philosophy

San_Francisco

Getting my India Visa in SF

Why I love San Francisco

I got my visa for India this morning, and took a megabus into the city yesterday afternoon. I have to say that part of me is sad because Urban Flow is closed right now and I really loved that studio. There’s something primitively satisfying about chanting with a couple hundred other humans at the same pace. Top reason why I love SF: yoga. Mostly Rusty Wells at that.

I forgot forms, as usual. I needed a copy of my drivers license and some alternate things form that I have nothing to fill out on. I have a pretty clean record, to be honest. But I printed my visa form there, had to refill that out again because I didn’t include my middle name like I did on my passport. Oh well, the people working there were really nice.

I usually come for a weekend, or a couple of nights so I can head down to the studio and practice and see a couple of college friends, but I am becoming more and more aware of how yoga is continuing to gain popularity. Our society and culture are molding it into something amazing, something that is really American too. I’m always incredulous at the vast diversity of Americans, it is truly awe inspiring.

San Francisco has no shortage of diversity and people are friendly, if you give them the chance to be. Its a rough life in a city, I’m really glad that I haven’t been living in one for the last year, it feels great to take breaks. But the massive stimulation does seem to have a very productive effect on me, being one who was diagnosed with ADD, it helps me to focus. But it is also exhausting.

The consulate was a piece of cake, I used CKGS, it cost $100 for a 6 month tourist Visa with multiple entry. I hope that means I can make it to Nepal, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia. I am also seriously considering Thailand for two weeks in April, maybe a Mango farm? But I am also really excited for 3 weeks in Germany with my sisters and mom. Berlin is going to be beyond epic, I’ve heard so many amazing things about that city. I hope I can see some live EDM, apparently da germans are really into it.

For the past 3 or 4 months I have been making music, really mostly in the last 3. I was so inspired by Lightning in a Bottle that I wanted to learn it for myself. I think I love entertaining people in general, I think yoga might be just one outlet for that. But it is definitely my favorite one, and the most steady of all my passions. A great joy is rising in my heart as I turn to the east again, ready to see more of life on this planet, the world outside of the states. This will be my first time in a 3rd world country, I’ll see poverty there unlike anything I saw in China last May. Though, I can’t say that the people there had much, at least they had some opportunity to farm and work the land. I wonder how India will be.

So I am going to spend at least one day in Bangalore before heading to Mysore, I want to see the trade capital of India, 8 million people in the metropolitan area, and there are a little of ancient temples there. Then its off to Mysore to register with the Ashtanga Institute and practice with Saraswathi. I finally got a confirmation letter after two rejections! But only after calling Saraswathi and asking if I could attend. She said, “come, come, practice here.” Well, don’t mind if I do!

I think what makes me most excited about India is the silence, the time alone, the time in thought and in meditation. It is my favorite thing, which still surprises me every time I take some time to sit down and breath, stop my thoughts and maybe stretch. Lately it has been much more about meditation than the asana practice. Which is probably perfect, because I have a feeling I will get my fair dosage of asana in India.

There is supposed to be a huge storm coming in tonight, its pretty exciting to hear the wind gusting outside. I love waking up in the fog and seeing the sun during the winter, its pretty great to spend the cold month where the weather is good. Geese and ducks have it right. Can’t wait to migrate myself, I think that kind of lifestyle would be really interesting.

What do you love about SF? Besides the yoga, of course 😉

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breath power

The Power of Breath

The Key Benefit of Yoga

Yoga’s greatest benefit is increased awareness of your breath, or respiratory system. It is the reason why the yoga ab exercises are so difficult, why every pose eventually feels like an different kind of abdominal stretch, and why you feel so amazing at the end of the class. Your lungs fuel every other organ in your body by revitalizing the bloodstream with new oxygen in combination with the heart, fueling your nervous and muscular-skeletal systems. The lungs also have enormous effect upon the metabolism. I’ve read before that metabolisms aren’t naturally faster or slower, but rather result from lifestyle habits and diet. The lungs pass by all of the lower organs and descend down near the base of the spine, towards the lowest organs. You can contract your perineal, or pelvic floor and sex muscles by bringing awareness to your breath. This is definitely good for your digestion and your sex life! (the muscles group is called mula bandha, or pelvic floor in yoga)

The Lungs

In a way, the lungs lead the body as it moves through space and breathing has an enormous effect on brainwaves and heart rate. It is possible to enter into alpha and possibly beta brainwaves while awake and practicing yoga, even Delta and Theta waves can be found in deeper Savasanas. These represent the different stages of restorative brainwaves that occur during sleep that ultimately provide the deepest rest for the nervous system and therefore the body as a whole. So control over your breath is essentially increasing the amount of  control you have over your consciousness.

