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Denis Giles

08 September 2017

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As I watch Trump tweeting threatening outbursts to the North Korean dictator and Kim cocking a snook at him, it does tend to remind me of similar fights in my schooldays:They were strange kind of fights, where two adversaries, faced each other, mouthed wild words at one another, swung their arms emptily in the air, and then strangest of all behaviors I’d seen, rolled their sleeves, pushed elbows back, and hoped like crazy that somebody would hold those elbows and prevent them from fighting further.

In most of those fights, that signaled the end, because the pushing back of elbows was a sign to friends to hold onto their arms and prevent thefight escalating.

Trump and Kim Jong-un seem to be doing what I’ve seen time and again in those schoolboydays. Threats and arm swinging seem to fill newspaper space, editorials scream of what could happen, and the two glare at each other, mouth dare words and threaten to burst bombs.

But horror of horrors, nobody is holding them back: Their elbows dangle free of preventive hands!

And that’s a dangerous situation, because the world believes the two are madmen facing each other and making loud empty noises.

Now, and here let me take you back to those fights of yore;you can see both my school opponents creating a huge din, and suddenly find their friends who were always at their side to prevent them from hitting each other, have left the fight with boredom.

“Those two just mouth empty words at each other,” their friends say and move away.

And that is when the action happens.

Suddenly there’s a slamming of fist against cheek, foot against stomach and a fight which everybody thought was a no fight becomes a bloody battle, till one or the other is soundly beaten, or both are dragged off to the headmaster’s office.

Unfortunately, in this Trump-Kim wrestling match, there’s no headmaster, and as the world gets bored with their rhetoric and tunes off and they decide to missile and nuke each other, it’s going to be a catastrophe of a magnitude beyond comprehension!

So, let’s not get bored by these two mad men. Even as they swing their fists at each other, even as they hurl abuses and threats, lets continue holding their sweaty elbows, and prevent them from going to the next stage!

They don’t want to fight, but they love an audience and want to hold on to it. And the sooner that audience gets bored and moves away, a real disastrous fight could begin.

So stand around, watch the circus, hold their arms, and pretend you are hugely interested in the mock skirmish you are allowed to witness.

Dare you move away, the world you love and know well, may disappear.

Don’t yawn, just clap and cheer and pull back their arms and elbows..!

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Denis Giles

25 August 2017

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The station master of the local suburban station came and stood near me, “There’s an award for the best kept station,” he said spitting a wad of betel nut onto the platform.

“Interesting,” I said, as I watched the red juice flow all over the concrete surface.

“This station will win that award,” said the man with a determined glare.

“You’ll have to work hard at it,” I said, as a pair of urchins used the railway track as their toilet.

“It will be a great day for the people of this suburb,” he said

“I am sure they will be delighted,” I said and watched horrified, as an old lady slipped on the red paan juice and fell on the ground.

“Stupid woman,” said the station master as he watched the public pour water over the old woman’s face to revive her. “See, how they will dirty the platform. It is very difficult to educate people in our country. Come let us move from here and have some tea.”

The canteen boy at the tea stall poured some soapy water into a glass, rinsed it, threw it onto the platform and then grinned at the station master.

“He always washes the glasses when he sees me,” said the station master proudly. He knows I am very particular about cleanliness!”

“Then the award is yours,” I said.

“Of course it’s mine,” said the station master moving quickly out of the way of a passenger gargling after he had eaten a vada pav. Of course we will win it.”

“You better start working at it right now,” I reminded him again, as asuper fast rushed past the station raising a cloud of dust and blackening everybody’s face.

“I have already worked on it,” said the now sooty station master. “You can be assured the award is mine.”

“The cleanest station in the city!” I exclaimed, trying to wipe the soot off my face.

“All the newspapers will write about it,” he said.

“You have a lot of work to do, you should talk to all your juniors and other workers in the station immediately,” I suggested.

“They are overjoyed,” said the station master happily.

“Overjoyed”? I asked watching a sweeper woman sweeping all the garbage from the platform onto the railway tracks. “Don’t they realize they will have to work very hard to win it?”

“We have already won!” said the station master, giving me a hefty pat and laughing as I just managed to avoid slipping on a banana skin.

“But, the award will be announced only at the end of the year,” I said, holding onto the station master’s coat and nearly fainting with the terriblesmell from it.

“Ah,” said the station master kicking a mangy stray dog on its behind and putting his hand around me. “I forgot to tell you the railway minister’s brother is a close friend of my sister’s husband. What’s a small favour among friends..!”

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Denis Giles

07 September 2017

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Yogi Ashwini

In the last article of this series, we discussed how over-exercising leads to ageing and also how asanas are not exercises, for they work through consciousness. We learnt nine  asanas for body sculpting from Sanatan Kriya. Continuing from where we left in the last issue, we will take you through the final  five asanas of the set.

