1. Vishuddhi Chakra - Lessons 4 to 6

'Chakra' means wheel, something circular that rotates, which is how our centers look to those who can perceive them.

The chakras lie along a central line that runs up our spine from the tailbone to the crown of the head. This central conduit for energy is called Sushumna. Entwined around it on the left and right sides of the spine are two other energy lines, the Ida and the Pingala, which carry feminine and masculine energy respectively. Ida and Pingala run from the tailbone to the nostrils, weaving back and forth around Sushumna. Wherever they meet and cross lies a chakra.

Chakras are the subtle energy hubs of our body. The seven major chakras are:

Sahasrara Ajna Vishuddhi Anahata Manipuraka Swadishthana Muladhara

Though they have no physical location, these energy centers are present along the length of the body.

Chakras roughly correspond to, and influence the activity of, the important glands of the body. The chakras deeply impact our physical and mental health. Chakras are, in turn, affected by our thoughts and emotions. The chakras are direct channels to the boundless energy of the Cosmos.

Immoderate lifestyles, stress and negative emotions can 'lock' the chakras, or cause them to malfunction.

Without even being aware of it, we are continuously blocking off these important sources of energy.

That's why almost all physical and mental illness can be partly or wholly cured, simply by cleansing and energizing the corresponding chakra.

These chakras were discovered a long time ago during the Vedic age. In fact, in many of the spiritual chants, you will find referen Today science has proved that there is a gland located near each of these chakras that is related to that particular chakra. These seven chakras supply energy to the glands.

These seven major chakras deeply influence our physical, emotional and mental activities.

Chakras are energy centers and if they are kept in a cleansed and energized condition, they can cause us to live an ecstatic and healthy life.

Dis-ease is only an imbalance in any one of these chakras, because our body and mind are rooted in our inner consciousness. Keeping these chakras in a healthy state, we can see a transformation happening in us at the mental and physical levels

After World War I, a biplane was abandoned near a remote tribal settlement in Asia. The tribal people had never seen an aircraft in all their lives. There was a lot of excitement and commotion about it and a big crowd gathered around it. They wondered what it might be and each one started giving some suggestion about it.

They finally concluded that since it had wheels, it must be a bullock cart! News spread in the village about the new bullock cart. There was a lot of celebration in the village and the biplane was taken around the settlement yoked to bullocks, and it served as a bullock cart.

Some weeks later, a young tribal boy who had returned from the city where he was studying, saw the biplane. He got into it and looked around. He saw all the gears and mechanisms in it. He fiddled with the switches and levers.

Suddenly, the engine came to life!

He managed to taxi the plane on the ground for a short distance and the villagers were shocked at what they saw. The boy had seen tractors being used and declared to the people that the biplane was not a bullock cart but some kind of tractor.

There was great celebration once again and the biplane started being used as a tractor!

Six months passed by and a retired army officer came to the village. He saw the biplane being used as a tractor and was shocked! He told the villagers that it was not a tractor and that the plane could actually fly. They refused to believe him because the only things they had ever seen flying were birds! The army officer got into the aircraft, flew it for a short while and landed.

The villagers were wonderstruck. Then they understood its true potential.

Understand: man is a wonderful mechanism meant to fly. But we don't know our true potentiality.

We have a very limited view of ourselves. Most of us operate only as a bullock cart, at the instinct level, surrendering to our emotions.

Just like this, there are mechanisms or gears inside us, called the chakras, which are boundless energy centers. Each of them is associated with a particular emotion within us. If we understand how to handle the emotion properly, we can function as an aircraft.

Each chakra is connected to a different endocrine gland in the physical body. The endocrine glands govern our hormones and therefore also our emotions.

Any positive or negative experiences we have had relating to the emotion of a specific chakra is stored inside that chakra.

The second chakra, lying between the navel and the pubic bone, governs fear. If we have had a deep fright at some point in our lives, the feeling of it is stored in that chakra. It determines how we react to future situations that remind us of our fear. It may block us from achieving our goals in life by interfering

whenever we need courage to face our situations. The existence and location.

It has been proven that when a person is locked with a particular negative emotion, the chakra associated with that emotion shrinks to the size of a coat button. It becomes that small.

But when the same person experiences the associated positive emotion, the chakra expands to the size of a cartwheel! This is the effect that our emotions have on these energy centers, our chakras.

Our energy flow in these chakras is blocked by our negative emotions and activated by our positive emotons and we are totally unaware of it!

Vishuddhi means which is beyond Shuddhi.

Shuddhi means purification. Ashuddhi means impure. Shuddha means which is pure. Ashuddha means which is impure. Vishuddha means which is beyond pure and impurity, which cannot be contaminated at all.

