Tag Archives: Knowledge

7 Energy chakras of India & our Earth!

05 Friday Feb 2016

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Yathaa Pinde tathaa Brahmaande. Yathaa Brahmaande tathaa Pinde

The microcosm and the macrocosm are interlinked. Planet earth, home to many organisms, is itself a large organism. It is not just a place for living beings; it is a living organism as a whole. This is what the Gaia theory says. Now scientists have found that the our brain looks just like the universe.

Materialism considers everything as objects. Spirituality on the other hand discovers life in everything!

Ancient rishis or saints always portrayed a country as a person. A person with feelings and energy centers just like a human being. I recently read that INDIA also has her own spiritual energy centers, in form of particular cities, just like human beings. I started looking this up and this is what I found. There are 7 cities in India which correspond to the seven centers or chakras in a human body. It is given in the following sanskrit shlokha(a prayer).

Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kashi, Kanchi, Avanthika, Puri drawaravati chaiva, saptaide moksha dayika.

Maya(Haridwar) corresponds to the Muladhara(Root) chakra situated at the base of the spine. When the lethargy in you goes and enthusiasm begins, you commence your journey. Hari-dwar, the starting point, is “the door to the house of the Divine”.

Kanchi corresponds to the Swadhisthana(Sacral) chakra situated behind the genitals, as the presiding deity here is Kamakshi, the goddess of kama or desire.

Ayodhya corresponds to the third chakra, the Manipura(Solar plexus), situated in the navel region, where joy, generosity, greed and jealousy manifest. All these emotions are connected to Ayodhya.

Mathura is Anahata(Heart chakra)chakra. The heart is associated with three emotions: Love, fear and hatred. Mathura symbolises the love and devotion of the gopis for Krishna, as well as of the fear and hatred of Kansa, all matters of the heart.

Avanthika, also called Ujjain, is related to the Vishuddha(Throat chakra) or the throat chakra. Ujjain is the city of art and literature. It is also the city of Vikramaditya, of grief and glory. We feel gratitude in the throat region — we get choked. Same with grief.

Kashi represents the Ajna(Third eye chakra) chakra situated between the eyebrows. Kashi has always been the seat of knowledge. That’s why the ajna chakra is also called gyana chakshu, the third eye. Kashi is the city of pundits and scholars.

Dwaraka represents the Sahasrara(Crown chakra), the chakra on top of the head. Dwar-ka literally means: “Where is the door?” The door is irrelevant if there are no walls. Infinity has no walls. Sahasrara also means thousand avenues. It means the pathless path.

The path to liberation begins at Haridwar(Mooladhaara chakra) and culminates at Dwarka(Sahasrara chakra).

The seven sacred cities with the 7 sacred rivers –  Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri – are linked to the sacred spots inside you. I am not sure what the rivers correspond to in the human body. Maybe Major Nadis in our system?

Positive emotions with knowledge are liberating. Positive emotions without knowledge create negative emotions which are stifling and creates bondage. When you observe the Prana, the subtle life force in one’s body associated with our breath, moving through different chakras associated with sensations, the negative feelings cease to exist and one is liberated from bondage. This why meditation is so important to one’s liberation.

Every city have a collective consciousness. A street where unethical people conduct their business is believed to emit heavy vibrations whereas an educational institution or a place of worship emits positive and light vibrations. That is why there are so many temples in India. To help people raise their consciousness in a collective manner by emitting positive vibrations. The ancient rishis, located these different energies being prominent at particular places and they built these temples accordingly for humans to come and energize particular chakras.

While I was at it, I researched more and found that our earth too has got 7 spiritual chakras! Now this is really interesting.

grid-ley

Muladhara chakra: Mt. Shasta, California, United States.

Swadisthana chakra: Lake Titicaca, on the border of Bolivia and Peru

Manipura Plexus chakra: Uluru-Katatjuta, Australia

Anahata chakra: Glastonbury and  Shaftsbury, England

Vishuddhi chakra: Great Pyramid of Giza and Mt Sinai, Egypt; Mt of Olives, Jerusalem.

Ajna chakra: Kuh-e Malek Siah, Triple border of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Sahasrara chakra: Mt. Kailas, Tibet.

You can read about the earth chakras and vortexes here – http://in5d.com/earth-chakras-and-vortices/

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What’s on your mind?

21 Tuesday Jul 2015

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It has been a long hiatus this time but Hey, I am back! Hope all of you are doing good. Starting back with a bang – a blog post to know more about our mind!

We all have heard about this question before – “Whats on your mind?”. But have you really wondered what is on your mind. No I mean literally. We all know that our mind is always filled with thoughts and thoughts and thoughts. But what kind of thoughts? Is it thinking all the time? Nope! We also know when we sleep our mind is not thinking. Can you believe that there only 5 modes or activities that the mind is always in? Yup only 5 modes!

Patanjali in the Patanjali yoga sutras says that there are 5 modes or modulations to the mind. 5 vrittis in which the mind will always be in.

