62. Nirdhara — If you are Sure you are Dead

Our entire schooling system has trained human mind to come to an answer as quickly as possible. Only the one who gets to the answer the quickest is appreciated and rewarded. Slower ones are always neglected.

The repercussions of this are enormous. Human intellect is now always in a hurry to conclude. The mind has been deeply programmed with the reward-penalty system administered during schooling. Now he thinks that the more quickly he concludes, the smarter he is — a self-conferred reward.

So now he concludes about every bit of life that comes his way, including himself, with reprehensible urgency, and as a result, all possibilities of further enquiry are eliminated. He knows what he is, what others are, what happiness is, what a relationship is, what life is, what death is, what spirituality is, what God is... you name it and he knows what it is (words from books, or some lame logic). So smart!

This kind of arriving at a conclusion as quickly as possible is suitable and needed in analytical and executive fields of life, where an outcome, a decision has to come about as quickly as possible. But having idiotically extended this pattern to all aspects of life, not at all stopping for a moment to reflect deeply upon fundamentals of his life, including 'What am I? What am I seeking in life?', is rampaging his life, and he is not even noticing it? His intellect has turned so impotent that it cannot think about anything or anybody without strongly concluding about them; he cannot hold onto a certain fundamental question and inquire deeply into it for two minutes straight. He has forgotten what it is like to be aflame and alive with '?'.

In Samskrita one of the words for Conclusion is निर्धार (Nirdhara), and the word is very interesting. Nir-dhara can mean 'holding on thoroughly' and it can also mean 'devoid of flow'. Concluding in analytical and executive areas of life would refer to the former meaning, and it is very much needed. But concluding about life itself would refer to the latter meaning, and you would become stagnant, dead, numb to life - 'Ah big deal, I know what it is'; 'Oh I know all about him'; 'You know who I am?'



While the religious ones today are dead sure about everything (even God's name, address, family members etc.), the Vedic Rishis boldly declared "We do not know".

If you are sure, you are dead!

61. Role of External Supports in Spiritual Sadhana

I will pick up the following thread of discursion from the previous post and elaborate on it:

"Should we do things on the outside to crackle our aliveness, or should we do things on the outside because we are crackling with aliveness? Which way should it be? Aliveness first or Action first?"

Here one may ask the question — if it is said that Aliveness is first, then can we not seek the support of the external environment to enhance the state of our consciousness?

There are several things to be addressed here.

Firstly, note that this is a different issue than the one in the original thread. When I say "doing things on the outside to crackle our aliveness" I am referring not to spiritual supports, but to all the things that people pursue to charge themselves with liveliness — relationships, hobbies, pleasures etc. Here, which way should it be? Aliveness first or Action first? We may presently be dependent on the outer actions to keep our spirits up, but there is no question that this should be reversed. Our engagement in the world should be to exude our aliveness, not consume it. As living beings we should be producers of aliveness, not consumers.

How do we put Aliveness first? It was already so in our early childhood, but as we grew up the psychology got conditioned in many ways and the equation reversed. And now we are all the time running around looking for charging points to remain up and alive, very much the same way we look for charging points for our phone. In breaking out of this conditioning Yoga kriyas can help greatly. From my personal experience I am referring here specifically to Shambhavi Mahamudra and Shakti Chalana kriya that I have learnt from Isha and have been regularly practicing. I have come to see how it makes the energies exuberant, and how there is a natural buzz of aliveness in the system. There may be many such Kriyas taught by many other schools. In this regard, one can also use the faculties of intellect and emotion to engage in Self-enquiry and Devotion respectively; but these are greatly dependent on the temperament of the individual whereas Kriyas are well-defined techniques that anyone can make use of. With regular practice they bear fruit, of life.

Coming to the question of external support, there may be two different points that need to be addressed — using external support, and creating external support for our use.

With regard to using external support — apart from practicing specific Yogic techniques, one can certainly take all the external support available to them — conducive places, times, objects, food regulation, company of people etc. But then one should be careful not to go into the whining mode "I am not progressing because this particular support is absent". While the availability of some support is certainly a boost, absence of it should not be painted as a roadblock. Moreover, today in the age of internet we have access to plenty of spiritual content, online sessions etc. at our fingertips which we can use to keep ourselves oriented and focussed. Compare this to the situation a hundred years ago when a seeker had to leave his house to go in search of a teacher. So, what are we complaining about, really? If we go into that mode, where do we draw the line? There can be really no end to it. We can go to the extent of saying that only after there is a great transformation in the society, only when it reverberates with a spiritual ambiance, is it possible for me to transform myself. That would be fool's paradise. Why can't we be the ones who begin that transformation in the society? Or do you want to be the last fool to transform? Therefore even in regard to this aspect of using external support, the first focus should be upon ourselves. We may use all the support available, but it should not become an excuse to whine and wait. We cannot put the onus on others to provide the support and demand it from them. No one is obligated to support us in our journey. It is our own. Whatever support comes from outside is only a bonus, and we should be thankful for it, not cynical complaining about a lack of it. This sense of ungratefulness is by itself very unbecoming for a spiritual seeker.

Also, external supports are eventually meant to be transcended. One should be attentive to make sure that it does not become a dependence of a new kind. For e.g. children use ruled notebooks to practice writing so that they can eventually write without those printed lines. But in the name of practice if they are made to write in moulded grooves of the letters it will just become a new dependency. They will never be able to write with ease without that support.

