Inquisitive Interpretation of Spirituality

Peer pressure for consumerism

2013-03-14T23:20:00.004-07:00

Just try repeating your dress more than thrice in the same week, and you would know what I am talking about. Your ‘good’ friends will take you into a corner and will literally counsel you to get a new wardrobe. They will offer you all the ‘help’ in selecting good clothes, at affordable prices. The ‘not so good’ friends will be eager to mock you in public for your love of that purple sweater and beige corduroy trousers which you wear every alternate day. They will label you a miser and deride your sense of dressing.

Even your best friends will not forgive you if you aren’t appropriately ‘dressed up’ for the occasions. Believe me. I am talking from experience. I have scarred one friendship because I was not wearing something ‘good enough’ in my friend’s brother’s wedding. And another friend had warned me to buy a new dress for her brother’s wedding in advance!

Even my ‘best’ friend repeatedly prods me to buy better clothes. He says ‘I just don’t understand why you don’t spend on clothes when you earn so much?’ Well, even I don’t understand, that WHY ONE SHOULD spend on clothes, irrespective of whether they earn much or less.

My little wisdom about clothing tells me that the primary purpose of clothes is to protect our body, like a jacket protects us from cold. And while choosing our clothes, we consider two factors – comfort and choice. So our clothes should be comfortable, and allow us to stretch, jump or run at will. And the clothes can be of a fabric that you like, a color that you prefer, and of a design of your choice.

Most of my clothes fulfill these criteria. Even the dark grey formal trouser which I wear to office is of such a nice stretchable fabric that I can easily sit in padmasana wearing it.

Now I simply don’t understand that why the world has a problem if I wear these comfy clothes of my choice, more than thrice a week.

This is why I often envy those who have a uniform associated with their profession. Like lawyers who have to wear that black robe and white shirt and pants, or the doctors who have to adorn that white coat, nurses who are so conveniently dressed in the hospital’s uniform, and even the security guard outside my office. They don’t have the wrenching question staring at them every morning ‘So what should I wear for work today?’

Unlike these people who are bound by the uniform, there are many who voluntarily choose to wear the same dress over and over again. The Yogis or the saints for instance are always seen in white or a yellow or saffron dress. They have overcome the mortal desire of dressing up and are content and satisfied in their skin.

Strangely a lot of friends of mine say that wearing good clothes makes them feel more confident and more upbeat. Thankfully my emotions aren’t connected to my clothes as much. And if there is any truth in this weird hypothesis that good clothes can lend more confidence, then I would like to recall the instance when Gandhi met the queen of England in wearing his loin cloth. While she must have been all decked up in her corset gown, Gandhi was wearing his khadi. Was he feeling any less confident because of his dress? I doubt!

I have almost reached this stage when I am detached with my clothes. I would be happiest if I had just two comfortable track suits, of course in the color of my choice, and I could just be in them all the time. Wash one, wear one – and I my wardrobe is done.

But I know, this is a distant reality. Because even though I have given up my desire of dressing up, I find myself giving in to the peer pressure. This peer pressure applies not just to our clothes, but also to the mobile you keep, the kind of TV you have in your house, the kind of car you have. If you are a CEO then you can’t come in an Alto car and carry a Nokia 1600 mobile. Your peers will coax and compel you into buying a sedan and upgrading to an Android or Blackberry.

So if you thought it is enough to conquer your infinite desires to lead a simple and content life, well it isn’t. A difficult battle with your peers awaits you. Good luck!

Pray for everyone, not just yourself

2013-01-17T00:05:00.000-08:00

The first step to becoming divine is to become selfless. Most of us remain self-centered throughout our lives. We think only about our own happiness, success and health matters.

And if at all we think about somebody apart from ourselves, then it tends to be our close ones. So basically we have a circle of 'me and mine' in which we spend our entire life. We stay intertwined within my things, my friends, my love, my dreams, my ambitions etc.

Can we break this circle? Probably never!

Then what is the solution?

Expand this circle!

Retain the 'my' but expand it to my neighborhood, my community, my world!

Include everybody in your family. Be concerned for everybody's well being and everybody's success.

