Like the Lotus rising above the mud, our sadhana can help us open our minds to expansiveness and freedom amidst the swirling emotions of chaos, sadness, anger and jealousy. Gain the nourishment you need from this practice!
Part 2 of the YA Subtle Body Series is up now!
Learn about the Magic of the Koshas, or the Five Sheaths that Cover the Self
Today’s episode is about the embracing of Bardo - the space between things. As we transition between 2020 and 2021, learn how the teachings of the Bardo can literally change your mind. https://pcr.apple.com/id1523003206 Excited to share with you my podcast, a way for me to share all things Yoga, from the ground up. This podcast is devoted to applying the ancient teachings of yoga to the wild and weird world of the modern 21st century. We discuss everything from philosophy to practice to lifestyle because all life is Yoga.
God is a beautiful metaphor That cannot be spoken That cannot be seen That cannot be touched. God is that which lies between all things is above, below, and surrounds all things. God is a beautiful metaphor; remain Quiet, remain Still Give Her space to play within Thee.
The Truth is One, but the Paths are Many. The Bhagavad Gita extols three major margas or paths of Yoga which help the aspirant frame his personal nature with the highest goal, realization and union with Brahman, or the all-knowing and pervasive consciousness that governs the universe. Although each path is different, the destination is ultimately the same. One path is not higher than the other; rather the lessons of each contain its own unique wisdom that provides an integrated and balanced view of one's relationship to oneself and the higher reality. These three paths are: 1. Karma Yoga: the path of Selfless Action1. Bhakti Yoga: the path of Devotion2. Jnana Yoga: the path of Self Transcending Knowledge KARMA YOGA Swami Rama of the Himalayas, an exemplary Karma Yogi brahmany adhaya karmanisangam tyaktva karoti yahlipyate na sa papenapadma-patram ivambhasa One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme God, is not affected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water. jneyah sa nitya-sannyasiyo na dvesti na kanksatinirdvandvo hi maha-bahosukham bandhat pramucyate One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his activities is known to be always renounced. Such a person, liberated from all dualities, easily overcomes material bondage and is completely liberated, O mighty-armed Arjuna. Karma Yoga is essentially Acting, or doing one's duties in life as per his/her dharma, or duty, without concern of results - a sort of constant sacrifice of action to the Supreme. It is action done without thought of gain. One cannot live in the world without performing actions, and thus a proper mindset should be established when doing these actions. Karma Yoga purifies the heart by teaching one to act selflessly, without thought of gain or reward. By detaching oneself from the fruits of one's actions and offering them up to God, one learns to sublimate the ego. This is the difference between simply performing actions for personal gains, and performing actions without attachment (vairagya) as a spiritual practice where all fruits are given to God. This is the most arduous of all paths as most of us are attached to the fruits of our actions. BHAKTI YOGA The Greatest Bhakta Hanumanji sri-bhagavan uvacamayy avesya mano ye mamnitya-yukta upasatesraddhaya parayopetaste me yuktatama matah The Blessed Lord said: He whose mind is fixed on My personal form, always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith, is considered by Me to be most perfect. ye tu dharmamrtam idamyathoktam paryupasatesraddadhana mat-paramabhaktas te 'tiva me priyah He who follows this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engages himself with faith, making Me the supreme goal, is very, very dear to Me. Bhakti yoga is based on the doctrine "Love is God and God is Love". The Deity is the beloved and the devotee is the lover. In Bhakti yoga, everything is but a manifestation of the divine and all else is meaningless, including the Ego. When the Bhakta is blessed by divine grace he feels an undivided union and non-dual consciousness prevails. Bhakti Yoga is regarded as the most direct method to merge in cosmic consciousness. This path appeals particularly to those of an emotional nature. Through prayer, worship, chanting and ritual one surrenders himself to God or object of faith, channeling and transmuting his emotions into unconditional love and devotion. Continuous meditation of God or object of faith gradually decreases the ego of the practitioner. Suppressed emotions get released and the purification of the inner self takes place. Slowly the practitioner looses the self identity and becomes one with God or the object of faith, this is the state of self-realization. JNANA YOGA Swami Vivekananda and his master uddhared atmanatmanamnatmanam avasadayetatmaiva hy atmano bandhuratmaiva ripur atmanah A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. jnana-vijnana-trptatmakuta-stho vijitendriyahyukta ity ucyate yogisama-lostrasma-kancanah A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogi