YL March 2022

Om Ganapathaye ! FIFTY THREE YEARS IN THE PROPAGATION OF CLASSICAL RISHICULTURE ASHTANGA YOGA This month we feature the annual Jayanthi Puja INTERNATIONAL for Yogamaharishi Swami Kanakananda Bhrigu Guru MONTHLY Maharj that were held with hundreds of Sadhakas participating in the All Night AUM chanting on the 2nd Vol.53 No. 03, MARCH 2022 February and the core team in attendance for the Sacred Fire Ceremony (Homa) on the 3rd morning at ICYER. CONTENTS This Pranava Sadhana is always a deep Tapasya experience for the Gitananda Yoga family worldwide THE POWER OF PURE LOVE - 02 and creates a vibrational effect that influences multiple - 04 dimensions through the power of Nada Yoga. THE REVEALED PERSPECTIVES - 08 OF SANATHANA DHARMA - 10 This month's front outer and inner covers depict - 20 some special moments captured during the celebration AWARENESS ABOUT THE BREATH - 27 while the back inner cover highlights the joy Ammaji felt - 30 as she was gifted a lovely statue of herself. Her smile REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE touches our hearts and reminds us of how blessed we are AT ANANDA ASHRAM to live in the same times as the Living Siddha of Pondicherry. Dr Ananda's invited panel discussion on REFLECTIONS ON THE PRANAVA AUM Nada Yoga with Yogacharini Sangeeta and Swamini Ma Uma Shakti of the Matha Gitananda Ashram, Italy RUMINATIONS ON THE KLESHAS during the World Interfaith Harmony Week 2022 is also IN THE YOGA DARSHAN featured. A ROSE OF A GIRL The upcoming new online course, \"Deeper Gitananda\" with Yogacharini Kalavathi and Dr Ananda is highlighted on the back cover and we welcome members of our Yoga family to take this opportunity to delve deeper in the concepts and practices of this illustrious tradition. Many beautiful thoughts percolate each and every page of this issue and we hope the readers will be touched by the heartfelt sharing by our contributors. The grace of the Guru Parampara enables us to be the best versions of ourselves. When we serve them with love and dedication, we serve our own spiritual evolution. The official publication of Yoga Jivana Satsangha (International); Vishwa Yoga Samaj (Worldwide Yoga Congress); Sri Kambaliswamy Madam (Samadhi Site); SPARC (The Society for the Preservation of Ancient Rishi Culture); ICYER (International Centre for Yoga Education and Research) at Ananda Ashram, Tamil Nadu. Published from Ananda Ashram City Centre at Yoganjali Natyalayam, 25, II Cross, lyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry-605 013, India. Editor and Publisher : Ammaji Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani, Editor: (I/C) Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani. Phone: +91-0413-2241561. E-mail: ananda@icyer.com; Website: www.rishiculture.in Printers : Sarguru Printographs, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Subscription Rate: Indian Rs. 500/year; International 50 Euros/ year. Note: All subscribers will be sent e-copies of Yoga Life every month from January 2021 onwards and hence are requested to register their preferred e-mail at icyer2021@gmail.com to ensure uninterrupted receipt of the journal.

THE POWER OF PURE LOVE Ammaji, Yogacharini MEENAKSHI DEVI BHAVANANI, Ashram Acharya, ICYER at Ananda Ashram, Pondicherry. “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways” … this line of poetry is most beloved by connoisseurs of the art of fine verbal expression. “That which oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed!” (as said so well by Alexander Pope). Anyone who has been blessed with the experience of deep, pure, sublime, non-egoistic, non- sensual love for an object, an art, a place, a skill, an experience or a person will understand the wonderful feeling behind those words! The thought will instantly rise: “When I would express it, words suddenly fail me!” Yes! In a way, it is often good that “words suddenly fail us” for often the words somehow diminish the experience. Perhaps this is why Swamiji often told us, “Don't talk about your spiritual experience to anyone, for the words will bring the experience down to the mundane level.” Sometimes, someplace a great mystic is blessed by the Divine to spontaneously pour forth words that express deep spiritual communion – Samadhi – Moksha - in words which thrill and uplift the heart, causing the soul to rejoice, the lips to smile. Sometimes the great inspirators – the Prophets – the Rishis – can transmit their sublime experience to the common man, inspiring him/ her (instilling spirit) to lift himself/ herself to higher levels of consciousness where Sat, Chit, Ananda are living realities. In modern times the Jewish Rabbi Abraham Joshua Herschel described faith in words of glory and of bliss. He wrote in his book “God in Search of Man”: “Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal… to be spiritual is to be amazed.” What a truth and so well expressed! St. Augustine of Hippo, who lived in the 4th century CE, caught that same sublimity “as it flies”, fragile as a butterfly and allowed us to wonder at its beauty, Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 02

EDITORIAL when he defined the God–mad, God-intoxicated state a lover feels in relationship to his God. His famous passage, “What do I love when I love my God” could have been a passage from any Hindu Upanishad. “It is not physical beauty nor temporal glory nor the brightness of light dear to earthly eyes, nor the sweet melodies of all kinds of songs, nor the gentle odour of flowers, and ointments and perfumes, nor manna or honey, nor limbs welcoming the embraces of the flesh it is not these I love when I love my God. Yet there is a light I love, and a food, and a kind of embrace when I love my God – a light, voice, odour, food, embrace of my innerness, where my soul is floodlit by light which space cannot contain, where there is sound that time cannot seize, where there is a perfume which no breeze disperses, where there is a taste for food no amount of eating can lessen, and where there is a bond of union that no satiety can part. That is what I love when I love my God.” Need more be said? Only- Amen! Brilliant Spiritual Art by Peta Trinder, Team 52. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 03

THE REVEALED PERSPECTIVES OF SANATHANA DHARMA Yogamaharishi Dr. SWAMI GITANANDA GIRI GURU MAHARAJ, Founder ICYER at Ananda Ashram, Pondicherry, India. When any culture declines, the best values must suffer and high principles, ethics and morality are the first casualties. We cannot deny that we are today in a state of rapid decline on a worldwide scale and here in my beloved India, we have reached a tragic nadir. Traditional values – including the most noble ones – have been discarded for a new plastic, tinselled code which can give no satisfaction, illumination or enlightenment. Soon the pursuit of these ephemeral baubles will generate cries of dissatisfaction and a change, a renaissance, even a cultural revolution will result. To direct that cultural revolution toward a total social, as well as individual evolution, we must preserve and nourish the vital seeds of our ancient Indian culture. So that, when needed, these seeds can develop into a tremendous spiritual growth. The one aspect of ancient Indian culture worth preserving is the Rishi Culture– a tradition enshrined within Yoga and Vedanta principles, concepts and practices, which exist even in today's troubled times. In our ancient Indian schools of philosophy known as the Shat Darshan, only Yoga and Vedanta have remained popular and intact. There remain vestigial concepts of other schools which developed outside the Darshanas. These schools are represented by Kashmiri Shaivism and Bengali Tantra, which have been misappropriated and degraded into negative emotional and sexual commodities. Ashta Darshana At least EIGHT schools of thought must be considered when discussing the religious, moral and ethical philosophies of India. These are as follows: the Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism and Bengali Tantra. The eight schools can be further divided into four categories, if paired in the order listed above. The following short explanation will further an understanding of these schools. Nyaya is a logical system or science providing methods of proof and philosophical inquiry into both the objects and subjects of human knowledge. Nyaya is also called Tarkavidya, the science of reasoning, or Vadavidya, the science of discussion. Gautama is the reputed founder (sixth century B.C.). Nyayasutra contains the aphorisms of the Nyaya philosophy, while the doctrine is known as the Nyayashastra. This is a method of 'going into a subject' to attain the highest release, Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 04

