Schools these days!

1. Saw an ad of a school which showed a parent saying - 'I am filled with pride when other parents in my apartment look at my child with envy as he goes to XYZ school'.

Yoga sutras talk about five key impurities - ignorance, false identity, desire, hatred and desire for perpetuity! Seeing all five of them in this ad and that too of an educational institute.


2. Was reading the notes section of a school diary. It had tips for teenagers. One of them said - 'Make friends with studious companions'.

Good way to normalize the whole class into a batch of clerks huh!!

Nakula

Was doing some self-reflective sessions in my yoga class at a ladies college. We were discussing what does it mean to be 'inspiring' for each one of us and giving examples of the same. Of the girls, 5 said they found their dads to be inspiring. 5 others said some other random person. Only 1 girl found her mom to be inspiring.

The general socio-economic profile is that of girls from upper middle class families were the dad has worked his way up the society. The mom for sure had to ensure lot of things fell in place at home but, as usual, did not get noted. This too when all the respondents were young women!
Poor old Nakulas - the healer amongst the pandavas who takes care of everything but never gets credit!

Awesome and apt dialogues

Awesome and apt dialogues! To be reflected regularly

கிருஷ்ணன்
--------------
என்ன இருக்தாலும் உன் பண்பும் என் மேல் இருக்கம் அன்பும் அளவிடகூடியதா என்ன?

சகுனி
-------
எனக்கும் உனக்கம் நல குறைவு எது கிருஷ்ணா?
கிருஷ்ணன்
--------------
தோல்வி மனிதனுக்கு வெறியூட்டும்
வெறியில் மதி மாறும்
எதிரி அது சமயம் இடம் கண்டு இடிப்பான்
வெறி மேலும் வீம்பும்
நெறி கேட்டு அறம் விட்டு தடம் மாறி படு குழியில் விழுவான்
இல்லை. எதிரி விழ வைப்பான்

குந்தி: சரி, இனிமேல் என்ன முடிவு
கிருஷ்ணன்: உன் மக்கள், உன் முடிவு. முடிவு செய்ய வேண்டியது நீ

கிருஷ்ணன்
-------------
சண்டையை தடுக்கும் பொருட்டு நீ குடிசையிலும் வாழ சம்மதிப்பாய் என்று நினைத்தேன்
ஆனால் ஆசை யாரை விட்டது

கிருஷ்ணன்
-------------
பாவ காரியங்கள் என்றும் அழிந்துவிடாது அத்தை
அது எப்புடியோ வெளியே வந்துவிடும்

Stability

When the connection of ones mind with ones breath is stronger than the pull of any external stimulus, stability is experienced.

Bheeshma

Hey! Bheeshma! Leave that Partha alone!

Yoga sutras and Thirukural

Inhale - Yoga sutras (Darsanam), Exhale - Thirukural (Dharmam)
Inhale - Thirukural (Dharmam), Exhale - Yoga sutras (Darsanam)

My nadi sodana :)

Darsanam & Dharmam

A precocious sounding 15 year old (a student of mine) asked - 'Why do we do all these crazy religious practices like doing aarthi for vehicles? I have a sense that the practices in ancient India had a different goal. Do you have any idea about them?'.

I said religion is a highly loaded word. Different groups of people make different meanings for it. As I experience it (and as I understand it), it traditionally does the following two things:

a. Darsanam - Each individual is a complex spectrum of characteristics. Religion and its practice should help the individual discover oneself in all it full glory.

b. Dharma - The world being so complex, we are continuously forced to make choices in the world (with complex consequences). Religion must provide cultural practices that help us in making increasingly healthy and socially optimal choices. Towards this, It also provides practices for us to nurture our ideals. For example, there will be a devata to nurture the quality of heroism. For example, Lord Muruga who is the ideal warrior, if worshipped will help to nurture those qualities in an individual who desires them.
In order to accomplish the above two goals, lot of social / political / economic / cultural practices came up in India as the above two D's were the explicit goals for most people here once upon a time. In modern times, much of these are practices are inappropriately applied to people who do not need them. For example, a tailor need not worship Lord Muruga as he/she is unlikely to need wartime bravery. Since people have mostly lost touch with the goals of darsanam and dharmam, inappropriate cultural practices are followed and hence they appear crazy So, each individual should figure out their goals in life and choose appropriate practices.
 

Breath and heart

Q: What does the breath do in Yoga practice?

A: The ever agitated mind is connected with the ever peaceful heart. Refreshed by this contact, the mind is now ready to engage with the world again. Hopefully, the mind would have learnt to reduce the degree of participation in cyclical actions.

पत्नी चित्त

शान्त प्रत्यय पत्नी चित्त ज्ञानं
When the transactional mind is serene, one understands ones wife's reactions to the situation at hand!

Suffering

வெள்ளத் தனைய இடும்பை அவரவர்
உள்ளத் தனைய துன்பம்
Problems come like a flood
Suffering then is determined by ones depth!

Some questions to ponder

Here are some wonderful questions that the Mahabharatha asks and provides a framework which people can use to discover their answers for themselves. Feeling the need to seriously engage with all of these!

1. What is happiness/ unhappiness?
2. What is health / sickness?
3. What is pleasure/ pain?
4. What is wealth / poverty?
5. What is truth / untruth?
6. In what relation mind exists in the body?
7. What is nature of sex pleasure?
8. What kind of energy is sex?
9. What are conditions in which it flourishes ?
10. What are the conditions in which it dies?
11. What is violence?
12. From where does violence arise?
13. What kind of relation is there between what one does and thinks and what one becomes?
14. What is it freedom / bondage?
15. Who is wise / fool?
16. What is it to be saint?
17. What is pilgrimage?
18. Why did a thing the way it happened?
19. Is one free to make what one is or is one determined by some other force : fate or God?
20. What is right ordering of one’s relationship with one self and with others?
21. What relation does it have with time and place?
22. What is governance?
23. What  are  its  foundation?
24. What is order / disorder?
25. What relation they have with time and place?
26. What is death?
27. What is that which is deathless?

From the first chapter of the book "The Mahabharata - An enquiry in the human condition" by Mr Chaturvedi Badrinath.

Ramana & Yoga

"Words entertain, silence transforms", said Ramana.
Yoga adds a little detail. "Words entertain, breath heals, silence transforms"

I

I breathe, therefore I am (sane).

Draupadi vs Duryodhana

क्लेशमूलः कर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः
kleśa-mūlaḥ karma-aśayo dṛṣṭa-adṛṣṭa-janma-vedanīyaḥ ||YS 2.12||

Actions born of impurities within will lead to painful consequences if not in the foreseeable, certainly in the unforeseeable future!

Unless Duryodhana repents sincerely and Draupadi wills to heal herself, the only denouement possible is mutual destruction as in the Mahabhartha. But, other denouements are possible. Yoga brings out the potential for these opportunities!

In any asymmetric game, there are multiple Nash equilibriums. Therefore by making the appropriate choices, one can manifest socially optimal Nash equilibriums.

क्रमान्यत्वं परिणामान्यतेवे हेतुः
kramānyatvaṁ pariṇāmānyateve hetuḥ ||YS 3.15||
To get a different consequence, different choices have to be made!