PramaanaViparyayaVikalpaNidra – Smrutayaha

Pramaana – always wanting proof of everything. Searching for proof in everything. We search for proof that can convince us of our assumptions. We always search for proof through our senses. Now this gets very tricky in situations between relationships – asking for poof if the other person really loves us.

Viparyaya – Wrong knowledge. This is the way we excuse our thinking by using the wrong knowledge. We know our thinking is wrong but we still use the wrong knowledge to support it. Sometimes we project your views on people and think that is how they are because that is how you feel inside you. We do this most the time. For example, when we don’t respect ourselves we think that others don’t respect us at all.

Vikalpa – Fantasies or Hallucinations. There are two types of fantasies – the one which gives pleasure and the other which are just baseless fears. Sexual fantasies or fantasy and dreaming about rich gives pleasure while hallucinations like “What will happen if I die tomorrow?” are the other type. A common examples is when having a conversation with someone; a person starts their sentence with a few words and straight away, before we let them finish we’re already imagining what they are talking about.

Smruti – Memories. Mind dwells in the memory of the past. In past experiences and memories. Memories triggers various emotions in us like guilt, shame, regret or happiness.

Nidra – Sleep. We all know about sleep!

These are the 5 modulations that keep us from being in YOGA. The mind will mostly be  in either one of these 5 vrittis or in a mixture of these 5.

yoga chitta vritti nirodha

Yoga is the silencing of the Vrittis of the mind. Now how does one get out of these vrittis and get established in yoga. In another blog post coming soon 🙂

What is your choice?

16 Wednesday Jul 2014

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Have you wondered if you really had a choice in things? Have you been deluded by people saying you always have a choice? Do you feel that you never had a choice in things you did? Well this post is for you.

A saint was once asked to share a message to the people in front of him. He narrates a story with a beautiful message at the end.

There was a man in south india who wanted to pursuit spirituality. It is a age old habit to go to the forest to pursue it. Where they would look for a cave to sit and meditate. So the man went to the jungle positioning close to village. He sat there and started chanting. When he got hungry he would come back to the village. In the night, he noticed there was a fox with both front legs were severed. But the fox was still well fed and healthy. Now nature does not kind to any kind of incapability. If you loose your legs you loose your life. But this fox has lost its life but well fed and healthy.

The man was surprised but ignored it and continued with his meditation. In the night he heard a lion’s roar. He saw the lion bring in a big piece of flesh to the fox. The fox had its dinner. He couldn’t believe this. The lion feeding the fox. This is a miracle. He thought this is a message from the Divine. What is it? What is it? The next day the same thing happened. Now he thought the God was surely sending a message to him. Then he came to the conclusion that the message was – even a crippled fox is being fed by the Lion. You fool, what are you going to the village for food. Just sit here and the food will come and fall on your lap. So he simply sat down. one day, two day, Three days he sat. Nothing happened. By the seventh day, he was groaning nearing death.

Another yogi was passing by and he saw this man. The yogi asked him if the man was ok and the man told him -” You please tell me. A divine message came to me. I went by the message and I became like this.” The yogi asked what the message was and the man explained to him – “See there is a crippled fox. Everyday the lion comes and shares his food with the fox. Is this not a divine message to me?”. The yogi looked at him and said – “Definitely! This is a divine message to you. But why is it that you chose to be like the crippled fox rather than the generous Lion?”

Every situation, no matter what point of life you are in, the existence gives you the freedom to sit here joyfully. Even if you are going to die tomorrow this moment, you can sit down here and be joyful. This freedom is given to all of us. This is the greatest compassion by the existence given to us. Either you make use of it by making the right choices or chose to be frustrated, or miserable or depressed. You have the right to be joyful and not depressed. Nobody is stopping you. It is just a choice. Whether you suffer this life or experience it joyfully, it is absolutely up to your choice. Yes, there are situations where it looks like you are not in control of it. But at that given moment, it is your choice that determines which way the events will follow. Take a moment every time

Now how do we make the right choices? That is for a separate blog post 🙂

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on wisdom – A message to us on Guru Poornima!

14 Monday Jul 2014

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This Guru Poornima GuruDev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, changed everything I thought wisdom was and how wisdom is got through the Guru tattwa! It was eye opening and amazing. His message was clear and direct and here is a part of the message that he had for us.

Guru is present like space in life.

You just sang this song, ‘Ajo Ananthaya’. Ajo means Never Born, Ananthanya is Infinity, Nitya Shudha is Forever Pure, and Sat-chid-ananda isPure Bliss.Guru principle is like the space, and you cannot avoid space. Whether you recognize that there is space or not, is another question. You cannot escape from air. Whether you recognize there is air or not is another question. And today is the time for you recognize that there is air; there is space.It is a privilege, a good fortune to have access to knowledge.