THE REVEALED PERSPECTIVES OF SANATHANA DHARMA Moksha, or freedom. Nyaya teaches discrimination between the true and the false, in every possible field of logical inquiry. Vaiseshika teaches knowledge on the nature of reality through recognizing the special properties and essential differences in nature. Founded by Kanada (third century B.C), Vaiseshika postulates nine eternal realities or substances. Its aphorisms are found in Vaiseshikasutra, known also Mokshashastra and Adhyat Mashastra. Adhyat Mashastra could be said to literally contain the entire scope of the Vaiseshika, for the term itself means 'a treatise about the Supreme Spirit', understood through the knowledge of the nine postulates. Samkhya is the oldest school of Hindu philosophy and gives a systematic account of Cosmic Evolution. Samkhya, or enumeration, considers twenty-five categories of cosmic and finite existence. Maharishi Kapila founded the philosophy sometime prior to the sixth century before Christ. The main teachings are contained in the Tattvasa Masa and the Samkhyapravachanasutra. The Samkhya harmonises ancient Vedic philosophy through scientific reasoning. In the realm of pure philosophy, Samkhya is held as the most notable attempt by the mind of man to comprehend the Universe as a process of Cosmic Evolution. Yoga, the science of union, which is based on the Samkhya, is a system of body, emotional and mind purification. Yoga teaches moral and mental restraint through self-culture and self-knowledge, ultimately culminating in Self- Realisation. Patanjali, who lived in the sixth century B.C., is the most authoritative codifier of Yoga. His Yogasutra enumerates various Yoga states and techniques. Other major works on Yoga include the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Gheranda Samhita, and the Shiva Samhita. Yoga is a science which perfects human efficiency and develops higher intelligence with true knowledge of the Self as the final goal. Mimamsa, which means 'to investigate', is an examination of the ancient Vedas. The process, also known as the Purva-Mimamsa or the Karma-Mimamsa, was founded by Jaimini. Jaimini's era is unknown, but since this school is associated with the Vedanta, it is considered a mid-Vedic or close-of-the-Vedic period movement. The Mimamsasutra contains the philosophy's aphorisms, and reflects on Vedic statements, especially those which relate to the effects of actions. The term Mimamsa can be translated as \"to think, to consider, to examine, to investigate', which suggests the great scope. Vedanta literally means “the end of the Vedas”. Most correctly it means the final highest investigation or examination of the concept of the ultimate principles, Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 05

THE REVEALED PERSPECTIVES OF SANATHANA DHARMA the universal spirit, Brahman. Another term sometimes used is Uttara Mimamsa, interpreted as the latter Veda, as opposed to Purva Mimamsa which means earlier. It is also known as Jnana Mimamsa, as opposed to Karma Mimamsa of the earlier school. Jnana implies the wisdom of the Supreme Reality. Badarayana is credited as the founder of the Vedanta's oldest school. Subsequently, great teachers like Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhya arose. Kashmir Shaivism is a system of idealistic monism, more accurately called Trikashastraor Trika is based upon the three-fold system of Shiva, Shakti and Nara, or the individual being. This tradition brings together four schools: Spanda, Krama, Kaula and Pratiyabhijna and their synthesis by Sri Abhinavagupta became what is called AnuttaraTrika. It is founded on the basic principles of Shiva Sutra by Vasugupta which states: Chaitanyam Atma, Consciousness is the Self. His hermitage can still be seen on the Mahadeva peak behind the Shalimar Gardens near Srinagar, Kashmir. The basic premise of Trika is that consciousness, or Shiva, and power, or Shakti are the transcendent and immanent aspects of totality and inseparable at every level. Bengali Tantra: The Tantras or Agamas are scriptures reportedly revealed by Shiva to his consort, Parvati. Parvati's answers to Shiva's questions are contained in the Nigama. Various forms of Tantra have developed and these works are known as the Tantrashastras. Bengali Tantrikas such as Swami Kanakananda Brighu have evolved a system of power control, which they claim to be best suited for life in this present Kali Yuga. A hedonistic misunderstanding of Tantra's Six Magical Powers has produced left-hand Tantra, today rampant as a mutated form of sexuality. Knowledge of terms of reference and the scope of these eight schools is necessary for proper understanding of the relationship, as well as the synthesis, of Yoga and Vedanta. The neophyte may confuse various terms which explain the same phenomenon or may be unaware of the subtleties of the terms used in Yoga and Vedanta to explain those other schools which have lapsed from popularity in modern times. If the six systems are grouped into pairs, as earlier suggested, Vedanta and Yoga are found set apart. The source of the Vedanta is the Mimamsa or the Vedas, while Yoga relies heavily upon the science propounded by Samkhya. Even this explanation is not enough to satisfy the inquiring mind. In dealing with either Yoga or Vedanta, one must ask 'Which Yoga? Which Vedanta?' for both these philosophies have generated separate schools within the main branch, and various exponents propound the offshoots. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 06

THE REVEALED PERSPECTIVES OF SANATHANA DHARMA In Vedanta three major schools have emerged, all heavily influenced by South Indians. Shankaracharya (788-820 AD) was one of the principal reformers of Hinduism in general and the leading exponent of Advaita Vedanta in particular. He expounded a non-dualist theme that 'All is One' and that only the Ultimate Principle has any actual existence, while all else is but a reflected dual nature of reality. In these teachings he elucidated that this awareness of the Ultimate Oneness of Reality, is called Jnana Yoga and draws heavily from the Jnanakanda. Karmakanda, the performance of rites and rituals. This was predominant in Hinduism in Shankaracharya's day, and his message that spiritual wisdom was more important than religious procedural action swept the country in a popular movement. In the eleventh century, a form of qualified non-dualism developed through the teaching of Saint Ramanuja. His Vishistadvaita Vedanta admitted the reality and existence of the Ultimate Principle, but he argued that a personal self, dependent upon the Ultimate Reality, is also real. In the twelfth century Saint Madhava was expounding pure dualism as Vedanta. In this version, Madhava contends that the individual self is a separate entity with its own existence, though co-existent with the Ultimate Principle. Each of these three sages chose to base his philosophy upon the Vedas, or more correctly, upon the Upanishads. The Upanishads are revered as the direct reports of great Rishis of their personal experience with the Ultimate Principle or Brahman. Shankaracharya expounded ten of the major Upanishads and mentions five others in his commentaries. Those who elaborated qualified teachings of dualism and co-existential realities have also relied upon the Upanishads to support their contentions. The modern Vedantist has been strongly influenced by Shankara, or by Yoga teachings with a similar view. This modern Vedantist takes the attitude of the Aitareya Upanishad, which states: 'Prajnanam Brahma – Brahman is pure consciousness.' In other words, the necessity of personal experience of this Ultimate Principle, here and now, in this life, is emphasised. It is here, in the intense demand for concrete, personal experience of consciousness, of Brahman Himself, which transcends mere intellectual juggling, that Vedanta touches Yoga. It is here the two popular schools merge in a mystical union, above and beyond all arguments, debates and theories. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 07

