Learn to Meditate by distant learning.

Towards the new dawn of mind

 

 

After the success of meditation workshops, Yoga of Mind  introduces a basic 5 week meditation by distant learning for just $50

Learn meditative techniques by lessons delivered online. Don’t leave the comfort zone of your house but learn to meditate following this simple step up step daily practice explained in the lessons.

this course  will enable you 

1.       To become aware of the movements of mind

2.       To learn breathing techniques to calm down the wandering mind

3.       To become aware of expansion and contraction of consciousness

4.       To develop coping mechanism for anxiety and stress

5.       To set habits of mind

For details contact: nickie.bokil@gmail.com

Durga: The Goddess of Inner Strength

                                                
                       (In photo: Goddess Tulzabhavani from Tulzapur in district Solapur, Maharastra, India)

Durga, the Goddess of Inner Strength.

Shree Ganeshayan Namah ! Om Aim Rhim Saraswatai Namah !

 

Durga in the inner world

Goddess Durga is the popular Goddess of Indian pantheon. She is the power that empowers and guides us through conflict ridden situations. When in trouble, tuning in to Durga energies will move one out of crisis. She has the power to move mountains, give strength and change wrong to right.

An archetypal Durga personality displays leadership skills, is a multitasker, can suggest solutions to problem, does not give up easily, has bigger visions and most importantly has a capacity to actualise that vision.

 

Gods and Demons war

In India, myths have been a powerful medium of instruction. It ensured that esoteric knowledge was accessible to common man and did not remain a domain of intellectuals.

Devi Mahatmya or Devi Saptashati is one such esoteric text. It revolves around major encounters between Gods and Demons. This battle is an allegory of ongoing conflict which goes around in our consciousness between the latent godly and demonic tendencies. The text mentions the battle goes on for 100 years which also rough human life span accentuating the fact that our mind is an eternal battleground of good and evil forces as long as we live.

 

It is believed we are born with past life impressions (sanskaras) which means we always carry a baggage from the birth. Our good or bad actions (karmas) are carried forward in life’s balance sheet till we reach nirvana state and dissolve in the divine consciousness.

Our behaviour although influenced by our social setting, education, financial status as an outward factor but inwardly (Hindu philosophy emphasis is on moving inwards not outwards) the qualities of higher consciousness such as contentment, humility, generosity, vigour, patience etc are godly tendencies. As opposing to this, demonic qualities of consciousness can be enumerated as excessive desire, inflated ego, arrogance, selfishness, lustful love, and compulsive- obsessive behaviour, hard heartedness and many more evils.

In contemporary society, the demonic qualities are displayed by power monger politicians, ruthless bureaucrats, manipulators of all sorts, control freak corporate bosses, backstabbers.

A little success in life inflates egocentric behaviour to such an extent that the demonic predispositions of ambition, cut throat competition, greed, uncontrollable anger, hatred, cold bloodedness overpower the higher qualities of consciousness.

The resultant effect is the manifestation of demons:

Shumbha-Nishumba: in the myth yogic austerities give them invincible powers, In our times with hard work people reach pinnacle of success but inherent demonic tendencies invade their intellect making them think they have right to rule the world. These demons threaten the sense of justice and higher consciousness.

Raktbij: in the myth every drop of this demon's blood  is able to clone another demon. This Raktbij today is our unhappy mind always craving for more like cancer cells. There is no limit how much one can accumulate; the appetite is ravenous and uncontrollable till every moral limit is transgressed.

 Mahishasur: in the myth tricks the Goddess. He has buffalo head but metamorphoses into different beastly creatures. This Mahishasur is none other but our compulsive-obsessive mind enslaving the body to desires.

Durdhara and Durmukha: are tendencies of anger, bad mouth or abusive behaviour. Durmukha actually means ugly face; anger makes the most beautiful face ugly.

Chanda-Munda: our demonic tendencies which serves the false egocentric self with material riches, pride in spiritual success, attachments and infatuations

 

Durga is as a transformative force.