Today is an occasion to remember, and to celebrate life with knowledge, life in knowledge, and life for knowledge.You know, air is there everywhere but when you sit near the fan, you feel it. In the same way, in the world, in the universe, the Guru principle is there. When you recognize it, you feel so great, and you feel bliss.Recognition of the existence of the Guru Principle, and the role it has played in life, is Guru Poornima.In our body, the throat chakra is for gratefulness. Above the throat chakra is the Ajna(Agya) Chakra, that is the seat of Guru. So gratefulness is a way to reach to the Guru Tattva. And then where does the Guru lead you to? Bliss(pointing to the top of the head), i.e, the Sahasrara Chakra. So, Guru is sandwiched between gratefulness and bliss.

This Guru Principle is that which removes darkness, it is that which removes all suffering.We chant, ‘Bhishaje bhava roginam’, which means, it is like the medicine for those who are stuck in small little worldly things; the disease of small mindedness. It is called a disease because the mind wants to get out of the suffering. Guru Tattva brings that absolute comfort.You know, there are some people who live without light; they don’t even know of electricity. Animals live without electricity, without light; they don’t need it. But human beings need light when it is dark. So human beings need the Guru Tattva, they need the knowledge. People living without knowledge are equivalent to animals. One without wisdom lives an animalistic life, it is not a human life. So, it is fashionable to be civilized and to have a Guru in life. If there is no Guru in life, it means life is uncivilized; like one who does not know anything of technology. It is a privilege, a good fortune to have access to knowledge. And this ancient tradition, from millenniums has preserved this beautiful knowledge, and today we feel very grateful! It is an occasion to remember and to celebrate life with knowledge, life in knowledge, and life for knowledge. It is wisdom that can eliminate misery in the world. If wisdom cannot bring happiness, nothing can bring happiness. So we have this privilege to spread happiness, wisdom, and knowledge

Guru Tattva brings that absolute comfort. Wisdom is not just information, it is a quality of consciousness; it is a quality of life. Wisdom does not come just by studying and attaining degrees, or by stuffing yourself with information. Something triggers inside and you become wise. Some Naadi (energy channel) inside, or some part of your consciousness flips over and you become wise. I think so! Wisdom is not attained just by reading a lot. You cannot just read a lot and be very wise in everything. Wisdom is a quality of consciousness, a quality of life, and this gets transferred by good company. That is what happens.

The Presence of the Guru does not bring you any information, it shifts the quality of consciousness, and that brings the wisdom to your mind. Now, should we go and sit in front of a Guru all the time to become wise? Not necessary. Wherever you are, simply can feel the presence of the Guru Tattva. Guru Tattva is in-between the eye brows. The Ajna Chakra, where the pituitary glands are situated, that is the seat of the Guru. In the science of Yoga, the Ajna Chakra or the space in-between the eyebrows is called the seat of the Guru. It is situated above the Vishuddhi Chakra(in throat region); the pure space. You enter the pure space, you enter into meditation, and you reach to the Guru. And it is the Guru who pulls you into meditation.You are stuck in the heart region where there is love, hatred and fear. If you have to get out of hatred and fear, you have to get into the inner space. And who pulls you into the inner space? The Guru Tattva. So the Guru pulls you into the inner space.When you come to the inner space, what happens to you? You become pure, i.e., Vishuddhiwhich means So Pure. The heart becomes pure, the mind becomes pure, and that connects you to bliss, which is the Sahasara Chakra. This is the science of Yoga. It’s so amazing if you go into the depth of it. Every moment it reveals even more.

Wisdom comes by that shift; that is why it is called Grace.Grace (or Good luck) means what? That which you cannot explain. If you could explain how you got something then it is not luck.When do you call something your luck? When you cannot explain the cause of it. Of course, same for bad luck also. If you have bad luck, you say you can’t explain it. So it’s the gratefulness which leads you to Guru Tattva and the bliss further on, and vice versa, because when you find that solace, then you feel more grateful.

So, what is wisdom? It is a quality of consciousness; like alertness.What is alertness? (Sri Sri snaps his fingers) Your presence in now! You know when you suddenly become alert, your mind shifts (sort of, opens), and suddenly you are all alive. Words cannot describe what alertness is! In the same way, words cannot describe what wisdom is.Everyone in their life, sometime or other, have experienced a little bit of wisdom. Whether one has maintained it or not is another question.It is wisdom that holds the key to happiness. No wisdom, no happiness. So people seeking happiness will have to go come to the Guru. People seeking knowledge will have to come to Guru. People seeking a better quality of life have to come to the Guru; they have to acknowledge the Guru principle in their life.One of the saints of the middle ages, a great yogi said, ‘Who drinks the nectar? One who has a Guru. One who doesn’t have a Guru in their life, he goes thirsty, he has no juice in his life; he does not know true joy. But one who has a Guru drinks the nectar; again and again he drinks the nectar’.There is plenty of nectar in the inner realm of our being. One who has a Guru drinks it in abundance. One without a Guru goes thirsty all his life.He is describing our own physiology, which means, in this (pointing to the head or Sahasara Chakra) there is bliss, there is nectar. When there is Guru in life, then you get access to it, otherwise life becomes meaningless.Wherever you are, simply can feel the presence of the Guru Tattva.