AWARENESS ABOUT THE BREATH Professor INGUNN HAGEN, Member Team 52, Norway. During this second module of the online immersion course in Gitananda Nada Yoga, Yoga of Vibration & Sound, I felt that there was a distinct change in my awareness about the breath. I have gradually become more aware of the breath through the Pranayamas taught by Dr. Gitananda in the Yoga Step by Step course. Doing the Vibhaga Pranayama, paying attention to all 18 sections of the lungs, was an eye-opener to me even though I have always tried to be conscious about my breath during my yoga practice. In module 2 on the Pranava AUM, it was emphasised how connected the AUM is to the three different levels of the lungs. I was already aware of this. Still, it sank deeper into my mind and body how the A, the AKARA would deepen the outbreath for the Adham Pranayama, the U, the UKARA would deepen the outbreath of the Madhyam Pranayama, while the M, the MAKARA would deepen the outbreath of the Adhyam Pranayama. The AUM was also practised as part of the Kaya Kriya, again raising the awareness of the role of the breath in this kriya or systematic movement for psycho-somatic healing of trauma 'stuck' in the body. In the following days I felt that there was an increased awareness about my breath during my practice of several of the Pranayamas, not only the Pranava AUM, but also the Mahat Yoga Pranayama, Savitri Pranayama and the Anuloma Viloma, as well as during my asana practices. I realise that the purpose of awareness of the breath is to breathe deeper, to have an increased volume of air and thus more oxygen enters our lungs and can then be distributed to the arteries, and finally find its way to all the cells of the body. However, in yogic breathing or Pranayama the purpose is also about increasing our awareness about Prana, the life energy that we get primarily through breathing, but also through sipping water, and through eating well-chewed Sattvic food. As Dr. Ananda expressed it (in the Nada yoga course 27.1.2022), 'Pranayama is about mindful enhancement of the experience of Prana'. Still, continuous awareness about the breath is a precondition for experiencing Prana. Thus, I have been thinking that awareness of the breath could have been included in Dr. Gitananda's concept of yoga as four-fold awareness; of the body, emotions, mind, and awareness of awareness itself. Ammaji added a fifth dimension to this concept, that the starting point is becoming aware of how unaware we are. Awareness of breath could have been a sixth element. However, all Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 08

AWARENESS ABOUT THE BREATH the other awareness elements are also related to awareness of the breath: our bodily, emotional, and mindful awareness, as well as including our meta-awareness and our lack of awareness. My point is to emphasize that awareness of the breath is a continuous challenge for humans, but (Gitananda) yogis take up this challenge. For me, I realise that awareness of the breath (and of experiencing Prana) should be a continuous part of my Yoga practice. I have also realised how important awareness about the breath was for the young people involved in our Hippocampus Research Project (see Hippocampusproject.eu). Moreover, I recognize the importance of awareness of the breath in the research project I am trying to develop about healing trauma through Yoga. Right now, I am not teaching Yoga. However, I am trying to convey knowledge about Yoga and about the importance of being aware of the breath. Perhaps after I have completed some more of the Gitananda yoga courses I take part in I will feel confident about teaching Yoga or even be a Yoga therapist. I envision that as my retirement project. Teaching awareness about the breath and other yogic insights could be a way to promote a healthy ageing life for fellow retirees. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 09

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM Yogasadhaki SHIRLEE HOCHSTETLER, Graduate Team 51,UK After living in the Ashram for two years, I feel privileged not only for the experiences with the other folks who live and work here but privileged to have experienced the close contact with Nature that the property itself and the local environment provide. That being said, I know that I don't really understand how profound the influences of Nature really are. Much of what happens to me in Nature is an experience or a felt sense, like improved well-being, so those experiences may not respond well to the dominance of narrative or labelling. However, I will attempt to explore some of my thoughts that arose during the residential 6-month teacher training course (Team 51) and the Step by Step online correspondence course (Team 52), both of which occurred during my Ashram stay. Living in India and other warmer climates, such as Greece, have made me question if the open -air buildings and more exposure to the elements, has helped these cultures create philosophies that are more spiritually connected, holistic, and humble, possibly from being more grounded in nature, while modern northern European philosophies may have lost their way by responding to the inhospitable cold with artificial, comfortable environments, hermetically sealed away from the wilds of Nature. Without spirit and a sense of being part of the whole of Nature as the basis of identity, western dualist modes of thinking are used to dominate other knowledges such as indigenous traditional knowledge systems. This mode of thinking carries a superiority complex. Consequently, systems that dominate and control other beings and Nature, become the norm. Indian activist Vandana Shiva says this mode of thinking contributes to 'structural violence' in her book, 'Soil Not Oil'. Prioritising dualistic thinking and intellect as a form of dominance, lead to disconnection from direct experience via the body. We can live in the illusory images of our minds and our 'brilliant' (so we think), creative egos. Technology in particular has grown as the saviour of humanity in the West and while technology is not inherently a problem, technology without a spiritual foundation and ethical guiding principles, is bound to cause harm; and can be perpetuated without exercising caution and without the humility of changing if it is clearly moving down a harmful path. Mental imaginings from the inside of four apartment walls and domestication by 'languaging' and creating categories will not bring us to deep understandings of spirit and nature. Only direct experience can take you there. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 10

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM From what I can see, Yoga was born from a culture that revered nature and learned from her profound patterns. Names of practices are based on animals and their behaviours and natural phenomena that are part of a connected daily life on earth. Becoming Yoga is based on direct experience and physical practice using the body and will not be realised by reading a book and intellectualising. Progress on the path of Yoga is limited until one can live intentionally the spiritual principles that are both the beginning steps and the most evolved steps on the path. But while Yoga acknowledges how our physical form creates learning mirrors for the mind, it is more an energetic practice. By seeing our physical form as layers of energy and flowing energy, there seems to be permeable distinctions between 'parts' and there is a knowing that it is all one system in the larger energetic system of planet earth and beyond. In Apte and Monier Williams' etymology of Rishi, the root 'rsh' means 'to go, to move'' and 'to flow, to move near to by flowing'. Swami Vivekananda, in his 'From Colombo to Almora' lectures said: 'But the truth came to the Rishis of India — the Mantra-drashtas, the seers of thought — and will come to all Rishis in the future, not to talkers, not to book-swallowers, not to scholars, not to philologists, but to seers of thought. The Self is not to be reached by too much talking, not even by the highest intellects, not even by the study of the scriptures. The scriptures themselves say so. Do you find in any other scripture such a bold assertion as that — not even by the study of the Vedas will you reach the Atman? You must open your heart'. These notions of Rishis, as being related to moving, flowing and being seers or more supernatural in sight, could be seen as suggesting the Yogic path is more about evolving through the body to learn about how energy behaves. Perhaps then, 'Nature' sits at the centre of the mind, body, spirit triangle as the TRUTH of the energetic nature of the universe. Access to nature in the environment and a deep understanding of Nature, then, is really an essential part of or imperative for a life of Yoga. This appears to be Swami Gitananda's belief as he talks about this in his seminal book, 'Step By Step' (p.207). In discussing that Asana and Pranayama are not enough in modern, specialised environments with limited activity, he states: Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 11