Surrendering to her energies allows us to bring this inner conflict of good and evil into conscious awareness. In  Devi Saptashati, the Gods bow down before the higher consciousness which replenishes them with Shakti to destroy the lower energies of human consciousness. When the lower tendencies are dissolved, the demonic soul or the lost soul comes home to the higher consciousness.

On universal level, Durga energy can give political and social consciousness. These energies are visible in a person who works for greater good of the society either uplifting the marginal or championing a cause. Durga energies give fuel to fight injustice often seen in outbreaks of a rebellion or uprisings.

On personal level, when we realise from the deepest inside something is wrong and needs to be changed, at that time Durga energies are working in us. Durga Shakti gives us strength and a sense of direction. The intense will that comes from within in people who want to change addictions or self-destructive habits is Durga Shakti. In more inward search of Durga energy, she brings the radical spiritual awakening known as Kundalini or Shaktipath. This is the most evolutionary inner transformation which opens gates of creativity, love, highly intellectual capacities. This awakened Durga Shakti is a liberating force.

Tuning in to Durga energies through meditation will help to understand the fluctuation of our consciousness.  The moments  when we feel great love, humility, happiness, at that time Goddess energies are moving around. On the other hand when we feel threatened, helpless, without directions, these are the hints to invoke the Durga energies to overpower the weak vibrations. The path of Goddess is all about expansion and contraction of our inner consciousness in our inwards journey to attend liberation from the demonic tendencies of human mind.

References:

1.   Devi Saptashati

2.   Satya Prakash Chaudhary, ‘The Glory of Goddess’

3.   Works of Sally Kempton.

 

 

 

shree swami samarth: The Divine Feminine

shree swami samarth: The Divine Feminine: (photo of Goddess Mahalaxmi and Siddha Guru Akkalkot Swami in his feminine form). The Divine Feminine Shree Ganeshayan Namah ! Om ...

The Divine Feminine

(photo of Goddess Mahalaxmi and Siddha Guru Akkalkot

Swami in his feminine form).

The Divine Feminine
Shree Ganeshayan Namah !
Om Aim Rhim Sarawatai Namah!
Goddess worship is done to invoke our inherent life force also known as ‘Shakti’ or power. We are embedded with a masculine and feminine force, masculine is known as consciousness or awareness and feminine force is ‘Shakti’ or power which stirs the consciousness.
Hinduism and Buddhism have developed the Tantric traditions where it is emphasised that power is essentially feminine. It comes from inner feminine source. So when masculine needs power it has to derive its own feminine source (allegorically numerous Hindu myths instruct when Gods are helpless, they have to summon the divine feminine force to gain victory over the demons of our inherent tendencies such as greed, lust, desire, anger etc.)
Quantum physics researches point out that the base of everything we touch, feel, see is a subtle vibratory energy. Similarly the ancient yogis who were scientist of their time (carried a self-enquiry on existential questions of life such as: who am I? why I am here and where do I go from here) also experienced this subtle vibratory energy which they called ‘Shakti’. This ‘Shakti’ has five facets namely:

1. Power to be conscious or fact that we live a day to day life
2. Power to feel ecstasy
3. Power to have will/desire
4. Power to gain knowledge
5. Power to behave/act

Shakti is the very essence of our life. We live, think, behave, emote, become aware, and learn because of ‘Shakti’ or the presence of this feminine life force in us. The yogis adopted myth galore of different Goddess energies so that we get tuned into these different energies. In the worship of their different forms as MahaKali/MahaSaraswati/Mahalaxmi we are connected to their sacred powers which are already latent in us. The very life force is feminine in nature which transcends gender association.
Each one, man or woman is endowed with this Goddess energy. When we move inside, we learn to recognise these energies; it makes this force active and it begins to flow. Each Goddess power has a peculiar quality; therefore, meditation on these Goddesses aligns us with their energies. These energies manifest as follows:

1. Durga energy helps us clear obstructions in life
2. Laxmi energy brings out qualities of generosity, fairness, contentment.
3. Kali energy enables us to fight injustice and take right actions. It is a liberating force as well.
4. Sita energy makes us do sacrifices for greater good.
5. Saraswati energy gives success in education, creative field, taking mindful decision in life.
6. Parvati energy allows celebration of conjugal relationship.