Stress response

Stressful event happens
1. Calf muscles tighten; breath is steady; mind is clear
2. Lower back twitches, Calf muscles tighten; breath is steady; mind is clear
3. Lower back twitches, Calf muscles tighten; breath starts to waver; mind pensive
4. Lower back twitches, Calf muscles tighten; breath deserts completely; mind agitated
5. Nadi sodana fails; hamstring join calves and lower back in indicating stress

Apply will - slowly read Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi 10 pages
6. Stillness rediscovered; breath returns to an extent; no signals from body
7. Nadi sodana + ujjayi again; breath deepens; stress signals soften in body
8. Mind clear; breath steady and deep; urdhava prasrta padasana, jatara parivrtti
9. Mind, breath, body in harmony

Being ready to face stressful event!

Breath and action

What cannot be willed into action, has a better chance of being breathed into action...!

Bountiful breath

When the breath is bountiful, ......!

1. Silence ensues
2. Gratitude abounds
3. Healer, healing and healed merge
4. All is well 
5. baṇṭu rīti koluviyyavayya rāma

 

Eye lids jerk

A good pranayama practice puts the body in such a state of poise that one can sense even the eye lids jerking a little bit with every beat of one's heart!

Arujna mind

Only when asks the question, 'in doing what I am doing, what am I really doing?', does one enter the Arjuna mind within. Only after agonising over this for a while, is there even a chance of discovering the Krishna mind within!

Understanding Cyclical Action - Ameliorating conflicts in relationships via Yoga

Perhaps, more slow poisonous than the polluted (via chemical farming) milk and vegetables that we have, is the relationship space that is polluted by our unconsciousness and a society that sustains and facilitates it to flourish. As our unconscious parts flourish, they gradually acquire cancerous properties and infiltrate into the space of relationships. While polluted food kills and debilitates the body, a polluted relationship space debilitates the spirit. Life starts to loose meaning.

Most of us would have gone through conflicts in relationships. Marriages and other intimate relationships are especially prone to this as the conflict and its dangers are so close and many times, there seemingly is no escape. I see this all too often all around me. In this article I have attempted to share the theory that I have learnt from my teachers in various ways and the practical knowledge that I have gained as I have try to apply the theory in my own life and as a budding yoga therapist.

To begin with, lets take the classical (and almost eternal) conflict – daughter in law (DIL) vs mother in law (MIL) as an example. At the time of the commencement of the relationship, typically the DIL is around the age of 25 and the MIL is around the age of 55. The DIL, being young, generally wants/needs to do things. That, traditionally in India, the DIL is expected to leave the comfort zone of her family and move to her in laws house would clearly destabilise her inner environment and make her wary and suspicious of everything around her. Add to this the tradition of the suffering DIL stories, she is already quite fearful and fully guarded to protect herself in case of any threat.

The mother in law being the sole custodian of some of the characteristics of her son until now, is also wary of the new competition despite all the outward celebrations. Add to this all the stories of the daughter in law breaking the family, the mother in law is also quite fearful and fully guarded to protect the integrity of the family from the new intruder. The situation is already a heady mixture waiting to explode.

Life being what it is, will relentlessly flow on and keep throwing up new complexities. If one is not ready to face it with all its uncertainties, one is certain to screw up. Patanjali warns about this

परिणामताप संस्कार दुःखैः गुणवृत्तिविरोधाच्चदुःखमेव सर्वं विवेकिनः
pariṇāmatāpa saṁskāra duḥkhaiḥ guṇa-vṛtti-virodhācca duḥkham-evasarvaṁ vivekinaḥ ||2.15||
Changes, cravings and habit patterns cause our characteristics to behave in a manner that cause suffering.

हेयंदुःखमनागतम्
heyaṁduḥkham-anāgatam ||2.16||
Avoid suffering whose seed has not yet been planted

But, sadly, rare is the individual who does this. So, a very simple situation such as going to a movie can lead to conflicts. For example, the MIL may want to go to a movie and the DIL may not want to go to the movie. But, how does one deal with it? Both yes and no will complicate the situation. A yes when DIL actually wants to say no, will make her feel like someone who has no control over the choices she makes in her life. A no, when MIL wants/demands an yes, will make MIL feel disrespected. Of course, this may not happen on the first time but it sows the seed. But, gradually, over a course of interactions in challenging situations, tensions will build up and the seed starts to manifest. In either case, either DIL or MIL will feel like a Victim.

A Victim is someone who feels they have been dealt a raw deal by life. There are many kinds of victims and the Mahabharatha has two classic kinds – that of Karnan and Draupadi. Karnan is a victim of fate and he has no particular individual to blame for his fate. Despite being an equal to all the great warriors of his era, he was never given his due because of his birth. Draupadi is a victim of human conspiracy and she clearly knows whom to blame. Each kind of victim will involve a different kind of psychological process. In the above example of the conflict between DIL and MIL, both parties would feel like the victim in the sense of draupadi and they would be blaming the other person. To add to this, if either of them were not so keen on the wedding and had to agree to the wedding due to circumstances, there could also be a victim ala karnan sitting inside them. When, these two victims interact, there starts a process that will lead to countless cyclical actions.

Once there is a victim, there will be accumulation of pain. Pain is not something that any human likes. Hence, defence mechanisms to protect oneself from the pain will kick in. This defender within can be called the Guardian. This guardian while trying to guard this individuals pain will also gradually develop offensive characteristics and will also attack the other party thereby bringing into play the Victim and the Guardian in the other party. Each triggers the other action and this could be the primary cyclical action.

Now, this is the foundational cyclical action that is showed over and over again all over in the TV serials and is really a never ending mega drama. But the cycles are not really restricted to this. It gets complex as people in an otherwise non-warring society have lot of energy to waste. Hence, like these two characteristics (or personas, if they sufficiently harden), further personas will be developed. In order to further offend/hurt the other person, the guardian for example may spawn another characteristic who will scheme to score further gains. This scheming person, like Sakuni in Mahabharatha, can be called the Manipulator. If the other persons is also skilled in playing such schemes, they may also spawn a manipulator or may become more fearsome and may reinforce the victim further.

This gradually becomes so extremely complex that there is absolutely no opening to even start solving this. If the reader understands this experientially (in any relationship), only then one can get a feel of how complex is this. One just needs to get in touch with the sense of hurt, sense of being let down etc in a relationship to identify the victim. The actions one then takes to hurt the other, put them on a guilt trip etc is the guardian.

To further complicate this, because these two people who have this cyclical behavioural pattern in their relationship do not exist in a vacuum, other people in the family will get involved and they will create further cyclical actions. The MIL and the FIL will themselves be involved in such unconscious actions which their son would have internalised. For example, like in many middle class Indian families, if the dad is a dominating person who makes decisions and overrides the wife in crucial decisions, the son would have imbibed these characteristics and would be manifesting it in his own unique ways. This will only serve to further reinforce the victim-hood of the daughter in law.

Like this, we can keep adding every new item in the relationship diagram until becomes one hell of a complex situation and that is how reality is. The following diagram just tries to capture how complex things can get.

The yoga approach to this complex situation is to discover an yet unknown, undiscovered persona within. This is the observer within who can observe all of this in an impartial unaffected manner. As the strength of this observer increases, the individual has the ability to step outside of these cycles and actually respond instead of repeatedly doing the same pattern of behaviour. Patanjali says that such an observer exists and can be discovered within.

क्लेशकर्म विपाकाशयैःपरामृष्टःपुरुषविशेष ईश्वरः
kleśakarma vipāka-āśayaiḥ-aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣa-viśeṣaīśvaraḥ ||1.24||
Ishwara is that special observer who has never gotten caught in any negative reinforcement cycle.

