Ramakrishna and Kali

Ramakrishna was born in the Bengali village of Karmarpukar in 1836. He is believed to have been a living avatar, a divine incarnation. In the village he grew into a happy child who loved to sing and play games. He was gifted with spiritual intuition and showed no interest in school. He preferred to spend his time in the company of wandering monks and sadhus listening to stories from the scriptures. The village folk used to worry about him, for he would sometimes go into ecstatic trances, appearing to lose all outward consciousness.

When still a young man, Ramakrishna took up the position of officiating priest in a newly built Kali temple on the banks of the Ganges. There he spent all his time praying to the divine mother to reveal herself to him. But he always retained the innocence and freshness of a child. If the temple was closed he used to retreat to the forest and meditate, discarding his dhoti and Brahmin cord. He cared only for Kali, and his heart ached for a vision of her. So great was his longing, that one day in the temple, he ran blindly towards a sword on the wall to kill himself. But before the blade pierced his body he collapsed, and his consciousness was flooded by wave upon wave of crystal clear blissful light. Thus the divine mother became alive within him.

People began to think that he was truly mad, for his behaviour became more and more unfitting for an orthodox Brahmin priest. He would offer prasad to Kali and then eat it himself. He decorated his body with sandalwood paste. Sometimes he would sit for puja in the temple and go into an ecstatic trance for hours together.

One evening the owner of the temple, Mathur, was watching Ramakrishna pace up and down outside his room. As he walked one way he took the form of Kali. As he turned and walked back, he assumed the form of Shiva. Mathur fell at Ramakrishna's feet in awe.

Early one morning when Ramakrishna went down to the river's edge to collect flowers, he saw a small boat draw up alongside one of the banks. A holy lady stepped ashore, dressed in ochre robes and carrying a few books. An air of purity and deep peace surrounded her and Ramakrishna believed her to be the divine mother. Her name was Bhairavi and she stayed with Ramakrishna for three years. She accepted him as her son and initiated him into tantric practices.

Ramakrishna also learnt Vedanta from Tota Puri, a sannyasin of the Puri sect. But his teachings were non - dualistic and he could not accept the dualistic worship of Ramakrishna. He told him to separate his consciousness from the vision of the divine mother if he wanted to realise Brahman, but this Ramakrishna could not do. One day Tota Puri became angry and with a sharp piece of glass he struck Ramakrishna's forehead between the eyebrows. Ramakrishna instantly entered into nirvikalpa samadhi for three days. Tota Puri was amazed, for it had taken him many years to attain the same experience. However, Tota Puri still did not fully accept Ramakrishna's worship of Kali.

It happened that Tota Puri contracted dysentery. The illness lasted so long and he felt so ill that he decided to give his body to the Ganges. Wading out into the river, he kept on walking and walking. But the water did not drown him and he reached the other side unharmed. He sat down on the bank and laughed heartily at the power of the divine mother and her play of maya. The next day he went to Ramakrishna and offered obeisance to Kali.

Ramakrishna was so immersed in the spirit of the divine mother that he forgot he was bound to the body. She dwelt within him and he saw everything as her manifestation. During his life he led many people to know and love her, for he would talk to her, laugh with her and obey her as if she were his friend and mother. "In this body there are two people," he said, "Kali and her devotee." Ramakrishna's whole life was a hymn to Kali.

Swami Vedvyasananda Saraswati

Source: Yoga Magazine, October 1977

Trataka - Concentrated Gazing

Trataka is a. deceptively simple but powerful practice. Trataka means 'to gaze steadily at a fixed point' and there are two forms of the practice. One is 'bahiranga' or external trataka and the other is 'antaranga' or internal trataka. Bahiranga is easier to practise because one simply has to gaze at an object or symbol. However, antaranga trataka involves clear and stable inner visualisation of an object.

In the practice of trataka an object is gazed at until its subtle form manifests in front of the closed eyes. The point of concentration is usually a symbol or object which activates the inner potential and can absorb the mind. The symbol most commonly used is a candle flame, because even after the eyes are closed, the impression remains naturally for some time, and then antaranga trataka can easily be performed. The purpose of focusing the eyes on an external object is to arouse the internal vision and make it absolutely steady by stopping the eye movements.

Trataka is a process of concentrating the mind and curbing its oscillating tendencies. The one-pointed concentration of mind is termed 'ekagrata'. There are numerous distractions which obstruct ekagrata. Association and identification through the eyes and sight are major contributing factors to this leakage. Furthermore, the eyes move constantly, either in large movements (saccades), or tremors (nystagmus). 