 
Therefore Goddess worship is necessary to awaken on multiple levels. Engaging in  ‘Shakti’ worship one becomes stronger within and is able understand ones own psyche.
Nine days from today is celebrated as ‘Navratri’ festival in India, which is also time to invoke this divine feminine or force of sacred feminism. This feminism is not political feminism of woman’s equality but mystical communion with the divine feminine.
(Reference: works of Sally Kempton, a yogini)

Meditation and Breath

I hope the blogs on Niyamas were enjoyable and easy to follow. As we progress in yoga, there are a few concepts that need to be understood to attain a thoughtless state of mind. It is important first of all to understand that breathing and thinking are related to each other. The heavier we breathe, agitated our mind is. The way we breathe therefore, impacts our meditation. Sometimes, it is impossible to still the mind as endless thoughts keep coming up on closing the eyes

So the first step towards silencing the mind is to regulate our breathing.

Here we come across two yoga terminologies prana vayu and apana vayu. Prana vayu is the subtle energy motion in our body. It is concentrated in the upward part of the body with brain being its centre as well as the third eye and chest area. Apana vayu is dominant in the lower part of the body with its seat in the root chakra. Apana vayu enables us to eliminate waste from our body as its movement is downward and outward. This vayu is dominant in women as it is required for childbirth and menstruation. 

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However, we cannot see any of these vayus as they are in form of subtle motion. In yoga philosophy, it is believed  thoughts are produced by the movement of prana and apana vayu. When the prana vayu is disturbed mind becomes unsteady. There are times when we have a chaotic state of  mind whereas at other times it is calm and peaceful. Similarly, when thinking becomes intense it is called rajasic state, when thinking is passive; it is called tamasic state, which is a lethargic state, but not conducive to spiritual progress. For spiritual upliftment, one needs to reach a satvic state which produces bliss, thoughtlessness and allows concentration in meditation. 

In Normal course prana vayu and apana vayu are moving through left (ida) and right (pingala) nostrils. In meditation, the yogi has to endeavor to direct the prana and apana vayu towards the central channel, which runs through the spinal chord. This subtle channel is called Sushumna. When prana and apana vayu move through this central channel, mind becomes still, devoid of thought waves and the satvic state or bliss can be experienced.

The control of this subtle prana can be achieved by regulated or rhythmic physical breathing pattern.  When the breath is regulated then mind becomes calm, energy is burnt slowly, health and youth is achieved and one can live longer. This seems very simple but it takes ongoing practice to reach that state; so the first step would be to learn some basic rhythmic breathing exercises or pranayama. Pranayama recommended at the initial stage is called Anulom-Vilom pranayama: which is breathing through alternate nostrils in the pattern of inhale-exhale at the early stage and inhale-retention-exhale at intermediate to advance stage.

(Caution: people with heart or any other medical condition should not follow this breathing exercise as self help. Please work under strict guidance of remedial yoga therapist so that you do worsen your medical condition.)

 For a normal healthy person:

At first stage: for one month

1.   Sit comfortably with back straight

2.   Put your thumb on the right nostril press the right nostril and exhale through left nostril

3.   Keeping the right nostril pressed, inhale through the left nostril (4counts), press the left nostril with ring and little finger, and exhale (8 counts) the breath from the right nostril removing the thumb.

4.   Now repeat the process with the right nostril, inhale…press the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril removing your ring and little finger

5.   Continue this for atleast 10-15 mintues

In the intermediate stage

Inhale-retention of breath –exhale with alternate nostril.