There are a lot of beautiful poems written on this. I’ve not read them all, only heard a little bit here and there. But the essence is how the quality of consciousness gets shifted, and the shift is a gift (wisdom is a gift).The company of the wise brings that shift in the consciousness, or its given to you as gift, and so you feel thankful. It is not something that you earned in your life. You cannot earn it but it is being bestowed on you, and that is the key. Many people think wisdom means reading a lot of books. Wisdom has nothing to do with books. Wisdom has nothing to do with gathering information. It is just the quality of consciousness that shifts in the mind, and that is bestowed by the Guru Principle, by acknowledging the Guru in life. One has to acknowledge from one’s side. The Guru does not accept or reject anyone. It is the student, the disciple, who accepts (a Guru) as his Guru.

3 Types of Dhrutis by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

29 Thursday May 2014

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This is a question that was asked in the satsang with Sri Sri in the Bangalore ashram. Enjoy!

Q: What are the three types of dhrutis that Lord Krishna mentions in the 18th chapter of Gita?

Sri Sri: Dhruti means that which upholds or sustains life. For many people, the mind goes hay wire, They cannot even sustain or tolerate a small insult. A little bit of imperfection they cannot tolerate. Sattvic dhruti is that which sustains the mind, life energy, and activities of the senses. That which helps you to be steadfast in your yoga. Not like one day you do yoga and next you go for bhoga. Not like that. That which upholds your senses, your life is sattvic dhruti. Rajasic dhruti is of the type when I get results then I will deliver. This sort of mindset where your enthusiasm is related to some little reward is rajasic dhruti. It could be related to Dharma or it may not be related. Any work that is taken with the intention of getting results, such as fasting to achieve some results. What is God going to get is you fast? 
Tamasic dhruti is one who sleeps a lot. That is most important for them. Nothing else. Very fearful. You look at their face, they are always down, depressed.
If you cannot get married, you are upset. You get married, you are upset. This is tamasic dhruti. Always regretful. That should not have happened. I should have had like that. After 40 years of marriage, they think they should have married someone else. And arrogance. And one is unable to get of this negativity in the mind. Some people try to get out of it, but they are not able to get out of it. Lazy people, who can sleep anywhere, any time. In Kerela, I heard about a person that he can sleep at the dining table while he eats. Once I stayed at such a person’s home. That person’s servant, told me that my Master falls asleep while talking! Doctor said lets do a scan. A few years ago, the CT Scan was a new machine. He went for the scan. The doctors were wondering why is the machine making so much noise. He slept in the scanning machine and was snoring!
This happens when you do not have any aim in life. Often Ashrams are the base for lazy people. But we do not have this issue. In Ashrams, there is a issue about how to keep people busy. If you keep doing some activity, then you will not get lazy. 
One who is lazy, gets scared easily. Then behind fear, comes negative thoughts such as who will cremate me when I die, who will take care of me when I grow old. Some one will complete the cremation rights. Man is mad. If you do not want to leave the madness, then be mad for that which has made all these things not for the things made by Him. Then after this comes vishaad: they think about what happened many years ago and get upset. People will reach Mumbai from Bangalore, and then they will continue to say we should have booked another ticket. Vishaad has become a habit. A person who is enthusiastic and happy, they will not go into vishaad.

Then comes ego. People are in vishaad, often walk with arrogance. Have you seen the people who lost the elections? A wrestler falls and then he says there is no mud on my mustache, where have I fallen? One who cannot come out from a negative mindset. 
Now we have to see what type of dhruti we have: sattvic, rajasic, tamasic.

How to get out of this? 
Do seva, sadhana, satsang. 
Tamas gets converted to Rajasic and then to Sattva. 
If you are surrounded by Tamasic people then you will have more of that type of dhruti. Often kids say, throughout my life, no one has done anything for me. The way you behave in front of kids affects kids also. If you are in Tamo guna or rajas guna, then kids catch on to it very fast. Similarly, when four people get together, and one person says something negative and everyone else contributes negativity, then after half an hour when people go home they are so tired.

How to transform from Tamasic dhruti?

This path: Seva, Sadhana, satsang, right company.
Like dhrutis, doers are also of three types. Sattvic doer is happy whether work happens or not. 
Rajasic doer is happy if work gets done and unhappy when the work does not get done.
Tamasic doer is one who does not know what they have to do. And they are in vishaad.

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Which yoga should I practice?

11 Friday Apr 2014

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[NOTE: this blog post is not to hurt anyone following any particular practice of yoga. This is plainly my perspective and view of what I think :)]

I was conversing with a friend and our talk took us to how our spiritual practices were faring. Deep into the conversation we started discussing the different types of yoga that we do and what is to be followed and practiced. Strangely, recently I have been coming across many people who follow a particular type of yoga and only that. For those dont know the different types of yoga – there are broadly classified into four types. (NOTE : The different yogas are very broadly classified and simply defined. Each of these yoga have deep spiritual significance in their own right. Yes, there are so many yogas – raja yoga, swara yoga, etc. I have just the four most followed yogas here).

