Friday, October 25, 2013

Different Yogic Paths to Param-Artha

(TODO)
Hatha Yoga :

a) Asana : Sukhasana
b) Pranayama : Kevala Kumbhaka
    Svara Yoga : Time and Rhythms of breath.
c) Mudra : 
d) Bandha : Mula, Jalandhaar, Ujjayi, Agni-sara

Karma Yoga : 

Jnana Yoga :

Bhakti Yoga :

Raja Yoga :

Kundalini Yoga :
a) Nada Yoga :
b) Laya Yoga : 
c) Japa Yoga/Mantra Yoga :


Tantra Yoga :

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Vedas, Vedangas, Yogas and the Path of the Sadhaka

Types of People/'Sadhakaha':
Each person has a different bent of mind - is open to somethings and closed to others. 
A Sportsman is action-oriented, 
A Intellectual is knowledge-oriented, 
An Business-man is money-oriented, 
A Poet is intra-oriented.

Cause of Seeking/Sadhana:
Every person is limited in one way or another. 
Each person seeks more power, more skill, more happiness... something more than limited nature.
Sorrow can be as much a motivator as Power-seeking.

Current State of Sadhaka:
However most people are not that 'Sattvic' (balanced) to easily achieve this state.
Most people are Rajasic/Tamasic (over active/under active) in different proportions.

Yet reaching this balanced state will help solve all the 'different' problems people face.
The root cause being the same, the solution is also the same - at an underlying level.

Ladder of 7 Steps - Sadhana:
As one goes higher up a hill you start seeing more and farther.
Similarly as one goes higher up the ladder of the 7 chakras. 
The more one can see past the earlier limitation. 
Also the sense of I-ness reduces as one becomes aware of an expanded universe - Sarpa-Drshti changing to Garuda-Drshti.

Paths of Sadhana:
Same path will not do for all. Goal is same but path needs to be different.
Hatha Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Nada Yoga, Kundalini Yoga are some of the methods suitable to different temperaments of Sadhakas.

The Goal (Moksha/Samadhi):
All limitations are related to being bound by force of various chakras. 
The lower 3 chakras are the most forceful with most Tamasic and Rajasic qualities.
The most subtle higher chakras have most Sattva and least Maya. 
So to remove limitations from the Self ascending the ladder of chakras is required.

Problems of Sadhana:
The lower 3 chakras hold most people.
Yama/Niyama are required to get past them.
There are 2 ways to discipline oneself - by enforcing or by gently encouraging.

Tapasya vs. Madhurya:
1) Tapasya : You can wash clothes with harsh chemical and lots of force - Tapasya (Yang method). 
This can easily damage the person. This is the way of the ascetic.

2) Madhurya : You can also soak the clothes for longer time and use very less chemicals/force - Madhurya (Yin method). This is slow but if done steadily will have the same effect over time. This is the house-holder method.

a) Some people can easily get up in the morning and meditate - most others can't or won't.
b) However more people will get up early if they need to play Badminton or learn music etc.
So idea is to use Madhurya to slowly change oneself and circumvent minds innate inertia against change.

Beginner Sadhana:
Human Mind is very 'chanchal' it keeps desiring for and running after many forms and shapes of ideas and experiences.

The idea is to present our mind with apparent variety in the form of physical, mental and spiritual experiences. These however have external variety and inner one-ness. Like a outer sweet capsule with same medicine inside.

Time is  a great ally.  It also the natural evolution of a being.

Also a person's view of life changes with time - the concept of different stages of life - Ashram.
The teenager is satisfied with outer things.
The adult becomes more interested to learn deeper things.
The elder looks beyond me-and-mine to ours. 
Like a million tiny drops of water carving out a Grand Canyon.
The constant dhara of the drops is strong enough to do this otherwise immense task.
Time and Pressure.

Outer(Bahya) => Inner(Antahkarana) => Beyond (Param).

Starting trouble:
The mind resists change from 'nama-rupa' to abstract ideas. 
It is also easily distracted by material things.

Start from what you love. 
So best to start from material things and slowly go towards higher ideas.
It's better to be pro-something than anti-something. 

Methods to change flow of energy:
As per the Agama, "The thing that can cause ones downfall can be used equally for ones up-liftment." Using this idea human weakness can be turned into strength.

All these are regular pass-times of human beings:
Song (Bhajans), 
Dance (Bharatnatyam), 
Theatre (Natya), 
Medicine (Ayurved), 
Physical exercise (HathaYog), 
Meditation (RajYog), 
Forecasting (Jyotish) 

Then at your own pace go deeper and deeper.
The mind which is distracted is also very fickle. 
Once the novelty wears off it intuitively knows that the secret lies beneath the surface.
Slowly over time it seeks out deeper things.

Veda-angas introduce these highest ideas/words as the underlying principle in all applied fields.

So as part of one's hobby or interest one may take up any of the outer-forms:
a) Yoga (fitness at every increasing subtlety - Asana to Pranayama)
a) Classical Singing or Instruments (voice training - Channdas, Svara Sadhana, Pranayama)
b) Nritya (yoga and body movement - Bhava behind mudra, HathaYoga behind poses)
c) Natya (voice-training and body movement - Bhava behind mudra, Vakshakti behind voice)
d) Jyotisha (time and psychological forces behind Grahas)
e) Kalpa - (rituals - Bhava behind Yagna)

This principle is used by our elders since ages past to slowly change the flow of mind-energy from out-ward to in-ward and beyond.

Find yourself and then go beyond.