So the lungs are one of the primary movers of the body; indeed, breathing is a constant in having consciousness. And perhaps we can see consciousness as requiring breath; without it we can’t be conscious for long. From the time we are born, to the time we die, it is with us. Apparently the smallest organisms that breathe are spiders, so perhaps that is where consciousness truly starts; between the fly and the spider. Even trees breathe.

Ancient yoga texts say that there is a power within the breath, but how necessary the individual poses are is up for grabs. Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 are not where the power of yoga is, although aligning your body into those two postures and breathing while focusing on them is a powerful exercise in muscular stability, concentration, balance, stretching, and strengthening. The breathing is where the power of yoga lies; you can do yoga while lifting weights (it’s difficult, but you can stay with deep breathing the whole time, try it!), while running, while shopping, driving, whatever. It just means bringing awareness to your breath, and therefore your nervous system. The two are intertwined.

Feel the POWA!

There is a reason why the idea of power continues to resurface in yoga; however, I don’t think it holds true to what yoga is really about. If awareness is power, then I am wrong, but I think that awareness and power are different. When we relinquish the idea of power or control and simply focus on awareness; awareness seems to be more related to freedom; the ability to transcend individual situations and confrontations to maintain internal peace. Nobody is going to become a world leader by doing yoga. Really, yoga does not accomplish a whole lot in the world outside of your body and it can be really selfish if that is all you do! But that is just my personal opinion. Powerful people seem to be the least free and most obliged; they are always in some crisis, or fixing some problem. That’s why they make so much money, they are good at fixing problems and getting things to work. The ability to be okay with not reacting, sitting with what is occurring rather than reacting without really being aware of what is happening in the situation is type of power that yoga can offer you. True yoga is learning to take responsibility over your own happiness. Being able to laugh while someone flips you off in the lane next to you. Transcending shitty situations. I think this is what Patanjali was talking about when he/she/they talked about releasing from the fluctuations of the mind. Being free from the anxiety, reactions, and obsessions over everyday events so that we can live in gratitude and happiness for what is on a larger scale. Family, friends, and life.

You don’t know what you have until its gone…

Gratitude is true liberation and losing your breath helps to remind you that life is temporary. Maybe this is why yoga is so powerful, it tunes you into the passing of moments. The mental effects of combining your nervous and muscular-skeletal systems first thing in the morning can change the way that you live your life; imagine. Savasana brings the freedom of nothing; knowing that death will come and not caring; being free from the confines of the illusion of death and the senses. Even our eyes lie to us on accident. Letting it go is the most important part; those exhales make life worth living. Be grateful for your breath, because its easy to take it for granted. When its gone, you won’t forget it.

 

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Asteya

Asteya | Non-stealing | अस्तेय

Asteya is a Sanskrit word; it means non-stealing, non-coveting, and not entering into debt. Asteya is a yama, meaning it is a traditional Yama, as well as a part of the 8 limbs of the Ashtanga philosophical tradition.

But Asteya means more than non-stealing money, possessions, or ideas; it is about the flow of energy in your life. Putting more in that you get out. Giving rather than taking. Being of service, rather than taking advantage to further your self.

I think that the idea of selflessness is important to this concept, the idea that the world does not revolve around you. You are a part of something larger than yourself merely by the fact that you exist. So having awareness of your effects on the environment and outside world is probably the most important aspect of Asteya. Once you have awareness of your environment, you can start to understand how you interact with it.

So intrinsically, Asteya requires awareness and as the awareness elevates, so does the need for giving back to the world around you. Joy is said to be greatest when help others, so living your life in service to the health and prosperity of others is really what Asteya is trying to get at. Stop thinking of your self and start thinking about everything that is intertwined with your self; the sun, the cycles of the moon, the plants and animals that are living around you, etc. These things have far more of an effect on us than I think we truly realize, so living in harmony with the world will lead to harmony inside of you.

