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| Krishnamacharya's son Sri TK Sribhashyam's at Krishnamacharya's old 'Yoga school' in the Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore (scene from Breath of the Gods). |
"The Pearl" or the influence of Mudra and Pranayama in the spiritual quest
A seminar of Sri TK Sribhashyam in Neuchatel, 29.7. to 01.08.2006
from Yogakshemam Newsletter May 2007
http://www.yogakshemam.net/English/homepage.html
http://www.yogakshemam.net/English/homepage.html
This report was written in the hope to share at least part of the seminar with all those whose application could not be considered. The number of applications exceeded the number of available places in the beautiful yoga room in the heart of Neuchâtel, a four-fold.
Each term and each presented by Sri TK Sribhashyam concept was accompanied by appropriate exercises and a practical implementation. This allowed the participants a theoretical and practical approach to the subject. For obvious reasons it is unfortunately not be able to record the exercises and practice in this report.
The spiritual quest
The hectic pace and demands of modern life often require that we have to fight to get space for the spiritual quest of our lives freely and upright. Yoga is one of the means proposed to support this task. It allows us to nurture the spiritual element in us, and meditation, the non-material, the transcendental, to dedicate time. He helps us to approach God or the Creator.
Yoga recommends two elements to support our spirituality: breathing, pranayama, and postures, breathing and concentration include, Mudrā called.
There is in us, in the universe, in every living being, something invisible, not something material, something eternal, the soul, the spirit, no matter what name you give it. It is an aspect of God, or a reflection of the Creator. So how do we, the sun through its rays and the light that she gives us, perceive - it is part of our lives without us constantly think of it - just as it is with the Creator, He is there, in us, without which we are always aware.
Once we use the word "sun" Listen, we automatically visualize her picture. As for the soul, we often at first a picture, because the soul is beyond time and space and consequently has no form. Everything that has no form, is not tangible and does not acknowledge our existence!
In every spiritual quest must be able to track down his soul. We all have a permanent address, it is equally important to know the "permanent address" of the soul.
Another factor in the spiritual search is an honest and sincere behavior of our environment and to ourselves: in Indian thought is anything that brings us closer to spiritual values, as pure and all that removed us from considered unclean.
Our body is another factor that may be an obstacle or an instrument on the path of spiritual quest: the body ages, it is subject to the changes of aging. You can see it only the physical decay, one is dissatisfied. If you can accept that the body is subject to the inevitable changes of aging, it is our instrument.
Yoga helps us to understand this body and allows us to classify according to the different stages in this transformation. So we can avoid to consider this body as an obstacle, and can use it as a tool for recognizing the truth, truth 'in the sense of reality that is not subject to change', immutable, eternal and outside of time and space existent '.
The perception and Tatsinne used properly, the body becomes an instrument. This one has to learn to align the senses and let do what they do not usually like. Focusing on items that are "not perceptible by a picture" and part of the exercise, which is independent of the world of forms We must learn to see in the what is invisible, to give form, without seeing properties. The only way to learn the perception of the formless world, which is also the spiritual world.
In yoga special Āsana were introduced to help us to distance ourselves from this outer world and protect us from all the impressions of this world: it is the Mudrā, they act like a fortress on our spiritual quest.
Mudrā
Practicing Mudrā us therefore helps avoid emotional influences during concentration. Mudrā are some poses in yoga, which include a focus on a particular point in the body or out of it. External objects are divine objects that are free from human emotions. In yoga, you do not use objects that are dependent on our emotions and our relationships.
The outer points are points of connection between the soul and the Creator. The points in the body as a network and affect the existence of the soul in this life. These very special concentration points are regarded as divine objects.
In addition to the concentration, there is a precise number of breaths (3, 6 or 12). The Mudrā can independently be practiced without the specific order, because they play a role on an emotional level, it is to interrupt the relationship between the senses and the emotions.
