Yoga Makes You Act Into Reality🔗

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

In yoga, the mind becomes quiet and the Self is satisfied by the Self in the Self

When one aspect is complete, all others also become complete

Yoga is for moving into reality, transcending the senses and the mind

By attaining that Supreme, one does not consider any other gain as being greater. By being situated in the Supreme, one is not shaken by the greatest of misery

In the state of pūrṇa, complete completion, no joy can make it more blissful, no sorrow can make it less blissful

6.23

When yoga is practiced with determination without deviating, the misery by contact with material senses is removed

Determination will give us the energy to practice yoga

6.24

Giving up completely all the fantasies born of the mind, one can regulate all the senses from all the sides by the mind

When we bring the light of knowledge, ignorance is removed and we see the object as it is

Kṛṣṇa talks about key elements to experience yoga: practice with determination and practice without deviating from the prescribed way.

Nithya Yoga — the yoga of eternity — is re-presenting yoga. The method has evolved but the system, the truth itself is the same as the original system offered by the great master, Patañjali. His system is so complete that we can't add even a single word to the techniques. It is the experience of Truth and Truth cannot be developed.

Patañjali's Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, eight organs of yoga or aṅga has unfortunately been wrongly translated as 'eight steps of yoga'. Because of this, it has become just a small few techniques or methods to make your body flexible and a little healthy. That is a disgrace done to yoga. When you get a diamond and you use that diamond just as a vegetable cutter, it is a disgrace to the diamond. In the same way, when you use the powerful science of yoga just as technique to bring a little health, it is so unfortunate!

This is what Kṛṣṇa means when He says, 'Self is satisfied by the Self in the Self'. All of this has to happen together, not part by part. When one aspect is complete, all others also become complete. This is the state of pūrṇa, complete completion. Nothing can be taken away from it. Nothing can be added to it that would make any difference to its state of completeness. No joy can make it more blissful, no sorrow can make it less blissful. One becomes centered in bliss. When centered in bliss, it is forever!

The way yoga is taught and practiced in many places, one is moved away from reality into a fantasy world, to fulfill one's imagined needs. The senses and the mind wander aimlessly. Running after the fantasies created by the mind is just like running after a mirage or running after the horizon. We can never achieve bliss by running behind these fantasies because these fantasies have no existence in reality.

DRAW THE POSTURE

MATERIALS NEEDED:

PROCEDURE Children make a figure and change the arms and legs into the different asanas

INFERENCE Yoga is also about moving the body Moving the body is healthy

MATERIALS NEEDED Slides or posters of a selection of asanas showing all the 8 components of each asana

PROCEDURE Take children through the 8 components each asanas

INFERENCE Doing the 8 components of yoga, you are complete Yoga is a complete system

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Hold Vaakyartha sadhas on the state of pūrṇa, complete completion.

Experience yoga as per the original system offered by the great master, Patañjali Patañjali's Aṣṭāṅga Yoga is completely complete, nothing can be taken away from it, nothing can be added to it

BOOK VI, VOLUME VI

No-Mind State Is Bliss

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

Gradually, step by step, one should become established in the Self, held by the conviction of intelligence, with the mind not thinking of anything else

6.26

The key is to be in the space of completion every moment

6.27

The yogi whose mind is peaceful attains the highest happiness; his passion is pacified and he is free from sins as he is liberated by the Supreme

A human being is the sum of his greatest moments of completion.

When we are in a 'no-mind' state, we are in bliss

The Yogī sees the Supreme situated in all beings and also all beings situated in the Supreme. One established in the Self sees the Supreme everywherE

When we experience the Truth, we see everything in ourselves and ourselves in everything.

There are different ways to learn and develop clarity and conviction. We can learn from our experiences as well as from others' experiences. For example, when we touch the flame of a candle, we learn that it burns. When we touch a burning gas stove, we learn again that fire burns. One by one, we can experience and learn that all fires burn. Or, when we touch the first form of fire, immediately we can learn that all fires will burn! Coming to a conclusion and a clear understanding that all fires burn, after just one experience, is intelligence!

Kṛṣṇa is emphasizing an important spiritual quality - perseverance. We expect the mental setup that we have created and solidified, to be broken and restructured in a few attempts, almost instantly. How is this possible? We need to be more patient and persevere in our efforts for the real change to happen. So what if we fail sometimes? Why don't we look at the positive side and see that we succeeded a few times? When we measure our lives based on our weakest moments, our failures and our incompletions, we take a wrong reading of ourselves.

Why can't we give credit to ourselves for the strong, successful moments of our lives

We have been conditioned by society to consider ourselves weak beings, that we are not powerful. We have been taught to feel guilty. Does that help us in any way?

No! It only creates low energy and powerlessness.

Listen. Strength is Life. We need to measure ourselves by our strongest moments, our greatest moments of powerfulness, when we have displayed extraordinary awareness, courage, compassion, love and such other divine qualities. A human being is the sum of his greatest moments of completion.

Kṛṣṇa says that the realized person, yoga-yuktātmā, sees the Supreme in everyone and everything.

In the words of Swamiji, In fact, in my first spiritual experience at the age of twelve, this is what I clearly saw. When I was twelve, I was playing with this technique of just watching where thoughts came from, the source of my thoughts. At that age, I didn't even realize it was meditation. One day, at the foothills of Arunachala, in my hometown of Tiruvannamalai in South India, I was sitting on a rock, just playing with this technique that I had been practicing for two years

In the ultimate sense, the moment we understand that we are deeply, totally and intensely connected to the whole Universe, not only do we start experiencing bliss, we really start living in the space of completion. The root of God is love.

The root of God lies in seeing Him in everything. Have the courage to go deep inside and love. We will start feeling the common thread of Existence in all that we see. Automatically we will start loving everything in the same way without any trouble because we will see only Existence in everyone and everything. Each and every atom in this Earth is unique, is divine, and is an expression of Existence.

PROCEDURE Get the children to draw Swamiji sitting on the rock at the foothills of Arunachala and how he saw everything around him

INFERENCE Swamiji experienced seeing the Supreme in everything We are deeply, totally and intensely connected to the whole Universe

JUGGLE A SMALL BALL

MATERIALS NEEDED A small ball for each child

PROCEDURE First get the children to throw the ball up and catch it. Then try it with one hand. Then try it with the other hand. Then try to clap after you throw the ball up, before you catch it again. Then try to clap twice!

INFERENCE Learning new activities requires perseverance We need to be patient and persevere in our efforts

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Hold Vaakyartha Sadhas on how we can experience that we are deeply, totally and intensely connected to the whole Universe.

Learn to give credit to ourselves for the strong, successful moments of our lives. When we understand that we are connected to the whole Universe, we start experiencing bliss and start living in the space of completion. Kṛṣṇa gives Arjuna the glimpse of the Truth when Arjuna sees that Kṛṣṇa is one with the Universe.

BOOK VI, VOLUME VII