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Yoga

Happiness Is Not in the Gulab Jamun

September 15, 2019

Missing my Sunday runs around the Ulsoor Lake.

I’ve been working on completing assignments for my MSc. The one I’m working on now is about happiness and man’s quest for it.

Lately more and more people reach out to me to discuss how to feel better rather than look better. They are interested in the mental and emotional benefits, rather than the physical benefits of yoga.

According to the Upanishads all beings (humans and animals) are instinctively attuned to sukha prapti (to gain happiness) and dukha niviritti (to overcome the misery). It’s this instinct that drives us. A penthouse, a limited edition car and an exclusive gym membership are the stuff dreams are made of, yet happiness still eludes us. Retail therapy isn’t getting us any closer to sukha prapti.

Psychosomatic conditions are rising at an alarming rate. We’re buying more than ever before but we’re also more sad. If only it was possible to buy away depression. We pin our hopes for happiness on objects of enjoyment and come away disheartened.

The Upanishads dealt with this question centuries ago. They state that man is in search of Reality and Happiness. This search yields answers to question such as the meaning of life, the goal of life and truth. It can drive away existential angst.

So whether it is eating gulab jamuns, getting the latest mobile phone or going on an expensive vacation, we want these because we feel these fulfill a deep seated need within us.

As my Vedas professor lectured: Whether it is eating gulab jamuns, getting the latest mobile phone or going on an expensive vacation, we want these because we feel these fulfill a deep seated need within us. We also want promotions, awards and praise. But the 50th gulab jamun doesn’t taste as good as the first one. The mobile phone loses it’s charm when the next version comes out. A vacation ends. And the desire for awards and promotions is never ending. Happiness is not in the gulab jamun or the mobile phone. Happiness shouldn’t be ephemeral like a vacation.

If only we could prolong the feeling of gastronomic delight of that first gulab jamun, of the excitement of the penthouse and car. Meditation is nothing but the prolonging of that state of bliss. Our happiness is always in response to an external event or object, and so it disappears in the absence of that stimulant. The Upanishads liken bliss to the musk of the musk deer. The deer searches the entire forest for the source of the glorious scent, and ultimately finds that he is the origin. Similarly, our happiness may be stimulated by something external, but the origin of the bliss is within us and therefore always accessible. To connect with this bliss you need to silence the citta vritti (the fluctuations of the thoughts in the mind).

The Upanishads have stated that yoga (beyond just the asanas) is the solution. The Gita states: yoga citta vritti nirodah. Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the thoughts in the mind. When the fluctuations cease, silence pervades. And through this silence you can discover your bliss.

Happiness according to Vedic texts

Taittiriya Upanishad: When speech recedes and the mind reaches not there, one realizes Ananda, the Brahman; there he fears not.

Bhagvad Gita: Mind calmed down, sinless, all passions subdued, the Yogi establishes himself in the state of Brahman, the Supreme happiness.

Brahma Sutra: Brahman is Ananda, as repeatedly emphasized in the Upanishad.

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Travels

Stop Drawing in the Clouds

September 15, 2016

When I was living in Sanaa, Yemen my parents decided that we should go to school during the summer holidays as well. Both my parents were working and three kids can be quite a handful. So they spoke to the principal of the school run by the Indian Embassy there, and we were packed off to what would become summer school for us.

There was a boy in my class during the time, who was from Russia. He didn’t speak English very well and couldn’t read or write it very well either. The English teacher was supportive but it is difficult to teach someone a language when you have no common language to communicate in. The thing that I remember about this boy is that he was a talented artist. Perhaps he’s a cartoonist or an illustrator or a graphic designer now. Back then he was amazing at art. Unfortunately, we grew up at a time when if you were good at Math and Science, you were smart…and nothing else really drew much appreciation.

One day we were given an assignment during English class and we were all furiously working on the assignment. All of us. At the end of the class the teacher was curious to know how the Russian student had done. He handed her his notebook and we all registered her stunned expression. She looked up and showed us his notebook. While the rest of us were working on our assignment, he was busy copying the cover page of the book. I forget what was on the cover, but I remember there were clouds and the name of the book was written over the clouds.

“See he’s drawn the English, he doesn’t even realize it,” said the teacher. “He thinks it’s a part of the picture. He doesn’t know what he’s drawn.”

I find a lot of that happening in yoga class. After 15 days here, at ‘the source’, I’ve started to feel like 95% of yoga studios/teachers/students in Bangalore have skewed focus. I see it in classes too. Students are in awe of other students and teachers who can go upside down or do other fancy things….and somewhere the focus shifts. The acrobats develop a comfort zone in which they preen and prance while the rest of us aspire to gain entry into that comfort zone. In any yoga class, you will see all the students practicing the basic asanas with concentration and focus. As the asanas get more challenging the students grumble and groan but still focus on the posture and working with their bodies. And finally, for the ‘advanced’ poses you will see most students gazing admiringly and enviously at the few who are able to do the poses.

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At any point in time, when your attention is no longer on what is going on within you, then the practice ceases to be yoga. I keep on saying that yoga is not about the postures, yoga is about life. All of us have different lives, and so our relationship with yoga will also be unique and personal. What is going on in your body when you do the Uttanasana will be based upon your lifestyle, life choices, mental and emotional states. These factors will be different for your classmates and so their Uttanasana will be different. What I see in students is the desire to do the Uttanasana that their neighbor is doing. And those who are able to execute what they think is the ‘perfect’ Uttanasana stop working in the asana. Teachers too, focus more on how far down you can go rather than on how you can work your body optimally to execute the best Uttanasana you can given your mental and physical state at that given point in time.