  1. Jnana yoga – Yoga of Knowledge and Intelligence
  2. Bhakti yoga – Yoga of devotion
  3. Karma yoga – Yoga of selfless service
  4. Kriya yoga – Yoga dealing with energy

It might be due to the various teachings in the scripture and in the tradition of teaching that we stick to one particular path. This was taught probably because you don’t go around trying all different things and don’t get result anywhere. Though I get that, I believe that these are different but INCLUSIVE ways to reach the highest. Not exclusive. And as a seeker, we need to tap into all of these in order to get help and progress. You will notice that these different types of yoga are complementary to each other. This conversation reminded me of a story which I had heard from a Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and wanted to share it here.

There were four yogis walking together. They were Jnana yogi(one who follows the path of intelligence and knowledge), bhakti yogi(follows devotion), karma yogi(follows selfless service as path of yoga) and lastly a kriya yogi(one who follows a path that deals with rising up the energy). Usually all these four yogis, don’t stay together. The jnana yogi thinks all others are a fool. Especially those who go on singing the name of God. In his mind these acts are utter foolish. The bhakti yogis have pity for everyone. Because they think that when God is here, why do all these actions and what use is knowledge. Rather just take his hand and walk to him. So they have pity for others. The karma yogis think all these other people are lazy because when you want some thing to happen you should do it. Because they are lazy and unwilling to do they have invented all the other yogas. So they feel the others are lazy. Lastly, the kriya yogis have utter disdain for every body because for them the entire universe is because of energy and without transcending the energy, there is no possibility. Due to all these reasons, these four people don’t come together. 

But today these four yogis were walking together when the rain storm hit them. They were running from getting wet when the bhakti yogi said that he knew a historic temple close by where they can take shelter. So they all go to this temple. The temple is a very old temple with just collapsed walls and just a few columns and a roof. In the center there was a deity of the God. They ran to this place not seeking God in love but to escape the rain. They stood in the temple in four corners. The rain started lashing in all directions and all the four yogis were getting drenched. The only place they could sit was around the deity in the center. They sat around the deity hugging and holding the deity and each other. Again not because out of love or seeking. Just to escape the rain. 

Suddenly God came to them. In all their minds, there came the same question – “WHY NOW? We did so much yoga, did so many pooja(rituals), read so many scriptures(knowledge) and so many things. You didn’t come then. Why now?”. God said – “At last, you four idiots got together. That is why!”. 

The idea here is unless your head(knowledge_, your heart(bhakti – devotion), hands & legs(that is needed for selfless action) and energy(kriya) get together and reach the peak together enlightenment will not dawn. These different yogas are different avenues to help us develop our selves and we need to tap into all of these to peak. So get to know all the types of yoga and enjoy each of them as much as the one you practice. You dont have master all of them but get to know them and practice them and check for yourself. They will only help you in different ways. So infuse all these different types of yoga in your practice and be more happy!

What you should know about Prana?

04 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by in Art Of Living, Knowledge

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I had promised to do a write up about prana, the various types and what its functions are in my previous post Prana and Food. So here it goes. This post if to introduce prana to those who dont know what it is, list the different types and its functions. Also explain how techniques like sudarshan kriya technique from the Happiness program of the Art of Living foundation deals with prana to provide good health and mind.

What is Prana?

Prana is often translated to breath. However, prana is much more subtle than breath or the oxygen we intake. Breath is just the physical manifestation of prana. The inherent quality and force behind the motion of this creation is prana. It is present in anything and everything in this world. Animate or inanimate – doesnt matter. Every particle is throbbing with prana. Sometimes it is so subtle that we are not aware of it. A living entity is called as prani in sanskrit because it has got prana and consciousness in it. The quantum and quality of prana varies across different entities thereby giving each entity a unique characteristic. This is true for us human beings too. The quantum of prana of each individual is indicated by the power of the personality, which reflects one’s natural capacity to wield prana. Some persons are more successful, commanding and fascinating than others due to the level of their prana. All of us are born with a certain quantum of prana but the quality and quantity keep changing continuously as our thoughts, feelings and practices changes.

So where can we get more prana from? And do we change it ? Prana can be self generated and refined within us. One can work with one’s own prana to enhance vitality, will and strength, cure diseases, boost capability and efficiency, and evolve to a higher consciousness. In fact, one must work with prana shakti, force of prana, in order to perfect any experience in life. This is the aim of pranayama and prana vidya, which are tangible methods to enhance and guide prana. The yogis have devised techniques to measure prana which is based on how we exhale and inhale. Maximum prana is utilized by the brain. If the brain is not supplied with sufficient prana, the mind becomes restless and disturbed, and constantly dives into negative thoughts. For example, when we are hungry, we become irritable. The prana is low at that time and brain circuits are asking for more. When prana moves, the mind thinks and the senses perceive their respective objects. By developing sensitivity to prana, one becomes more aware of the subtle forces of the mind, which arise in the form of thoughts, feelings, emotions, responses, impressions, symbols and knowledge. By doing pranayama, we cultivate this awareness which helps is controlling the mind.