With regard to creating external support — there is this possibility of creating a simpler external support to hold us up. Swami Vivekananda points out that the Puja Griha in Indian houses is meant to be a place which should be gradually charged with sattvik reverberations. We should use that space/room only for spiritual sadhana, and imbue the space with that quality over time. Just as we build a physical house brick by brick, just as we accrue a bank account rupee by rupee, it is possible to build an energized space bit by bit. We can make a space come alive, and then use it as a support — "...when you are miserable, sorrowful, doubtful, or your mind is disturbed, the very fact of entering that room will make you calmer" (Raja Yoga, chapter 2)

There are also some who argue that the external environment at large, because of its highly materialistic nature, is too unfavourable for spiritual sadhana, and that we will have to first work towards bringing about a major change in the society to make it conducive, and then (or parallelly) use that to transform ourselves. But this sounds absurd. How can a man, who is himself unconscious, inspire and change the people and society around him? He may exhibit lot of fire and will, but a man without clarity of perception and inner balance will only add to the problem no matter how much of good intentions he has. We see a whole lot of such enthusiastic individuals having great plans to transform the world. But one can change the outside only to the extent he is stable and aware. Not more. One's impact on the society is equivalent to the amount of his own transformation. You can have great slogans, create web pages, market yourself well, make videos with spiritual messages, become a keyboard warrior preaching spirituality and debating with random people on the internet, or even open a Yoga center — but people will listen to you only to the extent you are fragrant and vibrant. Not more. You may be teaching Bhagavadgita, but people will resonate with it only to the extent Bhagavadgita resonates in you. Therefore with regard to this aspect too, our transformation comes first. Only then we will earn the listenership of others, and can perhaps be of some support to others who need it.

But it is possible for someone to become a tool in someone else's hands, and thereby create a much bigger impact on the society than they can by themselves. For e.g. I have been working at Isha as a fulltime volunteer from a couple of years. I was primarily part of the team that translated and dubbed Sadhguru's English videos to Kannada. The Kannada channel now has over 2.5 lakh subscribers, and many more things have happened in the Karnataka domain. This is much bigger an impact on the society than I can make by myself in my present state of awareness. So as I was working upon myself, parallelly I was also a tool that was enabling some large scale change in the society. This is what all the volunteers at Isha experience. This requires the quality of keeping oneself aside, and simply doing what is asked without preferences, likes and dislikes. Therefore here too our transformation comes first, in that your special individuality is no more a priority in your psyche. The only difference is that here our transformation produces a magnified impact on the society instead of just an equivalent impact. So, if you dream of great changes in the world and you really mean it, then you should keep yourself aside, and join hands with such organizations (to whatever extent you can) — whichever you wish. If you cannot empower yourself quickly, you can at least quickly become an empowered tool.

In summary, no matter which angle you approach the matter from, it comes to the inevitable conclusion that our transformation, our aliveness, is first and primary. The other side may or may not be pertinent. We cannot afford to focus on the other end more than ourselves.

Therefore, this should indeed become our mantra:

Adhyatma - fundamental responsibility rests always on myself.

The moment we begin to point fingers on the other side, we are on a ride down an endless slippery slope.

60. Yoga and Astrology

I am going to talk about Astrology here; not in support of it, not against it, but about it. I am not even bothered if it works, and if it works how it works. I am only going to say something about it based on the general claim that it works. To be precise, I am going to see what the limit of astrology is. Certainly, one cannot claim that it is unlimitedly potent in its working. Therefore, I just wish to explore its limitation. This is important even for people who study astrology; because no matter what branch of knowledge we study, "What is its limitation?" is also an important aspect of that knowledge. Otherwise there is the common danger of eulogizing it beyond its scope. So, this is an article intending to look at something as it is, and is not meant to oppose it or support it. But because I am talking specifically about its limitation, it may look like I am speaking against it.

There are several things that are involved in Astrology. More fundamentally there are the impersonal aspects — of signifying certain times as auspicious or inauspicious, suitable or unsuitable for certain activities (irrespective of people). For e.g. many Indian festivals are based on specific astronomical positioning of the Sun and the Moon with respect to Earth. This is said to have a certain energy impact upon the planet, and thus upon our system. A simple example is that of a full moon.

And then there are very personalized aspects of Astrology. Based on the date, time and place of birth, a detailed chart known as the horoscope is prepared for an individual. And based on that (or just on certain parameters such as janma nakshatra), astrologers predict what kind of person you will be, and what kind of events are likely to occur in your life in the coming years. And then most of them also prescribe methods which can alleviate the [ill] effects of the planets [footnote 1].

I have two responses to this. You may use these responses as suggested directions for your personal exploration.

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The first response is more fundamental, direct, and without much spice [for the intellect]. What if I saw that I am not the body or the mind? How astrology describes the personality, which the world identifies me with, became irrelevant; for I saw that I am not it. The events that occur on the outside, what people say and do also became irrelevant, in the sense it does not matter to me if things go this way or that way. Astrology can describe and predict all it wants, to the smallest detail, but 'I' simply do not care. For I know that none of it touches me. This may sound insipid and boring to an onlooker, but the inner experience of the person may be far from it as we will see below.

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Now for the elaborate response. This includes the above, and more.

Suppose astrology predicts that I will lose a big amount of money today. And I do end up losing some money proving the prediction right. Very well. But can astrology predict and determine what I feel within me? Right this moment, can astrology determine if I feel pleasant or unpleasant within me?

It is only because the outside and the inside are very tightly connected (loss of money = sorrow; gain in money = joy etc.) for most people that planets seems to rule their life. Otherwise astrology is just laying out the course of events on the outside. It actually does not have any say in how I am within me. I may have lost money, but I may still be undisturbed.

Why is the outer and the inner so tightly connected for people? Here is a brief explanation. All of us are looking for intensity and liveliness, none is looking for dullness. When we are not able to crank up our aliveness by ourselves, we will use several external stimuli (people, substances, money, entertainment, recognitions etc.) to come alive, to become intense. Most people are like puppets that are held up alive through these strings.

The moment we rely on the outside for our intensity, the nature of intensity (joy, anger, fear, anxiety, sorrow etc.) is also naturally determined by the outside. If a string snaps, suddenly the puppet slouches in boredom or depression. But if it was possible for us to burst forth our aliveness by ourselves, then naturally the nature of that intensity also will be in our hands, and we would obviously choose to be pleasant and sweet within ourselves. And because we are already so intense, the outside has no further intensity to contribute to it. We can have all those things in our life, but with no strings attached [footnote 2].

