Tag: yoga

Posted in Books

The one and only book that matters: ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ by Paramahamsa Yogananda.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Its a shame although I have known for years or perhaps decades, and that too being an ardent, born and practising Hindu, I still finally got to read this lifechanging book only very recently. Reading for months now from my desktop Kindle. About to finish. Who am I to even review God’s own writing. This book is not fictional and this book is for those who are born outside the Hindu India to understand about the Hindu philosophy/Hindu Dharma. Why, even all of us Indians could make the best use of Shri Yogananda ji’s excellent autobiography – the kind of which I have not come across so far. Not that I am a voracious reader. Being part of the Hindu society makes most things familiar to me. Still the book holds my interest totally and I kind of don’t want it to end. I have been reading rather slowly for that reason. REason for my slow reading is that, if I finish a book fast i forget it in a flash whereas slow reading helps me retain the subject matter for long.

Anyway, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Nothing more to add. Except that, in this dry desert that is my second residence, I experienced a total of 6 rain draps in a span of 2 weeks. 3 rain drops during a walk before national prayers were called for rain. That when I checked with my spouse who was walking besides me was refuted by him that I began doubting myself. As if to confirm my doubts, the week after the national prayers, 3 more subtle rain drops fell on me. Both the times, as it is my practice, I was chanting the Lalitha Sahasranama in my mind. I chant Sahasranama always in my mind while I go for walks. For me, IT WAS LALITHA ANNOUNCING HERSELF TO ME. Just cool 3. No more raindrops. Nobody else felt them. Just 3 + 3 = 6 that grazed my skin so softly, so feebly ,and that too the first one caressing my crown – my scalp. The beauty of faith. I leave it anyone who reads this to believe this or not. But I don’t have to be reading Yogananda ji to believe in my Lalitha. I am enjoying Her subtle leela with me for years now. Very recently She gave me another unbeatable vibe. A stone is a stone if that is what you believe in. An idol becomes God when you believe God dwells in the stone.

Blessed to be born a Hindu, blessed to have been born in my punya bhoomi Bharat (India). My birth is probably REQUESTED. Souls ask to be born in my country. Evolving of faiths happens only with the arrival of the Avatars. Only Hindu Dharma has been NON STOP producing saints and avatars, hundreds and even thousands of them, for centuries and centuries now.

Before I close this post, I add one incident from a friend’s life story. Her name was Bindhu. She was my bosom school friend’s sister. We met almost everyday at school. We drifted apart. She moved to her native state Kerala. Worked for a central government department. Became a mother to two beautiful daughters. Just into her 40s, she was afflicted with kidney cancer. Died within 3 months. But Bindhu was a follower of Sri Sri. She had completed her entire course of Art of Living and had perfected a particular breathing (Yoga) technique. As the course progressed, she was becoming detached from everyone. The course seemed to have brought in a change with her. Before she passed away, she told her sister that she was peaceful, she did not fear death as she kept seeing her last 7 births then for sometime or ever since she was bedridden (for a week’s time). That made her accept her current role and her current body as temporary abode. Her sense of attachment at that point of time sounded shocking to her parents and family. Her sister and my best buddy until today, was stunned. I am using original names here. Once she was detected with kidney cancer at an advanced stage and was not given any hope, Bindhu went to see Sri Sri for one last time. Gurudev paused for a moment at a distance and looked away it seems. HE KNEW without being told – that’s what my friend says. And Bindhu accepted her destiny. After hearing this real life incident, I think of the mahans, India is producing even today. Sri Sri – for the first time in my life, I want to listen to his speeches and follow his Art of living. As I have already chosen a path to nurture my spiritual instincts, I am hesitating that’s all. All this I am saying, happened just 15 years back. This is the beauty of my holy Bharat.

You missed something so precious and unmissable in your life, if you don’t read this book. So, it goes without saying that there is no excuse of any Hindu skipping it or missing it. I am too late but better late than never.

At the back of my mind is always the omnipresent Lalitha. Its like I cannot shake Her out of my system. She is there behind my thoughts and actions; behind my every second. The books has widened my horizons of thoughts.

The swamijis of the last century: Shirdi Baba, Ramana Maharishi, Ramakrishna Parahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Shri Lahiri Mahasiya, Shri Yuketeshwar, Shri Yogananda Parahamsa, Shri Ananda Moi, Sri Aurobindho …. the list goes on and on and one.