I think that the general concept of Asteya has been completely lost; it is not so different from Dharma in that you allow for life to occur while you enjoy it, rather than trying to determine outcomes. Knowing how the energy in your world is flowing is intrinsic to understand what you are giving back and taking from the world.

The easiest example to understand is food, especially animal products. Humans can only eat as much meat as there are animals in the world. Therefore, in order for the system to be sustainable, you must give back more than you take, or at least have the equation be balanced. Ideally, you give extra so that there is abundance.

Our world is full of takers, people taking and using more than they need. It isn’t our fault; we want to live life the easiest and most convenient way possible, as any animal should, but we are slowly learning that convenience is actually not fulfilling. It is empty. This is how taking things that you didn’t earn is; they are empty, full of lacking. But the lacking is inside of you; it is the lacking of integrity that makes you feel empty.

Try to give back more than you take. This is something our ancestors have really sucked at. We have been taking from the planet since the birth of our race; we just continue to get more efficient at it. One day, we will either understand that the Earth exists for us to nourish and feed as much as it exists to feed and nourish us. It’s a relationship, a two-way street.

Not taking more than you need is difficult. It’s like asking someone who has had one cookie in a jar to stop eating them. But understanding the importance of that first cookie is what is truly important; it is important to appreciate every aspect of the first cookie so that you don’t have to look for more. You understood how awesome the cookie was when you first ate it.

This is especially prevalent in the United States, where we do things simply because we can. Consumerism is teaching us that life is not about the amount that you consume, but it’s about the way that you interact with the things that you consume. Appreciation is probably the most important aspect of this.

The final piece to the puzzle is knowing that you don’t need more. You could probably survive for two weeks without food. Try fasting for a day; it will really help you to appreciate how much you eat!

There are Buddhist monks that don’t eat unless they are given food. This is the ultimate form of Asteya; only taking what the universe offers to you. I don’t know if such extreme measures are needed to understand the concept (they are possibly necessary to completely appreciate it), but it helps to understand that you should be content with where you are in the universe. It’s no better or worse than anywhere else, all of that judgement only exists in your thoughts. Allowing yourself to receive what the universe provides is a practice and a balance; don’t expect the universe to put grains of rice into your mouth from the sky!

Try to integrate this concept of giving as much as you take into your life; driving is huge for this, we expend such massive amounts of energy for no reason! Try to drive less, remember you are taking from inside of the Earth so you can travel its surface.

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dharma

Dharma

The concept of Dharma is elusive to describe due to the complexity of the concept; it does not translate directly into english and is a complex esoteric Indian term to describe a vocation, calling, or path of righteousness that an individual follows in life. This extends out to the dharma of the world as a whole, which is either aligned or imbalanced (in which case it will soon be rebalanced). The idea exists in all of the Indian religions, most notably Buddhism and Hinduism, where Dharma is considered to be the path of duty and virtue that is right with the order of the universe. The path is righteous and winds in accordance with the laws of Karma until the cycle of Samsara is broken and Maya gives way to Moksha. The ultimate journey Dharma leads to the doorway of enlightenment.

Enlightenment is the unlocking of the mind and freedom from the illusions of consciousness, more particularly thoughts. Thoughts take away from your ability to be present and receive the beauty and feel of the world around you, so at this point in the evolution of consciousness they are not necessary. Union is felt between all beings and awareness is supreme, a light against the darkness of ignorance. At least that is what it is supposed to be like.

Ultimately, enlightenment has to be a spectrum, relative, as all things are. People that push the envelope, disrupt, change us, evolve us, these are the ones that are bringing enlightenment to the world. Martin Luther King, Gandhi, modern musicians, peace advocates, technologists pushing the world forward like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are all people bringing enlightenment to our lives, but its hard to get to the truth of their lessons in the face of the lies that we are told from our first thoughts.

“(stop thinking) just do it”
“What’s (missing) in your wallet?)”
“The best part of waking up (is our shit coffee) in your cup”

We are bombarded with commercials and TV that convinces us to think about things certain ways that do not in any way conform to reality. Many people in the world succumb to the illusion that the world depends on things, when in fact the world depends upon human time. Instead of being focused internally, many are focused externally on survival, on being able to feed hungry mouths and try to win measures of comfort and vacations from your job that allow some measure of relaxation and bliss in an otherwise unfulfilling lifestyle. But the world is slowly changing.