Even when the eyes are focused on an external object the perception is always fluctuating due to these spontaneous movements. When the same object is constantly seen, the brain becomes accustomed or habituated, and soon stops registering that object. Habituation coincides with an increase of alpha waves indicating diminished visual attention to the external world. When alpha waves are produced it indicates that particular areas of the brain have ceased functioning. This is the case, not only with trataka, but with any practices of concentration. When the awareness is restricted to one unchanging sense stimulus, like touch or sound, the mind is 'turned off'. Complete absorption in a single perception induces withdrawal of contact with the external world.

Benefits

According to the 'Hatha Yoga Pradipika' of Swatmarama, 'Trataka eradicates all eye diseases, fatigue and sloth and closes the doorway creating these problems. It should carefully be kept secret like a golden casket." Trataka benefits not only the eyes but a whole range of physiological and mental functions. It is therapeutic in depression, insomnia allergy, anxiety, postural problems, poor concentration and memory.

Trataka unlocks the inherent energy of the mind and channelises it to the dormant areas of the unconscious. Yogi Swatmarama mentions the arousal of clairvoyance but other capacities such as telepathy, telekinesis, psychic healing, etc., can develop. 

Not only that, further results of one-pointedness of mind are strong willpower, improved memory and concentrative ability. Physiologically, trataka relieves eye ailments such as eye strain and headache, myopia, astigmatism and even early stages of cataract. The eyes become clear bright, able to see the reality beyond appearances.

Source: Yoga Magazine May 1991

The Divine Musician

Tansen was a great musician in the court of Emperor Akbar. One day, charmed by his music, Akbar said, "There is none who can equal you in music."

Tansen replied, "No, my lord, there is one person."

Akbar got curious. Tansen explained, "He is no ordinary person. His name is Haridas and he is a saint. He lives in Vrindavan and he is my guru." 

... 

Akbar wanted to invite Saint Haridas to the court to listen to his singing. Tansen replied, "He will not stir out of Vrindavan. Many have tried to persuade him but failed."

Akbar asked, "Can I hear his music? Can you take me there?" 

Tansen replied, "If you are willing to come disguised as my disciple, I can take you there and I will try to make him sing."

Akbar immediately agreed.

So, a disguised Akbar and Tansen left for Vrindavan. On reaching the place of the saint, both of them paid their respects to the saint. The saint did not sing at all. 

In the evening, Tansen started singing. While singing, he deliberately made a mistake. Immediately the saint corrected him and to explain the correction started singing. Akbar and Tansen sat spellbound listening to him. It was the most divine music that Akbar had ever heard. 

After some time, the saint was absorbed in meditation and fell unconscious. 

Akbar said, "You should be blessed to have such a teacher. How does he sing so well?"

Tansen replied, "He does not sing for mere mortals like us. He sings for God. That is why his music is so good."

The chakras and what they represent

The chakras are known as psychic centres. They are located at points in the physical body where there is direct interaction between the energies of a specific 'room' or department of the mind and the physical body.

Physically the interaction takes place via the dual media of the nervous system and the endocrine glands. The various departments of the mind, in this sense, are related to different levels and regions of expression and perception.

•Mooladhara, the lowest chakra, located at the perineum in men, and the cervix in women, is associated with self-identity and security, possessions, fears and inhibitions.

•Swadhisthana, located near the sacrum at the bottom of the spine, is associated with the unconscious, sexuality, joy and trust.

•Manipura, located in the spine behind the navel, is associated with personal power, dynamism and self-esteem.

•Anahata, located in the spine behind the heart, is connected to the emotions of love, compassion and forgiveness (as well as their counterparts, hate and revenge).

•Vishuddhi, located at the base of the neck, is associated with the various levels of communication with people, and with self-will, flowing with life.

•Ajna, located at the pineal gland behind the eyebrow centre, is associated with wisdom, intuition and discrimination – all the mental abilities.

Beyond there is Sahasrara, at the crown of the head, associated with our personal spiritual connection to the absolute.

Each centre is a powerhouse of some complexity and many experiences manifest when a chakra becomes more active.

Activation of the centres is a normal and necessary state in our lives, but it often happens in a haphazard fashion with lots of complications. But gentle and systematic stimulation of the chakras can be achieved via various yoga practices, especially mantra. Such gentle stimulation allows our abilities and effectiveness as human beings to increase without creating an overload or imbalance.

Awakening of the chakra energies is awakening of parts of our nature. To deal with the positive nature is easy, but to deal with the negative nature can be very difficult. It is often necessary to seek advice from a competent teacher or guide (guru).

By Swami Poornamurti Saraswati (Australia)

Source (Yoga Magazine: March 2002) Edited

Sufism

The whole concept of Sufism is to feel one- be one- with nature, with the universe. They develop this feeling of oneness through certain physiological movements which are called Sufi dance. It is a practice of movements which are spontaneous, movements which open up the creative aspects of consciousness.