Note:  While performing asanas ensure that you are wearing comfortable clothes made from natural materials; avoid deodorants, perfumes and aftershave... basically anything artificial. Keep your eyes closed and maintain internal awareness of the body part that is being worked upon. Maintain ujjai breathing and synchronise the movement with your breath.

Uthanpad (raised leg):  This asana strengthens the abdominal, pelvic and perennial muscles and massages the organs of the lower body. It is also beneficial in correcting prolapse. Lie down on the back, placing your arms on either side of your body. Inhale, slowly raise your legs (joint together) at thirty degrees, then sixty degrees and finally ninety degrees. Once you reach the ninety degree position slowly lower your legs to back to sixty degrees followed by thirty degrees and eventually to the original lying down position. Exhale as you lower it down. This is one set. Repeat this seven times. Ensure that your legs do not bend. Inhale while going up and exhale while coming down.

Padsanchalan (cycling): Lie down on your back. While exhaling, fold your legs to bring the knees close to the chest. Practice alternate cycling with both legs as if peddling a bicycle. Repeat seven times in forward and backward directions. Next raise both legs and keeping them together make forward and backward cyclical movements.

Janunaman: Lie down on your back. Place both hands by your side, palms facing downwards. Exhaling, fold your legs to bring the knees close to the chest. Inhaling, straighten the legs keeping them about 12 inches above the ground. Repeat the procedure seven times dynamically. People with heart and spine ailments should refrain from this movement and so should pregnant women.

Crunch Position: Lie on your back, exhaling, raise your legs bending the knees such that the thighs are perpendicular to ground and the calves are parallel to floor (see image). Now raise your upper body, fingers interlocked behind the neck, so that the stomach is crunched. Hold this stance for a few minutes, breathing in ujjai, and then gently come down.

Supt Vajrasana: Sit in Vajrasana and gently lie down backwards taking support of elbows and arms to rest the head on the floor. Hands on the heels or below the head. Close eyes and relax the body. Maintain ujjai breath. People suffering from sciatica, knee or back problems should not perform this asana.

These asanas are to be done dynamically, and the count can slowly be increased in multiples of seven up till 49 repeats of each asanas, as the body grows in strength and stability. The effect of all these asanas becomes manifold when practiced with your Guru who channelises energy into each asana. For learning how to practice the above asanas properly with chakra awareness and to reap its benefits it is advised to visit a Dhyan Foundation center in your city.

Yogi Ashwini is the Guiding Light of Dhyan Foundation and can be reached at www.dhyanfoundation.com.

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Denis Giles

23 August 2017

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By Yogi Ashwini

Lord Ganesh is said to be the deity closest to the physical world; he is the god of wisdom, knowledge and prosperity. OnGanesh Chatuthri, also known a sVinayak Chaturthi, it is easiest to access the energy of Ganesh. 

The term Ganesh comes from the Sanskrit words, 'gan' and 'esh'. 'Gan' means jan samooh (general people) and 'esh' means supreme or Lord. Lord Ganesha is the supreme deity of the normal man, the guardian of the spiritual world and the first energy to grant access to the higher dimensions, also known as the pratham pujya. 

Every aspect of this energy has a significance of its own. The elephant-head symbolises supreme intelligence, the human body with large belly symbolises a reservoir of energy stored in the manipoorak chakra, which is located at the navel.Ganesh is the child of Mahadev, the supreme purush, and Adi Shakti, the mother of the creation. Riddhi (prosperity) and Siddhi (spiritual powers) are married to Ganpati, which indicates Ganpati is an energy, which bestows spiritual as well as worldly boons, confirming the philosophy given in shastras, that attainment of worldly pleasures is essential for attainment of higher realms - moksha or liberation.

This is also the reason why in yogic practices like the Sanatan Kriya, the first sadhna given to a sadhak (spiritual aspirant) is Ganpati sadhna and Ganpati jaap, which opens the doorway to lokas beyond the bhu-loka, the physical dimension in creation. The jaap and mala is received from your Guru, who channelizes the energy into mantra paving the route for its siddhi. Sadhaks at Dhyan Ashram who have been seriously practicing the various mantra siddhis, have had physical manifestations of the various gods. To master the mantra of Lord Ganesh it is important to move the maala (rudraksha beads) while chanting. When the maala moves, the shakti of mantra gets accumulated in the maala and its meru. The various tantric mantras have their prayog later in sadhna, you use them for a specific purpose and the use happens through the meru.

Ganesh Chaturthi is the day when the energy of Lord Ganesh is most easily accessible to human beings. A yagya invoking the energy of the Ganesh performed on this day under the guidance of Guru with the purity of thought (bhaav), chant (uccharan) and offerings (samagri and samidha), unlocks the doorways to the subtler dimensions, enabling one to realize his/her true potential. Such a yagya has the effect of purifying the home and the karmas of the participants, stimulating the process of manifestation of thoughts and desires, as experienced on a daily basis by Sanatan Kriya practitioners at Dhyan Ashram.

Yogi Ashwini is the Guiding Light of Dhyan Ashram and can be reached at www.dhyanfoundation.com