So, I can make myself in such a way that astrology has no say in how I am within myself; it can only predict the events outside. I can end the article with this. But this has already opened up new avenues which we can explore. The moment we acknowledge that the outer need not rule the inner, the moment the invasive onslaught of the outer has been neutralized (second circle), forcing the outer on the backfoot also becomes a possibility; or in other words, determining the outside events also becomes a possibility. If you had earlier let the outer influence the inner (first circle), why can't now the inner influence the outer (third circle)? Let me explain.

If I am very alive and pleasant by my own nature, and if the outside cannot contribute any further intensity to it, it means I have no vested interests outside. And therefore I am no more reactive and compulsive. Presently the situation is such that if someone says 'Ping', you say 'Pong' almost automatically. And because you say 'Pong' someone else says 'Dong' and so on. The whole thing is in some kind of automated mode. I have condensed a very complex reaction into just one word here. Because things are very complex in its details, it appears as though we are doing and saying some new things everytime. But fundamentally we are unconsciously doing the same things (driven by self-defence, survival instinct, aggression etc.) in reaction to specific stimuli from the outside. And this ping-pong has created layers and layers of automation upon us, and when eventually some 'Gong' returns to us (after making a long trip), it appears as though something is happening to us randomly for which we are not responsible at all. No, it is just the chain reaction of which our 'Pong' was a link.

So now, if I am no more reactive, I will not do 'Pong', but will consciously respond in some other way. As I am more aware, my clarity of perception is enhanced (about myself and others), and that enhances the quality of my decisions and actions to become more inclusive. Now suddenly the unconscious chain is broken. This different response may give a jolt to and begin to wake up the other people around you too (at least after several such instances). Well, the unconscious chain will not break with just one jerk, for it has grown quite robust in the long absence of awareness. But gradually, the more awake you are, the more you will break this automation. Things around you will also slowly come alive and awake, reciprocate with you, and arrange themselves as you need. While you let unconsciousness from the outside swallow you earlier, now you are swallowing everything around you into your consciousness. Slowly, the reactive Gongs that were coming to you change to responsive Songs. You do not have to wait till the planets sing melodies to you, but can make your own. Thus, you will begin to determine what will happen around you on the outside too.

They say good and bad are always battling. I beg to differ. It is consciousness and unconsciousness that are always at war. You either get swallowed by unconsciousness, or you swallow it.

However, in this process of coming awake, the impersonal aspects mentioned earlier have been used as a support in Yoga. Certain times of the day (the sandhya hours), certain days/months are said to have some significance, and are advocated as conducive for spiritual sadhana. For e.g. in the Bhagavadgita, Sri Krishna says "Among months, I am the Mārgaśīrṣa" (10.35) Mārgaśīrṣa is the time of the year (~ 22 Nov to 21 Dec) when Earth is closest to the Sun (winter solstice), and this is said to have a certain energy impact upon the human system which a spiritual seeker can make use of. But all such support is made use of with the full awareness that one will eventually go beyond these dependencies.

"Astrology is a science" — I have heard this several times. Granted. But a science of what? It is a science of unconsciousness — especially the personal aspects of it. Therefore, this is the limit of astrology — it works only to the extent you are unconscious. It is like this. Physics may be a very robust science; but biological systems go beyond it, and are not ruled just by gross physical laws. A stone has to stay down obeying Gravity, but a plant shoots upward defying it. A plant can very well remain as a stone, thinking that its future can then easily get determined by the laws of motion and Gravity. There is a sense of security and safety in certainty. But the very nature of life is to trascend boundaries and venture into the unknown. This is the very conflict we undergo within ourselves — between the instinct to remain safely unconscious within a certain boundary, and the longing to wake up and transcend them. But note that the safety of the unconsciousness is anyway an illusion. Even if you remain like a stone safely rolling about in your comfort zone, you will never know when another unconscious stone will come and crash at you! And only when that happens do people wake up. But even then most people, through astrology, seek only to somehow avoid getting hit by other stones; they still do not want to be anything more than a stone; they still do not seek to become a plant and shoot upward.

Planets may have their influences upon you. But you are a conscious being; whether you will let inanimate things influence you is still in your hands. The trajectory of your life need not go in cycles like that of the planets. Being cyclical is the fundamental characteristic of the physical; the more rooted we are in the physical the more cyclical we are within ourselves too. And the more conscious we are the freer we are within ourselves from the clutches of the physical and its cycles; the more conscious we are the less vulnerable we are to the influence of the planets [footnote 3]. That means, the more you vouch for astrology, the more you are vouching for unconsciousness. There is nothing right or wrong with it. That is how it is.

If you want the inner to be ruled by the outer, if you are fine remaining compulsive and cyclical, Astrology is a great science to know your future. If you want the inner to rule the outer, if you wish your consciousness to blossom, Yoga is a great science to make your future the way you intend, or at least be untouched by it [footnote 4].

So, apart from the impersonal aspects, is there no other conscious use of astrology at all?  Of course there is. The moment we are fully aware of the limitation and drawback of a certain tool, we will use it discreetly and wisely [footnote 5]. There is surely some use of it at individual discretion (either upon ourselves or upon others), mostly as a last resort like Opioids, but an en masse acknowledgement of it (as is happening today) amounts to an encouragement of it in the social psyche. If you administer opioids extensively and recklessly, you are encouraging people to be unconscious and irresponsible in how they use their body, and come to the doctor demanding pain-relief every other day. They will no more eat in awareness, thinking that if they get a stomach-ache doctors will anyway take care of it. So it is with astrology. If it becomes an everyday affair in a society, it promotes unconsciousness.

One last bit in this regard. I mentioned earlier that astrologers prescribe certain things to people to alleviate the effects of the planets upon them. There are many aspects to these remedial measures, but one aspect of this is — it is precisely to break the unconscious rut that one is in. The astrologer asks you go and feed animals, or give some donation to a temple etc. You open up a bit from your constipation [footnote 6]. And that small change alters the unconscious chain of events, the Gong, that was to unfold. If such small changes in actions can do it, why would you not wish to come awake fully by yourself? Why changing just one action here and there? Why not change the very way you are? Why do you want to wait till astrologers tell you? Why the stinginess in transformation? If you could alleviate the impact of the planets once, if you accept that it is possible to overrule the planets, why don't you get the urge to fully go beyond this bondage?

