HAVE A HEARTY LAUGH🔗

And be healed

What Zen people mean by laughter is total laughter. When you really laugh, your mind stops thinking. For that one minute, that one second, you fall into the kshana, the gap between one thought and the next. You can do only one thing at a time: either you think or you laugh. If you think, laughter cannot be complete and wholesome; your being is not totally into laughter. Laughter brings you to the present moment. By thinking, you travel into the future, or you think about something past. But when you laugh, you are automatically brought to the center of your being, to the present moment. You experience the consciousness of the present.

Even doctors who have done research on laughter have amazing reports to give. They say out of nothing, it slows down the ageing process. We add so many things to extend our lives, but of all of these, laughter is the most important. Many doctors who have done research on this aspect, give vital proof of the importance of laughter for longevity.

The second thing they say is that anti-depressing chemicals are released into your system when you laugh. In other words, chemicals that alleviate depression pour into your body and mind system. Biologically also, changes take place. When laughing, endorphins and euro peptides, essential for the brain are released, giving you a sense of well being. At the same time, you inhale deeply providing extra oxygen to your entire system. Laughter is a catharsis for negative emotions to be harmlessly released.

The third, and most important thing they say, is that your body starts radiating a beauty. So we can say that laughter is an important ingredient to become beautiful, even without make-up. According to me, laughter brings more grace to a person. Beauty comes because of make-up, but laughter brings grace to this beauty and your being. Even from the physical point of view, laughter brings so much to your body.

There has been other research which says that laughter can rejuvenate your whole system. It can balance all components of the immune system, helping to fight off disease. Any other refreshing techniques, whether it is yoga or exercise or any other system, takes care of only some parts of your body. But laughter is such that it takes care of your whole body. The whole body is flooded with energy. You can see it in your own life. That is why, for the importance of laughter. People have begun to realize the importance of laughter on our health - both physical and mental. At least thirty thousand clubs have been inaugurated all over the world in the year 2003 itself.

Laughter is known to heal a number of diseases, especially the diseases related to the nervous system and throat center. I have personally worked with laughing meditations. I have seen so many people getting healed by this one meditation. It is such a powerful meditation, almost every person feels the effect of this. Even the 'twenty four hour professors', the intellectuals, who have forgotten how to laugh, somehow open up and cannot resist the powerful effect of a hearty laugh!

Paramahamsa's mother |

NITHYA YOGA

(In response to a question, 'What is your impression of Yoga and how it is being practiced in the West?')

One day, there was a woodcutter cutting trees on the outer edge of a forest. An enlightened Master came along and saw the woodcutter. The Master said to the woodcutter, 'Go deep.'

So the woodcutter went inside the forest and he found sandalwood. He cut up the sandalwood and immediately started selling it in the market.

The next day, the woodcutter went back and continued to cut up the sandalwood. The Master saw him again and said, 'Go deep.' The woodcutter went further inside and found a silver mine. He started mining the silver and started bringing it out to sell to the world.

The man continued to happily mine his silver. The Master came past again and said, 'Go deep.' The man went further inside and found a gold mine! He started mining and selling the gold to the world. The monk said, 'Go deep.' The man went yet still further inside and finally found a diamond mine!

Like this, how they have started presenting Yoga in the West is beautiful. Nothing wrong! My word is 'Go deep.' People can find a lot more through Yoga and people can find a lot more through meditation.

'I am not here to add movements to your life. I am here to add life to your movements.'

Everything is Yoga! Everything can become Yoga. If everything becomes Yoga, only then you are in eternal Yoga - Nithya Yoga. The destination of Nithya Yoga is making everything into Yoga.