What is Lifeforce - Energy, Prana?

PRANA THE ENERGY THAT BINDS THE MATTER

EVERYDAY we breathe whether we want to or not but the breathing continues. The prana what we are referring to now is the life force present in our body that makes us breathe. Breath is not prana or the process of breathing is not prana. Prana is the force behind all these activities such as breathing, seeing, listening, walking, sleeping etc. The modern science refers to prana as energy. This energy is present through out the universe in the different forms i.e. From gross to the subtlest. The very same energy is responsible for all the matter present in this universe in different forms whether dead or alive. The different molecules combine with each other with the help of this energy (prana) to form different matter e.g. Earth, water, fire, air & ether. Everything present in all these forms of matter is the result of the energy (prana) present in it at different levels (gross to subtle).
The power of the energy present at the molecular and the atomic level is tremendous. This level of energy is very subtle but not the subtlest. We have experienced the power of the atomic bomb i.e. Nothing but the force of the energy released at a very high subtle level. We can imagine if we keep discovering the most subtlest levels how much energy will we discover, lets hope that the discoveries will be used for human progress & maintaining nature at its best, that’s how we all will be able to survive longer on this planet as we all know and understand that nothing is going to last forever nothing is permanent.
Our mind is also a form of energy present at a very subtler level than the body. The mind itself is a bundle of energy within our reach ready to be tapped and explored. We should be grateful to the almighty for giving us a chance to be so close to so much power & so much energy. We have been given all the means to culture this energy & chanelize this energy for our progress to the next level.
Those who have been able to realize this energy and go beyond it have experienced tremendous power, strength & superhuman capabilities. We know them as yogis, spiritual leaders and many prefer to stay unknown. People who work selflessly for the betterment of humanity. People who spread love & worship we all know them and we all love them & we all worship them. These are the people whose presence in this world even for a minute has made a difference for millions and is still making. We have known them as Buddha, Christ, Mohammed, Sant Dnyaneshwar, Adi Shankarcharya, Ram Krishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda and many more the list goes on. The mere presence of all these great people on the planet for much less time than most of us has made a big impact on millions of people all around the world and is still doing.
All these great people had understood and experienced the power of mind. Our first step is to approach the mind with discipline & respect. To follow a certain discipline and do exercises you have to find a right teacher (guru). Doing the exercises on your own can harm a person instead of helping.
The eight steps of Ashtanga Yoga (path of psychic control) are the best way to discipline the mind. Patanjali has beautifully given all the do and dont’s in yoga sutras of patanjali. The first line itself welcomes you to the discipline of yoga and its lifestyle. He says only if you are ready to follow the discipline only then will you get the benefits. Only if you are prepared mentally you may start with the first step i.e Yama – yama refers to the great universal commandments. It is the control of the body, speech and mind, followed with Niyama – niyama refers to personal disciplines or the obedience of proper conduct. The next step is Asana (physical exercises) done with an attitude of enjoyment & stability with control over breath, awareness & expansion of the mind to all the changes – physical & mental & the deeper organs. Then comes Pranayama (breath control of bio energy) pranayama if done correctly will help a person cure all diseases and help him discover the power of the mind through Pratyahara, Dharana & Dhyana. All these 7 steps together takes person to the last step i.e. Samadhi.
Samadhi is the state in which a person experiences freewill, the will to become free from the cycle of life & death, the will to be where he wants for how long, he has the strength of love he becomes the source of love and spreads it amongst the people in various ways and in various forms. Forms unknown to us unknown to the human kind unknown to the naked eye. We all experience it in the form miracles and magic. In the state of samadhi the matter stops to exist in different forms. Matter becomes one the vision of the yogi in the state of samadhi sees no difference between earth & water or between fire and ice or dog & fish. Everything is broken down to the level of energy at a very subtle level. This state of energy is the ultimate form of energy present in the universe. This is the base of all the energy present in all the matter present here on earth or anywhere in the universe. The hindu prayer for the prana(energy) is the best description of its omnipresence & power.


