R. SHARATH JOIS CONFERENCE Notes January 17th, 2015 *with the Highest Respect for Sharathji Ajñāna-Timirāndhasya Jñānāñjana-Śalākayā Caksur Unmīlitam Yena Tasmai Śri-Gurave Namah AMRITA BINDU When you practice Yoga, what happens? You become lean, thin, you lose weight, your waist will become smaller. Non e Yu keep practicing for many years, suddenly, there will be a glow within you. You start looking brighter, if you do it properly, means if you take it as a Sadhana. Therell be clarity in your speech. Even your speech will be the speech of the Divine. It will be Spiritual talk. When your mind starts thinking, it goes towards the Spiritual. When your mind goes towards there, everything changes within you. There will be clarity in your speech. You become very pure, clean, stronger, healthier. Amrita Bindu. We all have Amritu Bindu, that is the Vitality. It can be called a cell which we are all made of. Everyday Amrita Bindu drops one by one and once it falls down, we become older. So if you store it, youll be younger. With Yoga practice, Asana practice, it comes. That is Shirshasana, Sarvangasana...why you have to do it longer than the regular Asanas? Because it stores Amrita Bindu in your head. When youre upside down, it wont fall, it will be stored. That is why you have to do Shirshasana, Sarvangasana more. Some Sadhus or Sannyasi who doesnt have family, who doesnt have any kind of attachment, they do Kechari Mudra. They take their tongue and cut this (points to the lingual frenulum) which supports your tongue. They cut that and they make it longer. Dont try at home (laughter in the hall). Theyre not for you. Your tongue will be hanging out all the time. So the Sannyasi make the tongue longer and they take inside and try to stop the Amrita Bindu to fall. Once we age, Teh Amritu becomes less and less in our body. Once we store that, then we live longer, our Life will extend. Thats why storing this is very important. The digestive fire gets activated properly. Many of you do Asanas everyday, why? In Primary Series there are so many good Asanas which is good to purify your nervous system, to activate the Jatharagni so that it removes all the toxins through sweat, through exhalation. When you sweat, when you Surya Namaskara, you bring all the poison out. So the Primary Series has so many good things like Baddha Konasana, Upavishta Konasana, Supta Konasana, Janu Shirshasana A-B-C...all these Asanas are very important Asanas. When the air travels inside, when youre doing Paschimattanasana, what happens when youre inhaling? That inhalation will go inside and activate the digestive organs, the digestive fire will become more active and burn all the toxins which makes you healthier. How many of you struggle in Asana? Everyone shallow breath, you want to finish Asana as soon as possible, especially difficult Asanas. There is no relaxation. When the breath is very shallow, it comes in, it comes out, its no use. The inhalation should go deeper and come out. Thats why free breathing. Free breathing means, free flow of breath should be breath. Ujjayi is a Pranayama. Its totally different. When you take a straw and blow in the straw, the air easily flows and comes out, makes some sound. So when you press the straw and blow, up to where you are pressing it will go smoothly, here it goes like a jet, like a vacuum cleaner, it goes zoom. That is Ujjayi Pranayama. Its a technique when youre doing Pranayama. There is a Khumbaka when youre doing the Pranayama technique. So here in your regular practice, you have to relax. Inhalation, exhalation should be done properly. Easily its going, its not stopping anywhere. Nothing is holding here. Many times when we dont do proper breathing, when we do shallow breathing, when youre not relaxed, then also you get some muscle pain. Youre not breathing because youre mind is somewhere else. Youre not concentrating on the practice. The more you relax, the more it is easier. The flow of breath will be easy. My Grandfather used to say...I asked how many times you have to do an Asana...he said 1,000 times you have to do to bring perfection in one Asana. Not one times, not two times, not one hundred times. One thousand times to bring perfection to that Asana. There are so many Asanas, say 650 Asanas. To bring perfection in 650 Asanas, how long it will take? It is said you have to hold one Asana for three hours, but its not possible because we are all doing so many Asanas. So if we have thirty Asanas, you cannot do ninety hours. You will die! (laughter). So once we do