Yoga Practice 116 - Individuation through Meditation: Japa, Mudra, Chanting

Yoga Practice 115 - Taittiriya Upanishads-Vedas: Mandalas

From M.Alan Kazlev's weblog 30 June 1999: "The Taittiriya Upanishad is exceptional in that it is one of the first writings to present a systemmatic metaphysic or theory of first principles. It speaks of the individual as divided into five selves (atma, initially - as with all such terms - "breath", and then "self" or "soul"; the term elsewhere, and especially later, came to characterise that aspect of the self which is synonymous with the Absolute)

Five levels of self are referred to: the anna-maya-atma or the "Self (atma) made of Food"; the prana-maya-atma or "the Self made of Vital Breath (prana)"; the mana-maya-atma "the Self made of Mind (manas)"; the vijnana-maya-atma or "the Self made of Consciousness or intellect (vijnana)", and finally the ananda-maya-atma or "the Self made of Bliss (ananda)", where one attains to Brahman. The spiritual aspirant, in the quest for Self- and God-realisation, passes under the guidance of the Master through each of these selves in turn, finally attaining to the Absolute or Brahman, which is synonymous with the highest or Bliss Self

The ninth chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad says:
"He who knows the Bliss of Brahman (divine consciousness)... does not distress himself with the thought "why did I not do what is good? why did I do what is evil?". Whoever knows this (bliss) regards both of these as Atman (self, soul), indeed he cherishes both as Atman. Such, indeed, is the Upanishad, the secret knowledge of Brahman."

The key phrase of the Upanishads, to Advaita Vedanta, is "Tat Tvam Asi" (That thou art). Vedantins believe that in the end, the ultimate, formless, inconceivable Brahman is the same as our soul, Atman. We only have to realize it through discrimination.

From Agnisoma's weblog: "Veda are those fundamental Tattva’s, from whom the Cosmos has sprung up and grown................Akshara-Brahma, which having a central-appearance, self-originates in the womb of Jagada-Janani Mahamaya, and thus grants five Kala’s to a nishkal Awyaya thereby making it sakala is known as Param-Brahma.

The five Brahma Kala’s known are: -

Param-Brahma-----Awyaya-Brahma
Brahma-----Ananda
Vishnu-----Vigyan
Indra-----Mana
Agni-----Prana
Soma-----Wak

The Brahma-Vishnu-Indra fusion is known as ‘Antaryami’ and that of Agni-Soma is known as ‘Sootra-atma’. Later on, the Kshara creation takes place. Kshara’s also have five Kala’s namely, Pranah-Aapah-Wak-Anna-Annaada. The incessant inter-mingling of these five energies is the reason for creation of the five Bhoota’s namely, Prithvi-Jal-Tej-Vayu-Akash. These Bhoota’s become the reason for creation of the system of Swayambhu-Parmesthi-Surya-Prithvi-Chandrama.

The foremost Fundamental Veda’s for creation of Cosmos are known as “Agni-Soma”. We may also call them separately as Agni Veda and Soma Veda. The word ‘Agni’ is from symbolic language, whereas in the fundamental language the same word is ‘Agri’.

There are only two fundamental tattva’s. One of them will always reach outwards (Towards the perimeter) from centre due to its nature and thus, is known as ‘Agri’.

The other one will always try to reach towards the center from the perimeter, and thus comes to be known as ‘Soma’.

So, Agni and Soma are the only two basic Veda’s. Within the five-fold Universe of Swayambhu-Parmesthi-Surya-Prithvi-Chandrama, Agni is present in Swayambhu-Surya-Prithvi and Soma is present in Parmeshthi-Chandrama.

You, me and whatever we see within this Universe is all made of Agni-Soma in its basis. This is evident in, “Agni-Somaatmakam Jagata”. This means, All Universe is of the form of Agni and Soma.

Every individual constructs a system around itself into the distant space, because of the rays generated by centrally established energy. The ‘Pinda’ or individual is ‘Martya’ and its ‘Mandala’ or system is called ‘Amrit’. The Swayambhu Mandala is called as ‘Brahma-nishvasita Veda’. The Parmesthi (Which is the form of Aapah) Mandala is called as ‘Brahma-shvedaveda’. Surya Mandala (Also famous as Saur-mandal, Solar-System) is called ‘Gayatri-mantric Veda’. The Chandra Mandala is called as ‘Somaveda’. Prithvi Mandala is called as ‘Yagyamantric Veda’. This is a brief introduction to the Mandala or system form of Veda’s."