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM 'One should get out in nature where possible. I do not advocate work-outs in sweaty, smelly gyms or health clubs. The environment is all wrong for a Yoga psyche to develop'. When describing a Yoga health program, he states it must include: '…techniques proved useful in cleansing the body of its waste materials; a method for supplying the proper food elements for growth and dynamic energy; encouragement for a sufficient amount of physical activity such as the Hatha Asanas; and a more natural life, out-of-doors in the fresh air and sun-shine; consideration for rest, relaxation and sleep for repair of the whole structure of the body; and the necessary encouragement to develop a correct mental state or attitude; and that all these beneficial things can work in harmony together. This is indeed Yoga in itself'… pA-12 When describing the Yoga approach as the most wholistic approach available to modern science and his dismay that materialistic science is not listening to real 'wholism' he states: 'Nature is nature and our total health and well-being exists within Nature as it exists, not a distorted Nature, perverted by human 'needs'.' p179 And underneath a famous photo of Swamiji doing pranayama on the beach with students, he writes: 'In these days of artificial food, artificial environments and artificial lives, it is of paramount importance to live as naturally as possible. A Yoga life is a natural life, in harmony with nature, simple and unpolluted'. p221 When discussing one of the more advanced or stronger Yoga practices, Kaya Kalpa, or body rejuvenation, Swamiji writes that the process will require at least six months of conscious living away from society in an Ashram or Health Centre. Part of the set up includes: 'A good source of clean, fresh water, free of chemicals and plenty of good honest exercise out in the fresh air...Taking up gardening during Kaya Kalpa is a wise rejuvenation in itself, a good natural activity'. p264 Swamiji also talks about the benefits of sun exposure on the body. In a section on Surya Mudra, he writes we should expose as much of the body as possible to the light and heat of the sun and notes the sun helps tone up the delicate exocrine and Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 12

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM endocrine glands. (p155) Whether the Ashram has ever been a place of total body sun exposure, I don't know, but the privacy may allow it under certain circumstances. Swamiji also talks about the use of Anjali Mudra and Bhumi Sparsha Mudra as important salutations to the sun and earth as an attitude of reverence, acknowledging “man's dependence upon both the sun, the source of all life energy, and the earth, which brings that energy into manifest form”. p145 So while Swamiji doesn't discuss so much how nature specifically impacts our energetic nature, he clearly sees Nature as supportive of the Yoga journey and Nature's principles and patterns as guidance to Truth. Swamiji does talk a lot about working with our energetic nature. There are large sections of Yoga Step By Step devoted to polarity practices and discussions of energy channels, or Nadis, and Prana, or life force, are woven into the text constantly. There is new information that is coming forward into mainstream thought regarding how Nature might be impacting our physiology that would throw light on why living close to Nature is so supportive of a Yoga journey. Earthing is where humans are literally grounded by mother earth by being in contact directly with soil or water. When we touch the earth by walking barefoot, or gardening, or swimming, we are bathed in the subtle pulsating frequencies of the 'Schuman Resonance', Mother Earth's natural heartbeat rhythm of 7.83 Hz. This frequency, 7.83 Hz, is an alpha/theta brainwave frequency that is relaxed, dreamy, and sleepy, and is also the state where cell regeneration and healing occurs. The earth maintains a negative electrical potential and when we are in contact with it, our bodies become an extension of the Earth's gigantic electric system, receiving free electrons that neutralise free oxidant species. In other words, grounding can reduce acute and chronic inflammation, stabilise the electrical environment of all organs, tissues, and cells and normalise and coordinate our circadian clocks. The earth also becomes the working agent that cancels, reduces or pushes away electric fields from the body that are produced by our Wi-Fi devices, appliances and electric power lines. Research shows the potential benefits of earthing are vast and the detriments of disconnection from the earth are wide- reaching. Walking barefoot at the Ashram and swimming in the salt-water sea, which is highly conductive, is a way to tap into the world's largest, free supply of Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 13

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM antioxidants via earthing. This is only true if there are no insulating mediators between the earth and the body, so shoes and many ground covers, like concrete or wood, will reduce or eliminate the electron sharing. But this is one way students will increase their sense of well-being at the Ashram without really knowing why. We will just feel better, sleep better, and experience less pain, for being in direct contact with Nature, dirt, sand, sea and plants. I can only imagine how much earthing may augment the Yoga practices that promote the body's natural rhythms and harmonious functioning and augment Pranic flows. Other intriguing research that shines light on how nature directly impacts our physiology, is the work on the fourth phase of water by Dr Gerald Pollack and Dr Gilbert Ling. It is known that most of the water inside our cells and the water that lines our blood vessels is in a gel phase, called EZ-water, or 'exclusion zone water'. Water against hydrophilic (water loving) material (like the blood vessel walls) lines up in an orderly fashion, creating a liquid crystal or gel layer (H3O2) that is negatively charged while the rest of the water is positively charged. The gel layer excludes particles and is more viscous, dense and alkaline than H2O. The electrical gradient between the structured crystal water and liquid water creates energy that researchers have used to light a light bulb. The system is charged by light from the sun that is free everywhere, although near infra-red light has the strongest effect. Research has shown this gel, this natural battery, gets charged when you place it on the earth, or have a living being like a human or a dog touch it or get near it. Placing a cell-phone close to the gel results, however, in the gel deteriorating. Dr Pollack says, 'This is not a perpetual motion machine: incident radiant energy drives the flow—in much the same way that it drives vascular flow in plants and powers water from the roots to nourish trees taller than the length of a football field.' The EZ-water is found everywhere in Nature. Most of our intra-cellular water is EZ water. This water plays a central role in everything the cell does. So incident radiant energy powers many of those cellular functions. An example Dr Pollack gives is: “...the blood flowing through your capillaries. That blood eventually encounters high resistance since capillaries are often narrower than the red blood cells that must pass through them. In order to make their way through, those red cells need to contort. Resistance is high. You'd anticipate the need for lots of driving pressure yet the pressure gradient across the Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 14