They believe that the whole universe is in constant motion and that all the planets, all the stars, all other celestial bodies move in a rhythm; they move in co-ordination with each other. In order to experience that movement they practise dance, and it is a very special dance. In it they try to become one with the movement of the celestial bodies, with the vibration of the universe. That philosophy is not really very far from the yogic philosophy, because they follow the basic principle that man should attune himself with the movement, with the vibration of nature, of the universe.

If you read the mantra shastras which contain the science of mantra, they say the same thing- that the cause of the universe is sound. If you read the ancient Indian scriptures, they talk about hiranyagarbha, the cosmic egg which split open. When it split open, creation came into being. Scientists today use a similar principle or theory to explain creation - the 'big bang' theory: first there was a concentrated energy, then it cracked, it split, it exploded.

Sufis and the mantra yoga philosophy both believe that where there is movement there is a big probability of vibration; where there is vibration there is a big possibility of the existence of sound - whether audible and/or inaudible. Where there is sound, there is vibration, there is movement.

In a nutshell, Sufism is becoming aware of the movement which is existing in each and everything and if we think about it from our normal perspective, with our common understanding, we see it is one.

All their sayings are in the form of examples and parables, poems, little stories which convey the deep knowledge- and they allow that story to sink in so that you follow that conduct, those codes, disciplines, the way of living in a spontaneous way. It is not an enforced doctrine, it is a very spontaneous way of life lived from moment to moment.

By Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

(abridged)

Source: Yoga Magazine, May 1990

Sexual Attraction, kundalini

Sexual attraction and sexual drive are natural not only to man but to all living species. It is responsible for propagation. Therefore, in every species, sexual passion has been provided by nature as a very powerful drive. In salmon fish, and some insects, the male dies soon after copulation. The male of these species enjoys sex only once in his life. In spite of this, their species continue to multiply, which shows that the sexual drive is very powerful indeed.

The five parts responsible for sex drive

The brain is the source of this sexual drive. The control of sexual activity depends on your brain monitoring capacity. It is really dependent on a small part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which is about the size of one's thumbnail. Although it is so small, the hypothalamus controls very important feelings and sensations. So far, research has shown that the hypothalamus controls seven important feelings: thirst, hunger, sexual passion, bodily heat and cold, anger and allied passions, body growth, etc.

Below the part of the hypothalamus controlling the sexual drive, there is a link half an inch in length, which connects it to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is in the central part of the head. The link that connects this part of the hypothalamus to the pituitary can be termed the 'time clock mechanism'. This link has an important function similar to an alarm clock. In this time clock mechanism, many different hormones circulate between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. An increase in hormonal activity here is responsible for increased sexual drive.

The pituitary gland is linked through the bloodstream with the testicles or the ovaries. The hypothalamus, time clock mechanism, pituitary gland, testicles and ovaries are the five parts responsible for sexual drive. The feelings aroused in the part of the hypothalamus responsible for passion, move forcefully like a wave to the genital organs.

In man the reproductive system has been created with the most wonderful links to the brain. Relationships brought about through this instinct make for love and attachment. On the worldly level, family ties and social obligations arise from this basic instinct. On the spiritual level, however, this is the source of kundalini shakti and when united with Shiva, the consciousness principle in the brain, it brings about the flowering of all the higher human potentialities

(abridged)

By Dr. B. Ramamurthy, Madras

Source: Yoga Magazine, Oct 1982

Juicing: What are the health benefits?

Is juicing healthier than eating whole fruits or vegetables?

Answer

From Jennifer K. Nelson, R.D., L.D.

Juicing probably is not any healthier than eating whole fruits and vegetables. Juicing extracts the juice from fresh fruits or vegetables. The resulting liquid contains most of the vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals (phytonutrients) found in the whole fruit. However, whole fruits and vegetables also have healthy fiber, which is lost during most juicing.

Proponents say that juicing is better for you than is eating whole fruits and vegetables because your body can absorb the nutrients better and it gives your digestive system a rest from working on fiber. They say that juicing can reduce your risk of cancer, boost your immune system, help you remove toxins from your body, aid digestion, and help you lose weight.

But there's no sound scientific evidence that extracted juices are healthier than the juice you get by eating the fruit or vegetable itself. On the other hand, if you don't enjoy eating fresh fruits and vegetables, juicing may be a fun way to add them to your diet or to try fruits and vegetables you normally wouldn't eat. You can find many juicing recipes online or mix up your own combinations of fruits and vegetables to suit your taste.

If you do try juicing, make only as much juice as you can drink at one time because fresh squeezed juice can quickly develop harmful bacteria. And when juicing, try to keep some of the pulp. Not only does it have healthy fiber, but it can help fill you up. If you buy commercially produced fresh juice from a juicing stand or store, select a pasteurized product. Note that juices from some fruits and vegetables can contain more sugar than you might realize, and this can add unwanted calories and lead to weight gain.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com