these Asanas, that free flow should be there. Once you go higher stages in practice, then you should apply this one. When you go to Dhyana, Dharana, Samadhi, these stages, then you can sit in Asana for many many hours. So once you reach those stages then you can sit in Padmasana for thirty hours, fifty hours. Now what we have to do, by doing Asana practice, we should do one hour twenty minutes for these thirty Asanas. One hour ten minutes all Primary Series then ten fifteen minutes for all finishing. One hour twenty minutes, twenty five minutes, you have to finish your practice. This allows the blood to circulate properly. Sometimes Surya Namaskara, lazy practice. You cant even lift your hands. They fight with someone before coming, they have some problems, they come they cannot do Asana, they do it very slowly. Where you will generate Internal Energy, Internal Heat? To generate Internal Heat, you should practice, keep one rhythm. Once you keep that rhythm, your body also will become flexible. When we do this Vinyasa everyday, jumping back, inhalation, exhalation, synchronizing that with the postures, we generate Internal Heat. It makes the blood warm, it circulates and removes the toxins outside. If you do it slowly that is also bad, if you do it too fast that is also bad. You have to keep it one pace in the middle, not too fast, not too slow. If you do it too fast also, do Surya Namaskara A and B for two minutes, that is not good for your heart. Youre not relaxing in the posture, in each posture. So you have to keep one rhythm. If you understand also the Vinyasa, where to inhale, where to exhale, you will become more flexible. Led class is very important, so that you know where to inhale, where to exhale. That you put in your Mysore class. When you do your own practice, then you apply that, keep one rhythm. It will improve a lot, your practice will change. In the cold season especially, if you do little bit faster practice, then your body also will get more warmer, youll get more flexible. Then comes in the last, Nadi Shuddhi. Nadi Shuddhi means to purify the nervous system. This is the main tool to purify your nervous system, is your Breath. Breath, if you take inhalation, exhalation properly, then the Nadi Shuddhi will happen. The blood will circulate properly. For example, here in Mysore, I dont want you to fall. I tell you not to ride your scooter but still you wont listen to me, you dont follow. You get scratch here then you put something. You put something but dont stop practice at least when you cannot do everything do Surya Namaskara A, Surya Namaskara B whatever you can, it will heal very quickly. Normally it takes one month for this to heal but if you practice it takes twenty days to heal. Because once I had a scooter, same, but I was on the right side...(laughter after having been reminded about scooters and realizing Sharthji rode one for his own 😛), I was on the left side. This one guy took a bus and hit me, I fell, I had lots of scratches everywhere. I was crazy about my practice. I used to ride from Gokulam to Lakshmipuram everyday. Never I used to stop. Maybe I stop only two days in my whole nine years of practice. One day I had a very severe fever and cold, that is why I stopped. But everyday I used to drive from here to there, Gokulam to Lakshmipuram, nine years, everyday traveling. Whatever if its raining. In the monsoon theres lots of rain, the trees used to fall on the road but still I used to manage and go. So everyday I was practice and then all this wound would heal. I didnt put any medicine. It healed very quickly. Because the blood circulation will happen inside. Sometimes we have bruises, once the blood circulates, it will heal. Internal injuries also. If there is any problem inside you, not because of accident, but internal injury, it will heal because I myself I did this experiment with one student. We all have one tube to inhale for us, he had two. So the body didnt know where to inhale. So the doctor said you have to teach him, breathing technique, so this nerve will die. There was two, one small, one big. I taught him many, Surya Namskara, breathing technique, all this what we do in the morning, same things! Then the other nerve died, only one was there, he became more healthier, doctor said he improved a lot. So there are many good things about Primary Series, lots of health benefits, for Asthma, for Bronchitis, Blood Pressure, so many problems. One solution, use Primary Series. Amrita Bindu doesnt go away, it will generate again. What you eat, become