Jagat

Admittedly nine hours in siddhāsana is a bit hard on the back; today my back hurts a little and is tired. I skipped meditation this morning and took extra rest. The lower back has to work hard. Nevertheless, it is the strengthening of the lower back and the progressive straightening of the upper, where I have had a pronounced curvature since childhood, that has made sitting a long time possible. Needless to say, some proficiency in breath control is also required. The lower back is part of the maṇipūra-cakra zone; where it meets the spine is the seat of the kanda or bulb, which is the central clearing house for all the nadis. Early hatha yoga texts talk about this kanda as also being a seat of the kundalini as much as the yoni-sthāna, which lies between the muladhara and svadhishthana. This may be a source of confusion to some, but if one thinks of the kundalini rising as a two stage affair, beginning in the yoni and then getting a boost from the kanda , one will understand the...

As often happens, there was a Facebook discussion where the issue of pure Vaishnava association came up. Though I have been known to disagree vehemently with “first deserve then desire” motto that circulates in the Gaudiya Math, I found myself saying, “The purer you chant, the more likely you are to find pure association. Remember, first deserve then desire.” The point, of course, is that you cannot expect to even recognize or appreciate good association if your mind has not been purified and prepared for it by bhajan. Rupa Goswami says desirable association is bhajana-vijña :: a person who is fully knowledgeable about and experienced in the path of bhajan ananya :: is entirely committed to the Divine Couple, i.e, exclusive anya-nindādi śūnya-hṛdam :: has a heart that is entirely free of the tendency to criticize others. If you cannot find someone who fits the bill exactly, try to get as close to this ideal as possible. And of course, one starts by trying to emulate the ...

Yesterday was Mauni Amavashya, or Silence Day. The ashram arranged a special program of meditation and related activities which included all the paid staff, including gardeners, cleaners and office workers. Since I am have gotten back on my daily schedule of about 4-5 hours of meditation, split up into four sessions, I thought this provided me with a good opportunity to go for "asana siddhi" which according to Swami Veda Bharati means being able to sit in one's meditative posture for 9 dandas or 216 minutes without moving. I almost made it and it looks within grasp. All in all, I sat for nine hours, which I don't think I have ever done before. My lower back has become quite strong over the years, but today it was groaning. My knees are surprisingly unaffected. I usually take a nap after lunch, and although it is customary to wake up after a midday nap, especially in winter, with a bit of a drag in the consciousness, I was for other reasons feeling a little down an...

I am too split in various directions still. At my age, it is disconcerting to see me entering into the last phase of life with so many things unfinished. I have perhaps been too ambitious and now find myself in the unfortunate position of having bitten off so much more than I can chew that much of what I have done is inevitably going to remain incomplete. (1) Swami Veda Bharati's Yoga Sutra  Currently I am in Rishikesh working on the Yoga Sutra for Swami Veda Bharati. Comment: Swamiji is 82 and in poor health, going through period crises related to his heart condition. Yesterday after evening meditation he called me into his room and told me that he was not certain that he would be able to live to complete the Yoga Sutra project. In many ways I am indebted to Swamiji personally and I have given him my word that I will help him to finish his magnum opus, the four volume series of Yoga Sutra with reference to 22 commentaries and his own experience of the oral traditions...

I just came back from an interesting group meditation session in the wake of this conversation, in which naturally sent the most interesting and joyful waves riding through my consciousness, and I have all of you to thank for it. I don't think it would really be possible to share all of the reflections that went through my mind, but I especially would like to thank Prishni for reminding me of exactly what my entire Sahajiya philosophy was about and what I have been writing about ad nauseam on my blog for the last ten years. Even today, I was teaching Sanskrit to my little group of Gurukula students, which consists of one young Indian male and two North American women over 60. Mostly I am teaching the alphabet and basic Hindu dharma vocabulary. Since we have been learning about gender in Sanskrit, the implications of grammatical gender is a subject that we have already encountered. Today again, in the course of talking about the purusharthas, we were led to a discussion of dharma...