PRANAYAM MANTRA

Pranasyedam vashe sarvam
Tridev yat pratishthitam
Mateva putrana rakshashvam
Shrischa prdnyascha videhi na itii

Meaning:
---Whatever exists in three worlds,
Is all under the control of prana
(O prana) protect as a mother protects her sons
give us affluence and intelligence---


Story:-
Once their was a argument between all the body parts about who is the greatest. The eyes, the ears, nose, stomach etc. All of them went to brahma dev to ask who is the greatest amongst them. Brahma dev said why don’t you find out for yourself, i will suggest you a way. Every part should leave the body for a year and then return back. Everyone agreed. Ear left for a year and came back. Nose left for a year came back, stomach left and came back and it continued with few difficulties but the body survived. Finally the prana decided to leave the body the moment prana started to move out. All the body parts were in trouble as they could not function without prana. They all requested o great prana please don’t leave the body as you are the greatest amongst us.

What is Yajna - Sacrifice?

YAJNA - SACRIFICE

As we all know everything in the world exists in cycles and nothing can exist without each others help. We also have learnt in all these years that if one living organism becomes extinct then the whole cycle of life gets affected and the other dependent organisms live in the danger of extinction, we now call them - endangered species.
One will think what is all this got to do with yajna (sacrifice) a hindu ritual. For this we all have to understand the basic law of existence – the law of interdependence.
We have to understand that our existence along with the existence of everything on earth & in the universe is governed by the law of interdependence. Everything has to exist for the survival of the dependent – a rhythm has to be maintained – everything should happen with ease – effortless action – naturally.Their should be no force no friction.
The sun has to stay in its position - the earth has to revolve around its axis so that we can experience day/ night – here the sun is sacrificing its light/heat for the survival of life on earth – the earth is revolving and performing a action for the survival of everything on the planet i.e. A sacrifice – yajna etc.
In olden days people realized the importance of the natural cycles of life & action. They use to worship objects of nature e.g sun, fire, earth, air(vayu), water etc the sources of life. The sadhus went on to discover and understand that all these natural cycles / actions are happening effortlessly and with no expectation of any fruits i.e. without expecting anything in return.They called it a sacrifice, a action performed by nature effortlessly without any expectation of the result (fruit – phala). The sadhus discovered that if the same principle of effortlessness and sacrifice when applied to our life, life becomes beautiful and happy – stressfree. Sadhus or the wisemen found different ways to spread knowledge.
To infuse a similar feeling among the common man at that time sadhus performed rituals of sacrifice with the help of mantras, to please the gods and bless the people with good vegetation and cultivation. The sacrificial rituals was a way to give back the gods their share of what they have given us. The gods here is plural because we are referring to multiple natural powers i.e. actions of nature eg. Rain, air, soil, fire etc.
With the help of the rituals and the knowledge given by the wise men ‘sadhu’, people understood the meaning of interdependence & sacrifice. Their was always mutual respect exchanged by everyone i.e. Sharing without expectation was the ritual of the community, sharing not only amongst each other but sharing with all the animals & plantation. The vegetation & the cultivation was also shared with the gods through yajna a ritual of sacrifice - the way of giving back the share of the gods like indra, vayu etc.
According to Bhagvad Gita a person who does not share what he earns with the people who are responsible for his success is called a Thief. According to the hindu scriptures a thief is not just the person who steals but also the person who fails to share his success with all the people who are responsible for his success.
We all fail to realize, we all fail to share our success with all who have been with us throughout our journey (cumulative actions). E.g. A student gives a exam and passes after studying for several months day/night and writing several difficult questions. But for his success his mother who cooked all the meals, his father who provided all the money, his school teacher who taught him and not just them but even the bus driver who safely got him to his exam centre and many more all are responsible for the success of the student, sometimes we don’t share as we don’t realize we have never been taught i.e our ignorance. sometimes we distribute sweets unknowingly to all these people who have worked for you without any expectation out of your success. While receiving a award a mere mention of the names in the thanksgiving speech of successful people is a way of gratitude and realization - that without the help of all these people success wouldn’t have been possible. We all have heard it in the famous speeches during the Oscars and various award functions.
Sharing should be natural - sharing should be smooth - it should be effortless – just as the earth revolves around itself naturally, rain falls smoothly – the sun gives us light energy effortlessly – the plant give us fruits vegetation wit love – the soil gives the minerals to the plants without any price to pay – everything exists with mutual sacrifices and effortless actions performed for the benefit of the each other and co existence. We all should be able to share effortlessly naturally. No faces no wrinkles no half hearted sacrifices – give with both hands open and so will you receive. For e.g. the story of young nachiketa who was very upset with his father who was about to sacrifice thousands of cows in the name of yajna who were very weak and unwell. Nachiketa was unhappy with this attitude of his father. Nachiketa told his father, in anger father said I sacrifice you the god of death yama. nachiketa had only one desire to know what happens after death and he was ready to sacrifice anything for that…….

