Monthly Archive for July, 2007

(Lachu Ji was among the first Trustees of the Centre and served on the Executive Committee until he decided to move with family to India and settle there permanently. He is at present living in Puna near Bombay. As he is a Life Member we keep in touch with him through correspondence and sending him our magazine)

Most of you would be aware of the treatise written by the sage Patanjali now commonly known as Patanjali Yoga Sutras. I have always felt that rarely any practitioner of Yoga (especially in the West) pays attention to this book. I think it is extremely important for those of you who practice and teach Yoga seriously to understand the importance of this little book.

The sage Patanjali makes two very important declarations in this book – one near the beginning and the other towards the end. The first one says “the purpose of yoga is to control the fluctuations of the mind” (not to control the mind). The second appearing towards the end declares that “any student who perfects the above practices will see his TRUE SELF.”

I would like to explain that the nature of the mind is to think. Therefore one should not waste time and effort to try to stop the mind from thinking. One should use the quality of the mind – which is the ability to concentrate on a single idea or thought – to transcend the mind. The mind is a great stumbling block on the spiritual journey to self-realisation but we have to bypass the mind with the help of the mind. You have to use steel to cut steel.

In between the two declarations he outlines the practices:

Yama & Niyama: The discipline of following these is to help the sadhak to control the fluctuations of the mind, viz. lust, anger, greed, attachment and vanity. The details are clearly mentioned in the book and are easy to understand. Therefore, I won’t go into the details of these.

Asana & Pranayam : These are for the body to stay healthy so that the following spiritual practices can be perfected. Most of you practice Asana & Pranayam to the exclusion of other practices. Therefore, there is generally no spiritual progress.

At this point it is important to understand that no spiritual progress towards the ultimate objective of realising the Self can take place if the heart and the mind are not pure. Therefore it is absolutely essential to observe all the yama and niyama.

Having learnt to sit quietly for a period of time without moving, the sage instructs us to practice Pratyahara – withdrawal of senses. This means that the mind should not receive any external stimuli. Start with sitting comfortably with the back erect preferably sitting on the floor. If you can-not sit on the floor then sit in a straight backed chair with feet flat on the floor so that the breath is not restricted. Close the eyes lightly, slowly eliminate all the sounds you can hear by acknowledging these and moving on to the next one until all the sounds have been eliminated. Do not burn any incense or light a candle.

After withdrawing the senses practice DHARNA. Dharna means to contemplate. Look at the Third Eye (spiritual eye or the ajna chakra) with the external eyes closed. The third eye is located about 1 cm on top the nose and half an inch inside the forehead. You may watch your breath going in and out of your nostrils, you may contemplate on the question, ”Who am I?” or you may contemplate on your ishta deva or your personal God/deity.

At the deepest level of Dharna you automatically go into the state of Dhyana – the state of meditation. Please understand that meditation is not a process, it is a state of being and one enters into this state at the deepest level of contemplation.

It is like going to sleep. When the body is tired and needs rest, you lie down on the bed and hope to fall asleep. In a similar manner when your contemplation becomes deep, you go into the state of meditation (dhyana).

When Dhyana becomes deep, you enter into the state of Samadhi. There is no equivalent word in English for this. Up to the stage of savikalpa samadhi one is still aware of the duality of being. When the sadhak enters into the state of nirvikalpa samadhi – the soul is said to open the door of the spiritual eye and look at the world.

What does it see? It sees only ITSELF. There is no sense of duality. Only THE SELF remains.

This is the True Self Patanjali promises the sadhak will see if he perfects the practices.

I wish to say that the above is my understanding of the practices and others may have different understanding and experience. The important thing is to follow the discipline if you are really interested in knowing THE TRUE SELF.

May God bless your endeavour.

Lachu Bharwaney
25th April 07
Pune, India.

Reprint of a newspaper article from The Argus, Monday Oct 16 2006, by Ruth Lumley and Loretta Flockhart.

A Hindu religious teacher has criticised pop stars and keep-fit enthusiasts for “hijacking” the ancient art of yoga. Indar Nath, known as Swami Indrananda Ji, said most people joining a host of new clubs springing up across Sussex were following yoga incorrectly.

The 83 year old Swami, who runs the Patanjali Centre for Classical Yoga in Battle, said the practice was becoming increasingly removed from its spiritual roots. He said new teachers were developing their own forms that were not in keeping with the ancient Hindu scriptures.

He said: “This explosion has come from the desire to earn money. Many people have twisted the meaning of yoga to suit themselves.”

In a bid to reassert the yoga tradition, Swami Indrananda Ji invited a group of supermarket checkout staff from Bolton to join him for a week of early morning chanting, postures, breathing exercises and a strict yogic diet. The experience was recorded for television.

The teacher reads from the Indian scriptures and follows the yogic path laid out by the father of yoga, Patanjali, in about 200 BC.
He said: “Yoga is the pure and only way to achieve a healthy body and mind. The science of yoga is laid out in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. These books teach you the practical way of yoga.” The yogic way of life extends beyond flexibility and into food. The Swami said diet was important and at the root of our thinking.
He said: “A pure mind will only come through a pure diet and pure thoughts.” Sarah Beese, 40, from Findon, teaches yoga in Hove and Steyning. She agreed celebrities had made it more popular but did not think there was any negative effect.
She said: “I can see what he is saying but it has brought yoga into the household and encouraged other people to take it up. The majority of people I teach don’t come because Madonna does it but because they have heard of the benefits. I think a lot of it also depends on whether the teacher believes what they are teaching, be it for exercise or the more spiritual relaxing side. Every single person comes for their own reason.”