The result of this style of teaching and learning is that we are missing the point. Movement in yoga classes is becoming mechanical and mindless. We’re missing the bullseye….in fact we’re not even aiming for bullseye. We are confusing asanas for acrobatics and vice versa. Every time someone else does kapotasana and we can’t, we’re lose a bit of ourselves. And going farther away from ourselves, which is opposite to what yoga aims to do. Remember, yoga means to join or to yoke together, and if you are focusing on the getting your leg behind your head, you’re not appreciating the feeling of expansion in your hips.

Stop drawing alphabets in the clouds, learn to read the words.

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Yoga

Day 1 – #7daysofniyama challenge.

June 27, 2014

The niyama we’ll focus on today is Saucha – or cleanliness. At the grossest level this is about keeping our living and office spaces clean. At a little more subtle level this is about wearing clean clothes and keeping our bodies internally and externally clean. At a still more deep level this niyama is about living as truthfully and purely as you can. Your behavior, words and actions should reflect the truth and purity you believe in. Is your house really clean and organized? Or are there cupboards you’d be mortified if your guests saw? Do you have beautiful laundry hampers that contain months of of dirty laundry? When you go to your yoga class, do you make it a point not to step on other people’s mats and props? At a deeper level, do you constantly share your feelings of helplessness, anger, hurt, depression etc with others? We all go through a hard time once in a while, but do you constantly crib whenever you find a listener? Analyze why you do that, and then stop doing it. You are disturbing someone else’s peace and creating an imbalance in their energy. Look around you and analyze if you live clean, think clean and eat clean. If you don’t, make the change today.

Saucha can be divided into internal and external saucha. Today we’ve covered how we can implement saucha externally. From tomorrow we’ll look at internal saucha. To maintain internal cleanliness and purity we must get rid of: kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya. One each day, so tune in every day! 🙂

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Yoga

Yoga….a Few Definitions to Get Started

February 5, 2012

Perhaps the biggest question people have about yoga is what exactly is it? In the yoga marketplace there are a plethora of classes available. From chanting to asana to meditation to candle gazing…what is yoga? And more importantly, if I want to practice it, do I have to do all of the above or is there an easier way?

What is Yoga?

Put very very simply, yoga is an Indian philosophy with its origins in the Vedas, which deals with a human being’s mental and physical state. The ultimate goal of practicing this philosophy is to gain enlightenment, called samadhi in yoga. Many philosophers have codified this practice, most notably Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. However, there have been other sages/philosophers who have contributed to this vast corpus of literature, such as Sage Swatmarama and Sage Vashishta to name a few.

I feel the essence of yoga can’t be encapsulated in a definition, an entire book, or even a 2-year long university course. It is as much a philosophy as it is a practice. It is as much candle gazing as it is trikonasana.

However, there are a few definitions that can help you get started, and which encompass the wide variety of things that encompass yoga.

Definitions

युज्यते अनेन इति योगः। – Panini
(Ujyate anena iti yogah.)
(Joining the individual soul to the universal soul.)

Panini in his exhaustive text about the roots of Sanskrit words (called Dhatupatah), has conjugated the root word of yoga, ‘yuj’ several times, and each conjugation has a different meaning. Sometimes it means the state of samadhi, sometimes control, and also joining or yoking together. Scholars have extrapolated that to mean that yoga is the joining of the individual soul to the universal soul.

तां योगमिति मन्यन्ते स्थिरामिन्द्रियधारणाम्‌। – Kathopanishad, Verse 2.3.11
Tam yogam iti manyante stiram inndriya dharanam.
(Yoga is holding the senses steady.)

The Kathopanishad is the story of Nachiketas asking Yamaraja (the God of Death) questions about aatma, the soul, the nature of man, and about what happens to us after we die. During their interaction Yamaraja tells Nachiketas that holding the senses steady is yoga because according to him we grow and decay and real yoga happens when you can remain steady during this process.

मन:प्रशमन उपाय:योग इत्यभिधीयते। – Yoga Vasistha, Verse 3.9. 32
Manah prasamano payah yogah itibhidhiyate.
(A technique to make the mind quiet is yoga.)

The Yoga Vasistha is an important yogic text attributed to Sage Vasistha. It talks about the how the individual soul can unite with the cosmic soul despite the trials and tribulations of daily life. Like the Upanishads, it emphasises the importance of self-enquiry to understand ourselves and the universe.

The Yoga Vasistha is attributed to Sage Vasistha.

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः। – Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Verse 1.2
Yogah chitta vritti nirodhah.
(Yoga is calming the disturbances of the mind.)

Sage Patanjali compiled his Yoga Sutras between 400-500 BC. Divided into four chapters, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali outline how to attain samadhi through the practice of yoga. It is arguably one of the most widely read yogic texts.

Here’s a blog I wrote about the vibhutis or magical powers that a yoga seeker can acquire on his yogic journey. Some things on this list will surprise you!

योगस्थ: कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय |
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्यो: समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते – Bhagvad-Gita, Verse 2.48
Samatvam yoga ucchyate.
(Yoga is a state of equanimity.)

In this long conversation between Krishna and Arjuna, Arjuna repeatedly expresses his misgivings about the war. Krishna patiently explains the concept of dharma and the importance of following that dharma to Arjuna and guides him to do what is right.

At least one of these texts is studied by most yoga students in their life times. On my part, I’m currently studying the Kathopanishad, teaching the Bhagavad Gita and continue to study the Patanjali Yoga Sutras.

What other definitions/texts do you feel should be included in this list?

The Bhagavad Gita is the most widely studied yogic text in the world.

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