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[1] Just noting something that I have observed. In the Mahabharata and the Ramayana I see plenty of instances of the impersonal aspect of astrology at play. But I have not found instances of the personal aspects of astrology, horoscope, matching horoscope for marriage etc. in these ancient texts (correct me if I am wrong). On the contrary it is the latter that is rampant today.

[2] Should we do things on the outside to crackle our aliveness, or should we do things on the outside because we are crackling with aliveness? Which way should it be? Aliveness first or Action first? योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि - Establish yourself in Yoga, and then Act (Gita, 2.48) 

[3] I have heard that traditionally astrologers did not predict anything for you if you are on the spiritual path, because you are waking up and will move away from the unconscious cycles. But not sure if today's astrologers are aware of this.

[4] Why I separate these two possibilities is that there are some Yogis who do not actively engage in the world, and even if they do, they are largely indifferent to things outside.

[5] Some tell me that just like the impersonal aspects, even the personal aspects of Jyotish are used in certain esoteric spiritual schools.

[6] There is much more to explore here. Very briefly: when a cell in an organism tries to live its own exclusive life with no regard to the whole, it is called as a cancerous cell, and it faces resistance and hostility from the rest of the organism; but a healthy cell receives all the support it needs to thrive. Just so, when one's individuality is very constricted and disregardful of the Whole, they experience abundant friction in their life. But healthy individuals who are considerate of the Whole get reciprocated by the Whole; their life seems to go very smoothly with their needs getting fulfilled with ease, almost like magic. This is Cosmic Biology, so to speak.

32. Why So Serious?

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Have you ever wondered why Bhagavadgita is not read by majority of the population even after being accepted to be the most sacred, most important scripture? No Hindu would deny the importance of this text, but strangely he does not open this book and read the contents. He will get upset and defend if someone talks lightly about Gita, but he has no idea what is in the book. Weird! We are possessive and protective about something without knowing what is in it. “It does not matter to me what is in the book, but I shall fight against anyone who talks bad about it. After all Krishna preached it and Krishna is God”. Can we call this as unconditional faith and surrender? Nah! This is laziness and slumber. Extremes look similar – we already saw several times. We only want to use the Gita to quench our thirst of quarrel. Religion has only become a pretext for us to hate someone, not expand the feeling of love and devotion.

But then again, many do try to read. They read a few pages perhaps, and then give up. It seems boring. All big big words. If the scriptures are so important, then they should be interesting. Why are they so dull and colorless? There may be several reasons for this.

First of all, we picture it artificially. Because of that, we have lost sight of the reality of that great event. For example, just look at the following goof. There is this question “How could Krishna preach Bhagavadgita in the battlefield? Was there enough time to preach so much?” And the wise men give so many explanations. Some say “Krishna only preached a little, Vyasa wrote it in detail”. And some even go to the extent of saying “Time stopped when Krishna preached the Gita. Everything became still”. Wah! How intelligent, but how absurd! And by telling all this cock and bull stories we have pushed Gita away from reality and thus from our hearts.

Ok then what could be the answer to this? Well, it is simple common sense. Suppose you go to a hotel with your friends. How long do you think you will take to settle down and place the order? 15 minutes at a minimum, isn’t it? So, if 5 people take so much time to settle down for a simple activity of having food, how much time do you think two huge armies (of millions) will take to settle down on the battle field and arrange themselves in formations? And that too on the first day of the battle? Won’t it require at least a few hours? Do you think all soldiers came and stood in a line like zombies holding a sword in their hands at sharp 7 AM in the morning? (this is how they show in the TV serials) Just imagine the reality of the situation! Thousands of soldiers, chariots, horses, elephants were being managed and arranged. How much time would both the armies require to settle down? 2-3 hours at least?

And how much time is required to cover 700 shlokas of the Gita? Krishna didn’t sing the shlokas, he was talking. He didn’t go “Laa la laaa laaa” like a rhyme (like how we chant today). If we do “Laa la laaa laaa” and chant, still we can easily chant 40-50 shlokas in 15 minutes i.e. around 200 in one hour. So, Krishna, with normal talking, in one hour would have easily covered the contents of 350-400 shlokas. So, the entire event of Gita can comfortably take place within 2 hours time, at the most. Isn’t this simple common sense? Do we require the time to stop for such a silly thing!

So, even for the incidence of the event of the Gita, we have such irrational explanations. Then how can we possibly see rationale in the content of it?!

Secondly, we do not identify ourselves with Arjuna (he is actually our representative). We do not become one with the reality of the situation that he was in. So, the first chapter itself becomes boring. It is not just about understanding “Oh, he saw Bhishma, Drona in enemy’s side, so he went into despondency”. But it is about realizing that we undergo this type of despondency several times in our lives, even for simple things.

Remember your school-day function. It is a big function and suppose you have accepted the duty of giving a small speech (say, welcome address). You yourself accepted the duty and you know that thousands will be watching you. But now you are trembling with stage-fear. Before your speech, every moment you are spending restlessly. You probably look at the illiterate sweeper woman who is peacefully sitting behind the stage and munching some snack, least bothered about the seriousness of the function. ‘So nice it would have been to be in her position, without any worries’ you think ‘Oh, who needs this school day function? It would have been so nice to just stay at home and watch some movie peacefully’. These types of thoughts go on and on in your mind. And finally the program begins, and you go to the stage to give the welcome address. Once you start speaking, you start feeling a little comfortable. With little nervousness and little excitement, somehow you finish the job and then leave the stage. PHEW. What a relief. And now, school-day suddenly transforms into a fun-filled function for you. You watch and enjoy the various events, receive a prize or two, get praised by some for your welcome address and so on. You no more think of school-day as a miserable activity. You no more think about being in the position of that sweeper lady. Where has your Vairagya gone now?