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM capillary bed is negligible. The paradox resolves itself if radiant energy helps propel flow through capillaries in the same way that it propels flow through hydrophilic tubes. Radiant energy may constitute an unsuspected source of vascular drive, supplementing cardiac pressure.” This has huge implications for human physiology and challenges many classic physiology assumptions. Another profound example may be how radiant energy could be the real source of cellular vitality. One example is about how the cell maintains its electrical charge across its membrane. Writers like Dr Tom Cowan quote Ling's and Pollacks' decades of research as showing that the sodium- potassium membrane pump normally believed to maintain this membrane gradient, is a myth, and the membrane gradient may actually be maintained by the crystalline EZ-water. 'It's because the contents of the cytoplasm are structured water. In other words, gel phase water. And this structured water has a certain mesh size. It's like a mosquito netting, and you make the mosquito netting so it's big enough to let the air in but not too big to let the mosquitoes in. The mesh that makes up our cells, 100% of the water in our cells is in the mesh. The mesh is so constituted that it attaches to potassium and excludes sodium just by its arrangement, and no energy is required, and that is the sodium-potassium pump. And then earthing, swimming, hot and cold, clean water, minerals, all those have a dramatic and easily demonstrated effect on the quality and the correctness of the mesh inside our cells. If the mesh is goofy because you've never been out in the sun and the mesh disorganizes, it can't collect potassium, it can't exclude sodium, you lose your charge, and then you're a dead cell.' In this model, the ATP is vitally important, but not as the creator of energy to power the cell as is currently taught. Dr Cowan says the ATP is crucial because it “binds to the end of the proteins in the cell, it unfolds them, therefore, they interact with water, and because of that interaction, they can form a gel.” So it is the combination of water, protein and ATP that creates and maintains the 4th phase crystalline water, the gel, and this is the source of cellular vitality. While mainstream Science may not currently recognize this new biology of crystalline water or emphasise the importance of grounding for health, as more research unfolds the mysteries of Nature's flow and subtle energies, it may become Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 15

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM clearer why Swamiji's recommendations of staying close to and working with Nature is our best hope for well-being and evolution in Yoga. And, on the subject of water, Swamiji wrote, 'Yoga is for people who like water…. Yoga is a water vibration activity' (p222). I look forward to continuing to find out what all that might mean. One of the ways I personally experienced the influence of Nature while residing at the Ashram, was living closer to Nature's cycles of light. I felt my best when I was rising before dawn and following my waning energy into slumber by 9 or 10 at night. I had previously experienced this flow once before when living in a tent on a desert mesa for two months, but the longest period I maintained that schedule as an adult was at the Ashram. Being with the sun as it rose every morning and starting my day with the plants and animals who were busy rousing to the new possibility of this day, seemed to bring me vitality and a kind of background happiness. I was able to do 4 hours of physical Yoga a day without pain or injury despite previously having been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I got stronger, more robust, more resilient. Eating felt more natural, more welcome, as it seemed to be driven by my body more than driven by emotions or stress. I have often professed to be a night person. I have heard that some people have different hormonal rhythms and are meant to thrive at late hours and thought it might be true of me. But I had to admit I had not really tested that theory. I had not really given up staying up late, sometimes very late, and I had not tried consistently rising by dawn and sleeping not too long after sunset to experience the truth of living in Nature's rhythms. And, if you can't give something up, if I couldn't really consistently give up late nights, wasn't I really being driven by some kind of addiction? After my Ashram experience, I know what my body wants. My mind can say what it wishes, but Nature has spoken her circadian rhythms through my body and my body has been given voice. I can no longer pretend about being a night person. Yes, I love the quiet of night, but living in sync with nature brings out my best self. I feel better. I am stronger. I am happier. I make much better choices. I later looked up current research on circadian rhythms undertaken by Dr Satchin Panda's group. Incredible claims are being made about how biological rhythm coordinated to light and metabolism cycles is as important as what we eat, how much we eat and if we exercise. The body needs its opportunity to play out finely engineered, interdependent physiological cycles as each cell has peak performance times and rest and rejuvenation times. The different systems need Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 16

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM coordinating, as hormones, chemicals and gene expression rise and fall at different times of the day. Coordinating this is not only the master clock in the brain, but peripheral clocks in the gut, heart, liver, kidney, muscles and microbiome. The cycles are responsive to nature's blue light of daytime and also metabolic timing. So when we eat and when we fast it is very important to maintain metabolic balance. Avoiding the blue light of electronic devices in the evening and night is important as this confuses the brain into thinking daylight has not ended. Then, getting access to sunlight in the morning, with its strong blue light versus the poor blue light of indoor lighting, gives the body important signals to boost mood and alertness. When the brain is confused about day and night, we can move between insomnia and fogginess. When nature's body rhythms are chronically chaotic, many diseases ensue, including some of the worst chronic illnesses. When we eat only within a metabolic optimal window of 8 to 12 hours, we give our bodies 12-16 hours fasting time to burn fat and cholesterol, break down toxins and replace or repair damaged cells, DNA and linings, and we prevent the presence of unhelpful bacteria and allergy causing chemicals. This is the innate intelligence and capacity of the body at its best. The research shows, we have to show up for our biological appointments or eventually suffer weight gain, poorer sleep, reduced energy, joint pain, and numerous possible chronic illnesses over time. So, it is no wonder that rising to the bright daylight sun and living to nature's optimum sleep-wake and eating cycles (we ate breakfast at 8:00 and dinner at 18:00, approximately 11 hour window while at the Ashram) can be in itself an incredible boost to well-being that many would be less likely to experience on their own. I would be remiss if I did not make mention of the microbiome when discussing Nature as an influence on Yoga practice at the Ashram. There are unbelievable numbers of each species of microbe in our environment [40,000 bacteria, 5 million fungi, 300,000 parasites, 10 to the 31 viruses in each of nature's triangle of water (ocean), soil and air]. There are 10 to the 15thdifferent viruses in our bloodstream at any moment. So we have no option but to be in alignment with them. And it appears a higher diversity in our personal microbiome is beneficial. The microbes literally direct our immune system, create the essential proteins, create brain neurotransmitters, liberate nutrients from food, and maintain our barrier systems to name a few. If the tight functions in our linings drop their connections, kidney tubule damage leads to the inability to detox fast enough, blood brain barrier Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 17

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM damage leads to depression and anxiety, gut damage or leaky gut leads to outside molecules confusing our identity creating autoimmune issues. At the Ashram there are so many ways to eat, breathe and touch diverse microbiomes that can benefit our biology. Jump in the sea, breathe deeply while walking through a farm or biking through a coconut plantation, dig in the garden, eat wild plants, pet a dog. Eat sprouts and fermented foods hand-made by Shanti. Eat off a banana leaf while sitting on the floor. Eat food from the hand of another person. Yoga invites harmony and alignment and deep breathing. It has to be that part of that finding more cohesiveness in our systems and koshas includes the microbes within us. Maybe we can intentionally enhance that also. During mindfulness moments, we might invite the microbes and viruses into our cooperative being where all things work together for the benefit of our whole system. I also had many direct encounters with nature that impacted me, many of them in the form of wild animals or plants, not to mention mosquitos, geckos, rats, chameleons, squirrels, coconuts, monkeys, shrews and all manner of birds. I saw how a sick dog failed to heal while sleeping on concrete but rejuvenated quickly when able to sleep on dirt and grass, despite having food in both places. Nature spoke directly to me, showing me things that we people think don't happen, but I witnessed them. Through nature I experienced events and relationships I could never predict or imagine, patterns I would not notice otherwise. The book, 'The Dogtrine of Peace', says dogs are high vibrational beings. They are everywhere to learn from around the Ashram. And, I miss being perpetually bathed in background choruses of bird songs and breaking waves, the sounds of ambient Nature, There are many reasons the Ashram is a highly vibrational place to grow. And, while I have pointed out a few possible reductionist rational explanations for why some of that is about being close to nature, there remain so many other benefits of a nature-based environment. Yoga and Nature are obviously complementary. Yoga increases our awareness via the body, our felt sense, and Nature reflects experience to us via the body. So together, we gain heightened awareness via direct experience that is undeniable. Nature helps us understand ourselves in the world through relationships with other beings and our sense of what is comfortable or uncomfortable. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 18