People are learning to prosper and how to share abundance. Nice things are only as nice as the people you can share them with and comfort is something that every human should have access to, but we are slowly learning how to take care of ourselves. The world is still divided and disconnected, but slowly it is connecting itself, using tools like the internet, cell phones, satellites, and so much more. We have hope for the future because it seems like a mass awakening is occurring, people are waking up.

Practices like yoga and meditation are quickly becoming very available to the wealthy of the world, and soon after, the noble arts of internal surrender, meditation, reflection, breathing exercises, and energy movement will become available to everyone. In order to truly unite the world, people must unite through action; words mean nothing and have no weight when it comes to character. People are going to learn to prosper in ways that the world has never before know. I strongly believe that yoga is going to be one of those ways, I think the world is going to reform with the spread of eastern philosophies and ideas in the West.

The world is learning to find its Dharma. The question of dharma beckons the questions of existence: Why does life exist? Does life have a purpose? What is the next step of evolution? Dharma attempts to answer these questions by saying that it is life’s purpose to be lived fully, completely. The next step of evolution is peace and life was meant to flourish and spread and unite the universe in life. Being is the purpose of all things.

Dharma can also be considered vocational, or like a job. For instance, a doctor would have a dharma of helping sick people, or a computer programming would have a dharma of making more efficient algorithms for people to connect through the internet. I believe I find my dharma through teaching and practicing yoga, but it is far more complicated than just that. Music, traveling, friends, and family to name a few factors.

According to Hinduism, the stability of the universe is dharma, the earth, gravity, the laws of physics are all propagated by this righteous force that is leading life. Dharma is intrinsically related to truth, or the natural and changeless state of all things, also known as Satya. The Buddha is the one that lived Dharma and his release into nirvana gives a model for us to follow.

I think that perhaps the way to the true core of your being, of find your true dharma, is through silence and being alone. The buddha was alone for extended periods of time, many believe that Jesus was isolated as an Essene for his formative years, and many of the most famous transcendentalists isolated themselves. So did the most famous of philosophers. It gets to the core of your humanity, what is at the base of your existence. Your temporality.

I think this is what I am going to try to do in India. See how much stillness I can find within myself. Maybe on the way I’ll find some truth.

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health_symbol

3 reasons why you should start practicing yoga

Yoga has changed western lifestyles for a reason. It is a powerful healing and rejuvenation system that cleanses the nervous system, cardiovascular and circulatory systems, the respiratory system, and the digestive system of the human body. With new techniques of Yin yoga, originally brought to the West by Paul Grilley, the development of the Ashtanga series by Patthabi Jois brought to the West by David West, and the spread of yoga through systems created by modern-day teachers like Bikram and Baptiste in the Americas, yoga has become a powerful tool for mastering the body and mind. The West has gotten some potent and powerful exposure to the healing art that originated in India, but we are in the infancy of using yogic techniques to target and heal different parts of the body.

I once heard yoga described as the most advanced form of physical rehabilitation. I like that. Yoga takes the body beyond its current limits by enhancing neurological, muscular-skeletal, and circulatory efficiency. Essentially, yoga heals disruptions and stagnation in the circulation of the bodily systems through alignment. This creates more efficient pathways for  the body to recycle energy and to operate at full efficiency, especially the muscular-skeletal system.

Most yogic theoreticians would tell you that a large amount of the benefits of yoga actually come from the alignment of the respiratory system with the rest of the body; in the vast majority of studies breathing effects are shown to have profound effects upon the mind and body, in many cases even greater effects that the practice of asana by itself. However, all of the studies I have read included a ‘light’ form of yoga; as far as I know there hasn’t been an incredible amount of research on the primary series of Ashtanga and how the more advanced yoga postures effect the nervous system, or the true benefits of a rigorous yoga practice.

All yogis and yoginis will admit to the tremendous mental benefits of yoga: clarity, focus, calm, patience, rejuvenation, energy; Brian Kest is famous for describing the tremendous release of endorphins that yoga causes as a yoga ‘high’. It gets you kind of stoned. But with more clarity and focus. So if you like feeling good, yoga is probably for you. Think of being able to dive into the deepest muscles of your body and release tension after a long race; to be able to slow your breathing and take time to calm yourself after an intense discussion with a significant other; or just being calmer and less reactive during the course of your day. Reducing anxiety, stress, and depression are just a few of the clinically proven mental benefits of yoga; on top of that you can add more efficient sleep cycles, and major improvements in osteoporosis and arthritis. But those aren’t even the most beneficial reasons why you should start a yoga practice. Here are my top 3 reasons why everyone should practice yoga.