The Vishuddhi Chakra actually cannot be contaminated. It is always with full of energy and life. Only we cover it with some ideas. We try to disturb it.

Patanjali says, "If you can bend 6 inches today, try bending 6 ½ inches tomorrow ". A Shakthi (Energy) in you will grow and become a force. The Vishuddhi chakra is a storehouse of a great treasure that is Energy. The key and the lock to this are with us. When we don't know that what we have is a key, it is no more a key, it is just an iron rod!

In a beautiful place called AlmoraintheHimalayas,there is a small ashramwitha fewhutsforthosewho wish to meditate. This placeis surroundedbyice-capped mountains andis knowntobefrequented by tigers at night. I was thereforashortwhile during my days of wandering. Whentheheadof the ashram senses the tigers, hewouldringabelland the Sanyasis would get intotheirrespectivehutsand close the doors behindthem.

On one occasion, thebell rangandallofus got into our respectivehuts.Thenextday, the head came aroundtoseeifwewere all OKand foundthatoneofthehuts was closed andtheSanyasiinsidewas shouting throughthewindowthathe couldn't openthedoor. Fourofusgot in through the windowandfoundthat he had placedagrindingstoneagainst the door whichhenowcouldn'tmove.

We jointly nudgedandmovedthestoneaway to open the door. Itsuddenlystruck us howthe manmighthavemoved the stone single-handedlyagainstthe door in the first place?Hewasmoresurprised than us andhereplied"Movedit? I simply lifted it andplacedit!"Whenhe had heard the call of thetiger,hesimply lifted the stonetoplaceagainstt h e d o o r t h a t 's al l . Thereisatremendous amount of energyinourVishuddhi and we don't knowhowtoopen it out.

Jealousy and comparison, that locks, disturbs the Vishuddhi Chakra,

W h e n y o u a r e a c c e p t i n g a n d understanding your own uniqueness, when you are not comparing yourself with others, when you are not jealous about others, this chakra opens.

When there is a non-alignment between your e x p e c t a ti o n a b o u t o t h e rs a n d o t h e rs expectation about you, that is where the jealousy and comparison starts.

The reason for jealousy, root cause for jealousy is low energy, the low energy. Low energy is the root for jealousy, because you are not able to achieve - you feel jealous, you tend to compare, you tend to disturb the others. If you can create enough energy in yourself, in your own Being, to achieve what you want to achieve, naturally you will not have any disturbance or any problems by comparing or by jealousy.

Comparing with others - Comparing with the neighbours, comparing with the nearby person, comparing with colleague, comparing with brothers, comparing between family people. Let us enter whatever the major aspects which creates or destroys our life,

Buddha says to watch the Monkey trainer instructing the monkey. He holds a stick in his hand and shouts 'Dance Rama! Dance Rama!" and the monkey dances. He then shouts " Turn cartwheels Rama! Turn cartwheels Rama!" and the monkey turns cartwheels. In this same way, the Maya Shakthi (The power of illusion) uses a stick called 'Comparison' to run our lives.

Anyway, let us look at the major areas of comparison amongst people. All points of comparison can be brought under the major heads namely money, status, beauty and knowledge what is our status in these category?

• ü Are you a rich man? Are you a poor man?
• ü Are you a man of name and fame?
• ü Are you beautiful?

haunts our life.

You are continuously haunted, disturbed, squeezed by these subjects. But you don't know your status in these four subjects.

Just open your eyes and see. You are creating your own suffering, without having any clear data.you have no clear data, you have no clear concept, you don't have any clarity, but you continuously suffer. Why?

One man was doing rigorous penance in a jungle for God to appear. God condescended and appeared before him. He told him to ask for what he wanted. The man replied that he was a landlord and had lost all his wealth and that he wished to become wealthy again. God said that the following day, if the man ran from dawn to dusk, all the area covered by him would be his. The Man was happy. The next day the man started running even before dawn. He ran as fast as he could. How comparison affects you?

Close to noon, hunger beckoned but he didn't pay heed and kept running. Early in the evening, thirst and fatigue gripped him but he was goaded on by the thought of the neighbouring landlord who owned many acres of land. A little before sunset, he felt giddy and weak but managed a few more steps by merely thinking of the neighbouring landlord, but faltered and fell dead. This is how we all live our lives. We run the race without feeling any true satisfaction,

without even stopping to think why we are running! Shankaracharya describes this as "thatha kim, thatha kim…" meaning "what next, what next…"

Comparative reality Which is not there but which you create is the comparative reality. A continuous comparison with others, actually it is not there which you create, a purely your own creation, your own production.

You are not suffering because of reality. You are suffering because of comparative reality. This is the key. There are two types of existence

When there is a non-alignment between your expectation about others and others expectation about you, that is where the jealousy and comparison starts.