Don't just pray for yourself. Pray for everybody. And when you do that, you automatically pray for yourself too as you is included in everybody.

So here is one of the ancient Hindu prayers, called as the Shanti (Peace) mantra (chant) which is essentially a prayer for global peace.

AUM sarveshaam svasthir bhavatu

Everybody (sarvesham) be (bhavatu) healthy (svasthir)

Sarveshaam shaantir bhavatu

Everybody (sarvesham) be (bhavatu) peaceful (shantir)

Sarveshaam poornam bhavatu

Everybody (sarvesham) be (bhavatu) complete (shantir)

Sarveshaam mangalam bhavatu

Everybody (sarvesham) be (bhavatu) auspicious (mangalam)

Sarve bhavantu sukhinah

All (sarve) be (bhavantu) happy (sukhinah)

Sarve santu niraamayaah

All (sarve) sages be (santu) free from diseases and disturbances (niramaya)

Sarve bhadraani pashyantu

All (sarve) see (pashantu) the good civil life (bhadraani)

Maa kashchidh dukh bhaag-bhavet.

Not (maa) brood about any (kashchid) sadness (dukh) and be (bhavet) fortunate and lucky (bhaag)

So if you can’t donate things to charities because of money crunch or can’t go out and help/volunteer because of paucity of time – the least you can do is PRAY for others!

So get rid of your selfishness NOW!!

What is Ashtanga Yoga?

2013-01-03T02:33:00.004-08:00

Literally Ashtanga word is made of two words - Ashta - means eight and Anga – means parts or limbs. So Ashtanga Yoga simply means the Yoga which is divided into eight components. Sage Patanjali, who is attributed with giving the first definitive treatise on Yog. Now what are these ‘Eight Components’ is the next question. He names them in verse 2:29 –

Yama-Niyam-Asana-Pranayam-Pratyahara-Dharana-Dhyana-Samadhayo

1. Yama: Conduct to be observed in society or external discipline

2. Niyama: Conduct to be observed for self or internal discipline

3. Asana: Postures

4. Pranayama: Breath control

5. Pratyahara: Withdrawing mind from senses

6. Dharana: Concentration

7.Dhyana: Meditation

8.Samadhi: Union with the divine

I noted that the order in which he named them in the verse is different from the order in which he goes on to describe how to achieve these later.

So for description, I have stuck to the order as I found in the book.

Yama & Niyama

Both Yama and Niyama have 5 parts each, making it a total 10points which I have shared in the earlier post. As I have already described them in a good detail, so am discussing the remaining 6 below.

Samadhi

While describing the last of the Niyamas, which is Ishwarpranidhaan or unconditional devotion to God, he says in the verse 2:45 –

Samadhi-siddhir Ishwara-pranidhanat

This means that with practice of unconditional devotion, you can obtain expertise (siddhi) in uniting yourself with the divinity (samadhi).

The state of Samadhi is often popularly confused with death, and we usually say with reverence that eminent people enter a Samadhi, instead of saying that they are dead. But divine union with God is not an after-life thing when you meet your maker. Samadhi is a way of living and a state of mind in which you are always conscious of the God within you.

Asana

‘Aasan’ means a seat in Sanskrit as well as Hindi. So literally Asan is a posture in which you can be seated. Just after describing Samadhi, sage Patanjali writes in Yog Sutra verse 2:46, that –

‘Sthir Sukh Asanam’

Any position in which you are Sthir means Stable and Sukhi or Happy is called as an Asana.

The next verse states –

‘Prayatna Saithilya Ananta Samapattibhyam’

This means that when there is absence (shaithilya) of effort (prayatna) and you can surrender (samapattibhyam) to the position for infinite period (anant), then we can say that you have achieved the effortless stability in the given posture.

So any position in which you are comfortable and stable for a long duration can be called as an Asana. But as a layman, we find that most of the Asanas are difficult twisted postures. Some require us to stand upside down on our heads, while the others require us to balance on one leg or our hands. But these Asanas actually are such positions in which a completely fit and agile person can stay for a long time easily. And we find them difficult only because we aren’t as healthy and flexible as we ought to be.

