மீண்டும் யோகம்

கற்றது யோகம், தொலைவில் சொர்க்கம்
செய்வது போகம், வாழ்வில் மயக்கம்
பாதையில் மடக்கம், வளர்வது கலக்கம்
ஆதலால் துக்கம், விளைவு ரோகம்

சென்றேன் ரங்கம், கிடைத்தது இரக்கம்
தென்பட்டது அகம், நின்றது தர்க்கம்
குறைந்தது மோகம், கைவசம் ஊக்கம்
உருவானது சங்கம், உருவாகாது வஞ்சகம்

கருநிற மேகம், இனிமையான ஏகாங்கம்
அழகிய இலிங்கம், பார்வை உண்முகம்
வளர்ந்தது ஆக்கம், சாதனம் அத்தியான்மிகம்
செழிக்கும் புங்கம், மீண்டும் யோகம்!

Retirement at 40-45?

I have met people, who though financially successful in their jobs, want to retire by 40-45. In most cases I sensed some sort of burn out and frustration in the background leading to the conscious mind seeking, what it feels as, the best possible exit from the situation. In other words, retirement by 40-45.

Of course it is the individuals choice. But, I felt it was not, at least in most cases, a free choice - meaning not a choice born out of a clear understanding of oneself. In most of the cases, I was reminded of the following fabulously deep insight from the yoga sutra (chapter 2)

ब्रह्मचर्यप्रतिष्ठायां वीर्यलाभः
Brahmacaryapratiṣṭhāyāṁ vīryalābhaḥ

The above sutra basically means, if one is established in brahmacarya, one gains potency. Normally this is understood as, if one is careful about ones sexual behaviour, one gains energy to pursue other activities in life. This interpretation is of course true. Olympic level athletes are indeed regularly advised to stay away from sex for a certain time period before their performance. Nevertheless, this interpretation is at a very gross level. There are deeper meanings (as always, with the yoga sutra).

Brahmcaryam literally translates as 'moving towards the Brahman'. This is no simple task. This means different things for different people. Even for the same person, this will mean different at different stages of life / in different situations in life.

To understand what it could mean for one, one needs to look at ones life and ones vision for ones life. This is just the first step and most people do not even cross this. There is no concept of vision in most peoples life. The subtext in most persons lives is avoidance of pain and pursuit of pleasure. Of course, neither is this wrong nor are they against brahmacarya when done in appropriate quantities. To figure out what is appropriate, the vision becomes all important. Without a vision, these two activities becomes the sole motto of life. But, when there is a vision, all of life's challenges (pressure exerted by pain and pleasure on ones life) are dealt with in order to progress towards the vision. 

So, at some stage of life for some people, it might be important to choose a job purely for monetary considerations. But, that may not be appropriate all along. If it outlives its longevity, it will start causing trouble. This will become evident by the loss of enthusiasm for work and life. This indicates that one is going against brahmacarya.

I would wager that most of the people who have spoken to me about retirement at 40-45 belong to this category. One has chosen a profession purely for monetary purposes (though superficially one may claim one is interested in the technical aspects of the job). It may even be for other purposes. But those purposes have outlived their normal life span. But, the individual is still stuck with it and the prana has become stale leading to dullness and lethargy.

When one recognises this, then one starts to question the lack of vision in ones life. The easiest way to figure this out to ponder about the value ones life is adding to the world. A deep vision emerges both gradually and as quantum leaps. Slowly one becomes dissatisfied with every aspect of ones life that is not in line with the vision. This fire of dissatisfaction engulfs one and eventually all of ones life is aligned with some higher goal. This process itself gives the energy needed to take the next step in the process. This is brahmacaryam. Continuous refinement of oneself and moving towards higher and nobler aspects of life.

A person on this path clearly sees that there are a zillion tasks of high importance to be done in this world and the world needs highly motivated people with deep vision. The individual on the path of brahmacaryam naturally and willingly take up those tasks that are appropriate for the individual to deal with. There will be no slacking of energy as one can get all the energy needed in the wellspring of energy within. One may switch professions etc but there would be no retirement motivated by lack of enthusiasm. Thus, any time one feels lethargic and dull about of life, it might be useful to see which parts of ones life are not in alignment with brahmacaryam. That's were work is needed to fix the dullness!

Quotes from the book 'Energize your Heart'

Some really lovely quotes on the dimensions of the heart.

Extend the heart forward
---------------------------------
There is a thread that runs through all the events of your life, like the cord that strings the beads in a necklace. Looking back over your life, can you see a consistent interest in some subject, kind of activity, type of person, or aspiration? This is a clue to the purpose of your life. Your purposewas engraved into your heart before conception, that you might eventually discover it there and make it your conscious wish.