These kind of cyclical behaviours are so draining. I have experienced this personally and seen it in outside too many times. The example of DIL and MIL above is just an example. This can be seen in almost all relationships. For example, if the husband and wife have a certain kind of behaviour pattern, they may pass on their behaviour to their kids. For example, the husband may pass on his cynicism on women to his son and the wife may pass on her feeling of being victimised by men to her daughter. So, later on in their life, any conflict in relationships between the siblings will lead to a reincarnation of the behaviour pattern between their parents. The son will carry project his dads cynicism of women on his sister and the daughter will carry forward her mothers feeling of being victimised by men on her brother. Similar patterns can be seen in marital relationships also. Unless the individual discovers the observer within and consciously steps out of these patterns of behaviour, there can be no end to these. Despite being quite hard, yoga offer this hope.

The basic idea is that if the individual discovers the observer, the various personas gradually stop to loose hold on the individual. The victim persona heals itself and can then spread the fragrance of healing to other humans – thereby becoming the healer. The guardian becomes a warrior who will step only when there is a dharmic issue at stake and not otherwise. The sakuni kind of manipulator may become the krishna kind of manipulator who strategises for dharma and not for selfish interests. Such a transformation is truly fantastic but requires a lot of hardwork. For starters, just discovering even a weak notion of the observer is quite challenging. This is where a yoga therapist or a healer can come in handy. They can act as the observer and can help put the two individuals in touch with their various personas. But, for this, there is a need for tremendous sincerity from both parties seeking counselling. This is because, intellectually accepting this is very different from actually bringing about a change on the ground. That requires tremendous hard work over significant amount of time.

In the presence of the observer, some of the virulent characteristics subside and the individual is able to observe the personas within oneself and the other person involved in the relationship. This shows the seeds for amelioration of the relationship because for the first time the individual is looking at oneself and the other person from a deeper perspective. This is described by the following yoga sutra

ध्यानहेयाः तद्वृत्तयः
dhyānaheyāḥ tad-vṛttayaḥ ||2.11||
Getting in touch with that observer softens the internal fluctuations of the mind.

But this is a tricky situation for the yoga therapist because getting into such an engagement with the relationships in conflict is like entering into a chakravyuham – entry is easier than exit. One can easily become an abhimanyu and enter with aplomb but get stuck there.

Hence, an exit strategy is a must. The exit strategy should be something of a time bound effort before which at least one, and if possible both participants should develop their own observers fairly well and then start to engage with each other after that. At this point the therapist vacates the scene. To be able to develop this ability, the therapist should have been practising asana/pranayama every day for a long time. Only then the whole being will cooperate to accomplish this.

As all the needs of the unconscious personas are resolved within, the interactions are gradually reconstructed. A better and more healthy behaviour pattern comes into place. But this takes tremendous, sincere and consistent effort. To realise that if we do not know all the impurities within and cleanse them, they are bound to cause future suffering needs lot of effort. Patanjali says,

क्लेशमूलःकर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः
kleśa-mūlaḥkarma-aśayo dṛṣṭa-adṛṣṭa-janma-vedanīyaḥ ||2.12||
Action based on impurities will cause suffering in the foreseeable or unforeseeable future.

Regular effort to go towards the goal of building healthy relationships and abstaining from things that take us away must be present. There will be many obstacles in the path. One has to build the necessary potential through regular practice, sincerity and constant reminder. Patanjali says

अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यांतन्निरोधः
abhyāsa-vairāgya-ābhyāṁtan-nirodhaḥ ||1.12||

सतु दीर्घकाल नैरन्तर्यसत्कारादरासेवितो दृढभूमिः
satu dīrghakāla nairantarya satkāra-ādara-āsevito dṛḍhabhūmiḥ||1.14||

श्रद्धावीर्यस्मृतिसमाधिप्रज्ञापूर्वकइतरेषाम्
śraddhā-vīrya-smṛtisamādhi-prajñā-pūrvaka itareṣām ||1.20||

Patanjali further says,

तपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानिक्रियायोगः
tapaḥsvādhyāy-eśvarapraṇidhānāni kriyā-yogaḥ ||2.1||
Self cleansing leading to increased potency, self analysis and equanimity are essential to progress in Yoga.

All the healed and conscious personas are anchored on the observer within and then from then on a healthy relationship is constructed. At this point one can say the healing process for the current situation can be considered to be completed.

At this point, the old behaviour pattern is gone and a new behaviour pattern has come about. This is captured by the sutra

तज्जस्संस्कारोऽन्यसंस्कारप्रतिबन्धी
tajjas-saṁskāro-'nya-saṁskārapratibandhī ||1.50||
Thus, one behaviour pattern is cleansed and a completely new pattern is established.

 

As a new relationship pattern blooms there, the minds of the two individuals are always in a pleasant state as they are able to produce appropriate responses to various states in the relationships. This is captured by the sutra

मैत्रीकरुणा मुदितोपेक्षाणांसुखदुःखपुण्यापुण्यविषयाणां भावनातःचित्तप्रसादनम्
maitrīkaruṇā mudito-pekṣāṇāṁ-sukha-duḥkhapuṇya-apuṇya-viṣayāṇāṁ bhāvanātaḥ citta-prasādanam||1.33||
When one is able to behave with friendship, compassion, joy & equanimity in relationships when the state of relationship is happiness, sadness, dharmic and non-dharmic, then the mind is filled with total pleasantness.

Pranayama vs pongal

Pranayama (anti-tamas) vs pongal (pro-tamas)

Physically grounded

Attended a fantastic talk by Dr. Kannan Pugazhendhi! Not sure what - the content of the talk (or) my relationship with the subject (or) his presence - but I found extremely centred and even physically grounded by the end of the talk. The latter - probably for the first time!

More inspiration to pursue yoga relentlessly and practice daily!

नित्यं योग जिज्ञासा! प्रत्यहम् योग अभ्यास!
Forever, desirous of Yoga! Daily, practice yoga!

Four Heroes

When activated, a warrior!
At peace, a healer!
In samasthithi, an efficient manager!
At rest, profound and insightful.

The four kinds of heroes and the four states in aasana practice 

Learning Dialogues - 1

First episode of Learning dialogues (LD) program (a space for self reflection and contemplative conversations) got completed today! Extremely elated and touched by the feedback from everyone in the session. More sessions on the way.

This is what I shared in my final feedback.
1. I have spent time with yoga practitioners in the tradition and approach of Shri Ramana Maharishi and Shri Aurobindo. I learnt from all of these people and enjoyed their approaches. While each approach has its own salient features, the salient feature of this way taught to us by Raghu Ananthanarayanan and Sashikala Ananth in the tradition of Shri Krishnamacarya (as it appears to me) is that it is extremely empowering. (The same feeling was echoed by many of the co-creators of the space).

2. It is important to stay in and create spaces that enliven and empower. Only then can we face spaces that challenge and drain us with the needed skill and compassion. The space created here at LD was truly one such enlivening and empowering space.

3. True to the yoga sutras, my feeling towards the enlivening space of LD was mudita (joy at things being done in the appropriate manner). I was also able to glimpse the 9th rasa shantham!



Some of my teachers say that the drive for self exploration is bhagawad kaingaryam, meaning divine act. They have further added that if one receives it, one has to work hard to manifest it in oneself so well that one becomes an able instrument for this bhagawad kaingaryam to reach others. Tiny steps in that direction! Om shanthi shanthi shanthi hi!

Thanks to co-facilitators Rajeev Natarajan, Priya Nagesh and to all co-creators of the space - Mrinalini Krishnamurthy, Karthik Muthukrishnan, Anish Kumar, Priya Rm, Kokilashree Alangaram, Satish Viswanathan, Muthu Kumaran, Senthil Velan

Hero's journey

Genuinely and uncontrollably moved to tears for the first time in 8 years!