This is anulom-vilom pranayama and in a few months as breath becomes rhythmic, mind will be able to still down better during meditation. It is recommended to do this rhythmic breathing before starting to meditate.

Once the breathing is regulated, mind will calm down allowing  inward focus during meditation. 

Reference:

Hathayoga Pradipika: Yogi Svatmarma (author) commentary  Swami Vishnudevananda, Motilal Banrasidass , 2008.

Learn to enjoy the silence of mind 1

We live in challenging times. On one hand human intelligence has enabled us to make huge technological advancements. The modern life is comfortable compared to the olden days. There is constant endeavour to improve the ways to live the physical existence whereas hardly ever a thought is spared for spiritual development. Often the word spiritual rings wrong bells and it is always associated with religion. However, Spiritual development is our connection with our inner self. It is our ability to establish a rapport with our inner self to contemplate on existential questions such as who am I? Why I am here? Our understanding of our self is limited to our name, title, professional degrees accumulated over the years, social status  in the society etc but no effort is ever made to question why this existence.

We are preoccupied by associating I am Mr.ABC or Ms XYZ, name, social role, and job position but ill concerned that beyond that outer personality there is inner consciousness. We go about our life planning for achievements in terms of income; home etc which is not a bad thing but the reality of our existence is whatever external things we accumulate we will  have to leave them in this world when death knocks our door. Therefore, while planning investments and working towards its achievement, there should be a plan to walk on the path to reach the inner self. It is an investment without cost. There is no need of a broker or expensive schemes. This path to inner world does need not any cash investment, neither mastercard  nor visa card nor interest free terms. It is free; it is open to all without any distinction of religion, race or social status. It is absolutely free and that’s the best part of it.

It is just investment of time from our daily life which take us long way.

Establishing this connection with the inner self at an early age is extremely important as it will lead to a balanced life, success in education, career, relationship and most importantly finances. There is too much attraction to the external world. It is lucrative, it can be felt; it gives a sense of life but only when the focus of mind is taken from outwards to inwards it will make the mind still.

Once this rapport with inner self is established, it yields unbelievable results. To mention a few: peacefulness, better anger management, improvement in food habits, contentment, deep sleep, stress management, reduced consumerism, more connectivity to people around without the need of gadgets. Moreover, it will lead to better health conditions, ability to appreciate simple life, to love and discover nature. Wow isn’t it tempting.

Just a daily practice of 15-20 minutes of sitting in silence is required. This silence is so addictive that none of the mind altering drinks or drugs can give that pleasure and the effect is it enables to function in an uplifted state.

Everyone should meditate. Meditation is not about being a Hindu or a Buddhist. It does not require you to shave your head, wear saffron robes rudraksha beads or marks on the forehead or become vegetarian. Meditation is all about connecting to the higher self. It is just an art of stilling the mind. We can sit still physically but our mind cannot sit still easily. In our modern life we have stress due work, rising cost of living, lack of rest which manifests in health problems such as migraines, indigestions, backaches, knee aches, heart diseases and cancer. We relax physically by sleeping or taking a day off work but de we ever relax our mind or relax internally. Have you tried any tricks to relax your mind?  So meditation is an art to relax internally.

 

Here are a few ways to get this practice started:

You can do this at night time before sleep or early in the morning:

Sitting down comfortably by supporting your back against a wall. Keeping the body loose breathe in gently count up to 4/5/6 counts as you inhale and exhale to double count of 8/10/12 for about 10 minutes.

Closing the eyes, keeping the body relax, let the vision turn inwards. Keep breathing in gently and breathing out gently. While the process of breathing goes on let the attention be focussed on rise and fall of breathe in the abdomen. If thoughts disturb or mind gets into thinking, focus the attention back  on breathe. As the attention begins to focus on the breathe, mind will stop wandering. The very moment attention is focussed on rise and fall of breathe in the abdomen, inner connected is established. Try it for 15-20 minutes at least and gradually increase the time

 

Initially, the focus will be shorter but with perseverance, it will get better. Remember any medication or fitness regime needs regularity to show   results. Mind has to be trained to behave itself. Once a habit of mind is developed it will stop wandering and turn its focus inwards.

