More is not always better

Some modern ‘Yoga’ teachers advise their students to perform Yoga postures at a faster pace and do it for a longer duration – more is always better! In fact one of the research papers on Yoga benefits even compares Yoga with some African tribal dance that is supposed to be very strenuous!

Perplexing ‘Yoga’ breathing claims

I have heard many ‘Yoga’ Gurus making claims on how ‘Yoga’ breathing works. I am not sure whether their claims are medically sound.

Tail wagging the dog!

One of my readers recently complained to me that I give too much emphasis on ‘Yama’ and ‘Niyama’ of Yoga. The reader felt that ‘Yama’ and ‘Niyama’ are not at all necessary! And laying emphasis on them discourages people from practicing Yoga!

 

Well, he is not the only one who makes such statements.

Yogic hair splitting

Some of my readers have pointed out my ‘wrong’ usage of the word ‘steps’ while referring to Patanjali’s Ashtänga Yoga  as ‘Patanjali’s 8 step Yoga process’.

Yes. The word Ashtänga literally means 8 limbs and not 8 steps. But if you have carefully observed these 8

Yogic Law of Exponentials

Many people have asked me – “How long does it take to experience the effectiveness of Yoga?” The simple answer is “it depends!”

 

For most people effectiveness means stress reduction which is one of the prominent effects of Yoga if practiced properly. Less stress means better health, better performance, peace of mind, and so on. Now, how long does it take?

Which is the best Yoga?

Nowadays, people have wide options even for Yoga – something like a menu card in a restaurant! Of course, each item comes tagged with a price 😉 How does one decide?

Yoga timeline (over 3000 years)

One keeps hearing/reading different things being called Yoga. Most people have various notions about Yoga that are quite confusing. So I thought of giving a brief timeline of Yoga (set of practices that apparently resemble the system propounded by Patanjali – a generally accepted source) spanning over 3000 years.

‘that’ which one needs to know

We started this series of posts with a question whether there is anything after knowing which we know everything; after hearing which we have heard everything. Or in other words, what is the essence of all the diversity we see around us as the world and our individual existences?

More ways to sink in the fundamental truth

In the previous posts we saw the origin and final destiny of the universe that we see around. But Swetaketu was still not convinced in spite of his father reasoning it out the way we did in previous posts. So, father gives more analogies to sink in the truth.

Forward trace instead of back tracing

In the previous post we back traced to infer the fundamental cause for this universe. There is one more way that can lead you to the same conclusion. Instead of back tracing, trace forward.

Supposing you have a dying man. Observe him carefully. Gradually, his ability to see, hear, feel and so on cease. And finally he dies. His body is still there but he is dead. Why? Because the soul has left the body. 

Trace the cause from the effect

If you want to know the origin of the universe, keep tracing back the cause, starting from the effect. You will eventually reach the starting point.

For example, you see a huge tree with hundreds of branches, thousands of leaves and so on. How did this tree come into existence?

Something can’t come from nothing

No matter what science says, ancient Indians were clear that something cannot come from nothing. What was that ‘thing’ which this world came from? 

 

For want of a better word, ancient Indians called that thing as Sath – which literally means existence. This world came from Sath and not from nothing. So ‘in the beginning’ there was this Sath that created or took the form of ‘everything’ that we see around – the world, the beings in it, and so on.

How does one infer that?

We will see that in the next post.

Start              Next           Previous

This is a series of posts based on the well known discussion in Chändogya Upanishad (part of Säma Veda, believed to have been recorded more than 3000 years ago) regarding ultimate truths.

Matter is not everything

Science says that everything is material. There is nothing else. Now the question is - "why is a living person living and a corpse a dead body? A living body as well as a dead body are both made up of the same set of basic elements. But one is alive and the other is dead. Why?"

Understand the fundamentals

There are probably infinitely many things in this world. Each is different in its own way. Each has a different use. Each has a different property. But all these infinitely many things are made of 3 fundamental particles – electrons, protons and neutrons. These 3 particles in different combinations and different configurations form all that that exists in this world.

