Have you imagined delving into the depth of your existence? How would it be?
Why should one understand the depths of yoga?
We plan our vacations with great detail – mode of travel, selection of place, sightseeing tours… We do have a good time, but how are we at the end of the journey – tired, exhausted? Why is this so?
Our senses have limited capacity to enjoy, but our mind has an infinite desire for joy. The joy, which comes through the five senses, is limited.
Most of us think that the joy is in objects, but it is inside us in the senses, not out in the objects. Each of the senses leads you to a point inside you, which is a fountain of joy, deep within you.
Clinging on to sense objects make you miserable after a while. Move on to the experience of that pleasure - from the object of pleasure.
From the object move to the Center, move to that which experiences the pleasure.
This is the way to have a continued experience, continued joy in life.
~ Sri Sri Ravishankar
Path of Yoga - the inner compass
How do we understand yoga in depth? The path of Yoga leads us inward, to experience the union with the True Self. The purpose of creation is to go from two to one. The ancient Rishis called it Yoga.
Our breath plays a very important role. The breath is the connecting link between the inner world of the mind and the outer world of body and environment.
There are four inner modes of consciousness: (i) Mind (ii) Intellect (iii) Memory (iv) Ego
When the mind is not centered there is restlessness.
Yoga is the restraint of thought waves, Vritis. Modulations in the mind are called Vritis. Subsiding these waves in the mind is called Yoga. When thoughts are constrained, then there is communion with the Lord, Divinity, and the Cosmic Being.
Vritis are like a whirlpool in the pond of mind. When mind and memory get excited, thought waves arise in you. When excitement in mind is calmed, the Vritis too gets silenced. Only when the whirlpool calms down, then can you see the real depths of the ocean. The wave uniting with this depth is Yoga.
Move to the Center – with proper guidance and practice
Learn Yoga under a Guru
You cannot operate on your own body even if you are a surgeon. To move around in a small new place, you need a guide to show you way. Then to walk into a completely unknown realm like consciousness, you certainly need guidance. A lit candle can light million more candles, but a matchbox even though having a potential, cannot light up on its own.
Guru itself means something that which is enormously big, immeasurable. Guru is someone so vast but still tangible and available. Guru is the infinite love yet in a bodily form.
The practice
The Yoga seeker (sadhak) gains depth with proper guidance and with the proper practice of Yoga.
Yoga asanas, pranayamas, and meditation, enable us to deepen our sadhana (practice):
The asanas help to center the mind and body
The breath is a bridge, connecting with the energy manifesting in the body
The pranayama energises and calms the system
Thus by refining our practice, thoughts diminish enabling us to go deep in meditation. When we can clearly see through the levels of existence, we then attain a state of Yoga, oneness with the universe.
Life is a precious gift – discover it by going beyond the wrapping paper…
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