PrAnAyAma overview

Yama is control. PrAnaYama is control of Prana, of which one aspect is breath. The goal is mental & physical health, preparing oneself, meaning the mind & the body, for higher pursuits in Yoga. Each of these PrAnAyAmas have different effects on the mind & the body. The breath is connected to the mind. During times of anger or passion, the breath becomes quick, raspy & uneven. During times of deep concentration, it can be deep. The concept here is that it is a two-way connection. By controlling the breath, the mind can be controlled. Such as asking pregnant women to consciously take deep breaths during delivery.

UjjAyi PrAnAyAma: Head down, Eyes closed, JnAna mudra. Slow deep steady breath, hold, slow deep exhale, hold.

Bhamari PrAnAyAma: Bhamari is a large black bee. Similar to Ujjayi, but during exhale, make a sound like a bee.

Surya Bhedana PrAnAyAma: Head slowly down, left hand Jnana mudra, eyes closed, Inhale slowly in right nostril, hold, exhale slowly in left nostril. For advanced practitioners who are able to do this in in equal intervals, hold after exhale.

NAdi Shodana PrAnAyAma: Similar to Surya Bhedana, but alternate nostrils. Typically, for all of us, one nostril will be more active than another when breathing, that can keep changing. The eventual goal is to have even breathing across nostrils over time.

BhastrikA PrAnAyAma: BhastrikA is a blacksmith's bellows used in a furance. Quick forceful inhale & exhale 12 times for 1 session. Stage 1 is both nostrils. Stage 2 is similar to Surya Bhedana, with quick forceful inhale on the left nostril & quick forceful exhale on the right nostril. 

KapAlaBhAti PrAnAyAma: A less strenuous version of BhastrikA. Slow inhalation with quick exhalation & small retention.

Sitali PrAnAyAma: Sitali means cool. Inhale with curled tongue through mouth with ssssa sound. Hold. Exhale with humming sound.

Sitakari PrAnAyAma: Variation of Sitali, cold PrAnAyAma. Inhale through mouth with straight tongue near teeth & slighted parted lips. Hold. Exhale with humming sound.

Sama Vritti PrAnAyAma: Uniformity in inhale, hold, exhale, hold. The hold after exhale is harder & can be gradually practiced. Can be practiced with most PrAnAyAmas.

Vishama Vritti PrAnAyAma: Irregular in inhale, hold, exhale. Ratios are 1:4:2, 2:4:1, 4:2:1 to begin with. The hold after exhale will lead to more ratios.

Viloma PrAnAyAma: Against the hair or grain, against the natural order. Pause or interrupt during inhalation or exhalation for a few seconds

Anuloma PrAnAyAma: Along the hair or grain, in natural order. Inhale through both nostrils, exhale through one nostril alternately.

Pratiloma PrAnAyAma: Prati means reverse or opposite. Inhale through alternate nostrils, exhale through both nostrils.

Sahita Kumbhaka PrAnAyAmas: Sahita means help. When breath is held after inhale or exhale to aid in PrAnAyAma. 

Kevala Kumbhaka PrAnAyAma: Kevala means only. When holding breath after inhale or exhale becomes part of our natural breathing, after practice.

Per the teachings, the number of breaths determine one's lifespan. For instance, dogs that breathe quickly up to 35 breaths per minute have a relatively shorter lifespan than a tortoise that has only 4 breaths per minute, that live much longer than humans. Correct use of PrAnAyAma can increase longevity.

Patanjali says in his Yoga Sutras: Just like the wind drives away smoke & impurities & allows a fire to burn well, PrAnAyAma drives away the internal impurities allowing the divine fire within to burn bright, preparing oneself for DhArana (external concentration) or DhyAna (focus within or meditation).  

However, there is a word of caution by SvAtmArAmA in Hatha Yoga PradipikA. "Prana should be tamed more gradually & slowly than lions, tigers or wild elephants, else it is dangerous". Please practice with caution.

Dhanyavadhaha, Thank you.

Talk on Yoga-5 minutes-Aug 2024

Namaste,

Today, we'll have a small demonstration on some aspects of Yoga.