Pranayama

The word Pranayam literally means dimension (Ayaam) of the life force (Pran). Pranayam are usually perceived as breathing exercises as opposed to the Asanas which are body exercises.

Immediately after sage Patanjali describes about Asana in verse 2:46 and 47, he mentions about Pranayama in the next verse. He says in this position there is no more disturbance from dualities and the inhalation and exhalation can be brought to a halt, and this is called Pranayama.

Perplexed that how can inhalation and exhalation be stopped? And is this Pranayama?

Indeed the basic four kinds of Pranayam according to Patanjali are:

1. Bahyavritti – Holding the breath out of the body, after exhaling

2. Abhyantarvritti – Holding the breath inside body, after inhaling

3. Stambhavritti – Holding the breath immediately, whether you are inhaling or exhaling at that moment

4. Bahya-abhyantar visyakshapy – In this the breathing of the person automatically stops for some moments while the person is meditating in a higher state

Obviously these 4 pranayams aren’t simple, and not everybody should, rather not everybody can practice them. Heart patients, people with high B.P. etc should not even attempt these. What mortals like you and me can do is practice other Pranayams like Anulom Vilom (naadi shuddhi), Kapaal Bhati etc. which will help in enhancement of our ability to perform the four kinds of Pranayams.

Dharna

The practice of Asana and Pranayama lifts the curtain which has until now covered the illuminating light within our mind. And this metaphor of a curtain is not my choice of words but verbatim from what sage Patanjali has written. He writesin verse 2:53 –

Dharanasu cha yogyata manasah

This means that mind (manasah) realizes its full capabilities (yogyata) and (cha) concentration (dharna).

Pratyahaar

In the next verse 2:54, he writes -

Sva-vishayasamprayoge chittasya svarupanukara ivendriyanam pratyaharah

This translates to mean that our sense organs (indriyanam) get detached (pratyahar) when our consciousness (chittasya) lives in its own self (svarup) and imitates itself (anukara) and severs its connections (asamprayoge) from various topics regarding the self (sva-vishaye).

And then in 2:55 he says that –

tatah parama vashyatendriyanam

Then (tatah) the senses (indriyanam) become subservient (vashyate) the ultimate God (parama).

This is the final verse in this chapter called Saadhan paad, or the chapter which describes the methods.

Hopefully this article would broaden the horizon of those of you who perceive Yoga to be just Asanas and Pranayams!!

The logic of Hindu Trinity Gods

2012-12-19T22:55:00.000-08:00

This is a logic which occurred to my mind. I haven’t read this explanation anywhere earlier before this. So I don’t know whether it is valid, endorsed by other scriptures, sages or not.

But it is just my inquisitive interpretation of the way I see the three main Hindu Gods who also constitute the Trinity.

First some facts –

® Brahma is married to Saraswati

® Vishnu is married to Lakshmi

® Shiv is married to Parvati

Now another set of facts:

® Brahma is the God responsible for Creation of the universe

® Saraswati is the Goddess of Knowledge which includes academics and the arts such as music, painting, literature etc.

® Vishnu is the God responsible for maintaining the universe

® Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth

® Shiv is the God responsible for destruction of evil

® Parvati is the Goddess of power, called as aadi Shakti (eternal power)

Trinity of Hindu Gods and Goddesses

Above are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva from Left to Right

And seated below them are their companion Goddesses Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati

Now glance on these two facts and try to join the dots. Here is what my inquisitive mind interpreted:

® If you want to create something, you need knowledge. You cannot create anything without knowledge. Brahma’s work is impossible without Saraswati’s support

® If you want to sustain and maintain something, you need wealth. You cannot maintain anything without wealth. Vishnu’s work is impossible without Lakshmi’s support

® If you want to destroy something, you need power. You cannot destroy anything without having power. Shiv’s work is impossible without Parvati’s support

And there is no way that you can jumble up these pairs. You cannot create something with power or wealth. For example if you want to create your own house, you will need knowledge about how to build the foundation, how to lay the bricks etc. In the absence of such knowledge, you may buy expertise from those who have knowledge – the architects. A person with no wealth or power can also create, like a child creates a painting.