Types of Prana

There are 5 major types of pranas in our body with each of them having unique and specific functions. There are called as pancha prana or pacnha vayus(pancha meaning 5 and vayu meaning air). They are prana, apaana, samaana, udaana and vyaana. These are responsible for creation and existence at the individual level. In human beings they are created during the first four months of development in the womb. Lets discuss these 5 pranas in detail now

1. Prana – This prana refers to the energy currents located in the thoracic region between the diaphragm and the base of the neck. It is the centre of circulation of life energy. This force maintains the heart and lungs, and all the activities in the chest region such as breathing, swallowing and circulation of blood. When the rate of breath or heartbeat increases due to strenuous work, etc. the level of sthoola prana also increases. This force is so essential that if its activity is obstructed or ceases for any reason, death may occur. When this is strong, then the heart is strong and does not suffer from high or low blood pressure. When the pathways of prana are not clear, the heart and lungs malfunction and there is poor intake of oxygen. At the mental level, one is not able to bring in positive impressions. It is difficult to concentrate or access intuitive knowledge.

2. Apana – This prana operates in the pelvic region between the navel and the perineum. It sustains the functions of the kidneys, bladder, bowels, excretory and reproductive organs. It is responsible for the expulsion of gas, wind, faeces, urine, semen and ova. It nourishes the foetus and expels it from the uterus at the time of birth. When apana is unbalanced, there is poor elimination, a feeling of being pulled down by gravity, depression and negativity.

3. Samaana – It operates between the navel and the diaphragm. The word samana is derived from the root saman, meaning ‘equal’ or ‘balanced’. Thus it acts as a balancer or equalizer for the two opposite forces of prana and apana. Samana activates and maintains the digestive organs and their secretions, and is responsible for metabolism. It is associated with the digestive fire, jatharagni. Samana, the equalizer, is dis-turbed whenever one’s mental peace and harmony are disturbed. Whenever there is turbulence in the body and the senses, samana becomes agitated and causes disorders. Poor assimilation of food is a result of samana imbalance, causing build-up of toxins as well as psychological blockage.

4. Udaana – This operates in the extremities: the arms, legs, neck and head. This prana is responsible for all the sensory organs,jnanendri-yas, and the organs of action, karmendriyas. It coordinates and controls the movements of the legs, arms and neck and directs the activities of the brain and sensory organs that are situated in the head region. These include: eyes, vision; ears, hearing; tongue, taste; nose, smell; skin, tactile sensation. Udana sustains the sense organs and their activities. The enjoyment of senses keeps udana active, because it functions according to their needs. An irregular udana causes breathing troubles, inefficiency in physical and mental work, inability to think clearly or express oneself, uncoordinated speech, weakened will and lack of cheer.

5. Vyaana – This pervades the whole body and acts as reserve energy. It helps all the other pranas when they require an extra boost. When one overexerts and feels extremely tired, a rush of energy comes, which enables one to continue. When vyana, the expansive energy, is unbalanced, there is lack of coordination, tremors, inability to reach out to people, and the mind is erratic.

This picture clearly shows where the different pranas operate in our body.

5 pranas

Along with these 5 major pranas, there are 5 other smaller or sub pranas. These are: naga, koorma, krikara, devadatta and dhananjaya. The pancha vayus are grosser and more limited manifestations of energy compared to the pancha pranas. Their functions are below.

Naga: This field of activity causes belching and hiccups. When the air element is agitated, naga becomes active and tries to throw the agitated air out of the stomach, causing vibrations in udana, prana and samana. Naga remains inactive as long as the diet and digestion are healthy. In the state of meditation, naga does not function.

Koorma: This field causes the blinking of the eyes and keeps the eyes healthy, moist and protected. It enables one to see all objects. The eyes shine due to the energy of koorma and one appears impressive.

Krikara: This field causes yawning, hunger and thirst, and assists in respiration. Due to its relation with yawning, its origin is sloth and lethargy. When krikara is controlled with practice, sloth and sleep are overcome, hunger and thirst are controlled, and sweet secretions begin to flow in the mouth.

Devadatta: This field causes sneezing and aids in respiration. It becomes activated by sharp or irritating smells and causes pain in the nostrils in more intense conditions.

Dhananjaya: This field pervades the whole body and is related to the organ of touch. It influences the work of the muscles, arteries and veins, and the skin. The swelling experienced during an injury is due to the motion of dhananjaya. During a tamasic state it reinforces sloth in the body.

 In the course of daily life, worry and stress use maximum prana, so that the pranic fields become exhausted and discharged. This in turn causes fatigue, depression, and inefficient digestion and circulation. As this vicious cycle continues, the body does not have the strength to walk, work or think, and the smallest disturbance causes nervousness and anxiety. In order to remedy this, the pranas need to be charged constantly, so their functioning is optimized and balance is maintained. This is the first objective of pranayama, which charges and replenishes the pranas through the practices. When the pranas are sufficiently charged, they are awakened.

How does Pranayama & other techniques help?