What is Yoga?

Yoga is the fourth popular theistic philosophy of Hinduism, the others being NyAya, Vaiseshika, SAmkya, MimAmsa & VedAnta, and the atheistic ChArvaka.

Per its original philosophy, the world consists of all that is material called Prakriti, and that which is not material, called Purusha, which an be considered divine. When all that is material is removed, all that remains is the divine.

Yoga is defined in the second verse of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali: Yogash Chittha Vriddhi Nirodha. Yoga defines the techniques to remove all that is material, including our own mind which is material in nature. It broadly comprises of 8 limbs, called Ashta Anga or AshtAnga.

The lower 4 limbs are:

Yama, meaning control, a list of Don'ts.

Niyama, meaning rules, a list of Do-s.

Asana, meaning posture, which is what the contemporary Western society recognizes as Yoga, which is being demonstrated now.

PrAnAyAma, meaning control of PrAna, of which one aspect is breath, which will demonstrated shortly afterwards.

 

This will prepare one for the higher 4 limbs, which are:

PratyahAra: withdrawal of senses

DhArana: focusing on something external

DhAna: focusing internally starting with our own mind

SamAdhi: the state of experience when that which is material is fully removed

The Asanas being demonstrated are good way to get started with this ancient philosophy to help us be fit & flexible with toned muscles.

 

Dhanyavadhaha & Thank you

Avani Avittam 2024

Pratha Sandhyavandhanam

Samita Daanam for Brahmachari

In general, Pavithram should be removed during Achamaniyam & put back after.

Put Shubha Pavithram in ring finger with 2 darbai between ring finger, 2 below seat.

Kamo Karshyam japam. 1008 or 108.

Remove Pavithram, put on right ear. Discard Darbai north.

Madhyanigam.

Brahma Yagnyam.

Put Pavithram again. Take fresh Darbai for ring finger & below seat.

Maha Sankalpam.

Discard Darbai north. Put Pavithram on ear.

Put Pavithram after Achamaniyam.

Yagnopaveetha Dharanam with change of Poonal.

Take some Ellu (sesame) & Akshathai (rice with turmeric). Put in Pancha Pathiram.

Kaanda Rishi Tarpanam.

Remove Pavithram, put in ear.

Put Pavithram after Achamaniyam.

Veda Adhyena Arambam (also called Vedarambam).

Remove Pavithram. Unravel.

Do Achamaniyam. 

Complete.

References:

https://youtu.be/V0OlRk9FI3Q?si=7IrrgdUdhp4w6_WR

The tradition of ancestral worship

Many ancient cultures have the tradition of ancestral worship. Some Sanatana Dharma Sampradayas (traditions) and beliefs are explained here. In some Sampradayas, Pitru Vazhipadu (ancestral worship) is more important than even Daiva vazhipadu (divine worship). 

Once the body dies, what happens to the imperishable Atma (soul)? It can go to a better or worse place, or be reborn in the same place (earth) in a better birth (a good family) or a worse birth (a bad family or a non-human birth), or remain in deep sleep (MahaNidhra) awaiting a body, or in the worst case scenario, remain conscious without a body. The worst case scenario can occur, say during suicides, resulting in the worst suffering. 

When some saints pass, they will have a trickle of blood on the top of the head, indicating the exit to the highest place. Some may pass peacefully with the eyes looking upwards towards the center of the forehead, or with an open gaping mouth. These are higher places. A peaceful passing is an indication of passing to a higher place. 

Some may pass with the body in excreta. This is an indication of passing to a lower place.

After passing, the top of the body's skull is slightly manually cracked during the cremation process, in India, to allow the Atma to pass to the highest abode if possible. In a lack of religious freedom, this religious practice is banned in multiple Abrahamic countries that believe in bodies or ashes being raised up from the dead, & consider this 'body mutilation'. In contrast, Hindus cremate the body & mix the ashes in a holy river or the ocean, leaving no trace. If the Atma is conscious & lingering in a subtle body, anguished at the loss of the physical body, complete erasure goads it to move on.

