All the articles published in Tulasi Yoga Vision are talks of The Mother written down by Prasannakumari. Label INDIAYOGA
Life is a Celebration in Yoga
Sinduma ..she celebrates and rejoices each day of life, a very precious gift of the divine. The main mission of her life is to guide through the path of Yoga towards liberation based on Vedanta, yet living and encouraging to experience a balanced development of both the material and spiritual personalities. She never fails to enquire about the worldly life as she says, is the platform on which the spiritual side of yoga is practiced and displayed.
Sinduma has an insatiable capability of wondering, observing and learning many things from around her. She evolves as the most creative architect or an accurate accountant or
a cook or a gardener, a great yoga teacher and an Inspiration beyond words.
Every dawn is so fresh on her face and in her words as Guruma rejoices in the beauty of the half open buds, the twittering birds, awakening the glow of love as it flows into the guidance to the Divine. Eyes glowing in love as she would create a beautiful picture with words to describe the morning sun rays awakening the earth to life. Nature is her big canvas and the sounds its music. She sees the divinity in everything, enlivening spirit of Absolute and revels in the glory of its love, inYoga.
With Pranams
by PRASANNA
INDIAYOGA
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MAYA
Maya is the pure physical,mental,intellectual and egoist state which is perceived as reality the life by 'manas' the conscious mind which is always moving.This movement creates a veil. It veils the Absolute. A traveller on the path of life, to balance the material and spiritual levels becomes aware of her, Maya. She is matter apparent. Normally 'illusion' is the word used to describe Maya coming close to explain this state. It does not mean not existing, simply meaning it exists in the movements of moments. So do not become attached to this as its moving and impermanent.
Movements of moments, the impermanence as it appears is only the ways of manifested energy Maya which is paradoxical, mystical. Energy is continuously transforming taking 'quantum leaps'. With these 'quantum leaps' we see everything changing, our flickering conscious mind(manas) creating a flux-like phenomenon of existence. This has to be understood very deeply and realised cause this is the very base of all essential practices of the path of life in Yoga.
Nothing seems the same even for two consecutive moments as life flows on like a river in the flow of manas. Anything permanent is incomprehensible to this 'manas'.
The life as perceived through the 'manas' is Maya. Neither does it mean that life is not real nor does it say that it is a dream. It simply points to the way you are looking at life so unconscious, so wavering and unstable cause the inner wavering 'manas' gives you this picture of flux.
Move through this impermanence to the permanent. Attain the inner calmness, attain the inner peace. This hazy veil created by the wavering mind falls off and spontaneously you are in a state of rest, resting in Peace, in Divinity. Maya and Iswara are not two things but the same, one we perceive through the wavering mind and the other perceived in inner calmness.
Mind is always flickering and never constant. That is its nature. Its always on play, stability is not its quality.The only way is to transcend it with the practice of 'Awareness', perceiving reality the Divinity through inner calmness. Yet the mind goes on with the play creating the veils of movements kicking up the dust of emotions and attachments. Hidden deep in the unconscious is the desiring 'Trishna' which is the feed of the mind and the mind continues in anxiety and even fear.
Only when the mind is transcended divinity is revealed. There is no other way. Becoming aware of the mind process and witnessing it. Not flowing along with mind nor flowing against it. Step out of the flow with awareness and witness it with non-attachment. Stepping out of the mind flow, witness it with 'viveka' and 'vivecha' and as you move into the state of 'vairagya' with no conscious or unconscious feeds the mind calms down.
Never fight with the mind, never struggle or wrestle with it, it is a sure losing battle. Let actions take its natural course guided by a pure ego and pure intellect. Thus letting go of the desires empty handed we remain, liberated, free from anxieties and fear. 'Inaction in action' the pure essence of karma yoga.
INDIAYOGA
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RENOUNCE AND REJOICE
Renounce the idea that you are bound. Rejoice in the freedom of truth. Life is the path of truth that is open to us here and now. Enjoy it with awareness. With the inner eye of awareness open enjoy this vast canvas of experiences of life, hues of colours and the music of the sounds. Pure living is the most beautiful ritual of love of the Divine, feel it in your breath, in your heartbeat,in every atom of your body... in all your sensations and actions.. its all in you and around you..... in the twittering music of the birds, in the flowers and greens, in the vast blue skies, in the moving clouds... all around you and in you.
Be aware... beware of the chains of conditions, desires and attachments that might bind you... renounce those conditions is all purity.. and rejoice in the simplicity.. its just here and now and as it moves on... know that it was not these outside objectives that was beautiful, it is you, the love in you, the openness in you that makes it beautiful.. so do not be bound by the condition of recreating these objectives... allow life to move on. Let the pure instruments help you to move on.. the pure intellect and ego. Let it flow as you remain aware, let the essence of living open the door to the light of knowing...