REFLECTIONS ON YOGA AND NATURE AT ANANDA ASHRAM I would say both Yoga and Nature encompass the whole human experience and are universal. And that makes them inseparable. However, this is in contrast to the Lexico dictionary which defines Nature as 'the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations.' I do know that Nature is always changing. So for me, Nature helps me dump the old junk and bring in the new me. When I see photos of Swamiji emerging from the sea in his shorts or leading classes by the sea, or hear about the Garden of Eden that was the Sri Kambaliswamy Madam, his original Ashram in Pondicherry, I wonder if this shows a contrast in approach between Swamiji and say Sri Aurobindo, who may have been more focused on transcending rather than leaning into Nature. I don't know. But I can say I feel a sense of being in the right place when I see the 'Lion of Pondicherry' in Nature, being part of a Yoga that can ground me while elevating me. I remain grateful for everything I was given in my two years at this unique Ashram and it is my wish that many others will continue to have the same nature- infused opportunity to experience the ICYER, Ananda Ashram, Beach Centre. But I don't miss the 'fire' month of May and my endless heat rash. That is one of many challenging things about nature and life at the Ashram that I am still adapting to and that reminds me to always keep a sense of humour. Namaste. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti Suryanamaskar at ICYER by Yogacharini Devasena Bhavanani Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 19

REFLECTIONS ON THE PRANAVA AUM Participants of the NADA YOGA Immersion Editor's note: We are pleased to share these amazing poetic reflections on the Pranava AUM by some of the participants in the Nada Yoga Immersion led by Dr Ananda and Dr Sangeeta. The Direct Journey Home: Pranava AUM - Shailaja Menon, Malaysia From the manifest to the unmanifest From the mundane to the spiritual From the profane to the profound From the worldly to the sacred From the seen to the unseen From the heard to the unheard From the imagined to what lies beyond imagination From the conceived to what cannot be conceived From what is known to the landscape of the unknown From what is possible to the realm that holds all possibilities From Sthula to Karana From Jagrat to TuriyaAtita From Vishwa to Pragnya From being enmeshed in the dance of Gunas to the Kaivalya of Guna Atita From Nara to Narayana To that Akara Ukara Makara Omkara RoopininAmbe I prostrate before and offer my humble salutations Ovidiu Ponoran, Hungary I sit. With “O Heavenly King”, devotion I bring. Amin! With Mukha Bhastrika, the temple is cleaned, With Vibhaga and Sparsha, the light turns on within. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 20

REFLECTIONS ON THE PRANAVA AUM Akara and Chin - the lower comes alive! Ukara and Chinmaya - the mid revives! Makara and Adhi - high five! Now the temple is open, clear and clean. The gesture of God I bring in, I bow and surrender within, I invoke the Divine to come in: AUM, AUM, AUM, AUM, AUM, AUM! Amin and AUM, brought the Divine in? The after-effect is silence within. Now, what is “within” and who is sitting? Hwamin Fettes, Australia Feeling my body, Feel the Divine Prana, sensitive sensual touch. life giving, live sustaining, Front-side-back, back-side-front. buzzing, tingling, healing, nurturing. Expanding, pulsating, vibrating, Warm and golden. softening, slowing down, grounding. Flows through me, my breath, my voice. Breathe deeply, inhale-exhale, inhale-exhale. Each incantation unique in expression, Counting, structured. perfectly imperfect, Give up control, just like we are. finding my own rhythm. Falling in love with AUM. Rising in AUM Listen to my voice, unsure, shaking, uneven and flipping. Listen to the Silence. Adjust, refine, grow in trust. That Is. That Was. That Will be. Expressing who I am; Always. Everywhere. loving without judgement. Pranava AUM. Vehicle and Destination. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 21

REFLECTIONS ON THE PRANAVA AUM Pete Higgins, Australia A Vibrating low, deep down in the body. Another beginning, grounding and becoming present, marking this time and place as sacred. U Resonating throughout the chest and heart centre, rising into the throat. Building the feeling of connection that sustains the continuity of breath, of sound and life. M Reverberating within the head, drawing the mind upward. Leading ever higher, onward, becoming more subtle and refined. A. s the sound dissolves back into its source, silence, a pause, yet there remains an echo in the quieter places of the mind. AUM. Complete and whole. Beyond description. Nothing more to do, or be. Just begin again… A… U… M… Bridget O'Rawe, Ireland Who holds my life in warm, solid earthed-hands, anchors it in oaken-roots.Mother - Ahhh - Guttural, resonant as she gave birth to all of creation. Son, the OOH - the music I make, the love and expansiveness in my heart as faces soften with words and melody. My arms reach and embrace the Tree. Resting my cheek on the roughened bark, my heart opens in receipt of love.Christ in all creation. Divine Spirit - mmmm. Delicious and pure. Breath and fire. Reaching skyward, flowing water. I can almost feel the life force in you as it moves upwards in Winter branches whispering Three-In -O.ne. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 22

REFLECTIONS ON THE PRANAVA AUM Yogasadhaka Michael McCann, Ireland I love chanting the Pranava, and this has been wonderfully enhanced by the incorporation of the Hasta Mudras. I love the way it shifts my physical boundaries and I feel as if I have had 'an inner shower'. It opens me up to a shimmering stillness and spaciousness. I am drawn into an ever- widening hoop of silence, with the inner and outer phenomena 'somewhere out there' on the rim. In the centre, or hub, I simply abide in the sacred presence; there is just the vibration of the heart, chanting Japa on my behalf: 'OM, OM, OM…' My teacher taught me, as I in turn teach others, to visualise the Pranava as 'growing your lotus'. The mud at the bottom of the lake is the world of Prakriti, with all our experiences, conditioning and karma. The 'A' sound represents our roots in this world of matter, which nourish and sustain us, but out of which we must evolve. The 'U' sound is the stem, our spiritual sadhana, our journey upwards through the dark lake waters. The 'M' sound is when our little bud / buddhi emerges and awakens to the light of higher awareness. The fourth stage is abidance in the underlying silence, with the petals of our lotus fully opened to the Spiritual Sun. The mud, the roots, the stem, the flower and the sun are all one. Om Tat Sat. Amanda Paulson, Canada. Pranava Aum You focus me Where would I be without you You are the eternal sound You ground me You are the breath You centre me You are the link You calm me You are the cosmos You ignite me Without you I would lose myself Back to the world of man Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 23

REFLECTIONS ON THE PRANAVA AUM Shell Andrea, Canada. Inhale Low Mid Upper Akara, Ukara, Makara Exhale, Low Mid Upper. Silence Resonance. At first it is mechanical And then something takes over. Warmth Felt through the body. The sound of other voices All around me, students following their own metronome Breath, sound, vibration. Connecting to the universe. Cosmic Life force A journey to uncover the True Self with universal vibration and energy Otherworldly sounds making their way into the consciousness A feeling of non-duality. Homecoming. Calm. Peace A spiral of energy outward and upward and Then, surrender inward and elevated Time is seemingly standing still This is the practice of Pranava That which preceded all Manifestation AUM Yogacharini Jnânasundarî, France. Ammaji told me: “If you can't chant mathematical geography. AUM as long as the others, To help others I proposed assorted Just sense the areas being activated Images to keep them on the By the vibrations”. So I did, Right trail in the right direction. Becoming very involvedandacquaintedwith But the day Dr. Sir and The geography of my lungs. Then Sangeeta talked of the nâda rolling There was mathematics to consider: how Up, along, and up changed my Long to allot to each section Whole perception! Just follow the nâda Of each lobe of each lung. From Manipûra to the heavens! Quickly I mastered pulmonary Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 24