Well, this is very similar to what Arjuna went through. He knows all the facts beforehand. He knows that it is fight for justice and that he has accepted to fight voluntarily. He is a Kshatriya and he knows that fighting is in his blood. He also knows, well before the war, that Bhishma, Drona would be on the enemy’s side. But in that last moment, a fake despondency. ‘Oh how nice it would be to just sit in a forest and meditate? Who wants all this tedious fighting business?’. He says ‘It would be better to beg instead of fighting’! Just like our school-day despondency, this is very transient and it will not stay for long. If someone had told us ‘Ok, give me the speech, I will deliver it, you do not worry’, do you think we will be happy later for doing that? We will go into more despondency! Similarly, Arjuna would have only become more dejected later if he had gone back because of this last moment weakness.

‘Oh, who wants these family problems. It would have been so nice to be a bachelor’, ‘Oh, I have a presentation in front of the clients. It would have been so nice to be just a simple programmer instead of a project leader’ – we will have some or the other type of ‘escapist’ thoughts coming to us very regularly. And they are all fake – because if you follow them, you will go into more dejection. And secondly, once you taste success, all such thoughts are no more. So, they come only when you have to face a challenge, but totally vanish when all is well. It is not genuine Vairagya (detachment). It is Tamasik, not Sattvik. Symptoms are same, but reasons are a world apart. Genuine Vairagya will remain, irrespective of whether you are in problems or comfort. So, Arjuna had gone into a fake Vairagya when he said ‘I will go to a forest and meditate’. If he did go to a forest, all the while he would have only been thinking about Kurukshetra, not God. Same as how, if we, by chance, follow our escapist thoughts, will only be restless thinking about the job that we left incomplete, rather than being peaceful.

Thirdly, we forget the context of the Gita. It becomes evident from Arjuna’s questions and Krishna’s answers that during the time of the Mahabharata, the essence of Yoga and Spirituality were totally lost. Arjuna repeatedly says ‘You are confusing me. You say Jnana is great, but at the same time you are asking me to perform this horrible activity of war’. He, like most of us, thinks that Jnana marga means simply sitting and not doing anything. He thinks it has nothing to do with our day to day life. He seems to believe that Jnana = ‘no activity’ and Karma = ‘activity’. That’s why he asks ‘If Jnana is great, why should I follow Karma’! Because, he is desperately trying to follow his version of Jnana Yoga – running away and sitting in a forest. Same as how some of us may think. Arjuna was a highly qualified King and he does not have a clear picture of spirituality! Then what to speak of the common man of those times? This situation is also very similar today. There are scholars, no doubt, but how many have realization of the truths of the scriptures? Most of them are only busy arguing over Samskrita grammar.

The first time when Arjuna asks (beginning of 3^rd chapter) this question, Krishna says there are two approaches – Saankhya and Karma – both of which lead to the same goal. And since Arjuna’s need was Karma, he explains from the perspective of Karma. And Krishna’s answer is such a common reply – “If you just withhold activities of your limbs and sit still, you will not become a Jnana Yogi. You will continue to munch inside your mind and you will become a hypocrite”. Is there anything mysterious in this answer? Perhaps, even we would have given this reply to Arjuna! After that, Krishna goes on praising ‘Jnana’ and it goes on till the end of 4^th chapter.

In the beginning of 5^th chapter, Arjuna is back at square one (again, like us) – “If you praise Karma Sanyasa, why are making me perform Karma?” (again trying to runaway in the name of Sanyasa). He again fails to see that ‘Jnana’, ‘Sanyasa’ is a common backdrop for both paths. Once there is detachment, it does not matter what path we are in – active in the world, or contemplating in the forest. It depends on individual person’s Swadharma. So, Krishna clearly says “Only fools think that Saankhya and Karma are different paths. But both lead to the same end”. And since Arjuna was demanding a clear cut answer as to which one is better for him, Krishna says ‘Karma Yoga’ is better for Arjuna. Although Krishna answers this way, all the while he emphasizes the basis for both the paths - Jnana. Since, Arjuna’s definition of activity and non-activity was very narrow, Krishna makes phrases like “Action in non-action and non-action in action”. That means, a Jnani seemingly not doing anything is actually running the whole show of the dream, whereas a seemingly active person in Ajnana is actually only a puppet and is not doing anything.

In the beginning of 8^th chapter, Arjuna’s question is highly shocking. A King, a well educated man of the times asks “What is Brahma? What is Adhyatma? What is Karma? What is Adhi-Daiva and Adhi-Bhuta?” If Krishna was in front of us today, won’t we ask these question as well? Doesn’t it become clear that Arjuna is just our representative?

The second chapter of the Gita, which is the longest of all except for the concluding chapter, is supposed to be the end of the Gita. Krishna briefly covers everything – like a synopsis – in the chapter. But since Arjuna goes on getting confused, Krishna goes on clarifying in detail in the later chapters. In second chapter, we can notice one funny thing about Arjuna. While explaining Saankhya yoga, Krishna mentions ‘Sthitaprajna’ (Jnani). And then, Arjuna asks Krishna “What are the characteristics of a Sthistaprajna? How does he talk and interact?”. Oh my God! Throughout his life he has been with Krishna, a perfect Jnani, and Arjuna asks Krishna himself this question! Idiot! Isn’t it? He is again simply meant to represent us. We, being the perfect consciousness of the Self, want to ‘know’ the characteristics of consciousness! And we want to make it a subject of learning.

This way, the whole of Gita is just a simple philosophical conversation. Not some drama scene with a serious background music. God alone knows how many soldiers, horses and elephants were running around their chariot when they were discussing. If you had a serious spiritual discussion with a friend in a bus-stop, the scene is serious only for you. Not others. Others will not say “Oh he is discussing something spiritual, let me not go near”. Who will care? Everything around you will go on normally.

Perhaps, we can read Gita much peacefully and with a sense of reality, if we read it with this attitude. Then we will be able to read it with more of common sense than with prejudice and artificial seriousness. It will then become close to our heart, our true Self.

After all, Krishna begins the teachings with a mocking smile! (Gita – 2.10) So, why so Serious?