What I am beginning to see is that no matter whose teachings I read....Sri Aurobindo, Carl Gustav Jung, Philosophy of Tantra, or The Upanishads....they all lead to the same theme....the concept of the inner consciousness being represented by a Mandala and being a microcosm of the macrocosm!

Yoga Practice 114 - Mysore Practice - Sri Aurobindo-The Mother: Vishnu-Lakshmi

(Shown here is the Sri Yantra) I have been practicing Mysore Style Ashtanga Yoga since January 2009. The beauty of this practice is that it allows you to become aware of what The Mother refers to as the Soul. "The soul and the psychic being are not exactly the same thing, although their essence is the same. The soul is the divine spark that dwells at the centre of each being; it is identical with its Divine Origin, it is the divine in man" -The Mother

In the experience of yoga the self or being is in essence one with the Divine or at least it is a portion of the Divine and has all the divine potentialities. But in manifestation it takes two aspects, the Purusha and Prakriti, conscious being and Nature. In Nature here the Divine is veiled, and the individual being is subjected to Nature which acts here as the lower Prakriti, a force of Ignorance, Avidya. The Purusha in itself is divine, but exteriorised in the ignorance of Nature it is the individual apparent being imperfect with her imperfection. Thus the soul or psychic essence, which is the Purusha entering into the evolution and supporting it, carries in itself all the divine potentialities; but the individual psychic being which it puts forth as its representative assumes the imperfection of Nature and evolves in it till it has recovered its full psychic essence and united itself with the Self above of which the soul is the individual projection in the evolution. This duality in the being on all its planes-for it is true in different ways not only of the Self and the psychic but of the mental, vital and physical Purushas-has to be grasped and accepted before the experiences of the yoga can be fully understood.

The Being is one throughout, but on each plane of Nature, it is represented by a form of itself which is proper to that plane, the mental Purusha in the mental plane, the vital Purusha in the vital, the physical Purusha in the physical. The Taittiriya Upanishad speaks of two other planes of the being, the Knowledge or Truth plane and the Ananda plane, each with its Purusha, but although influences may come down from them, these are superconscient to the human mind and their nature is not yet organised here." - Sri Aurobindo

(The Psychic Being - Soul: Its nature, mission and evolution) Selections from the Works of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

In my interpretation - Sri Aurobindo is the symbolic Purusha or conscious being and The Mother - Prakriti or Nature and could also be viewed as Mahalakshmi or Sri, a consort of Vishnu.

Yoga Practice 113 - Mandala-Jung-Tantra-Meditation

According to Carl Jung Resources 2009 "Mandala is a graphical representation of the center (the Self for Jung). It can appear in dreams and visions or it can be spontaneously created as a work of art. It is present in the cultural and religious representations.

In the yoga practices mandala can be a support for meditation or an image that must be internalized through mental absorption. This image organizes the inner energies and forces of the practitioner and puts them in relationship with his ego.

Generally speaking a mandala is a geometrical form - a square or a circle - abstract and static, or a vivid image formed of objects and/or beings.

In our dreams the mandala indicates the phenomenon of centering the individual psychic in which the ego reconsiders its (dominant) position through the assimilation of the collective unconscious contents (symbols or archetypal images).

In modern dreams mandala can be a sophisticated electronic device - an electronic watch or a sophisticated circular machinery. Often the UFOs seen on the sky are also mandala symbols.......

Jungian therapy uses techniques in which the patient is guided to a personal confrontation with the collective unconscious, with archetypes.

This confrontation aims at the assimilation of archetypal images, in short, the individuation, an extensive process that leads to the realization of a psychic totality that includes equally the conscious and the unconscious."

I believe both the philosophy of Tantra and Jung's work on the unconscious are referring to the same phenomenon.

The article by ExoticIndiaArt :- Tantra: The Art of Philosophy explains that "Tantra has developed a system of thought which makes us see the universe as if it were within ourselves, and ourselves as if we were within the universe..........the way to fulfillment is through recognition of our wholeness linking man and the universe. This hence is the broad aim of Tantra art, achieved through visual symbols and metaphors."