Even in present times we have the Siddhas and great swamijis in our midst in India. Sai Baba of Puttabarthi is no more. His centenary anniversary was held very recently. Hindu dharma is the only faith in the world that has been producing avatar after avatar for millennia.

May Dharma prevail to eternity. Sanatana Dharma ki Jai (Hail Hindu Dharma)!

Posted in Food For Soul

World Peace Day.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Today is International Peace Day. May be a bit late to write on this. Attended a demo session of Heartfulness meditation at ICC Doha (that we do every year). On and off I do the heartfulness kind of meditation wherein we say we meditate from our heart. This kind of meditation is different from other typical Hindu meditation techniques that focus on progression of the seven Chakras. Meditation is essentially Om Mantra vibration for me which is why I am unable to come to terms with Heartfulness. Also, there is always a conscious attempt by many groups, in my opinion, to delink anything basically and intrinsically Hindu and make it universal. Yoga is compromised and even in the Surya Namaskar (sun salutation) Om mantra is eliminated. But if you eliminate the Om, how can it continue to be the authentic Surya Namaskar. In any case, most Yoga stretches are patented by Americans who have had nothing to do with Yoga or Meditation. There are two kinds of existence as per Hindu Dharma: Yoga and Bhoga. Yoga is renunciation essentially for both Hindus and Buddhists (and Jains) which means detachment to prepare yourself for the ultimate Enlightenment or Nirvana (self consciousness or self awareness). Bhoga is voraciously materialistic. The American or western practice of Yoga is without a soul that way – because they have killed the Yogic aspect of the fitness regime where body and soul merge with discipline. Yogic exercises in the west are mostly bhogic that they even have beer Yoga, Yoga with goats etc – which shows how least they grasp the elements of Yoga and how ignorant and disrespectful they are about something that is too very profound and disciplined way of life. Meditation is the other branch of Yoga like the Mudras. Now we have even the Transcendental mediation and Kundalini awakening selling like hotcakes; there are crash courses on Chakra progression and on Kundalini for sale. Which is why I have developed such a distaste for any kind of meditation that disassociates itself consciously, purposely from Hindu Dharma. Is that want you need to market a philosophy to worldwide seekers?

Meditation was mentioned as a tool to achieve peace both internal and external. Someone who spoke said what gave him peace was social service to the community. To those like my husband, work is worship as a friend stated the obvious truth. Peace to this kind comes from discharging their responsibility to such an impeccable perfection and contributing to realizable productivity.

As for as I am concerned, we all have our schools of thought that we adhere to. Hindu dharma has six clear cut philosophies to achieve the internal peace and I am for pursuing one of the six folded path. Sorry, I have no appetite for meditation, and if it does have to be, it will be the Om Mantra chanting for meditation for me. Now, that is the original meditation. No harm in entertaining, contemplating the various options but I guess, Hindus must eschew meditation techniques and yogic methods that try to misinterpret the Hindu practices and try to make them non communal. It is true yoga need not have to be communal, meditation need not have to be communal, but neither then must they be sold commercial. If you have to pay for them, then they may as well be patented. Yoga is not about the mere body. It is that which unites the body with the soul and takes you to the the next step of self awareness. It gives you mind control. Indian govt missed patenting yoga through decades since independence. Too late, but won the patent for Surya namaskar finally! However in the meantime the west came out with their own Pilates that is blatant takeover from yoga. Zumba, Taekwondo, Kungfu, Karate everything is patented by the respective origin countries. But then the greatest weakness of a Hindu is, you do not want to charge for the universal goodness that you give the world. What the heck. its not a question of charges. Its about preserving the essence of the tools of our Sanathana Dharam without dilution.

We spend years on deciding which route to take to the top of the pyramid. I did. Its worth testing every tool. With trial and error we can eliminate what won’t apply to us. Heartfulness is okay but I resent the delinking of Hindu aspect from this form of meditation. I don’t think this will give me peace at all! But practitioners of Heartfulness vouch for the peace and harmony in their lives. That stillness of the heart – i guess I can still have with the quiet Om vibration from the base of the Mooladhara chakra and then go on working up.