Every person is born with multiple debts. One of these debts is to the Pitrus, who helped provide the current body.

As a ritual, one needs to do Dana (donate) every day. The Kolam (Rangoli) decoration with rice flour is a donation to the insects. The other is feeding the birds, specifically crows. Crows are a medium to fulfill the debt.

As another ritual, every Amavasya (new moon), the male with a passed father does Pitru Tarpanam for the ancestors, along with food restrictions or fasting on that day. Every year, on Bhishmaashtami, everyone performs Bhishma Tarpanam, since Bhishma didn't have any kids owing to his oath.

Every year, the eldest male performs a yearly ceremony. Other members have to join. If owing to a family rift, if a sibling breaks away & does it separately, each sibling has to do it separately every year onwards. In the ceremony, food is offered to the Pitrus called Pinda Daanam. The mediums of offering are Agni (fire) & Jala (water). Naga Sadhus offer Pinda Daanam to themselves while alive, implying that the death of their previous body & their rebirth. 

If the Pitru ended up in a worse situation after passing, it will eagerly await this offering for some relief from suffering. Without the relief & prolonged suffering, it may curse the earthly descendants for not fulfilling the debt. This can result in suffering for the earthly descendants. This can come in the form of different forms of suffering, such as physical & mental health issues, accidents & injuries, missing folks, loss of career or wealth & in extreme cases, loss of loved ones in an untimely manner. If you notice a lot of issues in the extended family, this could be a result of Pitru Shapam. This is also a theme in Jyotisha.

The Daivas through Daiva worship will sometimes modify or soften the blow, but they will not fully eliminate it. This theme recurs in the Puranic stories. Hence, Pitru worship is considered top priority for a happier material life.

Further, the ceremonies need to be performed in the Karma Bhoomi of Bharatha for full effect. In other Bhoomis, the efficacy is reduced. Some folks travel to India yearly to perform rituals.

Whatever level the Pitru ended up in, the offerings will make their way to them. It could be an unexpected largesse as a gift or a bonus to a human, or a treat to an animal or bird or insect.

These ceremonies are unique to some Sanatana Dharma Sampradayas. Other old surviving cultures also have similar traditions.

Kalidasa & the mysterious two persons

 After travelling long through a forest, Kalidasa reached a village. He felt very thirsty and looked around for water.

He saw an old woman drawing water from a well.

He went up to her and asked her for water. She agreed to give him water, but asked him to first introduce himself,

WHO ARE YOU  ?

 "Introduce yourself.” 

Now Kalidasa, who was then MahaKavi (great poet), thought that an ordinary and old village woman would be ignorant & not know his greatness. He decided to underplay himself.

So he said, 

I am a traveller

But the old lady replied, “No, you cannot be a traveller. In this world there are only 2 travellers – the Sun and the Moon. Both Rise and Set every day and keep travelling perpetually.

WHO ARE YOU  ?

Thirsty Kalidasa said, “Alright then, treat me as a guest.”

Old lady promptly replied, “No you cannot be a guest, son. 

In this world there are only 2 guests – Youth and Wealth … both are temporary and do not stay even if you plead with them a million times, and hence can only they be called as guests.”

WHO ARE YOU  ?

Thirsty but now quite intrigued with the profoundness of this old lady, Kalidasa said, “I am a TOLERANT Person, mother 

Now the old lady replied, “You don’t quite look tolerant, young man. 

In this world only 2 truly know the meaning of Tolerance 

Bhoomi (Earth) and Tree. How much ever you stamp the earth or throw stones at the tree (for the fruits), both continue to nurture us.”

So, 

WHO ARE YOU  ?

With unquenched thirst, Kalidasa was increasingly becoming irritable. He said, “Fine then, consider me a Stubborn Person 

The lady smiled and said, “No my child, you are not that stubborn.

There are only 2 truly stubborn personalities our nails and our hair. We keep cutting them non-stop, but they continue to grow.”

So

WHO ARE YOU  ?

Kalidasa had been patient so far, but now in anger he said, “Alright, I am a Fool”. 