Session on Hero's journey by Sashikala Ananth and Raghu Ananthanarayanan put me firmly in touch with some of my own deeper motivations! A most fantastic evening exploring the meaning of hero in the Indian context which provided increasingly more light on Mahabharatha - in particular on Vidhura, Dhritharashtra, Draupadi, Karna and Arjuna! Pranams and more pranams 

Millets at home

Benefits of re-introducing past culture in ones house. The following uber tasty stuff at home in the last week or so:
1. Siru daniyam Upuma
2. Siru daniyam pongal
3. Kambu vella kozhukattai
4. Kambu inippu kozhukattai
5. Kambu + kezhvaragu + karupatti kozhukattai
6. Kambu dosai
7. Kezhvaragu idly
8. Kutharai vaali arisi thayir satham

and mom has promised many more An extraordinary and welcome break from the usual routine of having everything made only from raw rice!

Taxi driver stories

Every taxi driver has a poignant story that he is more than ready to share! Hear ten taxi drivers and the fate of the hoi polloi of this nation is revealed.

Belongs to a impoverished farming community from the hinterland - shift to city with hopes of doing a decent job defined as one that involves wearing full pants - live in squalid conditions and work graveyard shifts to make 15K a month - spend most of it in paying for mostly useless white mans education of kids and dream that somehow magically they will be much better than him.

அஞானம் ஒழிதல்

அகம்பாவமாய் பார்த்து தியானிக்காவிட்டால்
அஞானத்தை ஒழிக்க முடியாது

Ramyam

Atop a tiny hillock with an ancient temple and a clean ashram - climax of a well planned trip - pleasant weather - most pristine water I've ever had from mountain pond - incredibly windy - not even the slightest man made sound - wifes mellifluous rendition of 'raghavam karunakaram'!!!

குடும்பப் பெருஞ்சுமை

குடும்பப் பெருஞ்சுமை தாங்குவர் தாங்கார்
சுயம் அறிதல் முயலாதார்

Building Relationships

"We all pay dearly when people respond to our values and needs not out of a desire to give from the heart, but out of fear, guilt, or shame. Sooner or later, we will experience the consequences of diminished goodwill on the part of those who comply with our values out of a sense of either external or internal coercion. They, too, pay emotionally, for they are likely to feel resentment and decreased self-esteem when they respond to us out of fear, guilt or shame. Furthermore, each time others associate us in their minds with any of these feelings, the likelihood of their responding compassionately to our needs and values in the future decreases."

  --  'Nonviolent Communication' by 'Marshall Rosenberg'

Nayikas Quest

Extract from a talk that Sashi / Raghu / Jyotsna gave recently.

"In the last 200 years or so what we have been pushed into not experiencing ourselves through our own eyes but through the eyes of Eurocentric constructs of the world, therefore our view of ourselves lacks dignity and respect. We end up overlaying a natural growth experience and traditional ways of growing up with interpretations and injunctions that actually prevents you from experiencing ourselves fully. Our ways get into conflict with the structure and underlying assumptions of man that govern the ‘modern educational systems’. We therefore get caught with all kinds of blocks. The open design of living and imbibing a whole way of looking at self and the world has all of a sudden become a liability! The lived grammar is subtle, and possibly not understood in its depth by the parental generation. The explanations and criticisms are grounded in a very different world-view and idea of self. So the object that you see that is supposed to trigger something reflective becomes an object for discussion and the discourse is framed in Eurocentric frames! Art that draws one inward from gross to subtle gets enmeshed in confusion! Freud comes in the way and calls the Lingam a sexual object and lo and behold, all Indian Gods can be critiqued as representations of sexual repression. The grammar of Yoga is replaced with the discourse of sexuality, of freedom and feminity. The young aspirant is faced with the very difficult task of honoring profound inner stirrings while being bombarded with an explanation fraught with guilt and shame. Indian Art is now forced to answer the western criticism and problematic of eroticism, and not follow its own path of movement from the outer to the inner."

Heal-thy

Heal-thy dosa via ayurveda
Heal-thy svasa via bahiranga sadhana
Heal-thy citta via antaranga sadhana
Heal-thy sanga via dharma

Long exhalation

Parinama (change) / taapa (craving) / samskaara (habit) duhkam (suffering) is always round the corner. Keep a long exhalation handy.

Practice

Aarambham samsheelanam punah punah abhyasah!
Practice makes better practice

Yes and No

freedom to say no & compassion to say yes

Yoga sutra chanting with wife

Peril #27 in teaching yoga to your wife - At some point, thou shall end up chanting the yoga sutras with her and she, being a wife (helps her that she is also trained in music), will take great joy in mocking thy abaswaram rendition of the yoga sutras!

Devavrata

All duty and no beauty made Devavrata a dry lad.

தோல்வி

செருக் கருபட தோல்வி யளித்து
வெறுப் பேற்றினாய் போற்றி

प्रत्यक्ष

This fellow must have read the yoga sutras!

"Neither the Bible nor the prophets - neither Freud nor research - neither the revelations of God nor man - can take precedence over my own direct experience" - 'Carl Rogers' writes in 'On Becoming a Person'



प्रत्यक्षानुमानागमाः प्रमाणानि
pratyakṣa-anumāna-āgamāḥ pramāṇāni ||1.7||
 
Insight arises, in decreasing degree of validity, from direct experience, logical conclusions, or learning that are obtained from reliable sources.

Ouch

Ouch!

"It has gradually been driven home to me that I cannot be of help to this troubled person (seeking help) by means of any intellectual or training procedure. No approach which relies upon knowledge, upon training, upon the acceptance of something that is taught, is of any use. These approaches seem so tempting and direct that I have, in the part, tried a great many of them. It is possible to explain a person to himself, to prescribe steps which should lead him forward, to train him in knowledge about a more satisfying mode of life. But such methods are, in my experience, futile and inconsequential. The most they can accomplish is temporary change, which soon disappears, leaving the individual more than ever convinced of his inadequacy." - 'Carl Rogers' writes in 'On Becoming a Person'

அன்பிற்கு பர்த்தி

பாரெங்கிலும் கிடைக்குமோ பார்த்தாவை பர்த்தாவாய்
கொண்டவளின் அன்பிற்கு பர்த்தி

मैत्री

குணம் பார்க்க குற்றமும் பார்க்க
எனினும் நிற்க குன்றாநட்பினில்



REF:

मैत्री करुणा मुदितोपेक्षाणांसुखदुःख पुण्यापुण्यविषयाणां भावनातः चित्तप्रसादनम्
maitrī karuṇā mudito-pekṣāṇāṁ-sukha-duḥkha puṇya-apuṇya-viṣayāṇāṁ bhāvanātaḥ citta-prasādanam ||1.33||

When the citta is in a glowing state, responses to happiness, sadness, appropriate & inappropriate mental states in others are respectively friendliness, compassion, mudita (no english word - opposite of schadenfreude) and equanimity!

பிராணனின் பாதை

பற்றுக பிராணனின் பாதையை அதைப்
பற்றுக போகம் சீராவதற்கு

इष्ट देवता

इष्ट देवता संप्रयोगः स्वक्लेष ज्ञानं
Union with ones heartfelt deity, reveals ones impurities to oneself and gains the necessary freedom from them to cleanse oneself of them!

Corollary to yoga sutra 2.44! 