§ § Yogah karmasu kaushalam

§ § Samatvam yogah ucchate

These are the different ways to understand what yoga is. Also to know what is sacrifice – what is action – the attitude behind the action – the effortlessness in every action – no expectation of the fruit – acceptance of the fruit (result of action) – realization of god.



v YOUR BODY – IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR MIND!

What Is YOGA?

Yoga is a ancient science. It is more than 10000 years old. Lord shiva was the first yogi. It is said as he performed various postures while dancing, different animals came into existence according to shivas postures. Over a period of time their have been many great yogis. In those times people learned from whatever was available in the nature. E.g. Mountains, river, birds, animals, leaves, sun, stars etc., everything around was fascinating as their was so much to learn. The sages were exploring everything around just as a child does while growing up.

The word yoga or yog is derived from the Sanskrit word yuj which means “to join” or “union”. The union or the joining what yoga talks is about joining the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness or atma with parmatma.

Patanjali the father of yoga philosophy says “Yoga Is The Control Of Thought Waves In The Mind”. Sage patanjali gave us the gift of three brilliant works. Sanskrit grammar, Ayurveda & Yoga sutras of patanjali. In the yoga sutras of patanjali there are 196 sayings explaining what yoga is. Patanjali describes how to make your mind still, quiet and free from all the distractions with the help of yoga teachniques.

Ashtanga Yoga (eight steps)

To control the mind and its nature Patanjali prescribes us Eight Steps or Eight Sadhanas.

1) Yama
2) Niyama
3) Asanana
4) Pranayama
5) Pratyahara
6) Dharana
7) Dhyana
8) Samadhi

v Yama
Is the control of body speech and mind. There are 5 yamas.

Ahimsa – Non Violence – should be practiced at all levels, speech, thought & deed. E.g.Violent thoughts, abusive language, violent actions should be avoided and controlled. Lord Buddha was the greatest teacher of non violence.
Satya – Truth – being truthful in mind and speech. Being truthful in actions as in thought, speech and what you hear.
Brahmacharya – Celibacy - total self control and not to engage oneself into any form of temporal pleasures.
Asteya – Non Stealing – avoiding using, wanting or desiring someone elses belongings or possessions without permission. Also by not sharing the fruit of the action with all the people involved in the process is an act of stealing so sharing the fruit of action is a duty.
Aparigraha – Unselfish Or Non Covetousness – non accumulation of unnecessary things just due to greed either materialistic or through thoughts. Also non accumulation of past memories, which generate negative emotions such as anger, jealousy, frustration, depression etc.

v Niyama
Is the obedience of proper conduct. There are 5 niyamas.

Saucha – Cleanliness – to be maintained at all levels i.e. by bathing, doing kriyas for internal cleansing, meditation for removing the bad thoughts and friendliness, empathy, Bhakti for emotional cleansing.
Santosha – Contentment – to be satisfied with what you have and not desiring to have more without a justified reason, also acquiring things through proper means.
Tapas – Burning Effort Or Penance – to aim for a target and do all the things possible e.g. to bear the extremes of heat and cold and still keep heading towards the goal.
Svadhyaya – Self Study – self study at all the levels such as being a witness to your own actions and analyzing the right and the wrong actions, observing the mind and the nature of the thoughts, learning the religious texts is self study.
Ishwara Pranidhana – Worship – complete surrender to god and accepting all the fruits of the actions as prasada.