blood, blood becomes vitality, vitality becomes Amrita Bindu. Everyday its producing, its not only losing. The production will be limited when youre not doing exercise, when youre not doing this kind of techniques. So reproducing also will be more. So whatever is stored, then we dont have to lose it. Thats why if you see Yogis, they always look young. Why is that? Because they have stored their Amrita Bindu. Thats why for Shirshasana you can do one yama. One yama is you can do two hours, three hours if you have time. But the technique you should know how to do it. Some people they do Shirshasana, they put their weight on their head, then the blood clot, they go crazy, doctor says no dont do this. Many people say if you have blood pressure dont do Shirshasana, theyll scare you. There is a technique to do Shirshasana. If you follow those techniques, then you can hold it for long time. When we age, everything becomes slower. When youre young, twenty years, you think you can lift Chamundi Hill! But when you get older, you cant lift Chamundi Hill. Cant even lift one chair. But see Yogis...Im 43, how many students we are lifting everyday? 150 students in back bending everyday. But if you see, you do your practice early in the morning, see the whole day youll be so energized, you have so much energy. If you dont do, you become so dull, no energy. One week you stop, dont do anything, see how youll be. Your face will become so dull. MAINTAINING THE PRACTICE Focus means dont get yourself distracted with many things. Outside world is very distracted. When you get wiser in your Yoga Practice, your mind also will get the capability of judging, which is wrong, which is bad, which is not good for me, which will be good for me. Like suddenly if someone asked me to come at ten oclock at night, I wont go because I know next time I practice I will suffer. Whoever it is, if it is Prime Minister also I wont go, because I know I have to get up in the morning, I have to do my practice. That is very important for me. This has been there for twenty five years. So once you say oh Ive been practicing everyday, Ive been lifting everyday and enjoy night life, its not possible. Then I have to suffer for the whole month. Its not like that. My mind is already focused. Everything will change. Suddenly you see people who start practicing Yoga, they will say they used to hang around with their friends, they used to spend so much time. As soon as they started Yoga, something changed. Now they dont feel like going. So this kind of judging will happen within you. That is the Personal Sadhana which happens within you. Many say you just want to practice Yoga like you to go to the gym and lifting weights. But when you go the gym, its just physical. There is no Spirituality in lifting weights. Its just to build your muscle. But when you do Asana Practice it is totally different. You do Asana Practice for one month, two month, your mind totally changes. That is called the Spirituality. Your way of thinking will change. Your Perception towards this Life will change. Youll get a better meaning for this Life. Everything changes, the your mind will also change. Mind will say dont go out, dont have that friends, dont have bad influence. You have to get up early morning, you have to practice Yoga, otherwise youll get scolded by Teacher (chuckles). That is why Tecaher is very important, a Guru is very important. Why? He will wake you up and say come here and do your practice, he will wake you up when you are sleeping. Never trust a Guru who says oh its ok, he will make you sleep. The more you sleep, the more he will get profitable. But real Guru will wake you up, he says no dont do this, wake up now, put your mind towards that, towards Spirituality, go towards Divine, think about it!. When we bless someone we bless them for hundred years. Why you need hundred years? At least in that hundred years, once you put your mind towards that Divine. ON PAIN AND INJURIES If you have injuries and pain, you take extra breaths, its no problem. Its actually good when you have some health problems, its good to take extra breaths. You cant follow exactly Vinyasa. But its healing also. Vinyasa not only means jumping back, jumping through. Youre relaxing in the posture, the flow of the inhalation, exhalation is also Vinyasa. In between Asana, inhalation, exhalation, youre sitting in the Asana, inhalation, exhalation, everything is like a chain. You call it chain because its liked to one toward another to another to another. If you break it