Now the lady gave a wide smile and said, “There are only 2 kinds of fools in this world 

A King who rules without having any capability or knowledge & a Minister who is a sycophant to such a King and lavishes praises on such a useless king.”

WHO ARE YOU  ?

Kalidasa realised that he had been outsmarted by an old illiterate village woman.

 In complete awe and humility, he fell at the feet of the lady, saying,

“O mother! How ignorant I was to think that I know myself.

I am ashamed of myself. Pardon my ignorance.

Show mercy, and grant me water, I beg of you.

When he touched her feet and then got up,

 whom did he see?...

Saraswati the Goddess of Learning and Wisdom.    

She blessed him: “Kalidasa, only when Ahambhavam (ego) is removed can one know who one truly is. That is true wisdom, which is beyond material knowledge."

Shudra pride in history

In my college, a senior once aggressively questioned me about varna. He seemed always angry & would make vulgar comments on Hindu deities. He once said hesitantly, with some shame, that he was a Shudra, before proceeding on a rant against the Hindu religion.

Is the term Shudra a term of shame? Let's look at history.

Raja Prolaya Vema Reddy, the founder of the Reddy ruling dynasty, proudly identified himself as a Shudra king, proud of emerging from the divine lotus feet of Bhagavan Vishnu. https://twitter.com/Arya_Anviksha_/status/1756345077780140207 

He restored Agraharas that had been confiscated by Muslim rulers, constructed & restored temples, was a patron of literature & arts, built majestic ports. https://twitter.com/Arya_Anviksha_/status/1428044659389919233 

Today, the Reddy Jati in USA is one of the highest performing, wealthiest & most educated Indian communities.

Raja Chinna Sevappa Nayaka, the founder of the Nayaka dynasty of Thanjavur, also identified himself proudly as a Shudra, in the Raghunāthā-bhyudaya Nātakam and Vijayvilāsam, authored by Ch. Venkatakavi. https://twitter.com/Arya_Anviksha_/status/1756352312832917954 

He built temples, Gopurams, repaired tanks & was generous in charity.

In Andhra, the Kakatiyas with Warangal as the capital are a famous dynasty. The famous Kohinoor diamond was mined during Queen Rudramadevi's reign & adorned as an eye to the Devi temple. Her son, Pratapa Rudra, valiantly resisted the first Islamic invasion of the South by Alauddin Khilji & Malik Kafur. Vijayanagara was later founded by their generals. The Kakatiyas expressed pride in being Shudras, inscribing "Shudras are the best amongst the varnas, as the bravest & purest", proudly claiming descent from the divine feet of Bhagavan. https://twitter.com/Arya_Anviksha_/status/1756354726449361313

Raja Kempegowda, a governor under Vijayanagara, famous for founding the city of Bengaluru, which is now India's most successful tech city, proudly called himself Chaturta (Shudra).

The shame expressed by my senior is more recent, cultivated by the class & caste obsessed Marxist academia, weaponing history through dishonesty & creating a sense of victimhood & hatred. It is only a matter of time before this edifice of lies will crumble before the truth.

Vasanta Panchami Saraswati Puja

Happy Vasanta Panchami. This is a day of Saraswati (सरस्वती) Puja.

A rare Saraswati temple exists in Koothanoor, Tamizh Nadu. Many Bhaktas have reported personal experiences of improvements in education after her blessings. This was the deity worshipped by court poet Ottakoothar, a contemporary of Kambar. While Kambar had composed the Ramayana in Tamil, it was Ottakoothar who composed the Uttara Kanda portion in Tamil.

Ottakoothar was the dumb (unable to speak) son of Kumbakonam Sarangapani Dikshidar. He spoke on Vijayadashami with Saraswati's blessings. In Tamil, she is called Then Kani vakadevi or Kalaimagal. Ottakoothar's early composition was the Saraswati Andathi. Andathi comes from the Samskritam Antha-Adi; a poetic form where the end of a verse is linked to the beginning of the next one.

Raja Raja Chozhan would donate a village to Ottakoothar, hence the name Koothanur to the village. This temple was built by Ottakoothar.