I believe Yantras seen in Tantric Art are also Mandalas and represent the inner states of human consciousness, Self as described by Jung. Shown in the picture above is Jung's Mandala of his inner consciouness.

I believe the purpose and practice of meditation is to help a seeker to access their inner consciousness.

Yoga Practice 112 - Open your Heart

Open your heart and release the pain. Our capacity to love and experience joy is hindered by our past hurts which we tend to hold onto as a reminder that it could happen to us again. This way of being prevents us from believing that the same experience could lead to a different outcome, one that we actually want and desire.

Through the regular practice of yoga we can let go of these accumulated hurts and as we release the pain we are likely to find that we are able to find equilibrium within ourselves and return to our inner light.

"The energy of human consciousness may share an affinity with light that we do not yet understand. Turning toward that light, we might find it to be the source of all our inspiration and creativity."

Tarthang Tulku

Yoga Practice 111 - Break free from years of conditioning

The same situation can be either stressful or stress-free...the outcome depends on how you see things...the way they are or through a layer of conditioning that is based on assumptions and judgments resulting in false conclusions.

In an earlier post I talked about "reality being beyond duality"....a statement made by my late mother Poonam. I now have new appreciation for its meaning. If only we could stop labeling everything around us and creating a reality through our mind rather than experiencing the reality as it is.....the only way to come back to this experience is by having an open heart and letting go of fear....

Yoga asanas...inversions, twists, handstands are all physical practices to break the bodies' conditioning of only being one way...walking on two feet all the time and not another way...walking on two hands...

Yoga Practice 110 - Yogic Diet

A few days ago I experienced a tingling sensation along my spine....it was a familiar sensation. I also noticed that I am more sensitive to my environment, to smells, sounds, light, food. I have been seeking out more "prana" rich fresh foods like fruits, nuts and vegetables. Also, feel happier eating fibre rich foods that are easily digestible by my system. Often resulting in a bowel movement 30 - 60 minutes after each meal!

The tingling sensation I felt, I recognize as energy rising along my Sushumna nadi, the central channel around which the two other nadis (Ida and Pingala) "revolve".

A word about Ida and Pingala - they are the functional modules or energetic systems that control all mental, psychic and physical processes.



According to researcher Arthur Deikamn (psychiatric department of the Colorado Medical Center University) the Pingala energetic system focuses on operating on the environment: our desire towards the fulfillment of personal needs - food, shelter, safety, sensual pleasures, avoidance of pain, social and interpersonal interactions.

Deikman describes the "Ida" state, the receptive trait, as a state oriented towards the contemplation of the environment where predominant are the perceptive sensorial system and the parasympathetic function.

Although their functioning may appear as opposed, they are in fact complementary and these two tendencies much reach a balance so that you enjoy perfect health and deep mental health.

So, you must be wondering what does all this have to do with a yogic diet?? Let me explain, you see the energy system dominant and operating in my body was that of Pingala - traits of focused attention, logic based on analysis, space perception. Through regular (3-4 days a week) Mysore Ashtanga Yoga practice I am slowly able to activate the more dormant Ida energy system whose traits are more sensorial.

So instead of using my mind and logic to follow a diet to lose weight, I am just listening to my body and responding to calls of hunger and satisfaction. In the last month I have lost 5 lbs. I am eating every two hours, eating food that I love, and eating it slowly, enjoying every bite. I have to thank my friend Cornelia for alerting me to a book by Paul McKenna called "I can make you thin". Paul'
s message is simple and is consistent with the principles of yoga....LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

It so happens that my body feels more energetic when I eat raw foods, a mostly vegetarian diet with lots of greens (some fish and eggs), diary (small quantities of cheese, yogurt and whole milk), nuts, whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, amaranth), fruits (berries/melon/bananas) lentils and beans. No alcohol or desserts.

My definition of a Yogic Diet is a diet that your body responds to well, makes you more energetic. The only way to find out is to tune in to your body to find out what would be your ideal Yogic Diet....just notice and ask yourself the question "Do I have more or less energy after eating......?" "How do I feel?"