Jealousy starts as the justification. Clear. Then, it becomes a violence

• 1. Positive existence these flowers, they are existing positively. If you want to remove it, you can remove it. If you want to handle it, you can handle it. If you want to take it and keep it here, you can keep it.
• 2. Negative existence darkness which is inside the room, that is negatively existing. Can you do something about the darkness? If you want to remove the darkness, can you remove the darkness? Can you handle the darkness

Just like darkness negatively existing, your comparative reality suffering also is a negative existence. You can't do anything. If you want to remove the darkness, you have to throw light. Directly you can't do anything with darkness. Just like that, if you want do something with your Vishuddhi Chakra,

A continuous comparison and continuous jealousy, changes the route of your life. The negative existence, things which don't exist, haunts you in your life - because you are unaware, because you are in low energy.

That is what Upanishads say, Maya - yama iti maya - which is not there is Maya. But Maya is the cause for all our problems,

sorrows.

Vedantis say, "Maya is the root cause for everything, for all our problems."

How can you be haunted by which is not there? You can be haunted, you can be harassed, you can be nagged, somebody who is existing, which is already happening, that is different; somebody who is existing, if they nag you, its okay. But you are nagged by somebody who is not existing, who is not living, who is ' yama' , who is not there - how can it happen? This is the way it happens.

Which is not there but which you create - the comparative reality.

A man was leading in a 1000-meter race. After running 200 metres, he looked back and saw that the rest are after him and he ran on. After 500 meters, he looked back again and was happy that he was still leading and ran on. Every few meters, he did the same thing and finally won the race. If the man had not looked back and concentrated only on running faster, he would have won the race in a much shorter span of time

In life too, our concentration is always on others and not fully on our progress. We never fully live our own lives.

Mahaveerar says "When we come into this world, we bring with us all the shakthi (energy) needed for our lifetime. God does not send us empty-handed." We spend this energy on watching others' activities and others' desires. When you are at home your mind will say 'It is enough if I have a home and a car for myself." Your mind will be relaxed at this thought. When you step out in your car and stop by at a traffic light, the Mercedes Benz that pulls up alongside your car with a jolt will jolt the relaxed state of your mind. You again start working out others' desires.

Albert Einstein, a famous scientist belonging to the last century was in his deathbed. His junior scientists asked him what he would like to be born as if he had a re-birth. They expected him to come out with desires of being born as a greater scientist in a field other than atomic theory or something to that effect. Einstein replied "I wouldliketobebornasaplumber. Initially, I wanted tobeaplumber,butIwas deceived by the fame andstatus of thescientistsand hence chose to become a scientist.Today,Ihave everything except satisfactionof havinglived.Igave many truths to man but deceivedmyownlife."This is a classic example of how we should start living our own desires and lives instead of our neighbours'.

When you want something, think whether it is for your own sake or because your neighbour has it. Drop the so-called prestige problems. Live in your own way and die peacefully with full satisfaction even if it were in a platform; it is better than dying a prolonged death in a marble house in an air-conditioned

room on a six-inch high bed. We will never meet failure if we live our lives by competing with ourselves. Win yourself with yourself, never with others. Every minute of comparison with others is a waste of time in your own progress. A great problem in the rat race is that even if you win you are only a rat! Lock yourself in a room and analyse how much of time and energy you waste in comparison with others; more than 60% I am sure. We talk of conserving petrol, water and electricity. What about conserving our own Energy?

Emotion: Comparison and Jealousy

Chakra: Vishuddhi Chakra

Location: Throat region

In Sanskrit, Vishuddhi means 'beyond purity and impurity '. The name therefore means that this chakra can never get impure and hence never needs to be cleansed. That is why comparison, which locks this chakra, is like a shadow without an object. There is no basis for the concept of comparison. It is purely a figment of our imagination. This chakra is locked by comparison and jealousy and it can be made to flower when we exhibit our individuality without worrying about others, and express fully our capacity, uniqueness and creativity

Meditation Technique to be an innocent and egoless being:

Shakti Sagar Meditation— A technique from Zen Buddhism

INTRODUCTION: Teach the children about living your own desires.

GOALS: To make the children understand about living their own desires.

We are all the time trying to beat each other.

We are all the time trying to beat the other. When you are after borrowed desires, you will never stop, because when you are on the verge of realizing any one of them, another borrowed desire will come up from somewhere and you will be on track once more! You keep running because you are centered not within yourself but on something outside. Your center is on other people. And they center is elsewhere, not inside themselves! Imagine how much you have to run, how much you have to pull and push according to become a puppet. If you are able to live out only your desires, you will die a peaceful death, full of satisfaction even if it is on the platform. If you live your whole life with borrowed desires, you will never see real fulfillment and even if you are living in a marble house, you will have a prolonged death, pulling and pushing, unable to get liberated from your unfulfilled desires.