22. Bed Time Stories

<< Previous - Hide and Seek

There is a verse in the Gita which says that the moment of death is very crucial in deciding the future of the departing soul. It was told that depending on what we think at the moment of death, our next birth will be decided. So, if we are able to hold our attention on the ‘I Am’ i.e. pure awareness without thoughts, then we attain realization (or rather, remember what we actually are). Bhagavata also tells about this through the story of Ajamila. But it looked a little childish to me. “How can just the death moment decide everything?” So, I asked our friend Krishna to explain.

Krishna – “When you go to bed everyday, before you fall asleep, what do you usually think?”

Ego – “I am a young lad. So, I think of the bright future. I see myself having romantic moments with a beautiful wife in a high-class house. I see myself roaming with her in a costly car. I imagine that I will be very successful in my profession and I become a hero in my workplace. All will be appreciating my work and praising me to the rooftops. I imagine that one day all my enemies will burn in jealousy and go mad seeing my success. Then I will look at them and laugh at them. Sometimes I even think of me going to bollywood and becoming a super star. Or becoming a great singer. I have got Bharataratna and Nobel at least 4-5 times in my imaginations. Ahh.. There are so many of them. I cannot list all”

Krishna – “No problem, I got the point. So, finally everything revolves around Girl, Money and Fame. I will come back to this in a short while. First let us see what sleep is.

When you slip into sleep, you first go into dream state. You forsake your physical body and hold onto another body – the dream body. You strongly hold onto it same as how you are now holding onto the current physical body. In the dream, you will go to any extent to protect that dream body. That body becomes your everything and you believe that if that body dies you will become extinct. So, going into dream state was similar to death and rebirth. You were always existent, you left one body and caught another body.

The very first dream that you hold on to, will depend on the thoughts that were running in your head before you went into dream. The type of dream body you get, the type of situation you will be in – all these will depend on what you were thinking just before you slipped into sleep. Then you go on dreaming one after the other in a sequence depending on what type of impressions are stronger in you for the time being.

Now, I will give you an assignment. Try contemplating on some spiritual concepts before falling asleep. Try for four days and then come to me.”

I tried to think of spirituality, ‘Who Am I’ etc during the next for days, before going to sleep. I would think for a short while, but then slowly the strong attractions would pull me and I would begin day-dreaming. Beautiful girl, money, bungalow, getting an award in front of millions of people and so on and so forth. And this way, I would slowly slip into sleep and continue the same stories in my dream state. After four days I went back to Krishna.

Krishna – “So, what happened? Could you do it?”

Ego – “No, before sleeping, the attractions of day-dreaming are very powerful. I could not push them away. I only thought of bright and colorful situations and me becoming a hero.”

Krishna – “Dying is same as going to sleep. During death, you will leave the physical body, and hold onto a subtle body (Sukshma Sharira). Subtle body is nothing but what you hold on to in the dream state. And what type of subtle body you get will solely depend on what you are thinking at the moment of death. And if you do not think of anything and only hold on to your pure awareness, then automatically you will not hold onto any body. You will be free, or rather you will realize that you are free.

But as you said, even before sleeping, it is not easy to carry out spiritual contemplations in the mind, let alone holding onto the awareness ‘I Am’. Then how can it possibly be easy when you die? People have misunderstood Ajamila’s story. You cannot possibly spend your whole life in junk and finally utter ‘Krishna’. If one has spent his whole life busy in worldly things, then that is the only thing he will think of during death. Your previous attachments will not let you off so easily. It will require constant practice and effort. That is what the whole of Yoga is about – Abhyasa and Vairagya – to ceaselessly train the mind to think of one thing and ignore the rest. Ajamila was a spiritually oriented person before he took to sensual enjoyments. His spiritual impressions were quite strong even though he got diverted for a few years. And then on his death bed, his hidden but strong impressions came out and he remembered me.

Spirituality and Self-enquiry have to enter your veins, diffuse into your blood and vibrate in every cell of your body. Only then it will effortlessly come up in your mind. Currently, it is girls, money and fame that is vibrating in every cell of your body. Throughout the day, all your discussions will finally be related to one of those three things. They are the most popular websites in the internet of you mind. So, obviously, when you do a Google search for any keyword, they will somehow lead to the websites of girl, money and fame within your mind. When you are young, you dream of your future related to these three things, and when you are old, you think of the past related to these three things. By ‘fame’ it need not be something big. It may be small and petty recognitions from the people around you, your family and relatives etc. They may be small or big – it varies only in degree – but finally you munch primarily only these three. And it is not necessary that you think only pleasant things. You are now young and unmarried. So you dream only of a pleasant future. But when you are married you will start thinking about both the joy and the difficulties associated with these three. Then ‘Girl’ will be replaced by ‘Family’ (not fully ;) ). And when you are old, you will advertise your past glory (?) or brood over the misery related to these three.”

Ego – “So, how to change this pattern of thinking? It seems to be very difficult.”

Krishna – “Arjuna asked me the same thing in the Gita and I answered with two key words – ‘Abhyasa’ and ‘Vairagya’ (Gita 6.34 and 6.35).

You cannot think of spirituality as a profession where you think of it for a specific period of time everyday and then forget about it. Yoga is a way of life. It should slowly begin to define everything about you. The internet of your mind is constantly active and opening some website (thought) or the other. Currently money, girl and fame are at the top visited websites. Now, you have to bring thoughts (websites) related to spirituality to the top of the ratings in your internet (mind). And it can be done only gradually, not suddenly. For that, you have to slowly begin controlling everything around you. The type of movies that you watch, the type of discussions that you have with others, the type of people you mingle with, the type of songs you listen to, the type of food you eat (important!), the type of books you read and so on. With this you will increase the number of hits to spiritual websites and reduce the hits to other websites. Increased hits on spiritual thoughts is Abhyasa and reduced hits on all other thoughts is Vairagya. Both have to happen together. Inch by inch you will progress and one day you will notice that your entire day is spent thinking about spirituality and in self-enquiry.”

Ego – “So, one day I will be contemplating on spiritual concepts before my sleep?”

Krishna – “Definitely. Consequently even in your dream, spirituality will continue. It is as effective as in the wakeful state. And if you are performing Self-enquiry in the wakeful state, the same enquiry will continue even in the dream state. If you realize your Self in the dream, it is same as realizing it in the wakeful state. No difference.