Yoga Practice 109 - "Centering" to Access Your Higher Self

We exist in four spheres...Anatomical (Physical body), Physiological (Emotions), Mental (Thoughts) and Intellectual (Wisdom). The practice of Hatha (implies pair of opposites) Yoga (to Yoke from the Sanskrit word Yuj) is essentially to find equanimity in all these spheres and move from a state of duality to one of union.

"Centering Exercises"(a term used by my late mother Poonam but she refers to different exercises - Star, Light and Power) in the context of Yoga Practice, I believe, consist of finding balance in each of the four spheres mentioned above. These include (i) Asana practice linked with the breath which integrates the left and right sides of the body, front and back, upper and lower, outer and inner. (ii) Self Study or becoming a witness to our emotions moving from sympathetic (fight or flight) to parasympathetic (calm) nervous responses and; (iii) Patanjali's yoga sutras: Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), Dharana (attention), and Dhyana (meditation). Ashtanga yoga utilizes a three pronged approach as well "Tristana" alignment between breath, posture, gaze to achieve steadiness.

From the diaries of my late mother Poonam, these centering practices help us "to recover our own consciousness", surrender our ego and find limitless, unconditional love. I believe she was referring to accessing our inner wisdom or our "Higher Self" - a place where we experience "Sachitananda" the trinity of Truth, Awareness and Bliss...one which is permanent, immutable and constant like the Dhruv Tara (Pole Star).

It is accessing and being connected to this Higher Self that allows us to transcend dualistic thinking - good and evil, positive and negative, love and pain etc. She wrote in her diary "nothing is destroyed" "love conquers all pain, darkness, unhappiness, despair". Isolation, loneliness, insecurity on the other hand represent a lack of connection to our Higher Self.

My mother believed that "we choose our lives in order to transcend our own negativity, unhappiness, situations that are challenging for us, in order to "Learn" from them. That we must actively work on making our choices". She wrote that a "lot of our pain arises from dualistic thinking and evil is good flowing backwards..energy is one".

My interpretation of her belief in the context of transcending dualistic thinking is that one must experience darkness in order to appreciate light and experience states of depression and mania, of swinging from one extreme of being a victim to another of being empowered, in order to channel our energy towards the center - our Higher Self - the seat of Sachitananda.

And it is this Higher Self or Soul or "Jivatman" that must then find Union with the Divinity or Ultimate Reality or "Brahman".

I think I now understand what my mother was talking about in her diaries when she said that "Reality is beyond Duality" (Personally, I think she was enlightened)!

For my mother, divinity represented a place of "real love unending" and Meher Baba (http://www.meherbabainformation.org) was that "love", the whole that was always there, leaves nobody, and is the unity of all divinity (ie religious Godheads), representing Oneness of all. She was following the Yoga of devotion or "Bhakti Yoga", one of the doctrines (the other two being Jnana Yoga - Yoga of Knowledge and Karma Yoga - Yoga of Action) explained in the Bhagavad Gita.

For myself, I am drawn to the principles of "Tantra" (mentioned in Yoga Practice 103) as a means of transcending dualistic thinking. Practically that would mean using "centering exercises" to connect to my Higher Self which would then allow me to actively channel the energy (kundalini) positively and connect to the divinity that is embodied in life and live in abundance.

Yoga Practice 108 - Remember the 5 Observances or Niyamas

The 5 Niyamas or observances are Shaucha or cleanliness, Santosha or contentment, Tapas or discipline, Svadhyaya or self study, and Ishvarapranidhana or Self-surrender. I have briefly touched upon each of these in prior posts....Be Regular or Tapas (post 101), Be a Witness or Svadhyaya (post 104). I mentioned Shaucha in the post "In Search of a Teacher" and touched upon Ishvarapranidhana in post 102where I talked about the Namaste mudra...the aspect of surrendering the ego to the heart, the seat of the soul. If I think of Santosha or contentment literally, my Eastern upbringing suggests that it is as an acceptance of things that I don't like, but cannot change - accept it, it is your karma, destiny. But my Western life experiences contradict this view with a now popular belief "Yes, we can". So, I prefer to think of contentment as the ability to experience a state of calmness. I welcome your comments on this subject. Some additional thoughts I have about Shaucha is that cleanliness in a broader context to me means nuturing, maintaining and sustaining all spaces like one would a temple. From taking care of the body - teeth, hair, skin, nails etc, to your home, to the city you inhabit, the environment, planet earth and the Universe!