Your heart’s wish begins like a delicate plant -- it needs care and frequent watering. As it matures, it gets hardier, but it still needs a little fence around it for protection. Later it becomes like a tree that can stand up even to powerful winds. It sends out branches that create a micro ecosystem on which other plants, animals, birds and insects depend. Eventually it becomes a forest. The heart’s wish has become your whole life. 


Height of the heart
-------------------------
The development of the conscience is not a rational process; it’s a result of the development of height in the heart. Everyone has a conscience: there is sportsmanship among hunters; there are things that soldiers in battle won’t do; there is some honor even among thieves. Yet there are those who, because of conscience, would not hunt, do battle, or steal. The degree to which the conscience is developed is an indication of the height of the heart. A highly developed conscience places more restraints on a person, as appropriate for an idealistic person. If the heart is not elevated, then one’s conscience is easier to live with. 


Depth of the heart
------------------------
The depth of your heart is its most precious and vulnerable place. It is here, at the Solar Plexus, just below the ribcage, that the heart feels the greatest and most transpersonal emotions: unconditional love, inconsolable sorrow, unspeakable bliss, unending communion with all life. In short, the symphony of cosmic emotions that J.S. Bach expressed in the Mass in B Minor is here in the depth of your heart all the time. Occasionally something happens to create an access point to one of these great emotions and it rises toward the surface of the heart where it becomes more conscious.

When your heart is energized, the world becomes a much more beautiful place, and the tragedies of life become even more tragic. It’s like watching a full-color movie when you’re used to black and white -- everything seems more real than it did before. Without an energized heart, you couldn’t stand it -- you’d have to turn down reality by fleeing into your mind, which filters out anything it can’t understand. With your heart open and strong, you see beauty and tragedy, both, right in front of you and at distances previously inconceivable. 


Width of the heart
------------------------
The path of the heart is not the path of freedom; it is the path of responsibility. There are many who depend upon you: some for a smile, a greeting, an insight. Some need you to pull your weight, others need you to pull them. You provide energy, leadership, security, and love to some, and receive the same from others. Your heart is part of a network of hearts that circulates the energy of love through humanity, and you are a vital link in that network. Whatever you can contribute to others will circulate and return to you augmented. 


Inner dimension
---------------------
The inner dimension of your heart is your treasure of heart energy, ready to be drawn upon to respond to change or to be drawn out into one of the other dimensions. This inner wealth can be built up and spent down, like a bank account. However, unlike a bank account, you have to pay interest on that heart energy that you’ve saved up and haven’t used. The heart is not a perfect container -- every heart has been wounded in life and its wounds have caused holes, like ulcers, that leak its stored energy. As long as the heart is being recharged, these leaks are not noticeable, but if the inspiration into the heart is stopped or slowed significantly, then the level of energy in the heart drops. If it drops enough, one slips from optimism into pessimism.

Optimism is the natural condition of a full heart but if the heart is emptied, optimism cannot be sustained. Everyone would like to be optimistic, but it can’t be done by will; it requires energy. Your emotional heart may also have developed deadened parts, like scar tissue in a physical heart, where the feeling is lost. These areas are hard.

அதனைக் கண்டேன்

அதனைக் கண்டேன் அதனின் அருளால்
அதனைக் கண்டேன் யோகத்தின் விளைவாய்
அதனைக் கண்டேன் இருளின் முடிவாய்
அதனைக் கண்டேன் என்னை இழந்தேனே

ஒளி

ஒளி வழி சேர்வதந்றி யோகமும் இல்லை
உள்ளொளி கூட்டுவதே யோகப்பயிற்ச்சியின் வேலை
ஒளியாய் மாறிய பண்டு பல யோகிகளுண்டு
ஒளியை கண்டேன் அதனில் கரைவேனே 

There is no other Yoga but to find the path of light
Increasing inner light is the purpose of all practice
There have been yogis who became light itself
I have seen that and I shall dissolve in it! 

-- Photo from the course material of the 'Self Awareness' course at IIT Madras

Bhuma Vidya

The sanskrit word Bhumi means ground. Bhuma Vidya refers to the art / science of discovering the ground on which our life stands on. Once one has found that, one digs further and further and so on until one reaches the foundation of all of existence. One has to actually experiment with ones life in this regard to actually know this. Understanding it intellectually is at best only the first step.