you dont call it chain. HUMBLE ACTION First you stop in saying I I I. Western mind always, you try to say something I know. Say I dont know. I dont know anything. You know better than me. It is like marketing yourself, its like telling people Im better than you, I know. I cant say I know everything. Yoga is Bigger. Many things I dont know. In the ocean if you take couple of buckets of water, and say youve taken the water of the ocean. Its not possible. Ocean is very big. Youve taken only a few buckets from the ocean. You cant take the whole. Yoga is also like that. Our action should always be Humble Action. Inside you should be very humble. Karuna, Compassion, everything, this is what our Life is. Otherwise, we become like animals. Animals are also very good actually, they dont have greed. Like tigers, they have to kill animals because otherwise there will be seers everywhere. They need to keep the Ecosystem. That is why God has created this one and that one, why? Because everything needs to be intact. Everything should be balanced. After ten days it wont eat again anymore. But humans see, they want more and more. They will do all of these bad things to gain more money. Politicians see? They have so much money. Half of it if they gave to the poor, there will be no poor people in this country or anywhere. Greed. I want this, I want that. Who is better now? Tell me. Who is Wise? Who is Spiritual? Who is following? The way of thinking of humans. Dont try to change. Nobody can change the world. But you can change yourself. The change happens within you. Then once you change yourself, then the whole world will change. If you care for people, if you care for trees, if you care for animals, if you care for everything. Even children. Two is enough so we can give them good air, good food. Im planting four trees now so I have six children. Those are my children. Im planting more trees so people who walk here will have good air. So once you care for other people, that is the meaning of Life. Not caring for yourself. Yes you need money, you need everything, but there is a limit. Just to earn money you cant kill someone, you cant cheat someone, you cant do bad things to others. You have to care for them. That is the meaning of Life. That should be your action. You have to care for everyone. Then your your Practice will change. Not only getting Eka Pada, Kapotasana, youre so excited everyday, you practice four times. Your purpose, your Spiritual, your Practice is for Kapotasana? Or gain good knowledge, gain clarity within you? Kapotasana should help to gain that, not to grow your Ego. Oh I can do Kapotasana...Photo! Photo! The Whole Practice is to change yourself. PERFECTION Perfection is when you are comfortable in the Asana. Sthira Sukham Asanam. Sthira means youre stable in your posture. Sukham means youre comfortable in your posture. That is Asana. That is Perfection. And the way how you do the posture. That also should be correct. ON DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS Its not PaschimOttanasana, its PaschimAttanasana. For constipation, stay longer in Baddha Konasana, stay for 8 breaths, even Marichyasana B when the heel will press in. Baddha Padmasana, Yoga Mudra, when you do perfectly, your liver and spleen it will press in, which is good for digestion, for constipation. PERSONAL MANTRA AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE DIVINE In the opening Mantra when the students say OM in the end, I say my personal Mantra. That is thanking all of the Lineage which brought this Yoga Practice to us, this breathing technique. Its actually Shankaracharyas Mantra. NARAYANAM PADMA-BHAVAM VASHISHTHAM SHAKTIM CHA TAT PUTRA PARASHARAM CHA VYASAM SHUKAM GAUDA-PADAM MAHANTAM GOVINDA YOGINDRAM ATHASYA SHISHYAM SHRI SHANKARA CHARYAM ATHASYA PADMA PADAM CHA HASTAMALAKAM CHA SHISHYAM TAM TROTAKAM VARTIKA KARAM ANYAN ASMAD GURUN SANTATA MANATOSMI Like that, there are many Mantras which are personal Mantra. BRAHMADHOBYO BRAHMA VIDHYA SAMPRADHAYA KARTHUBHYO VAMSARISHIBYO MAHADBHYO NAMO GURBHYA SARVOPAPLAVA RAHITHA, PRAJNANA GHANA PRATHYAGARDHO BRAHMAIVAHA MASMI This knowledge is not ordinary knowledge, it is the Knowledge of the Divine. So we thank. The Divine for bringing this Knowledge to us. You cant go to market and buy Spirituality. Its not like buying iPhone 6. How Spirituality comes? Through Paramparā, through a Lineage, through the Divine. So its always good to thank that. Without that the Knowledge doesnt come to us. In Bahagavad-Gita Krishna says that Yoga didnt come, it is there for millions and millions of years. When Krishna was there we had Four Yugas, four different times. Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, Kali Yuga now. This cycle goes again. After Kali Yuga again many many bad things will happen. When this bad things ends, Satya Yuga comes, the True Yuga. Everyones actions will be pure, everyone will be Yogis. So this four stages is one cycle. This Yoga is not new, it is very old. That means there is not date for Yoga when it started. It has come from generation to generation, Paramparā. Now there is no Paramparā in many teachings. Paramparā means the True Knowledge which has to flow to you through a Guru. It took twenty five years for me, now Im understanding Yoga. It has to flow from the Lineage, automatically, the Knowledge will grow within you. That is nourishment, what you get for your Guru. Many times you get lost in your life. Mind is like monkey. Its jumping here and there. That is why Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodhāh. Chitta means mind, Vritti means it doesnt stay in one place. It keeps on going here and there. So make your mind sit in one place. Many people get confused, control your mind. To calm your mind is Chitta Vritti Nirodhāh, not completely stop it. Nirodhāh means stop the unnecessary things. Many people think I wont think, then you cant even walk, you cant even sit, you cant even eat. It is cutting off unnecessary distractions, to bring more focus within you, bring more focus within your practice. That is called Yoga. You need to think to do Asanas also. You cut off thinking, then you cant even do Asanas. In Patanjalis Sutras, is one verse, has big meaning. Only Sadhana can give the answer to that. Only Asana can give you clarity what it means. Without your Sadhana its not possible to understand what it is. THE SCULPTURE WITHIN If you want to maintain discipline, come and stay with me, Ill show you (smiles, laughter in the hall). Ill give you Prakashs job. You do what I do. Will you follow? You have to get up 12:45 in the morning, go to bed at 8 oclock, you have to handle two children and one wife, five hundred students. First you get married, then your wife will whip you. Shell put you on track. (Laughter). No, my wife is not like that. In your Sadhana, if you see an artist who does all the sculptures...once he sees a big rock, he wants to do a sculpture out of it. He is so focused because of his own experience. That is also a Sadhana. He sees what we dont see. Everyday we pass by a big stone but this artist when he sees this big stone, suddenly he gets this big idea in his mind. This is not ordinary and he can do something out of it. And then he carves a beautiful sculpture out of it. But creative that, what he does? He puts everything! He puts a Sadhana. Each and every minute is very important for him. Each and every action is very important for him. Each and every thought, what he thinks, what he can do. Even just one small finger in the sculpture he has to think. If you go and talk to him for many hours he will get angry, he will say go I have to do my one Sadhana! Then he carves this beautiful sculpture which is priceless. Yoga Practice is like that. There is no physical thing, everything is happening within you. Everything is happening within You. The sculpture is within You. The sculpture is Yoga, the Experience, the Understanding. To carve that Sculpture within you, you have to do lots of sacrifice, you have to do lots of Sadhana, you have to let go of many things. If you just want to do Asana, you want to be fit and come to Mysore that is also ok, but that doesnt count as Sadhana. You wont understand what Yoga is. How you carve your Self in the Spiritual Practice, that is very important. Sadhana is very easy to say, but behind that, there is so many Sacrifice. Many people, they get bored, they say oh many years I do Primary Series, everyday Surya Namaskara, Same Asana... For me its different, if I dont do...even Primary Series will make me happy. Just doing Primary Series, youre mind gets so calm, get more focused. How it is possible to teach fromfour oclock to 11:45am? I sit here everyday I open my eyes. Its because of this Practice. My Grabdfather used to sit here like this (Padmasana on chair), watch me practice; never used to blink, he used to chant Mantras, everyday three oclock. He couldve chanted inside but he was always watching... OM
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 07:52:48 +0000
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