You can spend your entire lifetime to understand each of the things in this world. Or if you understand these three fundamental particles and their properties, you almost know everything in this world. Rest are just the details!

Ancient Indians also talked about three fundamental things that formed everything in this material world. These three things are sathwa, rajas and tamas. Sathwa has no mass but it only has potential energy. It is like the proton. Rajas also has no mass but it has kinetic energy. It is like an electron.  And finally, the tamas is all mass and nothing else. It is like the neutron. 

The ancient Indians believed that once you know these three fundamental elements that form the entire material world, you know everything. 

Well, almost.  What is it that we left out?

We will see that in the next post.

Start              Next           Previous

This is a series of posts based on the well known discussion in Chändogya Upanishad (part of Säma Veda, believed to have been recorded more than 3000 years ago) regarding ultimate truths.

Do you know ‘that’?

What is it ‘that’ I am talking about? It is ‘that’ after knowing which you know everything; it is ‘that’ after hearing which you have heard all; it is that after understanding which there is nothing more to understand. 

Does any such thing exist?

Truth of truth

I came across a self claimed rationalist blogger vociferously declaring that belief in God is just a superstition since no such God exists. In response, another self claimed Guru counseled that the existence of God cannot be argued upon, but should be just experienced.

Which of these conclusions are correct? Actually, as far as truth is concerned, it is always relative. There is no absolute truth. If you are a person who can see the world, the entire world is colorful. But, for a born blind person, it could be sound full or even touch full but never colorful.

Most of the time, what is true is not that important but in what way it affects us is important. All truths have an associated weight. If two truths have the same weight, you can accept either of them.

If a Baba says that by breathing in a particular way, blockage in your arteries, even if it is 90%, can be cleared, there may be some truth with non zero weight in his statement. But there is high risk of having heart attack if you accept his truth as against the counsel of a cardiologist who has recommended angioplasty. You may still die of heart attack even after angioplasty but the chances are less. The reason is that the weight of Baba’s truth is much less than that of the Cardiologist’s truth. So, it is the weight which is important when it matters.

In rest of the cases, you are free to accept any truth depending on your choice.

One chapter of my next book dispatched to reviewers

I have dispatched one of the chapters ("Yoga of the wandering mystics") to all those who have opted for voluntary review of my next book. In case any more people want to join, they can still do it by filling up the contact form on the right of this blog.

Thanks.

Psychic powers

A few decades ago, the US government spent Billions of dollars into the research pertaining to Psychic powers. The research was carried out in top US universities by eminent scientists. At the end of the research, the scientists involved in it declared that existence of Psychic powers was beyond any doubt. 

I invite read-along volunteers

I am currently writing a book covering wide range of topics- tantric practices, various forms of Yoga, and  Buddhist meditation techniques. I will be happy if anyone of you would like to join me as a read-along volunteer. As and when I complete a chapter, I will be making that available to you and you need to give your feedback within a specified time. So, you will get a chance to be a part of the writing process and access to the book even before it is published.

Interested? Please fill in the contact form on the right of my blog with details about you. You don't need to be an expert, but should be willing to read thoroughly and give prompt objective comments about how you find the chapter. Where necessary we can interact to discuss about your  views and how I intend to address them.

Please write something about you so that it will help me in deciding to take you along. Your details will not be used for any other purpose, nor would it be published.

From Eden Gardens to God’s dining table! 😄

When I visited one of the Indian Hindu temples in California, I was given a ‘prasad’ (a portion of the food offered to the God), which was a bit of surprise to me. Normally the prasad distributed in India are sweets. But this prasad was spicy/sour and made of rice! It is called tamarind rice (called Puliogare in South India).

 

I wondered how the Hindu Gods developed a taste for this spicy rice! Actually, tamarind is such an essential ingredient in South Indian cuisine that a typical South Indian cannot think of cooking without tamarind!

But plant historians say that tamarind is not from India, but from Africa. They say that tamarind was known even before 500 B.C. in Egypt. 