The outermost layer of the individual is usually the ego and that is perfectly fine. The ego is basically the set of all viewpoints, desires, fears biases etc. Normally, most people are lost in this. In trying to make this ego successful, most lives are spent. To be successful in this, there is a lot of hard work that is needed. One has to lay the ground work. The discipline and sincerity with which one lays the ground word has a big role to play in deciding the extent to which one fulfils the potentials of the outer ego. Obviously, this would require one to do a lot of studying and interfacing with the world. Only when this has been done for a long time, does the individual stand a chance of creating the internal and external environments that can facilitate full development. So, preparations is clearly the ground on which a successful individual usually stands.

Ego on Preparation

But it is difficult to prepare for a long time. There are two kinds of feedback mechanisms that operate within us that give us the joy needed to do things. One is the immediate feedback (remember the joy of having tasty food) and the other is the long term feedback (joy of accomplishing things of value). To keep getting both kinds of feedback is a challenge. To accomplish that one has to have some kind of deeper motivation within. Preparation and training for long periods of time (usually measured in years if not decades) is difficult to persist without such a motivation. The stronger and nobler the motivation, the more the individual finds the energy to prepare and thereby better the chances of success.

Ego and preparation on Motivation

Finally, motivations also do not stand by themselves. Those who have tried to sustain noble motivations for long periods of time will know this all too well. There needs to be divine grace for ones will to manifest itself. So, this motivation or deeper will should rest squarely on Bhakthi. Without this one will burn out all too soon. For, the world will provide incredible and seemingly insurmountable challenges. With Bhakthi, one develops the necessary equanimity of mind and patience to endure the obstacles and deal with failures (of which there would be lots to deal with). This is not the mere superficial chanting or temple visits that goes around for Bhakthis. This is the deep ability to see divine will at play everywhere at all times. This is indeed the pinnacle of development and normally takes many years of adherence to Yoga to be at this level.

All resting on Bhakthi

Clearly this development can be seen as a going from gross to the subtle (Earth (Discipline etc) -> Space (equanimity etc)), which to me seems the most worthy of all of human development. A couple of points are worthy of being made here. This is not a linear process wherein one level is completed before one goes to the next. Instead it is a cyclical process of going in and coming out. Slowly one acquires the depth and extends the base of ones presence at each level. For some people, one or two intermediate levels may be skipped for a while. For even more small subset of people, the outermost level may not even be the ego. But, for most, that may not be possible. One has to develop every single level step by step. A thorough training in the various disciplines of yoga will help one develop in such a fashion.

Bhakthi not developed through such a process is very superficial and not worth its name. 

So, what is the ground on which you are standing? Have you touched the Bhakthi herein described?

Bhagirathasana

King Bhagiratha's legend tells us about the severe penance he did in order to bring Ganges down to planet earth. It involved penance to varying gods including ganga and to get them all to work in synch in order to accomplish the desired noble goal. His tapas has been immortalised in stone in the monolithic carvings in Mamallapuram.

Bhagiratha's penance

If one were to be a little creative, one can probably imagine what would the objective of his penance would be in today's context. Lets not be frivolous and think of some quick fix solutions for there is an immense impending crisis for humanity (for starters, imagine what would happen when we run out of oil?). But, instead if we can be very sincere in our desire to find this then one will look at all the varying dimensions of our society and understand their present state and be able to think of ways in which it can be better. Education, health, commerce, relationships, social structure, defence and every other external aspect of it may be considered. All these are issues external to the humans that make up the society. Then comes all the internal complexities of human beings - ambition, security, sensual needs, power needs etc. It will take time but if at all one is sincere then one will definitely consider all of that. If one were to consider all of this and then come up with a deep response from within, then, I am sure, it would be commensurate to Bhagiratha's effort.

Such a development of the individual is the fourth layer of the individual in the panca maya model (that which is food, that which needs food, that which analyses and manipulates the world, that which comes out of complete self analysis, that which is beyond the individual). Normally, an individual is just merely the set of all experiences, desires, ego etc. When the individual goes beyond all of this and discovers the deepest inner part and lets it flower in the world, that would be the vijnana maya.

Such a flowering of vijnana maya implies a certain posture that the individual is taking in his or her life. This posture can indeed be called Bhagirathasana.

But, sadly, in todays world rarely Bhagirathasana is practiced in this way. This is the function. Instead, it is only taught in its form.

 Form of bhagirathasana

This may help get some physical benefits. But the true idea behind the symbolism is mostly lost. When that happens, it becomes a caricature. But, if one practices this pose with the bhavana of bhagiratha in mind, then it will help develop the function.

Can we thus differentiate between form and function in every asana we do?