இதய குகை

இதய குகையினுள் பிரம்மமோ என்னமோ
நுழைவாயிலில் மனையாள் மட்டுமே

லவ்ஸ்

நான் ரொம்ப லவ்ஸ் என்றேனா
ஊடினாள் நானும்தான் நானும்தான்என 

கிளம்பியது வாதம் கலங்கியது சித்தம்

கிளம்பியது வாதம் கலங்கியது சித்தம்
விளங்கியது சுவாத்மாராமாவின் கூற்று
Vaata stirred, Chitta shaken
Svatmarama's song makes sense!

Ref: चले वाते चलं चित्तं निश्चले निश्चलं भवेत् - Hata Yoga Pradipika by Svatmaarama

சொல்லும் பொருளும்

சொல்லிற்கும் பொருளிற்கும் நடுவே ஒளிந்திருக்கும்
சித்த விகார கலக்கங்கள்

Self exploration via mythology

I have been reading a very interesting book. It seems to be generally regarded as a seminal work of comparative mythology. Its called 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' by Joseph Campbell. A sample extract from this book is given below:

The story is of a caravan leader from Benares, who made bold to conduct his richly loaded expedition of five hundred carts into a waterless demon wilderness. Forewarned of dangers, he had taken the precaution to set huge chatties filled with water in the carts, so that, rationally considered, his prospect of making the passage of not more than sixty desert leagues was of the best. But when he had reached the middle of the crossing, the ogre who inhabited that wilderness thought, "I will make these men throw away the water they took." So he created a cart to delight the heart, drawn by pure white young oxen, the wheels smeared with mud, and came down the road from the opposite direction. Both before him and behind marched the demons who formed his retinue, heads wet, garments wet, decked with garlands of water lilies both blue and white, carrying in their hands clusters of lotus flowers both red and white, chewing the fibrous stalks of water lilies, streaming with drops of water and mud. And when the caravan and the demon company drew aside to let each other pass, the ogre greeted the leader in a friendly manner. "Where are you going?" he politely asked. To which the caravan leader replied: "We, sir, are coming from Benares. But you are approaching decked with water lilies both blue and white, with lotus flowers both red and white in your hands, chewing the fibrous stalks of water lilies, smeared with mud, with drops of water streaming from you. Is it raining along the road by which you came? Are the lakes completely covered with water lilies both blue and white, and lotus flowers both red and white?"

The ogre: "Do you see that dark green streak of woods? Beyond that point the entire forest is one mass of water; it rains all the time; the hollows are full of water; everywhere are lakes completely covered with lotus flowers both red and white." And then, as the carts passed one after another, he inquired: "What goods do you have in this cart—and in that? The last moves very heavily; what goods do you have in that?" "We have water in that," the leader answered. "You have acted wisely, of course, in bringing water thus far; but beyond this point you have no occasion to burden yourself. Break the chatties to pieces, throw away the water, travel at ease.11 The ogre went his way, and when out of sight, returned again to his own city of ogres. Now that foolish caravan leader, out of his own foolishness, took the advice of the ogre, broke the chatties, and caused the carts to move forward. Ahead there was not the slightest particle of water. For lack of water to drink the men grew weary. They traveled until sundown, and then unharnessed the carts, drew them up in a contracted circle, and tied the oxen to the wheels. There was neither water for the oxen nor gruel and boiled rice for the men. The weakened men lay down here and there and went to sleep. At midnight the ogres approached from the city of ogres, slew the oxen and men, every one, devoured their flesh, leaving only the bare bones, and, having so done, departed. The bones of their hands and all their other bones lay scattered about in the four directions and the four intermediate directions; five hundred carts stood as full as ever.

This is a lovely story. A story that repeats itself again and again and again and again in our lives endlessly. While we all have our journeys to make, there are countless such ogres waiting within us and trying their level best to distract us from the journey to be made. The journey is worth its name only if there are many such ogres within that threaten it. Stories such as the above have dramatic scenes and endings and it is easy to spot the ogres there. But, in real life it requires a dedicated yogic practice to identify them.

The average human being has many competing dimensions within. The comparative strengths of these dimensions are mostly chosen by genetic and social factors. Amidst all these dimensions, the yogic tradition (most other spiritual traditions too) value one particular dimension immensely. It is the dimension of us that exhibits the ability to unconditionally observe everything with perfect equanimity, that is always in the present moment, that is untouched by impurities etc.

The yogic (and all other spiritual traditions IMO) contend that a life rooted on this dimension is a wholesome healthy life. Such a life can deal with these and countless other such ogres within skilfully and appropriately. Without us consciously identifying and cultivating this dimension in life, ones life tends to fritter away. We can all see families where spouses do not talk to each for decades or relentlessly fight with each other for decades, where siblings do not talk to each other etc etc. This could happen to any one of use. Real yogis consciously chose to cultivate the aforementioned dimension and thereby preclude these things from happening in their lives by systematically and optimally dealing with all distractions. But for the rest, if such a catastrophic life has not descended upon them, then it can only be considered to be a mere stroke of luck. These things are just waiting to happen. The ogres within are waiting to strike. Traditionally (in the yoga parampara) asana / pranayama is practised to cultivate this dimension and make it the strongest within. Other traditions too aim at the same thing but have different practices (pooja / silent sitting etc). It has to be made strong by regular daily practice. Then, they become the strongest dimension within and ones life is inseparably rooted to it. Using that as the centre, all the ogres within are captured and many an interesting journey can be realised. 

This same idea is expressed again and again through various mythological stories! Unless one explores the contents of ones mind, the human condition etc, all these myths will remain in our lives as children's fables (which is how most western educated people see them these days). It is a sad reality today that even those for whom these stories are part of family tradition, do not value them and disregard them.

But, when one really gets in touch with ones psyches contents and tries to shape it, these myths come alive in spectacular multicolor!

I offer my salutations

सर्वेन्द्रियैरपि विना सर्वं सर्वत्र सर्वदा।
यो जानाति नमाम्याद्यं तमहं सर्वतोमुखम्

Sarvendriyairapi vinaa sarvam sarvatra sarvadaa
yojaanaati namaamyaadyam tamaham SARVATOMUKHAM
 
He who knows everything, all the time, and at all places, without the help of the senses, to such primal person who has faces in all directions, I offer my salutations.
 
-- SRI MANTRARAJAPADA STOTRAM

Was the Buddha a beggar?

In my class in IIT this term, the first 10-15 minutes are being used to briefly explain some of the principles of practice in yoga as I have learnt and as I practice. These discussions sometimes continue after class and with other people too. Here is one such discussion.

The main theme of one such discussion was the final phrase (भोगापवर्गार्थं दृश्यम्) from a yoga sutra

प्रकाशक्रियास्थितिशीलं भूतेन्द्रियात्मकं भोगापवर्गार्थं दृश्यम्
prakāśa-kriyā-sthiti-śīlaṁ bhūtendriya-ātmakaṁ bhoga-apavarga-arthaṁ dṛśyam ||2.18||

The three underlying functions of the observable world are 'Light', 'Stability' and 'Action'. The two emergent functions from these for human beings (and possibly other living beings) are 'bhoga' (enjoyment) and 'apavarga' (movement towards freedom).

We only looked at the final phrase and for this we started with the 'form vs function' way of understanding. Normally, a laymans (with respect to yoga practice) understanding of an asana comes from the images that they have seen of that asana - an image of a well trained person doing the same. So, they assume that such a posture is the correct way of doing asana. This is the understanding of form. Any serious yoga teacher would know 90% of practitioners cannot get that form. But, that is not a big issue as the aim of doing the posture can be achieved by suitably modifying the posture based on the needs of the practitioner. This comes from the knowledge of function.