 

Bye Bye from Australia

This is just a beginning….12 years of Spiritual Exile

All of us are on spiritual path of self-realisation. Once we choose this path we have to keep walking as turning back is unlikely. It is not an easy task as it sucks the life out of you. Some stages are challenging than the others. I embarked on this journey around 2009. Before that my practice was basic just lighting a lamp every evening  in a little puja room and on Thursday offering bhog  to Swami Maharaj. However, before 2009 every morning I used be awakened by Swami’s appearance in dream of which I never bothered to find out any meaning. Then Mukund kaka came in my life which began my real spiritual practice encompassing agnihotra, rudra abhishekh and Naamjaap meditation. Then onwards many sincere seekers such as Rucha, Vandana, Nirupa, Shefali, Puru and Deepak came into my life. Each one of them was at different level of spiritual maturity.

On this spiritual path,  I have realised one has to have open mind and be unbiased of different traditions. During this journey, Swami Maharaj will bring into your life people from different traditions who will try to teach you something new. Please be open to any new learning that you come across as it is good for your progress. Do not be stubborn with the idea that such and such medium or guide is my only learning source  and rest I don’t care.

We all are fortunate to have  Mukund Kaka  as our guide, he is the strength  of our practice. But there will be others too who will enhance your learning. Just like in a school or college situation you have to study languages, mathematics, sciences, history-geography to qualify for year 10 or 12 exams. Similarly to reach self- realisation these encounters with various experts adept in different areas is extremely important. All these experiences are necessary  for  all round development of our mind. Believe me it will not take you away from Swami, on the contrary, it will bring you closer to Him.

On my spiritual path, Mukundada Kaka laid the foundation stone, then I met Chattre Maushi (householder yet immersed in complete devotion from her I learnt many valuable things),  Didier Hector and Ware Kaka (both Kriya yogis), Lisa  (Clairvoyant of kabala tradition), Rene Morlet(Buddhist yogi), Dr. Dhekne (Swami Bhakt), Kalibaba( Aghori kali Bhakt), Hugh Gurney (Shakitpath and Shaivism scholar),  Aai Aarolkar (Devi Bhakt) and my dear friend Nirupa who is spiritually very mature who guided me during difficult moments, now it is Latkar Kaka(Swami Sanchar). All these people came from different traditions of spirituality. They taught me different ways. All this learning was necessary. From the Kriya yogis, I learnt the Omkar Sadhana of Mahaavtar Babaji which benefitted the chakras in the body, kali baba taught me the importance of Devi upsana as Devi is Shakti Swaroop, her worship as kula devata or mahamaya is necessary as she gives fuel to the fire of Sadhana. Although Swami has shown Devi roop, He has asked us to not ignore the importance of Kula Devata. In our Rudra practice we do Shree Sukta as well because the highest union is that of Shiva and Shakti. Then the Buddhists have a very advanced practice which teaches us to live in present with mindfulness meditation. Lisa acted as a medium and channelled my energies in right direction.  Hugh Gurney a friend I met in Melbourne by chance at a temple had Shaktipath experience once in my house when he was visiting us. He looked at Swami’s photo and Swami gave him Shaktipath through His eyes. From him I learnt mysteries of Shaktipath and Kashmiri Shaivism. Now I am moving back to India to my home to begin a new life. I am not the same person who left India 12 years ago. This does not mean and please do not misunderstand me I have not realised the self as yet. I am nowhere near there as I am still troubled by fluctuating chitta-vrittis. It is just a beginning. It is long way it might take a few more births but at least it has started.

So my friends persevere hard, I am sure some of you must be already very advance experiencing more delightful things,  nevertheless, keep making progress on the path you have chosen. All these varieties will enrich your life and bring you closer to our beloved Swami Maharaj……