You can use the pre-sleep period as the yardstick of your progress. Note the kind of thoughts before sleep once in a few days. As I told some time back, do not suppress, feel bad etc when other thoughts come. It will only make them more powerful. At the same time try not involve too much when other thoughts come. You just do the necessary things during your daily activities and just patiently wait for the changes to happen in the internet of your mind. The changes are gradual and only those changes which are gradual will sustain. Rate of change may vary – fast, slow – but it has to be gradual, not a jump. No website can become #1 in a day”.

Ego – “Controlling all sense inputs - isn’t that Pratyahara?”

Krishna – “Oh good, you remember! Once that is done for some time, Dharana will become more and more evident (it will always be there, now it will only get intensified). Dharana means being able to keep the mind focused on one particular line of thoughts, or even one thought. In the beginning it may be only a fraction of a second, but slowly it will sustain for longer period of time. That means the required spiritual website has come to #1 ranking. But then still some effort is required to maintain it at #1. When that is also practiced for some time the website will become so popular that it will effortlessly stay as #1. That means the thought will come so easily and sustain that you only have to watch it. That is Dhyana – meditation. Even here, it is not that Dhyana was never done and it happened only after Dharana. Everyone does effortless thinking of a thought (say, a movie) for some time. But it fluctuates from one thought to another very often, and hence will not be evident. But, when Dhyana on one thought is also practiced for some time, then all other companies will shut down their websites since they have no visitors. Or your company will start acquiring all other websites and converting them into your websites. This will result in different layers of Samadhi. The more spirituality has spread in the internet of your mind, the more it has killed other impressions of the mind, the higher the Samadhi.

As I told you long back, all 8 limbs of Yoga are practiced together, not one after the other. There is a constant competition in your mind among the thoughts to come to #1 position. Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi keeps happening for different thoughts. But they fluctuate so rapidly among several websites as you do not know which one should be held on to. There is no stability in the stock market! One day you think very strongly about one girl and the other day another girl! So, you do Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi to a little degree on one girl for a few days. But the moment it comes to #1 and starts acquiring other thoughts of the mind, another girl comes and crashes the current girl website (thought). And after some time suddenly money will come to #1. This way it is very unstably fluctuating. So, it is impossible to get Samadhi with worldly things as you do not hold on to one object for long time. It is only possible with the concept of God, devotion, self-enquiry etc.”

Ego – “Looks like a long process!”

Krishna – “If you blindly and mechanically do it, it is long. But Self-Enquiry is the easiest way to perform all this. When the curiosity ‘Who Am I’ burns in you, automatically you will stop visiting all junk websites in the head. All the above will happen very fast. Or if you are inclined towards devotion, then also it is easier and faster. And if you are both an enquirer and a devotee, then it is super-rapid!”

14. The Numb Limb

<< Previous - Convolutions Compiled

The Yoga sutras as propounded by Patanjali Maharshi is the base for the Yoga system of philosophy. This was later named as Raja Yoga. The system has 196 aphorisms (sutras) divided into 4 chapters. In the second chapter (Sadhana Pada), the 8 limbed Yoga (Ashtanga Yoga) is proposed. The term ‘Ashtanga Yoga’ is quite popular everywhere, but only few are aware about the details of the 8 limbs. The eight limbs are: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.

Among these eight limbs, only Asana, Pranayama and to some extent Dhyana are quite popular and the rest are simply ignored by modern Gurus. The first wrong notion about Ashtanga Yoga is that they are eight steps. Because of this notion, modern people think that if they can bend their body like a rubber toy, they can ignore the previous steps of Yama and Niyama. But these eight are not steps, they are limbs. All the eight have to be practiced simultaneously to reap the benefits. Then somebody may ask “How do I practice Samadhi directly?”. The answer is as follows.

In your 6^th standard, you studied Mathematics, Science, English etc. In your 7^th standard, you again studied Mathematics, Science, English etc. Why did you study the same subjects again? Then you will say that the topics were different. And in some cases, even if the topics were same, the coverage will be more. As we proceed into higher classes, we go deeper into the subjects. So subjects remain the same, but the depth increases. In the same way, a beginner also practices the same eight limbs as a master of Yoga. No difference in the subjects, but only in the depth differs. So, even a beginner can actually practice Samadhi at a very superficial level, details of which I would like to present in a dedicated post later. Another argument that follows is that we cannot afford to study just one or two subjects thoroughly and ignore the rest. Even if we get 100 in Asana and Pranayama and a 0 in Pratyahara, Dharana etc, we will remain where we are, without progress. All the 8 subjects are to be studied and practiced together.

The first two, Yama and Niyama are moral and ethical values.

Yamas – Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (continence) and Aparigraha (non-accumulation).

Niyamas – Shoucha (cleanliness), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (austerity), Swadhyaya (self study), Ishwara Pranidhana (surrender to the almighty).

But even they can be viewed from a different perspective. For e.g. please refer to the post ‘Convolutions Compiled’ where the usually ignored aspect of Satya is presented – being truthful to ourselves. Similarly please refer to ‘The Upturned Priorities’ to have a glimpse of ‘Aparigraha’ (non-accumulation of wealth) and ‘Santosha’ (contentment). ‘Tapas’ – never die attitude, is perhaps very well presented in ‘The Big Boost’ and ‘The Non-cooperation Movement’. The need and struggle of 'Brahmacharya' is discussed in 'The Strong Weakness' and 'The Non-cooperation Movement'.

So, instead of explaining Yamas and Niyamas separately, I thought we will discuss these as and when the need comes in between certain posts, same as how we have already done in the earlier posts. Also, as we proceed in this post and the next posts on Raja Yoga, we will notice how interlinked and inseparable these 8 limbs are. In this post I wanted to highlight one particular limb which is happily forgotten by everyone.

There is one limb of Raja Yoga which is all the time ignored by everybody – Pratyahara. The only thing told about this limb is ‘Control your sense organs’ and nobody talks about the ‘how’ of it. On one hand Asana and Pranayama are greatly explained with books after books and on the other hand, just one sentence is available for Pratyahara! How can we afford to do this for one whole subject of the whole course? Will you study one whole book for English, and just one sentence for Mathematics? So, I had to do some self study (Swadhyaya!) as no faculty is available for teaching this particular subject.