Reason #1 why you should start yoga now: Cardiovascular Benefits

Guess what the top killer in North America is? Heart disease. Stress. Yoga continues to be proven to contribute to a healthy heart and cardiovascular system and we are learning more as the studies surrounding the science become more and more regimented.

Reason #2: Respiratory benefits

Have you ever had a hard time breathing? Breathing is something that I don’t think the majority of people think about on a daily basis, but they should. Breathing affects both the heart and the mind in very integral ways: the heart is encased by the lungs and can absolutely contribute to accelerating or decelerating your heart rate (listen to the breath of someone in a panic attack, or after large dosages of stress; their breathing tends to be more shallow). Scientists also say that lifespan tends to be measured in terms of breaths rather than heartbeats or time. This is not new information, in Science News in 1981 you can find this quote on page 74:

Findings resulting from a 5,200 clinical study group observed over a 30 year span showed that pulmonary function measurement is an indicator of general health and vigor and literally the primary measure of potential life span.”

I’m not sure if you know, but Science News is kind of big deal. Breathing also has enormous unexplored and unproven mental benefits; the peace, appreciation, and tranquility that a yoga practice can bring to your life are nothing short of miraculous.

Reason #3: Mental Benefits

This is the final reason to practice yoga, and probably the most important. Internal peace can change the world, creating non-reactivity allows cycles of anger, violence, discrimination, and intolerance to end. Even in your own life, turning down the volume of stressful situations will help you to live longer.

Many people consider the brain to be the regulator of the body and this is absolutely the case; the entire body is mapped to different areas of the brain and all proprioceptive information flows through the spinal cord (which yoga also focuses on and is also intricately linked to breathing). Many scientists are uncovering that the origins of the vast majority of disease, some estimate as high as 95%, originate in the mind. By disciplining the body, the mind unveils itself and lends itself to be forged by meditation. The body creates consciousness (the brain is a part of the body) and the mind is not necessarily limited to the brain so tempering the body through breath leads to freedom from fluctuations in the mind (high and lows). With yoga, you can obtain a constant bliss, that bring awareness and appreciation to even the hard and crappy parts of life. But you can also do all of that without yoga, but it’s probably quite a bit harder.

When you consider the increased length of time for high-focus activity, freedom from distraction, calmness in the midst of high pressure situations, most high performance athletes and thinkers should consider and intensely personalized yoga practice. The benefits seem to be unending.

I’ve never participated in anything so physically and mentally challenging. Yoga will take you to places inside that don’t exist outside of your consciousness. It places you closer to your humanity and gives a holistic perspective of the world, society, and subjective consciousness’ place in the universe.  Give it a chance, you won’t regret it.

 

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fantasy world

The Wanderer

This is a short story that I originally wrote as a stand-alone short and has turned into a series. It is influenced by the Yamas,  most particularly Satya, truth.

There once was a wandering sage who had given up all of his possessions to know and be one with god. When the old man arrived in the desert village where he would spend the night, a young boy asked him why he wandered. The older man, strong but weathered from the harsh sun replied with an eery silence, “I search for god.” The boy was in awe. He spoke simply, slowly, and with the great conviction of a lifelong quest. The old man looked up at the sun and smiled. The boy had never seen such peace before.

The boy started to talk to this man when he returned from the desert, as he begged in the main streets of desert towns. He only returned from time to time, but the boy found him to be full of great wisdom. The man had nothing and took only what he needed to survive in the harsh desert outside of the villages and he claimed to be free of the material world. One day when he returned to the village, he met the young man and they spoke of that day the sage had spoken of his quest to god. He was entranced by his quest for perfect stillness and pure bliss. The boy said he wished to follow the sage as he wandered and the old man agreed.

“But first”, the sage said, “you must say farewell to your mother and father and tell them about the journey you wish to embark upon. Only with their blessing, may you follow my footsteps as you please.”

So the boy left the sage to fulfill his charge so he could leave to find god with this great sage who was quieter and slower than anyone he had met.

First the boy decided that he would said goodbye to his father, thinking it would be easier than talking to his mother. The sage waited outside the village, silent in the harsh desert while the sun set with his eyes unmoving on the sun. Pink and orange spilled over the horizon with the dying day.