Here are some points of concentration:
Aditya (the sun) is the disk of the sun, black and shiny, which is the gate to get out of this world. This concentration will be aligned from east
The star: lying on his back to look as far as possible on the sky
Taraka: the horizon point, the infinite world beyond Earth
Murdhna: this is the point, which is located in front of the nose Murdhna gives us the support of the spiritual master.. Only thanks to their light, their spiritual power we are moving steadily towards the Creator. They nourish our confidence and help us to strengthen these.
Divya Chakshush. Point behind the head (occipital) Divya Chakshush means "divine vision": this is one of the most important concentrations to obtain the vision of the soul
Nasāgra: nose. Reduces the information originating from the sensory distraction
Nabhi. Behind the navel Nabhi is a harmony in the emotional activity recovers
Mula: Mula means "root" and is located between the anus and the genitals. It is a very important point. The aim is to guide all of our different human emotions to the root of all emotions, to enable the divine emotion in us and make room for them.
Bhrūmadhya: point between the eyebrows. On a philosophical level, it means "between two worlds": the earthly world and the heavenly world.
Shirsha: the fontanelle, is located inside the upper part of the skull. It is also a vital point, because by taking the soul at death should be there. The soul is often considered as included in Mula. She was therefore must create a path so it passes through the ascending concentration to Shirsha by passing the view of Mula on a vertical line up to Shirsha.
Hrudaya: this is God's dwelling in us and is a little outside the physiological heart. In the concentration of Mula to Shirsha you happen automatically Hrudaya. This point is protected from any human emotion. As a state of mind is achieved Hrudaya automatically when the mind is free of sensations and emotions.
Pranayama
Man has two kinds of emotions:
a) Emotions that are tied to the Creator, to our spirituality: this is a constant, unchanging emotion.
b) Emotions associated with interpersonal relationships: is changing emotions.
Continuously changing our emotions respiration plays an important role. A steering our breathing is essential, it is necessary to do this every day in order to reduce the anarchy at the level of emotions and feelings and so the divine emotion to gain a place in our lives. Take place because the more human emotions in our lives, the less space there is for the divine emotion.
Everything we do is converted into emotional values. There is an emotional transformation of the sensory data received from our environment. Therefore, it takes time to remove them from our mind. By using the breathing, defends it from the aggression of the immediate area. Thus the emotional aggression does not enter the cells, purified by this pranayama. Do a cleaning between the emotions and the cell life, so that the divine emotion is retained in the cells. In modern science, this is known as the memory cells.
Prana is the primal force of creation, the Creator's love for His creation. This divine emotion is the dedication that is within us all. Everyone needs to cultivate them because only by being cultivated, it remains ever present. You must deliberately cultivate the divine devotion nearby state of mind and willingly give up the material values by meditating. The role of meditation is to prevent the influence of the outer material world to the Divine to dedicate a maximum mental space, because the goal of our existence is to recognize the One who has created us to know where we come from.
Breathing is the unit of time used for everything spiritual (in comparison to the material time unit of time). The indicated number of breaths is the unit of time that a person needs to move away from the day's events and to enter into a state of meditation. Pranayama keeps the mind in a state of meditation. During the rituals practiced pranayama to enhance the meditative and contemplative state. It is a key element in yoga.
Pranayama consists of 3 elements:
The respiration: the substantive tool to our relationship with the Creator "to get going." For ages (since the time of the Dravidians, more than 10,000 years ago), breathing is associated with contemplation. You can stop breathing intentionally hold back his breath. The four members of respiration are: inhalation, stopping after inhalation, exhalation, stopping after exhalation
Concentration, for example, on the sun
The mantra: an accompanying formula (the mantra is not used in the teaching of Sri TK Sribhashyam because it is a religious element associated to Hinduism)
There are many techniques, but there is a basis. The variations depend on the individual and his ability to adjust his mental state to move closer to the Creator. This can happen quickly or slowly. It must be the fear of the unknown, fear of the Creator, and the fear of being associated with the world rediscover his mental state does not take into account.
Since 5000 years, the basis of Pranayama is the following:
Inhalation left nostril, exhale right nostril, right nostril breathing, left nostril breathing out (this is a game).