Part 2: Vishuddhi Chakra - Lessons 4 to 6_English_part_2.md

• ¤ Why are we all trying to beat each other?
• ¤ Why do we keep running after borrowed desires?
• ¤ What happens when you are able to live in only your desires?
• ¤ When do we become a puppet?

• Paper with half picture drawn on it
• Pencil
• Eraser

Encourage the children to draw the other half of the picture looking at it.

When you have borrowed desires, you are not centered within yourself but on something outside.

Talk about the incidents in your life where comparison leads to jealousy.

This game is like trust walk, but the sighted player trusts the blindfolded player. Before the game starts the player who is to be blindfolded familiarizes themselves with a preset route, which has turns at various places, such as benches. They are then blindfolded and have to guide their sighted companion along the route. The sighted player takes care of any safety, such as roads. If the blindfolded layer gets lost, the sighted player guides them for the rest of the course. Once the course is completed, the blindfolded player and the sighted swap places. details. gAME of the day:

Conclude the topic by reiterating the important

Introduce the children to the topic of want and need.

GOALS: To have the children understand thestark difference between Wants Vs Needs.

Always prioritize your needs over your wants

There is a difference between needs and wants. Your needs are already taken care of in some way. It is possible to satisfy your needs, but it becomes impossible to satisfy your wants because they are changing all the time. For example, let's say you go to the shop to buy a fan for your house. On the way you meet some friends on the road who tell you that they are going to buy some other things in other shops. Immediately, you are tempted to go with them and you change your original plan and go buy along with them. Then you find that you don't have enough money to buy your fan!

• ¤ Is there a difference between needs and wants?
• ¤ What is a need and what is a want?
• ¤ When do you get the call of discontentment
• ¤ When do you turn yourself towards spirituality?
• ¤ When do you turn towards depression?

• Paper
• Eraser
• Pencil Colour
• Sketch pen

Encourage the children to draw their needs and wants in a pictorial format.

It is possible to satisfy your needs but it becomes impossible to satisfy your wants because they are changing all the time.

Talk about their needs and wants

One person is blindfolded and is the blind cow. The blind cow is led to the center of the circle and spun around, they wait for the game to begin. A bell should be passed around the circle and rung as it is passed. The blind cow will then follow the sound of the bell. The game leader points to the player with the bell and the player should stop ringing the bell. The blind cow now has to guess who is holding the bell (by pointing). If the blind cow is right, the two swap places. Otherwise the game continues until the blind cow guesses correctly. our mind. gAME of the day:

Conclude the topic by reiterating the important details like borrowed desires happen so subtly in

Teach the children that there is more in the present enjoying life than in the attainment.

GOALS: To make children understand the call of discontentment

The mind is an illusion.

The call of discontentment is from your being. When you understand that, you turn towards spirituality. But when you don't understand that, you turn towards depression, because you don't know where you are missing it. You don't know where the thread is. You don't know what went wrong. Existence is always showering upon us. There is such abundance! But we are so well trained in the discipline of discontentment that we have become insensitive to what we receive. We always want more.

We all function around these three axes: doing, having and being. Doing for having, without enjoying being, is the sole cause of all our miser r, Doing never catches up with having. Every time we work hard and fulfill one desire, there are more desires to make us run.

Never think, 'let me work now, I can enjoy later.' Don't think you can come back later and enjoy! Every tomorrow comes in the form of today. Doing should lead to being in every moment, only then you are on the right track. Don't postpone living. Celebrate! Enjoy Life, it is now or never. We all run throughout our lives thinking we can enjoy later but we end up finally running into the graveyard. When you get on the running track you loose your real capacity to enjoy. You forgot how to enjoy.

• ¤ When does existence shower on us?
• ¤ When do we become insensitive to what we receive?
• ¤ Do we always want more?
• ¤ What is doing, having, being?
• ¤ What can be postponed? Which is an illusion?

• Paper,
• Pencil
• Eraser

Encourage the children to draw misery in a pictorial format. Ask them to explain what they have drawn.

Doing for having without enjoying being is the sole cause of all our misery. Doing never catches up with having. There is more pleasures in the pursuit than in the attainment.

Talk about their major discontentment in life and make them understand that it is not real.

The players all line up in a circle, each standing behind the other. Then one person is chosen and is blindfolded, and spun around. As they are spun around the people in the circle begin to walk around, so that the circle moves around the blindfolded player. They then move around the circle and stop two people, the person behind these two people then becomes it. details. gAME of the day:

Conclude the topic by reiterating the important