It is believed that humans evolved from Africa. So is tamarind from Eden gardens where the Gods are supposed to have created Adam and Eve?! Probably that explains why it is God's favorite 😄

Do you know something? The very name tamarind comes from the Arab word ‘tamar hindi’ meaning Indian dates! The flesh resembles dates and there is even a sweet variety that tastes almost like dates. Even the botanical name Tamarindus indica suggests that the fruit is from India! Does it mean that the fruit moved straight from Eden Gardens to God’s dining table in India???  😄 😄

Fruits straight from Indian epic Ramayana!

Indians have such fascination for their great epic namely Ramayana that they see the epic characters live in almost everything!

They even have named a family of fruits each after some prominent character from Ramayana. For example, they have Ram Phal (named after the hero Ram, Phal means fruit), Laxman Phal (named after the second hero), Seetha Phal (named after the heroine), Hanuman Phal (named after their most obedient companion). I always wondered what likeness Seetha Phal has with the heroine! Or for that matter Hanuman Phal with the character Hanuman (who has a monkey like appearance).

But as always, there is whole lot of confusion. Indians use these names interchangeably to mean different fruits in the group or the same fruit. Most laymen call all these fruits as just Seetha Phal! 

Actually these fruits are fruits belonging to the same family ANNONACEAE. Ram Phal is the Custard Apple (Annona Reticulata), Laxman Phal is Atemoya (a man made cross between Annona Squamosa and Annona Cherimola), Seetha Phal is Sugar Apple (Annona Squamosa) and Hanuman Phal is Cherimoya (Annona Cherimola).

There is another member in this family that has recently become very prized one. A few years ago, there were no takers for this fruit (it is a bit sour), But recently, on rumors (?) that this fruit can cure/prevent cancer, overnight this fruit has become the most sought after fruit in India. This fruit is called by different names, Hanuman Phal, Laxman Phal, Mam Phal by Indians. Actually it is Sour Sop (Annona Muricata)

The interesting thing is that none of these fruits are originally from India (as per the plant historians). But what is more interesting is that in some Indian languages, say for example Konkani (a language spoken in Goa – a former Portuguese province, now in India), Andana (sounds like Annona) refers to either Seetha Phal or one of the fruits in this family. Also, I remember seeing this fruit carved in ancient Hindu temples like Ellora cave temples. So, did Seetha actually invent this fruit? – I am just kidding.

Sexy fruits!

I am not talking about any aphrodisiac fruit but only about fruit trees that exhibit varieties of sexual behavior.

Gender galore: While many wild fruit trees (also some cultivated) have male and female flowers in separate trees, some like Papaya are really sexy! Some varieties of Papaya bear male, female, male-female, neither completely male nor completely female flowers either on the same tree or on different trees. 

Occasional sex changers: Some papaya trees even change sex depending on weather conditions. A male tree becomes female and vice versa depending on weather! What is more – if you behead a male papaya tree (males don’t produce useful fruits), chances are that it would become female when new shoots grow from the stump! They say that if there is a lone male papaya tree with no female tree in the vicinity, it automatically becomes female! – But I am not sure about this last one.

Habitual sex changers: There are fruit trees such as Sugar apple (and others in the family) and Avocado, that have the habit of changing sex every now and then! A sugar apple flower which is otherwise bisexual acts like female for few hours and changes into a male the next day! Similar thing happens in Avocado. So if all flowers decide to change to same sex same time, there is no way you can expect any fruits from that tree!

Some need help: Some fruits such as Cherimoya cannot pollinate on their own. They need human intervention – manual pollination.

No to consanguineous unions: It is not just humans; even fruit trees such as some varieties of Apples, Avocado, and so on shun consanguineous unions. To bear fruit, you need at least two different varieties in the same garden, even if trees bear bisexual flowers. Some are even choosier. They need a specific variety for cross pollination!

If you ponder over why all these gimmicks, you probably understand the complete philosophy behind union and procreation.