This technique was later called Nadi Shodhana, which means something like "purify our mind." The mind is considered to be nerve (Nadi = nerve). Pranayama is exercised always point to the east. The East, the place of the Creator. It is believed that the spirit of the morning when the sun rises, is available and this is the best moment for the spirituality.
Contemplation
If one mind on a particular object oriented and our thoughts are focused on the same object, is called contemplation of this state. In meditation, it is always about the invocation of a god or a divine object, such as the sun.
Our intellectual field is filled, the amount of information is huge, the picture of our concentration is obscured. Order to achieve the concentration, loop through two stages:
First A first phase of the deliberate removal of information: you have to keep the importance of daily life away and give the alert called entity importance, then begins the mental field, to clothe with the object: this phase Dharana means (only if a divine object is used) .
Second The exclusion of any intellectual activity, which includes the analytical ability and the intellect. The "I" must be kept away to provide the human emotions calm. This situation - when the mind fully awake when called entity lingers - called Dhyana. Then you lose any notion of duality, because it is not in the mental field, and you are one with the Creator or the divine object. The period during which one is united with the Creator is "Yoga" is named. Every being has that ability, and if only for a split second. This state is a coming and going of concentration. Certain concentration points are dharana and dhyana to support the path.
The mental field is "elastic": you can do it quite small, as if we, for example, employs a problem that fills our whole mental field. But you can also make unlimited. Focusing on a divine object (which is infinite) helps to overcome the limitations of our mental field. Focusing on a divine object has not this effect, because the object has a shape and a connection to our human emotions, the mind is confined to this object.
The concentration phases are interrupted by emerging images: one will be attracted to these images, increase emotional emotional impressions in us, traces of our past emotional life. Avoid the possibility that upgrades of these impressions, the disturbances of concentration are getting shorter. These impressions are called Klesha. It is important to find an agent that prevents the rising of Klesha. Practicing Mudra allows us to nurture not Klesha or emotional tracks. So how to vacuum- packed seeds, so they can not grow. Mudra help that Klesha during the concentration are not active, but our vigilance is essential.
The evocation of the soul of the Creator, God
Because God or the Creator can not be perceived, and it is difficult to detect a formless reality, a term a tangible for the mind concept was introduced: this approach is the light symbolizes, in its original form by the disk of the sun, the one black, shining circle. (A circle automatically takes the whole mental field).
The existing light allows us to see this world; without the light, take the essence of true nothing. God is light and gives us the light. He gives us joy in life, because the image of any object that we perceive, confirms our existence.
Thus, a representation, an image that is all people are familiar introduced. This was the first form of God as an "icon". Then the man added many parameters, standards and rules: these are the dogmas which form the religion. But God always remains the same: immutable and eternal, and to reach him, you have to let the religious dogma behind. The true value of God is the most important thing in our lives. One should his conviction and his idea of God remain faithful.
The evocation is done by repeating.
The Prayer
The idea of God or the Creator and prayer are inseparable. Each object in the mental field must - in addition to the image - through a sonic element, the name of the object or the specific function is supported. Disappears as soon as one of these supporting elements, the others disappear. In any process of maintaining an object in the field, you need a mental image and a verbal expression, that is, words and phrases that belong to the object. The expressions, characteristics or properties of an object are divine prayer. In the example of the solar disk with the evocation of their shape and their characteristics is to pray.
Then there is a second type of prayer, supplication, which brings us something. Finally, there is the prayer of thanksgiving after each invocation: giving thanks to God or the Creator for his presence in us.
We had arrived at the end of the four days. Sri TK Sribhashyam ended the seminar with a practice and the introduction of Mudrā that is practiced at sunrise and their name says it all: Aditya Hrudaya (also known as Sūrya Bhedana).
Our Master Sri TK Sribhashyam, just returned from a pilgrimage in India switched, his strength and his belief in spiritual values and poignantly profound way to the entire group. The participants thanked him much for this fascinating and compelling seminar that they henceforth called "the pearl".
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