When pranayama is practiced for a long time, the pranas are kept balanced and all organs of our body function normally. The number of thoughts in our mind becomes lesser which helps us to focus better. A breathing technique like sudarshan kriya balances all these pranas and helps in removing the existing toxins in our body. That is the reason a lot of people report huge health benefits after practicing the sudarshan kriya. I have heard a lot of people report that their asthma and lung related problems got cured. Some say their digestive problems have been cured and their digestion has improved. Others say their long time constipation and bowel movement related problems have vanished. All these are because the kriya balances out all the major pranas in the body. The lung related disorders were cured because the prana was balanced. The digestion disorder was taken care because samaana vayu was balanced. And Apaana vayu for elimination and bowel movement. The kriya takes care of the upa vayus too.

If you get a chance, learn some pranayama techniques or some kriya techniques, like sudrashan kriya, from a proper teacher or guru. Practice them and see for your self how the knowledge of these pranas and how you feel when you are able to balance them. Check it for yourself. Hope you learnt something from this long post!

(Thanks to the many, many books that I have read on Prana. Most of these information are from what I have collected from most of them. One book in particular is Prana and Pranayama by Swami Niranjananda Saraswati. Thanks again to these wonderful beings for sharing their knowledge with us!)

Welcome once again!

22 Saturday Feb 2014

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First of all, I want to apologize for the long hiatus before coming back. Thanks to all those who waited and have been waiting. I was thinking of what might be my first post after my long break. I couldn’t come up with anything better than to share what i gained during the long break and why I had to share it. My last post was about Guru poornima last year which is july 2013. Which means it has been a break of almost 6 months with out a post. So getting straight into what I had to say.  

Here are the 3 main things that I wanted to share

There is more than one truth – I had to undergo many agonizing moments with many people. Proving my self and convincing of my intentions all the times. Have you been through arguments where both the parties think they are doing the right thing? Then you know how it feels. I had to suffer this with many of my close friends. I always would introspect on why couldn’t they understand my point of view and how to make them realize what I was doing. It would just sap my energy levels pondering on these things. Then one fine day, I was listening to a talk and listened this sentence – Evolution is to realize that there is more than one more truth! I realized that every body thinks what they “know” is the right. Once you understand the depth of this, it gives you such peace in you. The situation will remain but you will act differently. It might probably save you from disaster like it did with me!

Karma exists, I know it and you should too! –  I have read a lot and heard about karma and how it comes a full circle to you. Lot of theories and lot of experiences in small ways. But recently i was hearing to a friend who went back to India and discovered a lot of things about past lives and things like that. How every event in one’s present life has reasons beyond this present life and beyond one’s fathoms! It was mind blowing in different levels. I could only imagine what effects all the emotions that we hold onto will bring. There is so much power in not holding onto your negative emotions. Remember to forgive and to let go! You will thank me later 🙂

You become whom you hate : There were a lot of things that I didnt like in many people. But there was this one person that I didnt like anything about. The more I thought about that person’s qualities, the more angry I would become. Only later did I notice that I started imbibing more of the same qualities I hated. The more I let go the more easier it became for me. So dont hate anyone – it only magnifies the same quality in you!

Now that I have said it all out, You can expect more stories, more fun stuff and surely more knowledge from Sri Sri 🙂 Welcome one and all!

How to deal with people who have a BIG Ego?

15 Tuesday Jan 2013

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I was reading a few knowledge sheets of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar when I came across this one about ego. Thought it is better to share this to others. Enjoy!

Ego

Anton Ego from Ratatouille

Q: How to deal with people with a very big ego, especially when their behavior is affecting life and others in a bad way?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Let them have a big ego, why are you bothered?
You nurse an even bigger ego than them, there ends the story.
In fact you will find you have a bigger ego, I tell you. Let others have an ego, so what? Why do you sign on a contract of destroying everybody’s ego, or making everybody’s ego smaller? If someone has a big ego, nature will teach them. One day or the other, they will become miserable. Leave it to them. Let them enjoy the music.

Why do you become so miserable looking at the ego of others? I don’t understand that. You do what is required of you, as much as you can do, and move on. That is it.
In life we should just move on. If someone is nasty to you, you can get up and shout at them, or scream at them, ‘Why did you do this thing to me yesterday; the day before and ten years ago?’ But I tell you, you are certainly spoiling this moment as well by talking about a mistake that happened yesterday or a month ago. You are spoiling the beauty of this moment.
I would want you to make a decision right now, ‘I don’t care what happened in the past, right now I am not going to spoil this moment’, finished.

The world is like an ocean, these sort of things happen. They happen and they go away as well. Friend become enemies and enemies become friends for no apparent reason.
How many of you have had the experience, that even though you have done only good to certain people, for no reason they have become your enemies? (Many raise their hands) You wonder, ‘Oh my God, I did only good to this person, why is he blaming me? Why has this person become an enemy?’