Similarly, you cannot maintain anything on the basis of knowledge or power. If you have to sustain and flourish, you will need wealth. If you are a brilliant flute artist, but you make no money and are forced to beg on the streets by playing your flute, then even though you have the knowledge, yet your survival is tough. Your music cannot feed your stomach and you will have to find ways of generating wealth if you want to lead a fulfilling life.

And again similarly, if you want to destroy then you will need power. Only knowledge of warfare or only lot of wealth cannot win you a war. You will need brave people with brawn to fight and win.

So according to me the logic of trinity is that we should all strive to achieve the balance of knowledge, wealth, and power in our life. We must acquire enough knowledge so that we can create things that we need and like. We must earn enough wealth, so that we can maintain ourselves and our family. We must become powerful enough so that we can at least destroy the diseases that might weaken our own body.

Have a balance of all the three qualities, not just one. So worship the trinity together and not just one of them!

10 things to do before you do Yoga (or Yog)

2012-08-19T01:48:00.003-07:00

Let us get this clear first. Yoga is not just about stretching exercises and deep breathing. Or at least that is not how the sage Patanjali, called as the founding father of Yog, wanted. In his treatise, Patanjali Yog Darshan, he clearly stated what you should do before you jump to doing ‘Asanas’ (physical exercises) and ‘Pranayamas’ (breathing techniques).You should follow the ‘Yam’ and ‘Niyam’.

Now what is Yam and Niyam you wonder?

Patanjali says in the 30^th verse of his book (in Sanskrit) –

Ahinsa-Satya-Asteya-Brahmacharya-Aparigraha- Yamah

And then he says in the 32^nd verse (in Sanskrit)–

Shauch-Santosh-Tap-Swaadhyaay-IshwarPranidhaan-Niyamah

So the 10 things he wants us to follow are:

Yama

1. Ahinsa – Non-violence

If you hurt or harm anyone through body, speech or thoughts, all of it is considered Violence. True non-violence is considered the first virtue of a Yogi.

2. Satya – Truth

Speaking only what you actually have experienced through your senses, like what you have seen or heard, or something which you have experienced by your mind is called as speaking the truth. Also you should ensure that no person is ever hurt by your words. Falsifying of facts, concealing, deceiving all will lead to violation of this principle.

3. Asteya – Non-Stealing

Robbing anybody of what is rightfully theirs is forbidden for a Yogi. Kidnapping, extortion, bribing, illegally saving tax etc are all various kinds of stealing.

4. Brahmacharya – Celibacy

Seminal fluid and the corresponding fluids in women are considered as a life force which needs to be conserved. So Yog actually considers a lot of sex as unhealthy, especially when it is with different partners. It does not forbid you from procreation or expressing love, but you must surely not give in to lust.

5. Aparigraha – Non-accumulation

Hoarding or amassing a lot of things, weather out of greed or attachment is also considered as a negative tendency. You cannot be free until you let go and give away the entire surplus you have.

Following the Yam and Niyams will automatically lead to a better Self and a better Society

Niyama

6.Shauch – Hygiene

Cleanliness of your body, clothes, residence etc is also important. Shabbiness or being messy is also considered a vice. And not just external hygiene, but cleanliness of mind is also as important. Your thoughts also must not be dirty.

7. Santosh – Satisfaction

A Yogi is always content in all circumstances and all situations. And this indeed is one of the most important qualities of a Yogi. To become satisfied is not to become complacent or renunciation of effort. A Yogi will do all the work that is required to be done, will be satisfied while doing the work, and after doing the work – whatever be the outcome of the work.

8. Tap – Training

Training of self, rigorously, is called as Tap. It may also involve foregoing of certain pleasures and exerting oneself.

9. Swaadhyaay – Introspection

Regular introspection of your past actions, deriving the lesson from them, and improving your conduct with each passing day is required of a Yogi.

10. Ishwar Pranidhaan – Surrendering to God

When you dedicate all your efforts to God, and align your will with God’s will, it is called pure devotion. When every work that you do is like a humble offering to God, then you are working like a Yogi.

So to summarise it all, Yog demands you to be non-violent, be truthful, never steal, be celibate, not accumulate, be clean, be satisfied, self-train, self-introspect and finally, surrender to God’s will.