The boy rushed home, excited to depart and tell his parents of the news. But to his surprise, his father replied sullenly and sadly when he learned of his son’s intentions, “So you wish to know god, do you? What do you feel you are missing here? You could stay with us and learn from the few books we have collected of the great gods of the epics.” But the boy was not pleased and hung his head for a moment. He took a step towards the door to leave, but his father spoke in a pleading tone.

“Please son, don’t leave. I fear you will find nothing out in the harsh elements but suffering and death. Learn to herd and farm and raise a family, like your ancestors before you.”

“But father,” the young-man replied soberly, “I must learn about myself and my world!” He continued speaking in more of a whisper than his full voice, as if it were partially a secret. “There is so much out there and I know so little! I met a sage in the village today and he is on a journey to find god! He looks at the sun as pure bliss and he has no worries, no chores, no pigs to feed, and no one to look after. He wanders from place to place and seems to be at peace with everything! He is wise father, he said he needs nothing!”

Father chuckled sadly at his son’s enthusiasm, “He is wise you say? What has he taught you? Did he tell you that everything that you see is a reflection of what is inside of you. And inside of you, there is a powerful spark of light, some call it god, others call it other things. This light is the same light as the light you see in the sleeping sky, winking at you from their places in heaven. You don’t need to go anywhere to find this thing you call god. Did this sage trick you into following him? Why are you so set on this mission of yours?”

“No, I asked him if I could follow him.” the son retorted. He was angry now, and sick of his father’s cryptic messages. He did not see a light inside of himself as his father had said. His voice heightened with sarcasm, “If god is already inside of me, why do the sages travel in pilgrimages, why do people retreat to mountains to find enlightenment, what is the point of seeing the world? Why do even the most powerful men bow and pray and sacrifice to the gods? Certain places are more sacred than others are they not? Do you really think these people do all of these things for nothing?” The son threw up his hands in despair.

His father replied slowly, “God is in everything son. Some people see god clearer when they are in a specific place, or doing a specific thing. Sometimes, it is when they feel the most alive.” Father sighed heavily, as if resigning his conclusion, “I grow saddened by your malcontent. You are searching for what is right in front of you!”

But at this the son grew angry. His father obviously did not understand. “Then why is there suffering father? Why do people get sick, die, and live in pain? Why is there disease, evil, scarcity, and poison? If god is inside of us, why do we hurt so much, all the time? Why isn’t everything prosperous and fruitful? Why do men travel to mountains and rivers and shrines and holy places to find god if he is just there inside! It doesn’t make any sense! I want a life of little suffering and I want to free myself from this weight I feel each and every day.”

At this, his father grew thoughtful and bowed his head in contemplation. “How many of these men have found what they were looking for, son? Have you even asked this sage if he knows god? Has his wandering and begging borne fruit? Listen closely son, men are full of lies and deceit and greed. Do not trust them, even this sage, whom you think has found the answers you are searching for. Each will serve himself more than he serves you.” He paused again, this time he examined his son, and his eyes teared as he spoke. “You must serve yourself, I understand. I will sorely miss you, son. You are my greatest love, the fruit of my life and I wish you prosperity and success in your journey to god. Listen for one last thing before you go. I believe that we hurt because we are meant to learn, my son. But the lessons are up to you. Perhaps this is what you must learn. I love you my son, someday, remember that you are always welcome here.”

The father smiled and embraced his son with all of his spirit, but the son was now simply confused and even more frustrated, his father didn’t make any sense. He was simply done with his nonsensical non-theology and was ready to say goodbye to his mother. He hugged his father back and felt warmth spread through his body as his frustration melted and he realized that he might not see his father again for a long time. Tears began to fall and they found themselves shaking for a moment in their sorrow. The son turned to leave, surer than ever of his path to freedom and bliss.

The boy’s excitement at the idea of journeying with the sage didn’t fade and he went into his mother’s room, the only other room in the house, to speak with her.

When he walked in, his mother quickly wiped her eyes, she had obviously overheard the father. She embraced her son immediately and cried into his now strong chest and arms; he was now a full six inches taller than her. He was days away from the final ceremony of manhood in the village, but he would leave all that behind. After a minute of holding his mother, he wiped her eyes with his sleeve and told her that he would return someday. He felt an intense sorrow begin to come over him, but he would not be swayed from his quest.