REFLECTIONS ON THE PRANAVA AUM Smita Benny, India. Pranava Om am I KayaKriya amI Experiencing Infinity Expelling your past physicalbody traumas Carrying all your Mind, Spirit and Body Mahat Yoga Pranayama am I Am the bridge Balancing Prana and Apana The channel to the Divine Comprising all three Pranava Pranayama am I Adam Pranayama Akara Symphony of Om karas Always Chin Mudra AkaraUkara Makara Madhya Pranayama Ukara Vibhaga Pranayama am I Always Chinmaya Mudra Every lung lobe I envelop Adhyam Pranayama Makara Vyaghra Pranayama am I Always Adhi Mudra Like a fearless tiger So come everybody Keeping your spine strong Let's learn and do Let's dance in harmony Am always with you. Margaret O'Neill, Ireland I am peering into a vast sacred cavern pulsing with millions of sparks of pure, white light. Here is the abode of the Divine, the Cosmic Life Force. Seated in Vajrasana, with each mindful breath the pure white light of divinity arises from the depths of my being and spirals upwards tracing the sacred symbol of Om. The Divine Prana is pulsing through me vibrating with the sound of the PranavaAUM. . Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 25

REFLECTIONS ON THE PRANAVA AUM With each inspiration my attention is drawn inwards (Puraka) as I hold the sacred breath (Kumbhaka), exhaling (Rechaka) as I surrender the ego and contemplate the silence (Shunyaka). My body a temple of the Holy Spirit Yogacharini Dr Sangeeta, Italy Is the tongue our magic carpet, On which we can fly By evoking the manifestation of the divine in incantation? How is our sense of identity shaped by the ways we articulate the tongue through language and non-verbal sounds? And what about your lips? They way they send a kiss to a loved one, They way they relax on an exhale, Or close shut when we are upset? The lips are the sacred gates to the tongue. Do you like the shape of your lips? Their colour and texture? Do your lips remind you of your mother's lips? Or your father's? Both? The lips and the tongue. What secrets do they withhold? What divine chants do they intone? Let's appreciate this divine temple that is our body. Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 26

RUMINATIONS ON THE KLESHAS IN THE YOGA DARSHAN Yogacharya Dr ANANDA BALAYOGI BHAVANANI Chairman and Ashram Acharya, ICYER at Ananda Ashram, Pondicherry. These klesha are within us right from our birth and keep us from knowing who we are, from realizing our true Self. The klesha are of five types. Although the five types are listed separately, they are all interdependent. Sadhana Pada -II:3 - avidya asmita raga dvesha abhiniveshah kleshah These afflictions are ignorance, false identity, attraction, repulsion and survival instinct. The first klesha is avidya, ignorance of the true reality. Avidya is the refusal to see, not wanting to know the reality. The first part of the word ignorance is “ignore”, the refusal to acknowledge the existence of something. Ignorance is not only an inability but also a refusal to see which rises out of escape mechanisms. If we don't know something, we don't have to do anything about it. This mechanism allows one to be “blissfully ignorant” of the reality, of Sat! Asmita is the ego, the false sense of “Me”, “Mine” and “I”. I have pondered long on the question as to which is worse, ignorance or the ego. Because of ignorance of true reality ego exists. Once ego arises, it further distorts reality because the I-maker wishes to create reality according to its whims and fancies. As an example: two people have an accident. Both think they are right and that the other person is wrong. This is because they perceive the whole situation in their own way, the perspective which will make them correct and the other person wrong. This is the sense of “I” and “mine-ness” which always looks out for “№1”. The ego is clever and cunning. Lord Shiva, the universal power of eternal goodness, is shown with the ego (Muyalagan) under his feet. Sometimes even Lord Shiva gets distracted during his cosmic dance (ananda tandavam). Then the ego, taking advantage of the relaxation of control, sits up, even virtually stands up. The great Lord then must squash it back down to the ground where it belongs! The lesson is that true goodness, evolutionary change and auspiciousness (all qualities associated with Shiva) can only manifest when the ego is subdued. Raga and dwesha are twin faces of the same coin, the likes and dislikes we have collected. Raga and dwesha are attraction and repulsion. Raga and dwesha are equally dangerous as they drag one from the balanced plane of physical, emotional, Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 27

RUMINATIONS ON THE KLESHAS IN THE YOGA DARSHAN mental and spiritual health. Some may think that they are balanced, as they like a few things and dislike a few things. However, the likes and dislikes pull and push us off balance, creating total disharmony. Raga and dwesha coexist. When raga is in full flow, dwesha is attenuated and when dwesha is in full flow, raga is attenuated. More often than not, detachment from what we dislike is more important than that from what we like. Vairagya is dispassion towards what one likes but also from what one does not like. This includes dispassion towards oneself, too. Being able to look at one's own personality at all levels with objectivity is difficult, especially when it comes to likes and dislikes. Dispassion must exist internally as well as externally. It is equally dangerous to think or proclaim either “I am the best” or “I am the worst”! Some consider it spiritual to hate or dislike themselves, and call such an attitude humility. Self-pity and self-hatred is a big trap, a bottomless pit, into which many an aspirant has fallen. Abhinivesha is the deep instinct to survive at any cost. Clinging to life is glorified in the contemporary world. Abhinivesha rises from a deep rooted fear of death, the fear of a void, the fear of nothingness. This self-preservation instinct is so integral to all beings that even the wisest of people cannot escape its hold. It is engrained over millions of years in genetic material and stored in the most ancient parts of the brain. It is amazing to see what people will do in life-threatening situations. Only the very rare person can transcend this inbuilt survival mechanism. That rare person is the real yogi. Dull tamasica people don't know what to do and hence, are stupefied in the face of death. These are not sattwica people, who are fully aware, and consciously face death with yogic equanimity. Such people have uprooted this ancient instinct and live in fearlessness and bliss. Sadhana Pada - II:4- avidya kshetram uttaresham prasupta tanu vichchhinn udaranam The afflictions exist in dormant, attenuated, manifest or overpowering states depending on the basic field of ignorance. Avidya is the foundation stone of the other klesha, the power that propels all the other four. The strongest, most deeply rooted affliction, it is called the foundational klesha as the others cannot exist without it. With avidya as the fertile field (kshetra), the klesha appear in four states. The first is prasupta, or the dormant state in which they have not manifested yet. The second is an attenuated/mild state Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 28