Also, there are people to whom you have not done any favor and yet they have helped you a lot. How many of you have this experience? (Many raise their hands)
See, whether someone becomes your friend or your enemy, it all works on the strange laws of karma. That is why, put them all in one basket and relax. This, I have adopted as my policy. You do so much good to one person and still if that person is angry with you, or they blame you, what do you do? So, don’t go on chewing on that and spoil the present moment with the past. Isn’t that a good idea? This moment let us celebrate.
In the past I used to listen to people, all their stories and their blaming one another. Suddenly I realized, ‘No, I’m not going to listen to anybody’s complaint any more. I don’t want to spoil this moment’s energy.’

Deal with your things, that is your karma. This is what the ancient people used to say.
They would never sit like counselors and listen to all your stories. They’d say, ‘Come on, wake up this moment; now (snapping his fingers)’, and that would bring a huge change in the mind, in the energy, and in the time. But you don’t start doing that right away, then you will be called the most insensitive and rude person. Got it?

Do it slowly. You have to listen to people, which I have also done for so many years. But a point should come, especially with people, when you have to say, ‘Okay, now no more.’ Sometimes it happens, old people at home go on and on. They enjoy complaining. How many of you have experienced this? (Many raise their hands)
See! They enjoy complaining, and when someone listens, they complain even more. At those moments you should just put on music and say, ‘Hey come on, let’s dance. Stop complaining.’

Transmission of Knowledge

13 Thursday Dec 2012

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One of our employee is leaving the company and we had to setup a lot of knowledge transfers sessions so that we could get all the knowledge that the employee would be parting off with. I could see my manager setting up long long meeting sessions with this employee to get it all. I was thinking if this is how it has been from the past until the present. What is that people want to give back before they leave? When I was reading stories from the hindu myths, the puranas, I saw a striking similarity between the two main spics in hinudism – The Mahabharat and The Ramayana.

In both the epics, after the war was over, there was a transmission of knowledge from the defeated to the one who was victorious! It was mostly the lessons that the defeated had learnt. No matter how strong the enmity was, there was always a parting of knowledge. It was really interesting to see this that I decided I would share it with you all. So here the story from the Ramayana first.

In the Ramayana, Ravana lies mortally wounded on the battlefield and themonkeys are celebrating their victory, when Rama turns to his brother, Lakshmana, and says, “While Ravana was a brute, he was also a great scholar.Go to him quickly and request him to share whatever knowledge he can.”  

The obedient Lakshmana rushes to Ravana’s side and whispers in his ears,“Demon king, all your life you have taken not given. Now the noble Rama gives you an opportunity to mend your ways. Share your vast wisdom. Do not let it die with you. For that you will be surely be blessed.” Ravana responds by simply turning away. An angry Lakshmana says “He is arrogant as he always is and is too proud to share anything”.

Rama looks at his brother and asks him softly, “Where did you stand while asking him for knowledge?” “Next to his head so that I hear what he had to say clearly.” Rama smiles places his bow on the ground and walks to where Ravana lies. Lakshmana watches in astonishment as his brother kneels at  Ravana’s feet.With palms joined, with extreme humility, Rama says, “Lord of Lanka, you abducted my wife, a terrible crime for which I have been forced to punish you. Now, you are no more my enemy. I see you now as you are known across the world, as the wise son of Rishi Vishrava. I bow to you and request you to share your wisdom with me. Please do that for if you die without doing so, all your wisdom will be lost forever to the world.”To Lakshmana surprise, Ravana opens his eyes and raises his arms to salute Rama, “If only I had more time as your teacher than as your enemy. Standing at my feet as a student should, unlike your rude younger brother, you are a worthy recipient of my knowledge. I have very little time so I cannot share much but let me tell you one important lesson I have learnt in my life. Things that are bad for  you seduce you easily; you run towards them impatiently. But things are actually good for you fail to attract you; you shun them creatively, finding powerful excuses to justify your procrastination. That is why I was impatient to abduct Sita but avoided meeting you. This is the wisdom of my life, Rama.”With these words, Ravana dies.

Now lets see what happens in the Mahabharata.

The war is over and the Kauravas are all dead. As the victorious Pandavas areabout to assume control of Hastinapur, Krishna advises them to talk to Bhisma,their grand uncle, who lies mortally, wounded on the battlefield. As a result of ablessing, death would elude him for some time. “Make him talk until his last breath. Ask him questions. He has a lot to tell,” says Krishna.Sure enough, when prompted, the dying Bhisma spends hours discussing various topics: history, geography, politics, economics, management, war,ethics, morality, sex, astronomy, metaphysics and spirituality. Bhisma’sdiscourse is captured in the Shanti Parva (discussions of peace) and AnushasanParva (discussions on discipline) that makes up a quarter of the Mahabharata. After listening to their grandsire, the Pandavas have a better understanding of the world, and this makes them better kings.

Both these stories draw attention to the value of knowledge. In triumph, it is easy to claim the material possessions of the defeated but it is not easy to claim one’s knowledge. When someone dies, their knowledge and all the experience goes along with them. It is made sure that the knowledge outlives death in both these cases. Regardless of victory, the winners make sure that they get the knowledge even if they have to let go of the ego.

Now here is a question for all of us – are we ready to get knowledge from the fallen one when we win and are we ready to impart knowledge to the winner when we fall? Something to ponder on…