She replied harshly, much to the son’s surprise, “Do not speak to me of the future, unknown and meaningless. I want to spend time with my only son! Are you really leaving me here? Why do you leave your father and me, your family to follow this man whom you know nothing of? What has he found but despair and poverty in the harshness of the desert sun?”

“He searches for god!” the son exclaimed. “Mother, please understand. I wish to find god, I do not want to ordinary, boring life of a shepherd! I want to be free of this miserable suffering to live eternal bliss! This sage will lead me to freedom and lead me from this boring life.”

At this his mother let out a brief sigh. “Then you must leave my son. But remember to follow your heart, above all else, it will tell you where you need to go.” And she embraced her son for a long soft hug. It made the boy sad to see his mother in tears, but he was convinced of his quest. Then, the boy left into the darkening sky, now a faded purple with stars beginning to shimmer in the growing darkness.

The parents were saddened, but days, then weeks, then months and years passed. Their son did not return home. After a decade, he had still not returned and they gave him up for dead. Many of their friends had died on similar quests to find god, so they assumed death had claimed their son.

But one day, the once boy, now a man wandered into their small village. He met his mother’s eyes and she immediately ran to him and embraced him so fully that he dropped his begging bowl. The porcelain shattered on the hard ground. Tears flowed from their eyes onto the sandy ground, tears of joy. It had been more than 11 years since his departure.

He stood under the village gate as his parents looked questioningly at their forgotten son; it was obvious that he had suffered, there were scars on his back, his lips were cracking, and he was so thin that you could easily make out the bones of his body.

“I have returned!” he spoke with enthusiasm through the obvious weakness. His voice was ragged as his clothes.

They fed him water and the man who was once their young son spoke slowly, pain obvious in his voice. They clothed him and his mother bathed his sores and cuts and cooled his fever. That night, the son rose to speak with his father. He met his father to watch the stars of the darkness fly in the sky and they walked outside of the village, into the border of the now cooled dunes.

The son spoke after a time, in a voice sure and slow, “It took ten years of wandering the desert with nothing, following sage after sage to understand what I was looking for. I found misery, suffering, and greed. Even sages take and lie, sometimes. We are all seemingly bound by our humanity. Father, you were right, each man who I followed took from me to feed himself when it came down to a choice between him and me. This happened until I decided that I would feed myself first. But no one would feed me before I did. I found nothing that I was looking for, but suffering and death and luckily not my own.” The son looked into his father’s eyes to see tears dropping on the floor.

The son smiled and embraced his father, “You are my truest teacher. No sage led me to god, the only answers I found were those that I concluded. I think I had to see what god was not before I could see clearly what god really is. Wandering this place forced me to learn what was truly in my heart by stepping away from things that I loved dearest.”

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satya

Satya | सत्य

Satya is the Hindu concept of absolute truth and ultimate reality. In the Matrix, the real world covered in clouds and barren from war would be considered the reality, or Satya of that plane of existence. Satya is a deep underlying concept that spans across the Indian religions and has influenced the cultural practices of the East tremendously.

Satya is a complex sanskrit word, derived from the root word “sat” which is equivalent to the english verb “to be”. This is the most fundamental western verb (based in latin) and at least in French, it is used more than 50% of the time. Sat literally means ideal, pure, and true and refers to Brahman, the universal spirit of the Hindu religion. Satya has several translation because of its complexity:

  • unchangable
  • undistortable
  • beyond distinctions of the space-time continuum
  • pervades the universe in all of its consistency
  • absolute truth
  • reality

Oftentimes, Satya will be compounded with another sanskrit word to mean ultimate, ultra, highest, purest, truest, or highest. Satyaloka means the highest heaven. Satya is a gateway to acknowledgement of the illusion of Moksha, and the enlightened one, or Bodhi, becomes aware of the true nature of Satya. Satya also has a connotation of benevolence, giving it another meaning of love and goodness. As an example, the body is not considered Satya, because it changes with time. Patanjali said that “when one is established in speaking truth, the fruits of karma become available to them”. Samadhi is the gateway to Satya, and is the realization of what is truly immutable in this world through oneness with the divine.

Satya is love and absolute truth compounded to form the reality that we live in. It is the immutable, absolute, and unchanging. The Jain idea of an eternal universe becomes very useful for understanding how the Hindus view Satya; the universe has truths that transcend the space-time continuum. Many people consider god and the universe to be interchangeable words, but almost every religion in the world recognizes god as love. So these concepts come together in the archetype of Satya, one that doesn’t exist as prominently in the western world.