when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything--whether it be pebbles, stones or gold--as the same. Jnana Yoga is a process of learning to discriminate between what is real and what is not, what is eternal and what is not. Through a steady advancement in realization of the distinction between Real and the Unreal, the Eternal and the Temporal, one develops into a Jnani. This is essentially a path of knowledge and discrimination in regards to the difference between the immortal soul (atman) and the body. Jnana Yoga is the process of converting intellectual knowledge into practical wisdom. Jnana literally means 'knowledge', but in the context of yoga it means the process of meditative awareness which leads to illuminative wisdom. It is not a method by which we try to find rational answers to eternal questions, rather it is a part of meditation leading to self-enquiry and self-realisation. Before practicing Jnana Yoga, the aspirant needs to have integrated the lessons of the other yogic paths - for without selflessness and love of God, strength of body and mind, the search for self-realization can become mere idle speculation. Taking the philosophy of Vedanta the Jnana Yogi uses his mind to inquire into its own nature. We perceive the space inside and outside a glass as different, just as we see ourselves as separate from God. Jnana Yoga leads the devotee to experience his unity with God directly by breaking the glass, dissolving the veils of ignorance (maya). Brahma Satyam. Jagat Mithya. Jivo Brahmaiva Na Parah - Sri Shankaracharya God only is real. The world is unreal. The individual is none other than God. As my Teacher, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, once said when asked which path He follows: In the world I am a Karma Yogi, performing my actions for others and the Lord. In the company of my friends, family, and students I am a … Continue reading The Bhagavad Gita: 3 Paths of Yoga
Yoga in its most literal sense is meant to yoke, or unite, aspects of the body, the breath, and the mind. When these three come in to accord, we move beyond the physical forms into the subtle aspects of the anandamaya kosha, or the body of bliss, that inner divine nature that resides within all of us. Yoga is a philosophy, but in it’s highest form, yoga is a science that teaches us through specific methods of observation and modification set out by the rishis (seers), we can move beyond our self-created maya (avidya). All of suffering, all of pain is due to man’s false sense of identification with his body and his mind, both of which are subject to death and decay. Abhinivesha, or fear of death, is what causes us to hold on so tightly to this body and this mind, thinking that our ahamkara, or sense of “I am”, comprises the entirety of who we are. We situate ourselves so strongly in the pleasures and drives of the external world (raga) that we completely deny our inner world. Yoga asks us to take a step beyond our own limiting egos (asmita) into that infinite reservoir of the atman, the universal consciousness. To begin, we must first tackle what we see in the mirror, what we most strongly associate with, our body. In yoga, it is said that we are simply caretakers, moving from body to body, lifetime to lifetime. Our body can be our temple, or it can be our hell. Yoga seeks to reclaim the body as a heavenly abode through first introducing asana, physical postures that not only stimulate health and physical well-being, but also have the capacity to alter the state of our mind. In the beginning, yoga is asana, yoga is physical, but eventually yoga moves into more subtler realms of human consciousness as we begin to integrate breath awareness into our practice. The modification of the breath, pranayama, serves as the vehicle that synergizes the body and the mind. Using deep diaphragmatic breath allows us to remain still in the midst of chaos, both in body and mind. Now comes pratyahara, the withdrawal of the senses, or the precursor to one pointed meditation. We take our focus from the excitement and drive of the external senses, and place our focus on that indwelling light. This is facilitated with mantra repetition in meditation. Most associate mantra as a sound, but in its truest form, mantra is the vibrational quality that is released in the capsule of the actual words. These vibrations subtly alter the way you associate yourself with the modifications of the mind, moving from being a slave to the wild senses, to one who holds the reigns of his senses tightly in control. We then realize that we can be a silent witness to the modifications of our mind. Just like the tornado rages the landscape, we can enter the eye where all is still and calm, and simply watch the chaos around us, knowing that nothing can shake us from that clear, calm, and tranquil center. Cultivating abhyasa, devotion to consistent practice, and vairagya, non-attachment to the fruits of our labours, we come one step closer to understanding who We are in an eternal sense. Ultimately, yoga teaches us to treat pain and suffering, praise and condemnation with equanimity and love, and to serve others as a way to serve the light within us.
