanses all impurities in me - physical, physiological and mental and keeps me in a state of perfect poise to face the world. Clears the way to the discovery of manifestation of ones deeper desires.

• In a moralistic state of mind, one sees the forces that pull one in unhealthy / evil paths and the forces that pull one towards healthy / holistic paths. Then, Yoga is that which minimises the former and powers the latter.

• In a silent state of mind, one witnesses / becomes the state of perfect silence within and without. Then, Yoga is that which attaches the external part of oneself to the silent state within and gets the silent part to direct the external.

• In an activist state of mind, one sees so many impurities (causing intense suffering) all around. Then, Yoga is that which touches the infinite well spring of positive energy within and helps one spread that positive light outside. In such a relating with the world, ones impurities are seen clearly and are eliminated.

 

யோக சூத்திரம் - ராம கானம்

காலை எழுந்தவுடன் யோக சூத்திரம்
பின்பு கனிவு கொடுக்கும் ராம கானம்!

வேண்டும்

எண்ணிய முடிதல் வேண்டும்
நல்லவே எண்ண வேண்டும்
திண்ணிய நெஞ்சம் வேண்டும்
தெளிந்த நல் அறிவு வேண்டும்!
பண்ணிய பாவமெல்லாம்
பரிதி முன் பனியே போலே
நண்ணிய நின் முன் இங்கு
நசித்திடல் வேண்டும் அம்மா!

Yoga of elements with examples

Elements in subtlest to grosses order! Along with my examples of the same!

Hari and Siva

1. First they are different

Clearly they are two different entities / objects. They are called by different names and have a different presence and feel about them.

2. Then they are same

This is the dawning of wisdom. One sees people fighting (warring?) with each other in their names and questions how a all knowing and all loving divine can instigate such feuds? One recognises the entities identified in the previous stage to be mere stones.

3. Then they are different

If the dawning of wisdom continues, one develops individually. One has more and more nobler goals and ambitions in life. But, there is opposition. The world opposes the flowering of these ambitions. One suffers like how birds that escaped a forest fire suffer for the sake of their little ones that perish in the fire. One is desperate and one seeks guidance. Clearly, Hari and Siva are identified and they seem to be opposing each other. The creating / sustaining power of Hari clashes with the increasing entropy of Siva. The stones are no more stones.

4. Finally, they are same

Through divine will, if the noble intentions are sustained and carried out, at the pinnacle of the individuals growth, Hari and Siva unite! When this happens, one may say Hari and Siva are one! No stone is a stone any more!

Yoga of the Elements

The mind is a function of the body. Since the body came out of matter, the mind also has qualities of matter. Hence, the functions of the mind can be analysed using the five elements that make up matter - earth, water, fire, air & space.

Yoga of earth 

योगाङ्गानुष्ठानाद अशुद्धिक्षये ज्ञानदीप्तिर आविवेकख्यातेः - Yoga Sutras
Adhering to the limbs of yoga cleanses impurities, lights the lamp of wisdom and gives the highest discriminative intelligence.

This implies understanding of the various stages / limbs of yoga and continuous / systematic adherence to them is the Yoga of this element. This forms of the unshakeable foundation of the Yogi!

Yoga of water 

शुबाषुबाब्यां मार्गाब्यां वहन्ति वासना सरित
पोउरुषेण प्रयत्नेन योजनीया शुभे पथि!        -  Yoga Vasishta

Tendencies flow on healthy and undesirable paths. Men of wisdom put in the right effort to direct them along the healthy paths!

Like water flowing on earth waters both the thorn bush and the tulsi tree, our tendencies are nirguna (without characterisitcs). They flow in all directions. Consequently, societies and various institutions take on healthy and unhealthy shades. Identifying this and non-judgementally directing all tendencies into healthy directions is the yoga of this element.

Yoga of fire 

तपः स्वाध्याय  ईश्वरप्रनिधानानि क्रिया योगः  -  Yoga Sutras
Continuous cleansing of oneself, self analysis and surrendering to god are the action components of yoga.

This is the primary energy provider and accomplishes lot in less clock time. Continuous and rigorous cleansing of oneself of impurities in all dimensions, continuous digging deep into oneself to understand the entirety of ones being and surrendering to the divine will at all moments are the primary characteristics of this element.


Yoga of air

या निशा सर्व भूतानां तस्यं जाग्रति संयमि  -  Bhagavadgita

Those who are awake even where everyone is asleep is the Yogi!

Intuition is a sacred gift. It can transport us out of any state of darkness by first helping us identify it. It cannot be jailed. This element can never be trapped by the combined weight of all of existence. It can always find the truth and thereby stay awake.

Yoga of sky

ऋत्म्भरा तत्र प्रज्ञा  -  Yoga Sutras
Always side with the absolute truth.


The absolute holds all pairs of opposites within itself. It is without opposite. It is absolutely still and for that space is needed - the vast expansive space of the sky. This element provides the same.

All human minds have these five components. In the phase of developing them, these elements may appear to contradict each other externally. It implies lack of depth in the being internally. When sufficient depth is acquired, no external contradictions can be found.

The mind in which all these five components are continuously doing all of these five yogas is the mind that is in a state of Yoga!

Kaivalyam

sattva-purushayoh shuddhi-samye kaivalyam!
Liberation is when the mind acquires the perfect purity of the soul!

-- Yoga sutras - Vibhuti pada - verse 56

Further photos from FB

Interesting photos from FB

Light

Do you have enough light in you to direct yourself? Then, and only then, absolutely no third party advice is needed!

Agni

Even without doing the advised prayers, Agni arrives all by himself! What are the repercussions?