Yoga Practice 107 - Practice all 5 Restraints or Yamas

The 5 Yamas or Restraints are :- Ahimsa or non-violence, Satya or truthfulness, Asteya or not stealing, Brahmacharya - refrain from sexuality outside of that which is an expression of love for a partner in a monogamous relationship, and Aparigraha or not grasping as mentioned in Yoga Practice 106. The other day, I went to the post office to mail out W2s and payroll stubs for a friend of mine. As I walked away from the counter I realized that the postal clerk had made a mistake and gave me ten extra dollars in change. I admit, I was tempted to walk away and pocket the change but a voice inside me that was much stronger than my thought made me turn around and go right back to return the money. The reaction from the postal clerk and also how I felt was priceless, worth much more than the $10!

Yoga Practice 106 - Let Go and Make Space

Clutter can be a drain on your energy and a real deterrent to the creative process. Clean out your physical space, donate/sell/throw things that you haven't used in years - make space to journey inwards. Let go of attachments "Aparigraha" (non grasping) to money, relationships, the lover, material possessions - only then will you begin to see that we have all these things within us.

A couple of days ago I was having some serious IT problems...I was in an emotional state of panic and felt very anxious that I would not be able to resolve the issues on my own. I could see myself grasping for anyone who could help me...my virtual boyfriend in Cambridge, my friend in Larchmont, my cousin who happened to be in Ecuador, my neighbor who is currently in Hyderabad, my business associate in Paris....but I could not reach anyone, no one was there...my panic deepened. I felt helpless and completely alone. I decided to stay with the feeling and kept telling myself that I am there for myself and I will know how to fix the problem. Sure enough, two days of browsing blog forums, $53, and 5 phone calls to Apple Tech Support corrected and resolved all of my IT issues!

Yoga Practice 105 - Kick the Habit

Change is often difficult. It is especially hard for me. I complained loudly to the fitness director at my neighborhood gym about their yoga classes being non-traditional because I had become accustomed to practicing in styles taught by more traditional schools of yoga. I even called some of the classes "yogarcize". But eventually I gave in and settled into a rountine practicing 5 days a week. I was fortunate because the proximity of the gym made it easier for me to be regular and I was lucky to find at least two teachers that taught in the traditional styles - one Ashtanga and the other Iyengar. And then it happened again - change. The club cancelled my anchor wednesday morning 7 am Ashtanga class. I was very upset because it shook the ground beneath my feet. I knew that I had to start anew....brand new teacher, different location, new faces. I reflected on my strong reaction to this event only to realize that it is in my nature or rather "conditioning" to become attached, to be fearful of change, and anxious about new experiences.

I am "kicking this habit" and many other patterns of behavior that keep me going around in circles like a hampster on a wheel. You can only change something if you are first aware of its occurrence....the witness I talked about in my earlier post 104. My suggestion of honing into this awareness of Self through the practice of yoga is to practice at the same time at least 3-5 times a week, same style, same teacher - preferably Mysore Style or Self practice so you can begin to observe subtle patterns held in the body and slowly begin to connect the dots.....

Yoga Practice 104 - Become the Witness

At the beginning of my Vinyasa Yoga class yesterday I heard a tune that I knew. I started to hum and the words came to me...."Prabhuji, daya karo; Maan mae aan baso." ie O'Lord have mercy on me, come reside in my heart. And that was my thought and inspiration for my practice that day. I had an amazing experience: It felt as though my Yoga teacher remained connected to my thoughts even after the brief conversation I had with him at the beginning of class, telling him that my shoulders felt very tight. (euphemism for I want to open my heart, the seat of my emotional wisdom).....somehow he knew that my body wanted to move into Vashishthasana to Ushtrasana to Purvottanasana. It was as though I connected to the teacher within me - my higher Self - my inner wisdom and then connected to the teacher in the room. This is a rare occurrence even for me but my sense is that it is possible to access the teacher within by becoming a witness - to your thoughts, to your movement - noticing the ease/discomfort you experience when you move from one asana to the next, and keeping your attention on breathing comfortably all along. Sort of like putting lessons 101-103 together. TRY IT OUT for yourself.