Inertia of Vasanas:
Across many lives we accumulate many 'tendencies'/Vasanas - effects of past life karmas.
They will need to be expressed/washed clean to reduce the downward pull of gravity.

Escape Velocity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oeCyf-dHvs
The first 3 chakras have such a strong force that we need a stronger force to escape their clutches.
Asana, Pranayama, Bandha, Japa and Mudra help generate the necessary 'escape velocity' required to escape the pull of Earth, Water and Fire elements of lower 3 chakras.

Going from Body to Soul and Beyond:
Each of these 3 levels have their own idea of the world.
So also Vedas can be interpreted in 3 ways. They have a vocabulary of their own.
So each word/term used in the different fields has 3 meanings.
A common meaning, a deep meaning and a deeper meaning.

The Vedas go to the root of the problem - quieting of the mind and being one with self and universe (atma and paramatma). 

Understanding the terms/stories to get to the underlying ideas of Vedas:
What binds together all these "varied" things?
All these things were originally taught in Sanskrit - DevaBhasha ( which required knowledge of at least 4 of the Vedangas)

As one went from beginner, intermediate to advanced level in any of these arts each student would sooner or later come across the deeper meanings behind the words used in various fields.

One of the common threads in our Sanskriti is the idea of Bandhuta : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandhu

Bandhu : Bandhu (1), Sanskrit for friend connected with "bandhan" or ties which are the connections that link the outer and the inner worlds, according to the Vedas.
Rajiv Malhotra in his book Being Different describes how 'Bandhuta/Bandhu' is an in-built feature of this universe. In the story[1]Prajapati attempts to create the Universe keeping Order and Chaos in dynamic balance. His initial attempts fail because they're too 'Jami'/homogenous or too 'Prthak'/different. Finally he gets the combination just-right, by using the principle of 'Bandhuta'/'Bandhu' i.e. binding together dissimilar things by what is common across all things in the entire creation.
As per Dharma traditions 'Bandhuta' exists in all planes/fields connecting them together. Few note-worthy fields are 'Nrittya'/Dance, 'Sangeet'/Music, 'Jyotish'/Astrology, 'Vastu-Shastra', YogaAyurveda/Medicine.
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1) Different Yogic Paths to Param-artha : http://tattva-gyan.blogspot.com/2013/10/different-yogic-paths-to-param-artha.html
2) Hindu Dharma : http://sanskriti-parichay.blogspot.com/2013/12/bookreview-hindu-dharma-universal-way.html
3) Learning Sanskrit bottom-up (from Akshara to Pada to Vakya) : http://sanskriti-parichay.blogspot.com/2013/12/vagyoga-learning-sanskrit-in.html
4) Sanskrit and inner meaning of Dhatu/Roots of Words : http://tattva-gyan.blogspot.com/2013/08/exploring-roots-of-rtam-rishi-ritu.html
5) Ayurveda : http://tattva-gyan.blogspot.com/2013/10/ayurveda.html
6) Mantra - The Power of Sound : http://tattva-gyan.blogspot.in/2013/08/mantra-power-of-sound.html
7) Marma Shastra : http://tattva-gyan.blogspot.com/2013/10/marma-shastra-accupuncture.html

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Saadho, Aisaa Hi Guru Bhaave (Sung in Album "Antarangini" by His Holiness Param Pujya Sadyojaat Shankarashram Swamiji)

Saadho, Aisaa Hi Guru Bhaave, Saadho

Raag Ranga Ka, Bhar-Bhar Pyaala (2)
Pivay Aur Pilaavay

Saadho, Aisaa Hi Guru Bhaave, Saadho

Naad Chupaa Tann Mein, Laya Mann Mein,
Koi Bataa Nahin Paave

Naad Chupaa Tann Mein, Laya Mann Mein,
Koi Bataa Nahin Paave

Saat Suron Ki, Baani Meri, (2)
Aum....

Saat Suron Ki, Baani Meri,
OM-Kaar Dhun Gaave

Saadho, Aisaa Hi Guru Bhaave, Saadho

Parama-Hamsa Guru, Hamsa Rupa Dhara, Hirdaya Beecha Biraaje (2)

Chaand Suraj ka, Lochan Guru Ka (2)
Dekhe Aur Dikhaave.

Saadho, Aisaa Hi Guru Bhaave, Saadho
Aisaa Hi Guru Bhaave, Saadho

Raag Ranga Ka, Bhar-Bhar Pyaala
Pivay Aur Pilaavay

Saadho, Aisaa Hi Guru Bhaave, Saadho

Main Gulam ( composed by Sant Kabir, Sung in Album "Antarangini" by His Holiness Param Pujya Sadyojaat Shankarashram Swamiji )

Main Gulam composed by Sant Kabir, 
Sung in Antarangini by Param Pujya Sadyojaat Shankarashram Swamiji


Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam Tera (2)
Tu Saheb Sachha Mera, (2)
Naam Leyoon Tera

Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam Tera (2)

Roop Nahin, Ranga Nahin, Nahi Baran Chayaa (2)
Niraakara Nirgun Tu, 

Tu Raghu Raya.


Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam Tera (2)

Ek Roti, Dere Prabhu, Bhaar Tera Paoon (2)
Ek Roti (2)
Ek Roti, Dere Prabhu, Bhaar Tera Paoon
Kaam Krodh Chhod Kar, (2)
Hari Guna Gaaoon.

Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam Tera (2)

Meher Baan, Meher Baan, Meher Karo Meri (2)
Das Kabir Charan Khada, Nazar Pheink Teri

Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam Tera (2)

Tu Saheb Sachha Mera, (2)
Naam Leyoon Tera

Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam, Main Gulaam Tera (2)