Before we explain Pratyahara, let us first understand the basic concept of Prana and Pranayama. Consider two people having a particular sweet dish. One person may be enjoying the taste of that item very much and expressing his happiness. Another person may be simply eating without making any big fuss, he neither likes it nor hates it. Now, what is the difference between the two people? In scientific terms, energy expenditure was very much same – both used their hands to take the sweet, both used their teeth to chew and both swallowed. So, in terms of the activity, there was hardly any difference. Then how do we explain the different experiences of the two? To explain that we introduce a new term ‘Prana’. The first person spent more Prana and bought more experience, the second person spent less Prana and hence bought less experience. So, although the activity is exactly the same, experience may vary depending on how much Prana we spend. In even simpler terms, the first person lived more (bought more sensual experience) and the second person lived less (bought less sensual experience) when eating the sweet dish. In fact, we usually use this phrase “Live your life to the fullest” which simply means that ‘Spend your Prana as much as possible to buy as much sense experiences as possible’.

So, money buys objects and Prana buys experiences. Even if the object is the same, experiences bought from it may vary depending on Prana expenditure. And when there is no Prana (dead body), object becomes useless. Then, Pranayama, as the name suggests is regulation of Prana. So, straightaway it becomes evident that breathing practices alone cannot become Pranayama. Regulating breathing is one way of regulating Prana, but cannot be the whole of Pranayama. Pranayama probably means regulation of lifestyle itself – food, speech, sleep (how much, how, what, where and when) along with breath regulation. Then, food moderation, fasting, observing mouna (silence), regulating sleep hours all come under Pranayama along with breathing practices. Pranayama seems like finance management of Prana by controlling all the external activities of the body.

Now let us see what Pratyahara could be. As a practice of Pranayama, suppose I have decided to cut down my food. I am having 3 meals a day with no cow-like-munching in between. But I am continuously munching inside my head! My old habits are still very strong and at 11 in the morning I want to munch some snacks, at 4 in the evening I want to eat some junk. But I am forcefully controlling and suppressing. This will not last long. I may hold for a week or two, then I will again go back to munching whenever I see food. So, until the impressions are cleared from the head, external practice becomes difficult. But the mental impressions get cleared only when we practice in our activities. This is our old enemy – the vicious vortex – which has to be broken and made into a virtuous vortex. So, we have knotted inter-dependency - between external practice and mental impressions. We already saw that regulation of the former is Pranayama. The regulation of the latter forms Pratyahara – controlling the impressions in the mind by regulating the inputs through the senses. When both are practiced together, they complement each other, and the vicious vortex slowly gets transformed into a virtuous vortex (as explained in 'The Big Boost').

Suppose you are in a mall and have 10 Lakh rupees with you, and nobody to question you. Now you go crazy. You don’t know what to buy and what not to. You go on grabbing and purchasing things after things, without questioning yourself whether you really need it or not. And then you come home with a truckload of things and dump them all in one room. The next day suppose again you get 10 Lakh rupees and you bring another truckload of items and dump it in that room. Now, you do not know which item to use and what to unpack. They are just there in a disorderly manner, occupying space and looking messy.

Till now it was only a hypothetical situation but now we change the tracks into reality. The money that you spent was actually your Prana. The items were not actually bought with money, but bought with your Prana and impressions were stored in your head. You looked at a hundred items, grasped them all and stored all of them with desires attached in your head. This way you went on spending Prana, purchasing the reflection of the items and storing them all in the room of your mind. Your mind now has become a dump yard. All items are just there but you don’t know what to think first and what to think next. The moment you sit quietly without any activity, all the impressions are going to perform a parade in your head. Each item will perform a march-past in front of you saluting at you and smiling at you! How can you possibly practice ‘Dhyana’ (meditation) with all this garbage in the mind? Impossible!

Pratyahara is stopping this very collecting and storing of unnecessary information through your senses. And that is what the word literally means ‘Reversed Food’ i.e. the food of the senses. No doubt this is an ongoing project. We have to begin regulating what we see, what we talk, what we hear, what we eat etc. And even if we see/hear/talk/eat, we should not drool over it and make the impression very strong in the mind. Just as you meticulously plan your money expenditure, start regulating and restricting the Prana expenditure even in the smallest activity. So, Pratyahara is actually a subtler Pranayama. Pranayama was controlling the grosser activities, and Pratyahara is controlling the subtler information flow itself. As we saw earlier, more than the activity, the experience bought from the activity is our focus. Seeing itself does not cause any harm, but madly desiring for everything that we see makes us spend more Prana and grab reflections of whatever we see throughout the day. The moment desire starts sprouting you ask yourself the question ‘Do I really need it?’. ‘Wants’ are greedy, but ‘Needs’ will be genuine requirements.

Pratyahara and Pranayama go hand in hand. As a result, slowly and gradually we have to cut down sense pleasures one by one. But rest assured, you will see significant progress within one year if you start today. For e.g. if you are watching 2-3 movies in a week, cut it down to one movie. After 2-3 months cut it down further to 1 movie in 10 days and so on. Similarly, gradually taper off the number of times you eat out, number of times you munch junk in a day etc. There will be so many of them to be tapered off and will vary from person to person. It has to be done in such a way that the mind does not recognize that there has been some change. Suppression never wins, nor does free venting. The only feasible solution is gradual withdrawal. ‘The Big Boost’ post deals with this process in detail.

As mentioned earlier, ‘Living the life to the fullest’ by enjoying sense pleasures without limits is a gateway to misery. And mastery over senses by moderating the sense pleasures is a stepping stone to something greater. When Pranayama and Pratyahara are practiced this way, automatically mind becomes clean and orderly (Shoucha). Thoughts are not scattered here and there nor are they dumped in a heap. All the thoughts are systematically arranged and you can precisely take out what you exactly want with ease. Meditation becomes automatic and Samadhi becomes spontaneous, as it really should be.