One may observe that principles of Yama are essentially for public life, and principles of Niyama are for personal life.

So while you sweat it out doing Power Yog, do keep in mind these 10 things. Patanjali told us not just how to exercise and how to breathe– but also how to lead the best life.

Go ahead and be awesome!

Why ‘Yoga’ (or Yog)?

2012-08-18T05:34:00.003-07:00

This post is not about why you should do Yoga and its benefits. It is about a thought which struck me – that why was ‘Yoga’ – the health and fitness discipline that we know - was named as ‘Yoga’.

The literal meaning of this word Yog, in Hindi and in Sanskrit, is actually ‘Add’. I was actually perplexed that why was this health discipline is named as ‘Add’.

The sages, if they wished, could have named it as ‘the secret of immortality, healthy life, disease free life, happy, etc. There are lot of words to this effect in Sanskrit and Hindi – for instance ‘Arogya’ which literally means disease free, ‘Ananda’ which means happiness etc. I felt that these names would have been more apt for a fitness discipline, more than ‘Add’?

Add is after all a mathematical word (in Sanskrit – the function of addition is called as Yog so 2+2 will be called as 2 yog 2). How can this word ‘Add’ then describe the twisting and stretching, the meditation and chanting, that is actually done in Yog?

I suppose, the sages intended to define the ultimate aim of the exercise regime, through its name. And this ultimate aim is to - ‘Add’. Add what to what?

Add yourself to the supreme soul – also called as God.

Yog helps you illuminate the God within you

Yog was named so (by a sage called Patanjali) because it helps your addition with the divine. So for all those who assume the purpose of Yoga is to achieve flexibility and relieve you of that back-ache, well these are just side-benefits!

So add more health, add more happiness, add more bliss. By just adding Yog to your life!

What is Geeta (or Gita)?

2012-08-18T03:37:00.001-07:00

The word ‘Gita’ actually means ‘song’, in Sanskrit and in Hindi. One of the most sacred Hindu scripture is popular by the same name - Gita.

Actually the full name of this scripture is ‘Bhagwad Gita’, which literally means the ‘god’s song’. I often wonder why it was called the ‘song’ when the sages could have called it something else more serious – like a treatise, or the revelation, or the explanation, or the guide etc. (Gita was authored by a sage named Vyaas) a song is after all is not considered as definitive or authoritative like treatise.

Song is after all just a song!

I suppose the reason was that we already had tons of treatises on spirituality, to be precise 108 Upanishads (religious texts). And these books must have explained everything about spirituality and morality, albeit in a very complicated manner. And because of the complexity, the ‘spiritual knowledge’ could not consumed by the masses – and it remained in the clutches of a few (so-called) knowledgeable people. Probably as there was no paper in those times, so all the complex knowledge had to be memorized, which was further an impossible feat for the masses.

So i suppose the whole intention behind gita was to simplify the knowledge, and make it as easy to understand and memorize - like a song. We do see around us, that a student if told to memorize 10 lines of a speech, would find it difficult, but the same student might memorize 20 lines of his favorite song effortlessly. Therefore the sages must have chosen the medium of a song to spread the spiritual knowledge - instead of writing it like a speech.

We must note that a song is written differently than a speech. A song will uses imagination, all sorts of similes, exaggerations etc. Like in a love song when a lover says ‘let’s go to the moon together’ it does not mean that the couple are boarding a space shuttle, it means something like let’s spend the night together, or lets go somewhere far away etc. Similarly gita, when it was converting raw knowledge into an attractive song, must have also used many metaphors, many similes, many exaggerations. That is the reason why i very strongly feel that we should not take every word of Gita literally, but try to decipher the intention behind it. And this is the reason why i feel that people who refuse to look beyond the written word and wear blinkers while reading the Gita, fail to grasp the real meaning.

Lord Krishna showing his million forms or avatars to disciple Arjuna

Gita is to be understood, questioned, debated and then again understood. Only then you have a chance of deciphering the real message which the sages intended. But if you blindly believe every word of it, then it is like believing that the lovers are actually going to the moon .

So lets try to understand this divine song with an inquisitive mind...this song is more than entertaining!