From here, there is one more point to clarify about truth; is it subjective or objective. I believe that there is objective truth, but that humans can only experience it subjectively because of our consciousness. This means that for us humans, objective truth is not a part of reality, because everything is relative to our own consciousness. It is very hard to know that something will be true in 5,000 years, but this is the essential quality of Satya; it is unchanging.

I would love to hear about what you think of truth, I’m working on a short story now on the topic of truth, check back tomorrow and it will hopefully be finished! (I’m about halfway done now :))

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Samadhi

The 8 Limbs of Yoga (Part 8: Samādhi | समाधि)

Samadhi is the 8th and final limb of yoga. Samadhi is a state of concentrated meditation that transcends the intellect, mind, and body and complete detachment from the physical world (meaning consciousness becomes detached from the body). This final stage of yoga is also known as enlightenment and can be achieved in Corpse Pose, after meditation involving Dharana and Dhyana. In this state, the yogi can suspend consciousness away from the body, being at one with the environment and surroundings while not being limited to physical restraints of the body. Samadhi represents a state of enlightenment and over time the yogi obtains a ceaseless state of transcendent bliss.

In Buddhism, Samadhi is known as the 8th wheel of the eightfold path referring to right concentration. Buddhists believe that this right concentration leads to extraordinary intelligence and even superpowers. But these are simply distractions for the practitioner from the goal of Moksha, or liberation. Samadhi leads to a pleasantness in your current life, knowledge of the divine third eye by concentration on light, clear comprehension of the fluctuations of feelings, perceptions, and thoughts through mindfulness, and the elimination of the 5 Skandha’s (attachments to matter, sensation, perception, mental habits, and discernment). In Buddhism, Samadhi does not refer to enlightenment, rather a state of concentrated meditation that leads to enlightenment. Nirvana is enlightened freedom from attachment and Samsara through Moksha.

Samadhi is a state of supreme detachment, where consciousness is free to leave the body and can expand beyond the borders of the physical corpse of the consciousness. It is a supreme state of bliss that is experienced in Savasana, or in meditation after a yoga practice is completed. This is why you don’t skip Savasana! Meditate after your yoga practice, it is far more powerful after the body has been tempered. The sensations and insights that flow during these meditation can alter your perspective and even mental processes that can change. It is integral to the yoga practice to rest in Savasana and meditate; they are the most important things you can do to amplify the healing and regenerative qualities of yoga.

Samadhi is intricately related to consciousness. It can be described as full awareness, perfect concentration, or an altered state of consciousness characterized by ananda and sukha (bliss and joy). Vyasa, one of the authors of the Mahabharata, said ‘yoga is Samadhi’. It is ultimately complete control over the fluctuations of consciousness including distractions and normal functionality of the nervous system and conscious experience.

Patanjali said that Samadhi has three different aspects: Savikalpa, Asamprajnata, and Nirvikalpa. In Savikalpa the mind is still conscious and the imagination is active and the state can be described as holding onto the imagination with effort. Asamprajnata is a step forward from Savikalpa and is not quite gross awareness, but is a heightened state of conscious awareness. Nirvikalpa is the highest transcendent state of consciousness, the highest of the heights of yoga. It is an engrossing awareness where all things are one and pure unadulterated bliss, wholeness, and perfection are experienced. It is pure joy, freedom, and steady bliss in the knowledge of awareness.

Samadhi is like balancing blocks on top of one another, where it takes years to learn all of the nuances of each block and how they work together. Simply allowing the body to meditate is not enough; full concentration and focus is required to obtain the state of pure freedom.

The final liberation of the yogi comes at the time of death, known as mahasamadhi and is a controlled exit of the consciousness from the body to merge consciousness with the divine. Maha means great.

I would like to dedicate this post to BKS Iyengar, who died this morning, one of the greatest (yoga) teachers the world has ever known. My hope is that he found mahasamadhi in his last hours and that he has found the freedom and peace beyond. He brought yoga into the west and gave everyone seemingly limitless knowledge on even the most minuscule and minute details. He gave us in the west the opportunity to scale the heights of Raja yoga and changed the world for the better. Thank you.

The 8 Limbs of Yoga (Part 8: Samādhi | समाधि) Read More »

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