This article was first published in the November 1990 issue of Yoga and Health. It is reproduced here as it is still very relevant to life today.

Ashrama is not only an Institute, like Gurukulas, where aspirants/disciples are taught by their Master/Gurus, it is also a stage in human life which, according to the Vedas, should last for 100 years. It is divided into four “Ashramas” or stages of 25 years each. The first is Brahmacharya (mentioned by Rishi Patanjali as one of the Yamas), or student life. Children enter into this Ashrama at the age of 5 to 8 years and are sent to Guru-Grihas or the Residential Universities of ancient India where the Rishis were the Vice Chancellors. Children of all castes, from royal to peasant families, lived and were educated together until they completed their education and reached the age of 25 years when it was time to enter the next stage called “Grahasthyashrama” or family life.

The student on returning home was free to get married with, of course, the permission of his Guru and enter into the second stage of his or her life in order to perform the responsibilities of a householder. It should be noted that according to the Vedas of Hindus tradition, marriage was not intended for sensual gratification. Rather it was a code of chastity, harmony and self restraint for the achievement of the highest goal in human life. It is not surprising that a law has recently been passed by the British Parliament that any harassment caused to a woman as a result of sensual satisfaction will be considered a crime which can be brought before the courts. Although we should learn according to the teachings of Yoga to control our sensual desires, this Act is certainly a step in the right direction.

In India, a wife was regarded as an equal partner in all religious observances and, without her, a man was not permitted to take part in sacrificial rites. The four aims of human life (Dharma/Virtue, Artha/Wealth, Kama/Desire or enjoyment and Moksha/Liberation) were met in the “householder” stage. In fact, all other Ashramas are dependent on the householder for their financial support and it is therefore permissible for the householder to earn in a righteous manner as much money as possible which he is then free to contribute to the well being of others who are either learning or imparting true knowledge to the rest of society.

After having fulfilled the duties and responsibilities of the householder life, when one reaches the age of about fifty, one enters the third Ashrama otherwise known as the Vanaprasthya stage. i.e. one gives up all responsibilities and retires to a forest or secluded place suitable for meditation. In this retired life one is supposed to establish Centres of Vanaprasthya , or Ashramas of learning and teaching for the welfare of society where he will remain for a further 25 years, i.e. until the age of 75. This is, in fact, the preparatory stage for the next and final Ashrama of “Sannyasa” which is the subject of our article.

“Sannyasa” or Life of Renunciation, as we have seen above, is the final stage of an ascetic or, we should say, human life. The description of Ashrama has been beautifully given by one Swami Yatishwarananda Ji of Bharat Sevashram Sangha in his book “Reflections on Hinduism”. He says that when one reaches the age of 75 (or enters into Sannyasa Ashrama), one renounces everything of the world, i.e. the name, fame, wealth, family and friends and all worldly responsibilities. One rests calmly in God. Sannyasa, as Swami Yatishwarananda means Ji says, means renunciation of all objects and tendencies relating to non-self. The prescribed actions for the Sannyasi are chiefly four: Meditation, Purity and Good Conduct, Sense Control and Living on Alms. If this ideal of renunciation loses its charm from society, it becomes a hell of sensuality and vulgarism. The Sannyasa life requires purification of the body, mind and spirit and the annihilation of all desires. Brahma-Sutra Bhasya of Shankaracharta (BS III, iv) says that the Sannyasi is eligible to pursue the path of knowledge. Further, it explains that the seeker after knowledge must endeavour to possess such virtues as calmness, equanimity, and self-control (BS III, iv. 27). These virtues are necessary to turn the mind inward in search of the true Self. Endowed with the cardinal virtues, one follows the path of knowledge and gains the ultimate goal, which is release or Moksha (ibid, III, iv.1).

Sannyasa has also been explained in depth in Chapter V of the Bhagavad Gita. Lord Krishna says, “He should be known a constant Sannyasi who neither hates nor desires; free from the pairs of opposites, he is easily set free from bondage”. (BG, v.3). Further in verse 18 the Lord tells Arjuna that men of self-knowledge, i.e. Sannyasi, look no differently on a Brahamana imbued with learning and humility, or a cow, an elephant, a dog or an outcast. It is said that a Sannyasi is [freed?}from the obligation of all rites, etc, but Lord Krishna makes it clear that only the person who discharges his duty without seeking the fruit is a Sannyasi or Yogi (BG Chapter VI.1). In the next verse, He tells Arjuna, “Know that as Yoga, which is called Sannyasa, for none becomes a Yogi without renouncing Sankalpa (the selfish motives which lie behind actions).”

The scriptures are therefore clear that one is not eligible or should not enter into the Order of Sannyasa until one is pure in body and mind, free from the pairs of opposites and has renounced everything one possesses. But the sanctions of the scriptures are being violated as aspirants enter into this Ashrama without having regard to the qualities required, being initiated by their Master’s into this Order. It is a great tragedy that this has been happening all around us for the last two or three decades. Of course, the disciples feel proud of wearing the orange robes and changing their names.