Now, to understand this further, lets ask the question, 'who is a batsman in a game of cricket?'.

When I posed this question to people, one of most common answer is, 'One who faces the cricket ball in a game of cricket'. But, at least one other person answered, 'One who scores runs'. Clearly, the first one can be said to be a description of form and the other is said to be a description arrived at from function. Furthermore, captains would prefer batsmen who fit the latter definition.


Likewise, who is a beggar? 

Buddha's begging bowl

The most common answer is one who expects material gifts from others in return for no other tangible service. This is not a bad description as this is how most city bred people encounter beggars. But, if we were to explore this a bit more, then immediately it would be clear that the Buddha can also be called a beggar by that definition. So would be Mahavira or Adi Sankara.

Clearly, most Indians (at least those who have not been completely bought out by pseudo rationalism) would not categorise the Buddha as a beggar though the form based definition given above does so. This leads us to the question of who a beggar is based on the function that this individual is performing in the society.

To me, a beggar is someone who does not contribute to the society and who is purely intimately concerned with his / her own benefit. This is not a negative judgement because a beggar cannot do otherwise. Given the dire state of poverty / ill-health / structural violence that a beggar has to face, it is inevitable that he/she put in all of hir effort in taking care of oneself.

The moment I say this, astute city based listeners smile for most heart of hearts know that is how city bred people live. City life is structured such that every individual has to relentlessly fend for themselves - maximise personal gains and minimise contribution back to the society. The tax they pay is usually used as their contribution back to the world. To some extent this is true. But, most try to avoid this at all cost. Even if one pays all of ones taxes correctly, the share of common resources city people consume (especially the economically well off) is much more than the average distribution would offer. In my opinion, cities tend to make most people direct their lives towards a life whose function tends towards being a beggar. This is just an interesting side note to the main topic of discussion here (while it in itself is a significant topic to be covered on another occasion).

Now, coming back to the yoga sutra discussed at the top, it states that the function of world around us is enjoyment or movement towards freedom. When we eat food, we can either eat to satiate cravings and psychological black holes within or eat to nourish the system so that the beauty within can manifest itself or some ratio of the two. The former is bhoga / roga (disease) and the latter is apavarga.

The same applies to relationships - relationships with other human beings, relationships with research, relationships with career, relationship with the earth. The list is endless. Normally we all use it for our own entertainment (bhoga) in various ways (self-aggrandisement / wealth / power etc). The fully awakened ones though use it purely for freedom. The yoga sadhaks (practitioners), understand that the movement from the former state to the latter is effected by steady practice over long periods of time. In the mean time both will be found in various ratios and through sincere determined effort, one moves the balance more in favour of apavarga than bhoga.

This movement in changing the ratio of bhoga and apavarga to be more in favour of apavarga can be assisted greatly by correct asana practice. The desire to enjoy or accomplish freedom is a rajasic quality (tendency that has action potential). Normally the quality is not fine tuned (or the rajas is impure). But, by correct practice of asana, one can purify this rajasic quality and resolve it into prana (the source from which all three gunas emerge). This in my opinion is nicely captured by this sutra

प्रयत्नशैथिल्यानन्तसमापत्तिभ्याम्
prayatna-śaithilya-ananta-samāpatti-bhyām ||2.47||

Right effort eases when the tendency that makes the effort (or the tendency on which the effort acts) resolves itself into the endless source (prana) from which the tendency arose.

At that point, one is freed from the cycle of going behind enjoyment, tasting some success (and getting motivate further) / tasting some failure (and long for more). This is nicely captured by the next sutra

ततो द्वङ्द्वानभिघातः
tato dvaṅdva-an-abhighātaḥ ||2-48||

Then, the duality that the individual experiences which motivated him/her towards bhoga would have ceased to trouble that individual any more.

In my opinion, whole of creation is gradually moving in the direction of apavarga. In other words evolution increasingly produces organisms that desire more and more degrees of freedom. Therefore, individuals who attempt apavarga themselves will synch themselves with this larger flow of things and hence will find that creation with assist them in their journey. This, imo, is a better explanation than survival of the fittest for evolution. in other words, the long term direction in which evolution proceeds is not 'survival of the fittest' but 'survival of the most conscious'. IMO, the following kural (number 3) also states 'survival of the most conscious'.

மலர்மிசை ஏகினான் மாணடி சேர்ந்தார்
நிலமிசை நீடுவாழ் வார்

சுந்தரம்

பிரஞ்ஞான அபராத காண்டம் முற்றிற்று
இனி சுந்தரம் துவங்குமோ

Corollarly to particular YS

पूर्व जाति साक्षात् करणात संस्कार शंसयति
Unbiased observation of attitude towards life / money / justice / relationships / power etc of ancestors can assist in predicting ones subconsious habit patterns!

PS: My own corollary to a yoga sutra from Patanjali (3-18)

பெருந்துக்கம்

துக்கங்களில் பெருந்துக்கம் யாதெனின் அது
அஞான சம்ஸ்கார துக்கமே!

Middle of the night conversations

My wife was concerned about death and its consequences for a husband-wife couple yesterday. She was wondering who it would be better to die first - husband or wife! After a few more musings on the same, she was wide awake and a tad concerned about death. I was a bit sleepy when the discussion started, but as all husbands know far too well, I too know that it is not a good idea to doze off when better half is keen on talking about something! We both got up and started exploring her concerns.

Initially I was not sure how to further this exploration. I was asking a few vague questions and it was not going anywhere. She started loosing interest in the conversation. Then, all of a sudden, I remembered a meditation practice I had devised for myself and given to a few of my students a few years ago. I suggested the same to her too. The details of the same and the discussion that ensued is given below.

I asked her to sit silently, close her eyes and replay her life in front of her eyes. First she was told to take herself back to her earliest memory of herself. From there on, we moved to her schooling days - junior / middle & senior schooling days, college days, days at infosys our engagement, wedding and so on. It took her a few minutes. Then I posed her a question - 'what are the reasons for her joining Infosys?'. First few answers were obvious - she attended and cleared the interview, Infosys came for campus interview to her college, she studying in the college she studied etc. Gradually the web of causality expanded. It included her decision to take this course in this college, her parents decision to shift her to a different school in class 11, IT boom in India in the first decade of the 21st century and on and on and on.

Next, we explored the causes for all other things in her life - her height, IQ, attitude towards work / life / money, curly hair etc. Genetic and psychological characteristics of her parents then came into the causal web. The apartment complex where she grew up and her socio-economic background came in next. The list went on and on. It was obvious to her that the web of causality for all of these things extends far beyond in the past than what we can see at this point. More importantly, she had been flowing along with this current of flow of events. Specifically, the web of causality decided her characteristics and they were not consciously chosen. After a few stuttering moments, she was able to observe this whole flow of the web of causality and how she has been having many characteristics not out of perfect free choice. It has literally created her, except for a few minimal conscious choices. That was a aha moment!

I then said this ability to observe and willingly taking responsibility for every possible characteristic is the experience that is communicated by the very first yoga sutra

अथ योगानुशासनम् ॥१॥
atha yoga-anuśāsanam - ||1.1||
Now begins the experience of Yoga

I continued that this does not mean she can immediately change every characteristic. It just means she is now aware that seemingly arbitrary events had created her and now by being aware she has a shot at making conscious choices in some if not most of these characteristics. She was quite hooked on to what I was saying and not willing to go sleep any time soon. Normally, if I talk about any such thing she will have sheepish grin on her face within 5 minutes as I would have completely lost her. But not today! We then moved on.