v Asana
Asanas are various postures developed for making the body strong and healthy. Asanas also help the inner organs to perform better. Asanas are also used for prevention and rehabilitation of injuries. Asanas help the body become stronger to prepare for the further practices such dharana and dhyana where it is required to sit still for long time. Asanas also help the spine to become flexible and corrects any postural defects present which in turn helps for proper channelising of energy through the spine.

v Pranayama
Pranayama is the science of controlling the breath. There are three main actions in pranayama they are, inhalation, retention of breath, exhalation. By controlling these actions one develops control over breath and improves concentration. Pranayama if done properly can heal any disease but if done wrongly without a proper guru can be very harmful.

v Pratyahara
Is the fifth stage of Ashtanga Yoga. Prayahara is to control the senses and restrain them. The yogi remains unaffected by the worldly objects which create desires through the sense organs. By doing various practices from the earlier


v Dharana
Dharana means concentration or focussing of the mind on one object with one thought. The object can be either a picture of a god or something that makes you happy and peaceful. The mind is completely focused on the object with just one thought of the object. Energy is consumed in dharana and the mind learns to control better.

v Dhyana
Dhyana is to defocus or expand the mind, while the object may remain same as in dharana but the knowledge about the object increases thus increasing the no. of thoughts.

v Samadhi
Samadhi is the last stage in ashtanga yoga where the yogi becomes one with the object. There is no difference between the object and the observer. There is complete bliss and happiness. This leads to enlightenment. All the steps before are the preparatory steps for samadhi.

What is Concentration i.e Dharana in Yoga

DHARANA - CONCENTRATION

Dharana is the sixth step of ashtanga yoga, ashtanga yoga is also known as raja yoga or the kingly path of yoga. Ashtanga yoga is the path of will, or the path of mind control.

8 STEPS of Ashtanga Yoga are - yama / niyama / asana / pranayam / pratyahara / dharana / dhyana. Yama and Niyama are further divided into 5 steps each i.e .....
yama - ahimsa / satya / asteya / brahamacharya / aparigraha
niyama - saucha / santosha / tapas / svsdhyaya / ishwar pranidhana

After doing the first five steps of ashtanga yoga also known as bahiranga ( outer world ), we start with the sixth step i.e dharana.
Dharana is the preparatory exercise for dhyana (meditation)

Dharana is - one thought and one object - subject and object become one - awareness is contracted

While
Dhyana is - one object but multiple thoughts - subject and object become one everything else is just present - expansion of awareness - presence of divinity

"Energy is spent in concentration whereas it is Conserved in Meditation."

"TARGET IS ALL THAT MATTERS"

e.g - "firing by a soldier is rewarded but by a gangster is punished"
Concentration is Ok but what you Concentrate on is IMPORTANT

IN OTHER WORDS concentration is---

"TO ELMINATE DISTRACTION WILL LEAD TO CONCENTRATION "

"REMOVING UNNECESSARY THOUGHTS WILL LEAD CONCENTRATION"

"DELETING THE EXCESS THOUGHTS WILL LEAD TO CONCENTRATION"

HOW TO ACHIEVE CONCENTRATION?

1. SHORTLIST AND NOTEDOWN THE THINGS THAT DISTRACT
2. FIX A PLACE IN THE HOUSE FOR CONCENTRATION OR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
3. STICK TO A ROUTINE, EFFICIENT STUDY SCHEDULE
4. FOCUS BEFORE - LIKE A WARM UP FOR THE MIND
5. CREATE INCENTIVES AND REWARD YOURSELF
6. CHANGE THE TOPIC EVERY ONE HR OR TWO HRS
7. TAKE REGULAR BREAKS
8. PHYSICAL EXERCISES
9. HEALTHY EATING HABITS
10. VERY IMPORTANT REST WELL - SLEEP

Rule to remember when concentrating is "BE HERE RIGHT NOW"
Mind is a natural wanderer - "Remember its like the monkey without a leash" as explained by swami vivekananda.
When you notice your thoughts wandering astray, say to yourself "BE HERE RIGHT NOW"
And gently bring back your attention back where you want it.

Combination Of Pranayam, Physical Exercises (Asanas, Weights, Aerobics Etc), Satvik Food And Rest (Good Sleep) Is Advised

For A Healthy Body And A Healthy Mind -

As A Result Concentration Becomes Easy & Effortless