What is yooga? yooga is not merely physical
exercise. Postures, breathing control and physical exercises are all
part of yooga but yooga is much more than all these. The aim of yooga
is to control the mind. Read the pages of yooga to know more.
japa: How can Mere Repetition of a Name have any Positive
Effects? Our mind is like a disturbed puddle. There is constant
agitation, commotion, turmoil. The mind is turbid and incapable of
seeing the truth even if it is glaring right in front of our face.
There is an endless flux of thoughts, like the waves in a disturbed
pool of water. Allow the mind to settle down. Slow down the thoughts.
Let the waves subside. Let the water become still and clear. You will
then be able to see every grain of sand beneath with clarity. Water
becomes crystal clear when all the mud is allowed to settle down.
Calm down your mind. Let the thoughts subside. Let the agitations
stop. A clear mind can reflect like a clean mirror and get the
complete and correct picture. Everything will become crystal
clear. japa or repetition of the name of the Lord is one simple and
practical way to practice this art of controlling the ever restless
mind. It is practically difficult to stop all your thoughts. It is far
easier to fix your thoughts on one chosen object. japa is just this
practice. You can stop the inflow of millions of bits of information
every second by closing your eyes. Ears are harder to shut
down. Instead, ears can be fixed on one thing more easily by chanting
the name of the Lord. Of course you could choose any name but by
choosing the name of the Lord, the chances of your mind taking it more
seriously and falling in line will be far better. Initially try to
sit comfortably in a relatively calm place and chant the name loudly.
When you gain substantial mind control with practice, you could try
whispering the name instead of chanting loudly. Then you could try
chanting the name entirely mentally, with no physical exertion
whatever. The only promise made is that you will be able to achieve
substantial mind control with practice. All other good things that may
betide you will all be as a consequence of your ability to control
your mind, your mastery over yourself, your uplifting yourself from a
state of slavery - slavery to the passions of your own mind. Try japa
and see it for yourself. It works. There is nothing unscientific or
illogical here.
praaNaayaama: Why should all human beings practice breathing
control? Human beings are the only species of animals on planet
earth endowed with speech. We speak. We talk a lot. And we use the
same apparatus for speaking and for breathing - lungs, wind-pipe,
throat, oral and nasal cavity. Although the human body has marvelous
adaptations to make this possible, we still need to compensate for the
effect of speaking. Exchange of gases takes place in the lungs -
oxygen from the fresh air we breath-in is absorbed by the blood and
harmful gases collected from various cells in the body by the blood
are thrown out in the air that we breath-out. In fact all the energy
that we have is generated thanks to the oxygen that we take in through
breathing. Unfortunately, the human body normally tends to give too
little time for effective transfer of gases in the lungs. We throw out
only some part of the air in the lungs when we exhale and we do not
take in fresh air in sufficient quantity to the fill the lungs when we
inhale. praaNaayaama is a simple and effective way to streamline
breathing - residual gases in the lungs are thrown out fully, fresh
air rich in oxygen is inhaled to the maximum extent and sufficient
time is given for effective exchange of gases in the lungs. There is
also another important benefit. Just as breathing is affected when our
mind is gripped by fear or anxiety, breathing also influences the
mind. Slow and steady breathing has a soothing, calming effect on the
mind. praaNaayaama is so simple, scientists and rational thinkers of
the modern world tend belittle its effectiveness. praaNaayaama is
time-tested and very effective in promoting all-round health, energy
and vitality of both the body and the mind. Practice praaNaayaama
daily.
Combining japa with praaNaayaama: A simple and effective
way to get the best of both japa and praaNaayaama is
ooMkaara-japa. Squat on the floor with your back held straight. Like
the RCC pillars that support modern buildings and even sky-scrapers,
your vertebral column needs to be held straight for it to be effective
in supporting your body structure and weight. Breathe-in air slowly
and steadily and fill your lungs. Chant 'ooM' in a slow and steady
fashion. You will be able to gradually extend the duration of each
cycle of breathing to half a minute or more. This naturally means
that your breathing rate has slowed down and you are giving a lot more
time for effective exchange of gases in your lungs, thereby getting
the benefits of praaNaayaama. You can continue for 15 minutes or half
an hour or a full hour with some practice. Serious saadhaka-s can go
on for many hours at a stretch. Regular practice give you all round
health, energy and vitality, as also a calm and controlled mind. Do it
and see. What better proof can you ask for?
How to be Good in a world that is so full of 'bad' people?
A boat moves on water. There must be water all around, otherwise
the boat cannot move. But we should not allow water to get into the
boat - that could prove dangerous, even fatal. Let there be 'bad'
people all around us. We need not and we should not try to 'correct'
them all. Especially before we 'correct' ourselves. Let us identify
our weak points and overcome them. By firm resolve and hard work and
regular practice. Let us strive for Self-Improvement first. Social
Reformation can come much later.
Why is the Cow Holy? Cows give milk - healthy, balanced
food. From milk we make curds, butter and ghee (clarified butter). We
use these in preparing a wide variety of dishes daily at home as also
to make sweets. We use these items in worship and in preparing
medicines. We make our shoes, drums and other articles from the
leather. The cow dung forms good, natural, harmless manure. The cow
dung is also used for flooring - the floor becomes smooth and prevents
the growth of grass and other weeds. Dried cakes of cow dung form
excellent fuel for heating water and cooking. Cow dung can also be
used to generate natural gas, a cleaner form of fuel. Ashes from the
cow dung cakes are good insecticides and pesticides. Purified form of
this ash in fine form is used as a nano material to keep the skin
healthy and protect it from skin diseases. Called vibhuuti, this
purified ash is worn as an auspicious symbol on the forehead. Even the
urine of cow has cleansing and purifying properties. Every part of the
cow is useful. Cows are mild domestic animals dependent on us for
their survival - they cannot live on their own in the wild. And we
find them so very useful. There is absolutely not a single reason why
men and cows should not live in harmony. God is one who grants our
wishes, gives us everything. Cows give us so much. Cow is God. Worship
cows. How can people who terrorize, torture, cut and eat cows
understand its divine nature?
Why do We Pay Homage to the Dead? We are not born with an
empty head. Our brains at birth are not clean slates. We come ready
with a great deal of intelligence. Who gave this to us? Why did they
give this to us? What do they expect in return? What we are today is
partly because of our own making and partly because of our genetic
predisposition. What we become, what we do in life, is to a very
significant extent determined by our genetic inheritance. We owe a lot
to our parents and ancestors. It is because they all applied their
minds and thought throughout their lives that the human brain
gradually evolved to its present form. Otherwise we would have all
remained primitive cave-men. If man has progressed gradually from
primitive forms to the ultra modern form we see today, it is due to
the efforts of our ancestors. There is nothing more that we can give
back to our dead forefathers than pay our respects. If you are here
today, it is only because of them. You owe your very existence to the
elderly. Respect your parents, grand parents, ancestors. Dead though
they may be. There is nothing unscientific in worshipping the dead. It
is utter stupidity and hot-headedness to neglect the old and glorify
your own greatness. All of your greatness is in a large measure a
contribution of your dead ancestors.