Before I close I cannot help emphasizing on peace at home before we go seek solace in the outside world as almost all the speakers underscored. That was the takeaway for me from the evening.

Posted in Food For Soul

Decoding Dharma 4: – Jeev Samadhi when fully awake

Posted on by veeskitchen

Hindu by default. Vegetarian by default.

But why do I always be wanna be reborn a Hindu. This is merely my simple ingestion of the essence of Dharma. I may or may not be right. (I think I have a long long way to go through many multiple janams before hoping for an elimination from the birth cycle). Practising Hindus must be aware how we seek liberation (Mukthi) from this vicious circle of birth and death (which is the illusion or Maya) in our Prarthana before blending with the One Collective Consciousness.

……https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHqRJRV-0Ds…..

I have tried not to attach the You tube link in this post considering the sensitivity of the topic. Please copy and paste or search You tube for ‘buddhist monk or thai monk attaining jeev samadhi or leaving body.’

Just watched a video of a Buddhist monk in Thailand attain Jeev Samadhi when fully awake. I have blogged on this earlier. This kind of taking leave is possible only for Hindu/Buddhist/Jain monks of the Dharmic nature.

Where others fail and why is Hindu Dharma scientific. Because, only we speak of a higher consciousness that we regard as the nether. If we do not evolve as humans to this state of consciousness, we may get propelled into the birth cycle again and again. We may take a thousand janams and still be not rid of the birth and rebirth cycles. For Hindus, this emancipation is entirely a mind factor. This is the ultimate state of Nirvana or Moksha whatever name you may call it by. What we see in temples is for those at the base of the pyramid who have limited thought process to imagine anything beyond. As we may reach the upper echelons of our consciousness, we may start leaving rituals entirely behind. Some of my friends do follow parallel paths in search of this elusive truth or wisdom.

(You may ask about those folds where rituals are non-existent or minimal. Absence of rituals is no guarantee to enlightenment. Contrary to the belief of many, ritual processes enable us and prepare us for the next stages of consciousness. Yoga and Meditation may be effective tools for attaining the discipline for both mind and body control. Which is why the Christian Yoga that dispenses with Om Mantra may not serve purpose. Synchronization of the body and the mind can be achieved with focus with Om chanting)

I have spoken of the ‘ant and the boot’ story pretty often. To the minute ant at the edge of the boot, the imposing man can never be comprehensible. It is beyond the tiny brain of the little ant to break out of its intelligence level to understand the looming man in his entirety. This is all Hindu Dharma is about. That overwhelming knowledge is our God-Goddess. We simpletons may relate to this supreme consciousness as Shiva or Raam or Shakthi as per our comfort level.

Decoding Dharma – 1: Jeev Samadhis – A Brief Glance

I am sharing links to my earlier blog posts on this fascinating subject of mine. I have always regarded myself as kind of spiritual(!) over religious!!! That inspite of me having limited spiritual knowledge. Still this is the one single realization that the Abrahamic folds completely missed out on. This may be because, Hinduism has no founder. That we are not an organized religion like others, helps. Dharma is not an ‘ism’ at all. The Sanathana Dharma is way of life that if you follow with conscience can open doors to achieve supreme levels of higher conscience when you can belong in the other world without your physical/mortal body even as an earthling. Otherwise this is possible only when we shed our physicality (on death). This is where transcendental meditation comes in. Hindus are eternal seekers. We seek, don’t pray. We seek the supreme knowledge to attain the level of higher consciousness in our own time which is possible only for Mahans like Swami Vivekanand.

Decoding Dharma – 2: The Madras Theosophical Society

I am writing this up after watching the video of a Thai Buddhist monk take leave of his physical/mortal body when fully awake. I am not the owner of the video. This is a very recent recording. Generally this kind of Jeev Samadhi is not possible to witness at all. Rarest to happen. What a highest level of super consciousness the Buddhist monk must have attained. Technology has gifted us this wonderful opportunity to understand or decode the one true path which is Dharmic (Buddhism and Jainism and even Sikkism are offshoots of Hindu Dharma).

Decoding Dharma – 3: Why Dharma.

Pranaams to the noble Atma. Blessed. What a way to take leave. In a world wracked by violence and bombs and bloodshed, what a dharmic way some live by. Om Shanthi!