I then told her that over the course of these years that she observed, things have constantly been changing. Her body in particular easily gives away the fact that things have been changing.

She nodded in rapt attention.

The next question begged itself. So, what has not changed? She had no idea. Everything seems to have changed, she said. "Compare yourself today with yourself when you were in class 9", I said.

Everything has changed, she said. My thinking process has completely changed, she said. She felt she used to look at the whole world completely different then.

Exactly I said. You know that. You know now you have changed. So, what has not changed between the two?

Hmmmm.. I do not know. I am very confused!

Can you observe that you are confused?

Do you want me to find a solution for the confusion? I do not know how to think about it.

No. Just observe that you are confused. It is instantaneous.

Hm... A gentle smile. Then, she proceeded. But, as I observe, what I wanted to observe seems to runaway. I am not able to observe it then.

Haha. Yeah. That is its nature. It is like a classroom of young kids in schools these days. The class will be very noisy, but the moment the teacher arrives, without the teacher doing or saying anything the class settles down. Likewise, as the observer arises, the observed settles down and does not make much noise.

Hmm.. Yes. Some clarity on face.

May be is it the observer? You can observe that you have changed. But, what about the observer, has it changed? 

Of course, she said. Everything has changed.

Really? I paused. Then, I said, if something has changed in the observer, then who knows that?

Suddenly her face brightened up. She sat silently, with an erect spine, closed her eyes and nodded in agreement. She then asked me to play the song extraordinaire 'Keshavaya namaha' by Bombay Jayashree, which was there in my mobile. Then she said, yes, the observer has not changed and cannot change. But, I am not able to maintain that and I slide down from there in a second and am back to the normal world.

Yes, exactly. That is why you practice yoga. Due to the causal web we saw just now, each of us has a different amalgam of gunas and have to choose the appropriate practice to discover and stay with that observer. Over many years of having these gunas blindly and their interaction with the world has left in us certain residues (mental dispositions / biases / our image about ourselves / cravings / fears). The region in the mind where these residues are to be found is called the 'citta'. These residues affect us all the time - in how we see the world, how we relate to different individuals,our choices etc, and this impact on us is referred to as their fluctuations or 'citta vrtti'. These internal disturbances preclude our being with the observer. Patanjali defines Yoga to be the cessation of these disturbances within that prevent us from being with the Observer.

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥२॥
yogaś-citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ ||1.2||
Yoga is the cessation of internal disturbances

We can choose to be with the observer or the observed. But, because of citta vrtti, it is difficult to maintain that for all but few moments. But by regular appropriate practice for a long period of time, one can cultivate the ability to be with the observer always. Patanjali says,

स तु दीर्घकाल नैरन्तर्य सत्कारादरासेवितो दृढभूमिः ॥१४॥
sa tu dīrghakāla nairantarya satkāra-ādara-āsevito dṛḍhabhūmiḥ ||1.14||
Correct practice done over long period of time in an interrupted manner is necessary.

अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः ॥१२॥
abhyāsa-vairāgya-ābhyāṁ tan-nirodhaḥ ||1.12||
Practice and dispassion are neccessary to attain state of Yoga.

Going back to your original question about who will die, it is the observed that was born, that grows and that dies. The observer remains all the time. It is a choice we make on how much we will be with the observer and how much we will be with the observed. The observer only sees and the observed only acts.

द्रष्टा दृशिमात्रः शुद्धोऽपि प्रत्ययानुपश्यः ॥२०॥
draṣṭā dṛśimātraḥ śuddho-'pi pratyaya-anupaśyaḥ ||2.20||
Observer can only observe but is directed by the deeper mind.

The more we are with the observer, the more we can observe things around us. If that space becomes natural within us then, dharmam, gnanam, aishwaryam and vairagyam become natural. We would have freedom to choose things. We may not work day and night for money. Simplicity becomes natural as that builds inner and outer potential to rest with the observer at all times. We will not trash the world like how we are all doing. For some people these things are spontaneous but the rest have to work with sincerity and courage.

श्रद्धावीर्यस्मृति समाधिप्रज्ञापूर्वक इतरेषाम् ॥२०॥
śraddhā-vīrya-smṛti samādhi-prajñā-pūrvaka itareṣām ||1.20||
Sincerity, potency and memory of past mistakes and goal are most important for all practitioners.

Traditionally, in India, each individual is trained / allowed to explore each of the above 4 characteristics and choose how they want to explore for themselves. I for example, have some minimal non-zero interest in aishwaryam but more keen on the other three aspects. This is neither good nor bad. This is just my tendency. Someone else may want to focus more on aishwaryam. This is their tendency and neither that is good or bad. But, in todays world, everyone is forced to worry about aishwaryam, irrespective of their tendencies. Naturally, other things like Dharmam, Gnanam etc are weakened and therein sowing the seed for discord and conflict in the country. But, if a majority continue to try to be with the observer, then this can be noticed and corrective measures can be taken.

She said with a smile, "After long time, I have understood what you have said!" :)

MahaKaal


I further said that, anything that changes is not part of the observer as someone can observe it changing. For this change to happen, the observed has to be in time. Time then is measured in terms of change. This implies that the observer which is changeless is free of time.

The observed though keeps changing forever. Not just that, these changes are of a cyclical nature. Old patterns keep playing out forever like a faulty gramophone. But, amidst all of that is the observer that never changes and is free of all these cycles. Ability to invoke that at any time is an indication of ones depth of practice and its arrival is reflected by inner stillness. This unmoving unchanging inner centre is referred to classically as ishwara.

क्लेश कर्म विपाकाशयैःपरामृष्टः पुरुषविशेष ईश्वरः ॥२४॥
kleśa karma vipāka-āśayaiḥ-aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣa-viśeṣa īśvaraḥ ||1.24||
Ishavara is the centre that is free of change and time and therein is neither afflicted by impurities nor is affected by consequences of action.

I started to expand more about the observer. She let out a stifled yawn. Again as any husband knows, one should not talk when madam is not ready. Conversation ended right there and the land of nod invited us!

முடிவில்லாமல் எரியும் தழல்

ஒளி மேலே இருள் கீழே
நடுவில் முழிக்கும் இவன்
கணக்கில்லா எளியர்களில் ஒருவன்
என்று தணியும் எவ்வாறு தணியும்
முடிவில்லாமல் எரியும் இத்தழல்

இரவல் தீ

இரவல் ஆடை இசையாது அதுபோல்
இரவல் தீ இயக்காது

Endaro mahanubhavulu

We were coming back to Chennai after a visit to the native village. We had some tender coconuts in our car brought from our home. We asked a road side tender coconut seller if she could chop it for us. She happily agreed. As she was serving her regular customers (who buy the tender coconut from her), she also simultaneously chopped 7-8 tender coconuts for us too.

As we finished, I offered her some money for her service. She blushed and was really taken aback. She said, "To quench your thirst, I simply chopped a few coconuts for you! No no no, I cannot take any money".

Velammal - tender coconut seller on GST road near chengalpet toll both

There were four of us and all four were stunned by her sense of Dharma and her effortless expression of the same! Living in a mostly corrupt and highly competitive Indian city (and working for even more competitive corporations who exist purely to make money), we were all so conditioned to assume that everyone is like that. This was especially assumed as this lady was a economically not well of lady selling tender coconuts standing in the hot sun all day. But her sense of Dharma immediately awakened all of us to our actions. This is not to eulogise them. They may have their share of their issues. But, it is best to observe each other and learn about Dharma from each other.