INDIAYOGA
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GURU KRPA
When the mind flows outward and the focus moves away from the centre the its Maya. What that makes the the focus turn inwards helping and making the mind turn inwards is Guru. It can be a syllable, or a word or a person. Guru is the embodiment of the cosmic energy that helps you to be free from the power of matter. This cosmic energy helps you to be free from the power of matter.
At the beginning of the spiritual path externally it takes the form of the Guru to push the mind inwards, which we term as Guru krpa. This push inwards even as Guru's scolding has the effect of erasing one's identification with ego impure with pride.Thus Guru krpa is a vehicle of grace.
A true seeker knows what it is to get attracted to an enlightened soul. This attraction reveals a beautiful new centre within us which is beyond the mind or intellect, deep and subtle. The spiritual heart hushing everything else to a natural silence is profound than anything else. This silence that is filled with the love of Guru is the greatest healing magic. Taking repeated dips and dives in this pool of silence, the Self is revealed. The grace of the Guru is beyond any amount of personal effort. It paves the way for reflection and contemplation over inner revelation over and over again until the seeker gets established in it.
Last week one of the popular newspaper in Kerala approached Sinduma and reporter a spiritual seeker himself remarked: ‘You are giving the deepest of sciences and highest of advices and teachings. What I can say is dilute it to the basics of practices so that even the common can understand you as they need more people like you. You can also become more popular.’ As usual smiling Sinduma replied simply ‘I can teach only what I know. And this all what I know. I have no idea of how to dilute this Truth I know’. This prompted me (Prasanna) to write this article as a samarpan in my heart to my Guru.
An enlightened one is a mighty impersonality where in pure knowledge alone exists, the truth itself, she is a Guru. In that natural state of being the propagation of truth happens naturally through her .Through her I know that liberation while living is possible. She shows the path. Her calls wake us up from the sleep of ‘avidhya’ ignorance, from the darkness. This verbal confirmation from the Guru kindles the indwelling glimpses of the Self.
Sraddha, conviction in the words of the Guru and in the path you are following, the trust, the faith and love is the most important element of spiritual practice. The external Guru points the path towards the inner Guru. Behold it with Sradhha. Constant association with the Enlightened will slowly refine you and transmute. It is the duty of the Guru to choose the ways and words, to show the path through the darkness into the light. Her ways employs indirect awakening. Guru observes carefully each who reaches her, even their daily interaction, striking at the very apt moments thus pushing us out of the darkness strongly yet with care. This is why constant association with the Guru is essential. (I am blessed with the opportunity to be with Sinduma for the last 7 years).
Respect and worship your Guru’s vision and divinity, not just the body or form. Every time we forget she reminds us. She is the light of awareness making us aware of the darkness in which we are blindly groping to find the answers for our confusions.
One can be awakened only if one wants to be. One is qualified to seek such a Guru when you have the sraddha. Only in the inner quietude can we receive the teachings of a great Guru. As Sinduma always says, ‘I can help you move up along the dark shadow roads until you see the light shining at the door of your inner Guru.’
INDIAYOGA
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An evolving yogi earnest in his practice never allows his intellectual faculty of '
viveka' and '
vivecha', knowledge and discrimination with awareness, to be distorted by his emotional tides.
Freedom is the very essence of human existence. An evolving yogi disengaging himself from the slavish dependence of material benefits and joys is free.
Sense organs are the antennae of 'prakrithi', the nature, presenting to us the glitters of 'Maya' which is all consuming, tossing us hither and thither like a raven cloud with the joys, challenges and problems of life.To be aware of this, to witness this is the privilege and blessing humans have. Such a yogi stands out like a bright star in a dark sky.
Until we evolve into the higher state of peace and calmness we do need guidance along this path which might appear intense and dark. Totally trusting the enlightened masters who have walked ahead of you in this path, trusting the accuracy of their guidance we should move on. We have to move in our practice with faith in and devotion in their scriptures and the path that they light. To understand the glory of this path we must have some knowledge and experience of this art and science of yoga. Without the openness the vision will be distorted, so that a yogi can be mistakenly understood to be inert, so, condemned and criticized by ignorance to be apparently indifferent and disinterested. It is not true that he has no emotion. He is not into emotionalism which can ruin the poise and balance of outlook making the mind turbulent and intellect confused. Emotionalism is an impediment in the path of spiritual evolvement, a hindrance. The great masters of yogic tradition stood admist the life and society with compassionate dutiful heart, with clear and logical intellect and outlook.
The secret of calmness and peace in life thus is this combination of compassionate dutiful heart, a clear intellect and open outlook. The way into this is 'Guru' and following his path will raise us up from the petty emotionalism to the loftier heights of calmness and peace.
Let us be dedicated to the chosen 'Guru' and have the courage to live the convictions truly and wholly with total intellectual honesty. This will light up the soft glow of serenity and the melodious rhythm of unconditional love. The beautiful spiritual evolvement of an individual will thus become a torch in the darkness, around the immediate society.
INDIAYOGA