RUMINATIONS ON THE KLESHAS IN THE YOGA DARSHAN of manifestation known as tanu. The third one is the fully manifest form known as vicchinna. The fourth is the overpowering state of udaranam. In the fourth state the klesha are so powerful that everything else crumbles beneath their power. All four states of the five klesha depend on avidya. Hence to overcome them, we must deal with the source of the problem itself. All five klesha manifest in these four states. An important part of the evolutionary journey is to first become aware of them and recognize their symptoms. The kriya yoga of Maharishi Patañjali offers the external and internal tools of kriya yoga (tapa, swadhyaya and ishwara pranidhana). This kriya yoga creates awareness of the klesha and a consciousness which can control these afflictions. When we are able to reduce avidya, we find that all the other klesha can be attenuated or placed into dormancy automatically. Dormancy is a state in which the seed of the klesha is still there. If you don't water it, it doesn't grow. Yet, many people are busy watering the weeds of their klesha. Then, they are astonished when they grow so luxuriantly! Excepted from UNDERSTANDING THE YOGA DARSHAN: An exploration of the Yoga Sutra of Maharishi Patañjali by Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani. Available from www.icyer.in Yogasadhaki Tejaswi offers Guru Dakshina to Pujya Ammaji Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 29

A ROSE OF A GIRL Ammaji, Yogacharini MEENAKSHI DEVI BHAVANANI, Ashram Acharya, ICYER at Ananda Ashram, Pondicherry. Editorial note: I have read this enchanting vignette many times and it always lifts my heart, as it celebrates the innate dignity and goodness of ordinary folk. The flower girl is such a humble person, brightening lives with the beauty of her craft. She is a radiant beam of light in the hustle bustle of the city. It is a spiritual law that 'like attracts like', and for one to recognise beauty, they must contain it within themselves. So it was, that one day when gazing into this little portrait, I realised that Ammaji is herself such a 'flower girl'. And her vignettes, so freely offered with an open heart, are lovingly crafted posies that impart an enduring fragrance of truth and beauty:“Lady, Lady, you yourself are a rose…”. – Michael McCann, Editorial Board member, Yoga Life. Several years ago when I first saw her, she was a young wife and mother, with a baby on one hip, selling long stemmed roses for a 'cut rate price' of Rs. 3.00/- each, from a small wooden box on the street corner at a traffic signal in Pondicherry. Almost always, her roses were only red, and almost always, her hair un-oiled, uncombed and her baby's nose running. Wearing a saree so old one could determine neither its colour nor its design; nevertheless, she had a quiet, dignified beauty, intelligent eyes and a bright smile. I continued to patronise her small shop through the years. It was convenient, right on my way home. The roses were fresh and cheaper by a few rupees than the big air-conditioned florist shops on Main Street. And besides, I liked her. She was courageous, an entrepreneur in her own small way, making a living in a harsh world. I witnessed her progress, as month passed into months, and year into years. From just one colour of long stemmed (Bangalore!) roses, she added pink ones too and later, roses were available of nearly every hue. At the end of two years she also had some “backup greens” and plain wrapping paper and could pack you a neat little \"rose bouquet\" for a reasonable sum. Disaster struck one day when the Municipality (or whoever the powers-that-be are) decided to remove the pavement encroachments and overnight, the small colony of shops was cleaned away, like a bunch of ants swept out the door. I didn't see her for three months and had to satisfy my addiction to roses at the fancy air-conditioned shops, with scowling, morose shop girls, careless service and slightly wilted, greatly overpriced flowers. In an unprecedented burst of civil improvement, that sector of the town's sidewalks were re-laid, and a wire fence erected to give pedestrians a comfortable Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 30

A ROSE OF A GIRL place to walk in safety amidst the city's chaotic traffic. Our city fathers live in clouds miles high above the common herd, and failed to note the citizen's penchant for the adrenaline highs provided by darting midstream through traffic. So, of course, the fancy sidewalks remained totally unused. Nature abhors a vacuum, in the tropics more particularly, and little by little, inch by inch, the unoccupied space on that busy corner sidewalk became a cosy home again to the denizens of the night and all the little shops came back, and with a vengeance. This time, with a flashy new shop front (the beautiful wire fence) my rose girl set up a sophisticated table with a well structured awning to protect her wares from the glare of the sun. Her stock also underwent an extensive upgrading. (Perhaps she had taken a crash business course in the three month vacation period). Now, not only did she sell roses of every hue, but also gladioli, carnations, daisies, zinnias and wonderful little yellow button flowers. It became quite a pleasure to choose a wide selection of cut table flowers while waiting for the traffic light to change, all hand-delivered to my vehicle with a beaming smile, customer satisfaction guaranteed! For some months, I have been preoccupied with professional duties, and flowers have flown far away from my mind. Yesterday, I had a birthday party on my day's crowded agenda, and in last minute panic realised I had no present in hand and only 15 minutes to the appointed time. “Why not a few fresh flowers''? I thought and drove to my little rose girl's shop. The day had long travelled to night, but her shop was bright with light. When I turned the corner, I saw the obviously rolling-in cash-entrepreneur had invested in two new huge gas cylinder lamps, perched on either side of the gigantic table filled with exotic flowers of every conceivable colour and shape. The beauty of it all took my breath away and my little rose girl received her old patron with a delightful smile. She now had two trained assistants, not to mention an Ayah who was guarding her child crawling about the pavement. I made my selection of a dozen different flowers of assorted colours and several back-up yellow and greens. “Put it all in a bouquet for me”, I requested. My mouth certainly did drop, when I saw her now-expert fingers unroll the expensive clear florist plastic sheet from a huge roll, cut it expertly to size with imported Japanese scissors, and then cut another piece of professional white florist cardboard from an equally large roll. She laid the flowers and the green and yellow leafy backing expertly on the white cardboard organising every piece very aesthetically to size and shape. She folded the end of the cardboard, placed it on the clear plastic, neatly folded, stapled Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 31

A ROSE OF A GIRL it all into a point at the bottom with a huge stapler, and cello-taped it, using a large cello-tape machine. She cut a strip of yellow ribbon, folded it neatly into a bow and attached it to the bottom. With a very expensive pair of floral shears she trimmed the stems protruding from the bottom of the package. Presto! Her eyes gleamed with pride as she handed the incredible bouquet to me, a bouquet which would have cost at least Rs.300/- in an air-conditioned florist shop. It took her just five minutes to produce this. It was a real bargain in time and money for Rs.100/- \"Is it beautiful\"? she asked with glee, knowing what my answer would be. “It is! It is!\" I said, cautious not to praise her too highly and yet, completely under the spell of this illiterate street woman who had created that most unique of all businesses right under my very own nose. \"Lady! Lady!\" I muttered under my breath as I happily absconded with my treasure, “You yourself are a rose, whatever your name and your independent, enterprising Indian spirit smells so sweet, amidst the stink and chaos of this street!\". D By Ammaji, Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani I summon Agni, like a slave, E With the stroke of my match. A Wherein, therefore, lies his power? T Varuna rushes to my fingertips, H With the turn of the tap, Wherein, therefore, lies his glory? O Surya, I am told, is a mere ball of gas, F And Chandra, a piece of rock in a dark sky. Vayu is an unearthly pest, wrecking my T Carefully puffed hair, And Bhumi, she is nothing but a pile of mud, H Spattering my starched saree. E Whom amongst the Gods is holy? G Whom is there worthy of my worship? Where do the Gods go, when they die? O What happens to man, D When he holds nothing sacred? S Vol.53 No. 03, March 2022 www.rishiculture.in 32