(On my friends’ suggestion I am adding this on India. Bharatha is Yoga Bhoomi while the Abrahamic nations in Middle East and the West are bhogis. In short, materialistic. Our paths can only be divergent).

Posted in Food For Soul

Decoding Dharma – 3: Why Dharma.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Why Sanathana Dharma (Hindu Dharma).

Because none other seeks the light of knowledge for salvation, awakening of higher consciousness and liberation of the soul from the birth-death-rebirth cycle as Dharma does. No Abrahamic way is anywhere close to the truth. There is no heaven or hell. Only this. You attain supreme conscience or opt to be reborn up until you are ready to merge with the creation and become part of it all on attaining the state of  ‘Mukthi’ or ‘Moksha’ (‘Nirvana’ – enlightenment). How easily said than done. Ant and the boot story as I have mentioned many a time in my blog posts. I can never reach up to higher level than this. I am stranded. I am all admiration for those Maha Avatars who have managed to transcend through time and space into the Infinity, with immense mind control. This is after all the land of Gautama Buddha and Mahavira and Vivekananda and Ramana Maharishi. Of great Sadhus (sages), Rishis and Yogis. Just listening to their life stories suffices for me. I may take a 1000 janams (births) or probably much, much more to reach there, but who cares. I am aware of my own limitations. Unable to rise above this ground level of the pyramid of spirituality. Materialistic aspirations have dulled not just me. The damaging impact is all across the world and the purpose is lost. The one Adi Yogi who always resides in my heart is Lord Shiva.

Other folds have fielded their self-proclaimed prophets and saints and supposed sons of Gods as if we are running a race – and how wrongfully they succeed in weaning away masses from the one right path. It is not even apt to talk about them here when I think of the Maha Yogis who have walked the length and breadth of not just my country India, but the universe. India has had many of them, India is ancient. Cradle of civilizations. Only Hindus believe we are re-evolving after we devolved. It is next to impossible to make an Abrahamic understand this ingrained belief in every Hindu. This is why Dharma has to survive. The one true path. The one visible only to the seeker. Seeker of higher intelligence and truth. The only way you can bust your physical body to enter the realm of supreme existence. Other than on embracing death that is. Our Karma decides where we belong. Whether we must be recycled.

The way I look at our timeless temples, our Gurus, our ancestors, our Gods, our saints and even our mountains …. all this has changed vastly in recent years. I am now a staunch advocate for Hindu Dharma for this reason. I may never unravel the truth in my limited capacity and confinement, but let the seekers who have it in them go after the truth…

Sometimes this moves me to tears. The inability to go beyond my level. Sheer greed I know. The physical, mental limitations. The insignificance of my being. The pointlessness of material life.

The significance of our brain size proportionate to our body mass – i never paid more attention to this like I do now.

My prayer these days is : I can never reach up to you Oh My Mother and Father, but you can reach down to me. Elevate me a little.

Meditation is not easy. But a wise path to tread. Focus sharpens for the starters. Long winding road ahead… Yoga and meditation are good tools to work with in this direction.

The more you become aware of the bonding chains, of your level of intelligence that really matters, the less is the pain of suffering. More acceptance. More Peace. Om Shanthi!

At the end of the day, I am still the materialistic average human. Self-serving and taking refuge in small pleasures. The whole life becomes a summary of such trivialities. But how to get rid of mortal attachments. If I have to wait a lifetime every time, I shall. In this assignment that i have willingly taken in (I believe), let me score my best.

In this birth, in this defined role of mortal life wherein familial duties get duly prioritized, here and whenever possible I gaze at Thee in wonder. Who I cannot reach in a zillion ages. But I am happy to SEE, Thou are incomprehensible. My brains may burst to dust defining Thy dimensions. Thy Immensity. I am fulfilled right now. No aspirations. Ground level view is good and satisfying. Self realization can be at multi-level. I am at the entry stage. To realize that I can’t realize ever is my greatest achievement in this janam!

Pranaams to the greatest Mahans of Bharat! I cannot feel their presence, but I believe they are all around us. The vibes I sense on setting foot in our temples are a proof that I do not expect others to understand. Why great souls are not born these days. Materialistic vision clouds mind. Rituals drown or dissolve the essence. Meaningless pursuits lead us astray from the one goal: Mukthi. Liberation.