As I recited this story to a few people back home, everyone said 'thank god! there are still some Dharmic people in the villages'. If it is commonly well known that cities screw up our sense of dharma, why are we here? This is not a rhetoric question. No answer is assumed. The following questions ensued.

1. If it is commonly well known that cities screw up our sense of dharma, why are we here?
2. Are we completely in touch with all the changes that are inflicted on us?
3. How are we dealing with all of that?
4. What kind of social structures are we building for future generations?

As we ponder these questions, let salute ladies like Velammal who invite us to explore these questions. Endaro mahanubhavulu, antareeki vandanam (Oh great soul, I salue you)!

Organic toor dal

My mom had stopped eating sambar for a few years now as toor dal wouldnt digest well. But, after switching recently to organic toor dal, tempted by the fresh aroma which was lacking in the regular ones, she tried it for a day. Encouraged by her bodies acceptance, she has resumed eating it now every now and then. May be her digestive power has improved but that seems unlikely as digestive power of lentils usually decline when you reach 55-60. Go Organic!

Thirumandiram on Shivaratri

Enjoyed the following arbitrary collection of verses from Thirumandiram on Shivaratri (yesterday) night - displays beauty in words and depth of experience. I am also posting English translation from some pdf obtained online which does not mention the authors name.

602
மனத்து விளக்கினை மாண்பட ஏற்றிச்
சினத்து விளக்கினைச் செல்ல நெருக்கி
அனைத்து விளக்குந் திரியொக்கத் தூண்ட
மனத்து விளக்கது மாயா விளக்கே

Light the Lamp of Mind
And dispel the Darkness of Egoity;
Extinguish the Fire of Wrath
And brighten all lamps within
Thenceforth alike,
The Mind's Lamp is an undying Lamp indeed.



603
எண்ணா யிரத்தாண்டு யோகம் இருக்கினும்
கண்ணார் அமுதினைக் கண்டறி வாரில்லை
உண்ணாடிக் குள்ளே ஒளியுற நோக்கினால்
கண்ணாடி போலக் கலந்துநின் றானே

Well may they practise Yoga eight-thousand year
Still they see not Lord,
Sweet as ambrosia
And dear unto apple of eye;
But if within you seek Him enlightened
He within you is,
Even unto reflection in the mirror.



1857
படமாடக் கோயில் பகவற்குஒன்று ஈயில்
நடமாடக் கோயில் நம்பர்க்கு அங்கு ஆகா
நடமாடக் கோயில் நம்பர்க்கு ஒன்று ஈயில்
படமாடக் கோயில் பகவற்கு அது ஆமே.

The offering you give
To the Lord in the temple steepled high
Reaches not His devotees,
Who the walking temples noble are;
When you offer things
To the walking temples noble,
That sure reaches the Lord
In the temple steepled high.



1872
பெண்ணல்ல ஆணல்ல பேடல்ல மூடத்துள்
உள்நின்ற சோதி ஒருவர்க்கு அறியொணாக்
கண்ணின்றிக் காணும் செவியின்றிக் கேட்டிரும்
அண்ணல் பெருமையை ஆய்ந்தது மூப்பே.

Neither male, nor female, nor hermaphrodite,
The light that is within ignorance concealed
Never, never can cognise Him;
Without eyes He sees,
Without ears He hears,
Only those in Knowledge ripe
Have for sure, seen Him.



1887
பிச்சையது ஏற்றான் பிரமன் தலைதன்னில்
பிச்சையது ஏற்றான் பிரியா அறஞ்செய்யப்
பிச்சையது ஏற்றான் பிரமன் சிரங்காட்டிப்
பிச்சையது ஏற்றான் பிரமன் பரமாகவே.

The Lord begged in Brahma's skull,
The Lord begged for Dharma to perpetuate;
The Lord begged in Brahma's skull,
That Brahma to Brahmam become.



1983
மண்ணை இடந்துஅதின் கீழொடும்
விண்ணை இடந்து வெளிசெய்து நின்றிடும்
கண்ணை இடந்து களிதந்த ஆனந்தம்
எண்ணும் கிழமைக்கு இசைந்து நின்றானே.

Breaking through the Earth (Muladhara)
He penetrates beyond into the Adharas that
Are Sky (Visuddhi) and Space (Ajna) within;
He is the very source of joy that dazzles the eye;
He indeed responds to contemplation sweet.



2064
மாணிக்க மாலை மலர்ந்தெழு மண்டலம்
ஆணிப்பொன் நின்றங்கு அமுதம் விளைந்தது
பேணிக்கொண்டு உண்டார் பிறப்பற்று இருந்த
ஊனுக்கு இருந்தார் உணராத மாக்களே.

In the sphere (of cranium)
Where the garland of scarlet rubies glows,
He the unalloyed Gold,
There stood;
The divine nectar welled up there;
They who swilled it,
Ended their birth's cycle;
They who did not
Remained but to gormandize.



2067
கண்காணி இல்லென்று கள்ளம் பலசெய்வார்
கண்காணி இல்லா இடமில்லை காணுங்கால்
கண்காணி யாகக் கலந்தெங்கும் நின்றானைக்
கண்காணி கண்டார் களஒழிந் தாரே.

Thinking there is none that oversees
They many evil deeds perform;
None the place, in fact,
Where the over-seer is not;
The Lord pervades all, overseeing all;
They who the Over-seer saw,
Abandoned evil deeds all.



2073
கன்னி ஒருசிறை கற்றோர் ஒருசிறை
மன்னிய மாதவம் செய்வோர் ஒருசிறை
தன்னியல்பு உன்னி உணர்ந்தோர் ஒருசிறை
என்னிது ஈசன் இயல்புஅறி யாரே.

The Virgin Sakti on one side
The learned ones on one side,
The Tapasvins steadfast on one side,
The Self-Realized beings on one side,
Thus is the Lord seated;
How is it they know not His nature true!



2074
காணாத கண்ணில் படலமே கண்ணொளி
காணாத வர்கட்கும் காணாதது அவ்வொளி
காணாத வர்கட்கும் கண்ணாம் பெருங்கண்ணைக்
காணாது கண்டார் களவொழிந் தாரே.

The eye that sees not
Is by cataract (ignorance) covered;
The Lord is the Light Unseen,
Even for those
Whose eye no sight has;
He is the Eye Divine,
Even for those
Who have seen Him not;
They who have seen Him
In the inward eye
Have verily the Truth seen
All illusion rid.



2089
இன்பத்து ளேபிறந்து இன்பத்து ளேவளர்ந்து
இன்பத்து ளேநினைக் கின்றது இதுமறந்து
துன்பத்து ளேசிலர் சோறொடு கூறையென்று
துன்பத்து ளேநின்று தூங்குகின் றார்களே.

Born in bliss, grown in bliss
Steeped in thoughts of bliss
This way, they forget;
Instead,
Hankering after food and raiment
In sorrow steeped they are;
And in sorrow steeped, they insensible slumber.



2090
பெறுதற்கு அரிய பிறவியைப் பெற்றும்
பெறுதற்கு அரிய பிரானடி பேணார்
பெறுதற்கு அரிய பிராணிகள் எல்லாம்
பெறுதற்கு அரியதோர் பேறுஇழந் தாரே.

Rare is human birth,
Yet they seek not Lord's Feet,
So rare to reach;
They attained the rare human birth,
Yet missed this Treasure Rare,
They are but crawling creatures, indeed.