Ottakoothar's samadhi is in Veerabhadra temple, Darasuram, behind the Iravatheewar temple. The temple is poorly managed as expected by the government.

Kambar was also a Saraswati Bhakta. She got him out of a fix many times. Here is one famous episode.

The West celebrates the tragic romance of Romeo & Juliet. Bollywood repeatedly references Laila & Majnu. For Tamils, until at least the previous generation, it was Ambikapathi & Amaravathi, the princess (Rajakumari). Ambikapathi was Kambar's dashing son, a poet, composer, musician & a warrior.

Once when Amaravathi walked in the palace on flower petals, Ambikapathi praised her with the phrase: Veitha kaal noga, edutha kaal koppalikka. Meaning the flower petals are so hard that they hurt your feet, the petals are so hot that they burn your feet. The problem: he says this in full public view of the king's session, incensing the king. Kambar lies that there was a granny selling food in the hot sun & that his son was referring to her. The king sends soldiers to check & there is Sarawati, actually taking the form of a granny, making his words come true. 

In Hindu Sampradaya, the divine will ensure that any words uttered by a saint comes true. Hence, Hindus seek out saints & their blessings. The blessing of a saint can thus override Karma.

The Chera king requests Kambar for his Saraswati vigraha & installs it in his capital at Padmanabhapuram. Later, Maharaja Karthika Thirunal moved the capital to Thiruvananthapuram. Every Navaratri from then, she is taken in a royal procession from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram & returned. Nowadays, she even has police gun salutes. However, apart from Navaratri, Kambar's Padmanabhapuram's Saraswati surprisingly gets only a fraction of the visits of Koothanur.

Kites are flown in Vasantha Panchami celebrations.

During India's dark ages, a young saint, Haqeeqat Rai, was killed on Vasantha Panchami after his refusal to convert. The colonial British had imposed restrictions on the festival celebration. In 2007, the government of Pakistan banned the festival.

The Hindu civilization, with the loss of half the territory and loss of generational wealth, faces immense existential challenges. A toxic academia, media & entertainment push misinformation & disinformation in the guise of neutrality, much like Putana. With her blessings & knowledge, all hurdles can be overcome.

Dharma vs Jungle law

Dharmo Rakshito Rakshitaha.

If you protect Dharma, Dharma will protect you.

Nature's default law is Matsya Nyaya. Big fish eats little fish. Also known as Jungle law, where the strong will survive & the weak will perish. The young are ruthlessly hunted.

Humans inherently dislike Matsya Nyaya for the human society. Owing to compassion, we seek to protect the weak & the poor as well. This allows civilization to thrive, by allowing humans to think higher thoughts, philosophy & create beautiful art. This is only possible when survival & safety is guaranteed even if we are weak.

The alternative is a system where everyone, including the powerful rulers, voluntarily subject themselves to common rules governing all. This is one aspect of Dharma. In some Dharmic systems, the powerful subject themselves to even harsher rules.

When not restrained by Dharma, the powerful will prefer a Matsya Nyaya system. The powerful can get away using political & legal loopholes, hiring media, writing propaganda to influence public opinion, hiring top lawyers & assassinating witnesses or dissidents.

There are other systems such as Marxism which, on the surface, look like Dharma, since it professes compassion for the weak, hence the appeal. However, it is a Matsya Nyaya system in disguise, which will end up in Communist dictatorships with special privileges for the party members, ruthlessly suppressing dissent with Kulaks & concentration camps. Religious systems that 'compassionately' seek to save others from a fiery hell after death also end up as Matsya Nyaya systems.

All human societies throughout history will swing between a Matsya Nyaya & Dharma system, ending up somewhere in-between. This conflict is eternal.

It is up to all of us to do whatever little we can to setup a Dharmic system, to protect us all. This is an unfortunately an eternal constant task. No one can do it for us; we all have to do our bit. Else, we will see unpleasant Matsya Nyaya in action.

The price of freedom & civilization is constant vigilance, for there are always barbarians at the gates. Dharmo Rakshito Rakshitaha.