YOGABHARATI

Stiti and Gati - Nonmoving & Moving: Brahman is ‘being’ Stiti and creation is "Gati" or journey or moving. This journey is possible in two directions naturally. One way our journey is towards the objects in front of our senses. Not a single moment is possible to live in this creation without going to the world outside. Every moment we have to breath the air, which is going outside. The moment we open our eyes, our sight obviously goes into the world outside. Our nose, our tongue, and touch continuously give us the information about the outside world.  This way going outside is called ‘Raga’. But at the same time we also have to get back to the source or self, which is "vi-raga, or vairagya" which is opposite to Raga. This is also happening always with us and we are equally familiar with it as our familiarity of Raga.  But the problem with us is that every vairagya happening is supposed to take us to self but on the other hand, we are only coming out of one obje...

Our underlying essential purpose or aim of life is to be happy.  Happiness is a state of being one with the universal consciousness and forget the sense of I, as an identification of ourselves within the boundaries of space and time.Let us understand Happiness in the different layers(kosas) in us: At the Annamaya level, happiness state is reached when the senses are one with their desired objects. Few examples are , when we hear music of our liking , we are happy. When we eat gulab jamon that we like, we touch happiness momentarily. Infact the act of eating is the most sensuous act where all senses are one with the object . To explain further, when we eat a mango, we see the fruit, we taste the fruit, we hear the chewing while eating, we enjoy the smell and we ofcourse touch the fruit. At this moment of enjoyment, there is a flash of universality of consciousness. This is called the experience of oneness .At this level, happiness is being one with the moment. At the man...

Students often ask, "Am I right?" Is my posture correct? Is Yoga about getting the posture right? Sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras PYS..2.46… 2.48…..gives these 3 facts about Asana. Sthiram Sukham Asanam Prayatnashaitilya anantasamapatibhyam Tato dvandva ana bhigatah Posture is that one which is steady and comfortable. Initially, one has to put in effort, but with practise it becomes effortless, and the posture can be maintained with ease. Since each body type is different, there can be as many postures as the number of people. Each person can be comfortable in their posture What is important is how they feel while getting into and holding a pose, than "getting it right."  In yoga, the experience is different for everyone, the experience is different each time and what feels right is something the individual must determine . A teacher can only guide the student —and that requires finding a window into that student's experience. A teacher can...

There are two essential features of the nature which are the basis or the whole creation. These are Abhyasa and Vairagya . Abhyasa is discipline and Vairagya is non-attachment. Discipline means that which is happening repeatedly at predictable intervals without failure, creating thereby a cycle of events. For example-every morning sun rises, and every evening sun sets and we can predict that next day  the sun would rise. This form of cycles is the cause for the whole creation to take place. We can observe discipline in the plant and the animal/bird kingdom so clearly. If we sit amidst the nature we can observe each and everything around us goes in an order. Nobody is ordering them but they all seem to go with a flow or a pattern. Plants grow with the spring coming, and dress t hemselves up with fresh leaves, flowers and fruits, and with the onset of  winter or autumn, leaves tend to dry up preparing to welcome snow. Birds are ready to go out for food when sun rises and ...

The popularity of Yoga is rising both in east and west .As per Yoga alliance research , the annual Yoga market in America is about $16bn with most of it being spent on classes, clothing, accessories, equipment. The physical prowess of backbends, twists, headstands are eye catching and impressive and it's contributed to the growth of the Yoga industry in the west. In India, apart from home remedies, the common advice for any physical ailment has always been 'Do some Yoga' . Yoga classes are often conducted for free at temples, yoga camps and various organizations. Yoga Guru Ramdev's free classes earned him such goodwill that it helped him launch an herbal products company that gives stiff competition to industry stalwarts such as Unilever and P&G. With Yoga's popularity spreading many schools have mushroomed all over the world offering various styles and schools of Yoga have emerged to woo eager students. Leaving the economics aside, those who do e...

Wishing  you are a very Happy Republic  Day which is observed on January 26th each year since 1950. Republic day follows Independence Day on August 15th each year since 1947.  These two are the major National festivals of Bharat which is India,  as per the constitution. These are interrelated.  Let me give you some ideas about the significance of these and how we can educate people  on these national festivals.  Our concept of freedom should  not stop with shouting slogans..... Jhanda ooncha rahe hamara  or  Inquilab jindabad !! Freedom is our nature as given by our sages. Not knowing the importance of this many call it as a  birth right. The  freedom  is called as independence with respect to geographical boundaries ,  governance and expression of our  thought and deed.  But when you look at the Freedom,  it is much more,  as it is also  Inner freedom   and a small little expr...

Let us try to understand the common phenomenon of ‘Menstruation’ or ‘monthly period’ of ladies. It is a subject of controversy as we are aware where women are isolated in those “three”days. As is usual with all our traditions which are criticized without trying to fathom out the reasons, this tradition also came under severe attack and has vanished from our life except in villages and rural areas. Could there be any scientific reason for such behavior on the part of our ancestors, especially now, when the statements of Vedas, Upanishads etc. are accepted and lauded by researchers? RAJASWALA One who is the personification of rajas- is the word used by our sastras to indicate the woman who is having the monthly period. What is this Rajas? Why is the special mention? All of us  possess the three attributes – Satva, Rajas and Tamas from the time of creation. Among these, the quality called ‘Rajas’ is the force that ensures the continuity of creation.   For rea...

Down the memory lane of the Cauvery Sannidhi Yoga retreat by Yogabharati Experiencing the unlimited compassionate energy As we began our journey from Bangalore to the Cauvery sannidhi, many different thoughts were running in many minds. Leaving the family behind for few, unwinding from the busy schedule for few, yet another new experience for few. The bus journey brought all the minds together in Antakshari. There were melodious singers, one line singers, nonstop singers and for once , all of us were singers. Language as always, was not a barrier to music. We enjoyed hindi, Malayalam, telugu, tamil, kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, marwadi songs. We stopped over at Bidadi for yummy Thatte idlis. As we reached the Gurukul, the place had a serene atmosphere and a positive energy in itself. We checked into our dormitory and how truly realised that material comforts and inner peace do not go together 😊 The flowing cauvery was so wonderous and is that why, the ri...