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By Yogi Ashwini
Hectic schedules and a fast paced lifestyle hampers normal body functions. As a result, whatever one eats rots inside the stomach leading to generation of toxins or 'ama'. This ama interferes with secretion of digestive juices, scarcity of digestive juices hampers expulsion of wastes from the body. What you get is bad digestion and diseases that come along with it.
Early symptoms of digestive problems include eruptions on body, arms or face, whiteness at the center of finger nails and even patches on face or body.
As per yog, human being has not one but four stomachs, namely, the mouth, bladder called stomach, the small and large intestines. An imbalance in any four leads to problems of digestion. In the mouth, saliva is secreted to break down food molecules. For optimum functioning of salivary glands, a simple remedy is to chew every morsel 14 times, this turns the food into a semi-fluid which is sweet. No matter how much hurry you are in, you must count 14 times as you chew your food. Ayurved prescribes a combination of five kinds of salts to catalyse the process of digestion. If you find it difficult to source these five salts, then you may consume Udakvyadhi Choorna, which is a combination of the five salts and certain herbs. In addition to these remedies, there are certain asans detailed in Sanatan Kriya to rekindle the digestive fire. We will discuss them next week.
Yogi Ashwini is the Guiding Light of Dhyan Foundation and an authority on the Vedic Sciences. His book, 'Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension' is an acclaimed thesis on anti-ageing. Log onto to www.dhyanfoundation.com for more
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“What eese it you are doing Donny?” asked the First Lady looking curiously at her husband, who was tenderly rubbinghis chest. “You been touchin’ yourselffer the last two days? You got an infection or sumtin’?”
“I’m just reactin’ to the Modi hug!” said Trump, touching his chestlongingly. “Nobody’s ever given me a hug!”
“Well you ain’t the most huggable man!” said the First Lady. “Did you like it, though?”
“Yes!” said Trump, “Quite took me by surprise, one moment he was standin’ next to me and the next moment his hands were all over me!”
“And the cameras show you loved it!” said the First lady a little jealously.
“Yeah I did! Like I said, nobody’s hugged me like that before!”
“That’s what yer shrink said ain’t it? If you’d had a little more hugging, the country would have retained its love!”
“You know something?” said Trump with a shrug, “I like doing things after practisin’ some! You know where I could practice some hugging?”
“You could start with me!” said the First Lady.
“You’re a woman!” snorted Trump, “There’s more things to be done with a woman than jes some huggin’!”
“I know!” sighed the First Lady, “I knew you’d say that!”
“Okay come on woman, I know you’re gonna go into a sulk, but I need some practisin’ even before I start on you. I mean something else I could hug, jes like that man Modi! Truly a great hugger that Indian!”
“You want to hug another woman?” asked the First Lady icily.
“Well not exactly!”
“Whatcha mean by that? You either want to hug a woman or not hug a woman Donny!”
“I mean like a woman mannequin! You know what I mean? Something that won’t turn or fidget or smile while I practice. Damn it woman I’ve never done it in my life. I don’t wanna make an ass of myself, what with all the press ready to pounce on me all the time. I need some genuine practisin’ like I told you!”
“Well there’s one lady who’s waitin’ fer you to hug her!” said the First Lady coldly, “You could start with her!”
“Where’s she?” asked Trump, flexing his little hands, “I’d love to handle this woman who’s waitin’ to be hugged! Where’s she, quick, tell me?”
“She’s in New York!’ sighed the First lady.
“Yippee!” shouted the President as he jumped into his helicopter. “Just give me her name and address will you?”
“Name’s Liberty!” said the First Lady, “She’s been waitin’ patiently fer you to hug her and give her back to the ‘Mericanpeople..!”
Modi’s come and gone and continuing to hug others all over, but Liberty and the world, still wait for a hug from Trump..!
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With the Prime minister of India, his cabinet, his party and government mostly turning a blind eye to the lynching and attacks on people eating beef, India must be creeping into the Guinness book, as the first country,maybe the only one where people are targeted, thrashed and tormented for their food habits!
The wife ran to my car as I started the engine this morning, “You forgot your lunchbox!” she cried.
“No!” I said in terror, “I don’t want it!”
“You don’t want lunch today? You know what the doctor said; skipping meals isn’t going to help you get any healthier!”
“Yes,” I said, looking fearfully at other flats in my building, where neighbours were peeping out at the commotion downstairs, “But, I’d prefer being alive than healthily dead!”
“You don’t like my cooking?” she asked, arms akimbo, a sign of trouble. “I love it!” I said hastily, “And I love it so much, I want to be around to eat another meal, and another and another!”
The wife looked at me, as if I needed to visit a shrink, “You know something, I’m just going to leave the lunchbox on your car bonnet. Take it or leave it!”
“Don’t!” I shouted, jumping out of the car, and running to her, “Don’t let our neighbours see that box!”
“Neighbours!” she spat out and looked up to see a dozen of them staring down at her, “What have neighbours got to do with your lunch!”
“They may be in touch with mobs!” I whispered urgently, “As soon as I leave, they will call some mob leader and get me lynched outside!”
“But why would you want to do this to my husband?” shouted the wife looking at all the neighbours, peeping from their windows.
“Because, they think there’s beef in the lunchbox!”
“Oh husband!” laughed my wife, “It’s only chicken, I know you are not fond of beef!”
“But they don’t know!” I said, looking fearfully up at the flats where I suspected men and women stood huddled, staring fixedly at my lunchbox, “They don’t know the difference between chicken or beef!”
The wife slowly looked at the now invisible neighbours, behind their window curtains, “Maybe I need to give them cooking lessons!” she suggested.
“No!” I shouted, “Maybe you just need to take that lunchbox off my car, and back into the house.”
“Maybe I need to train you in karate or judo!” she said, again standing with arms akimbo, looking at a fearful me, staring at my lunchbox.
“No,” I said, “Maybe we need to tell the Prime Minister to leave the nation alone, a country,once never afraid of their lunchboxes!”
“Where’s the Prime Minister?” asked the wife, looking like holy thunder.
“Having meetings across the globe with beef eating leaders, asking them to bring business to India!” I said lamely.
I heard windows close, as I fearfully looked at my lunchbox on my bonnet filled with innocent chicken, but beef to all my neighbours..!
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By Yogi Ashwini
There is pyramidal structure to creation. Your position in the pyramid is determined by your desire.
Every being is born with a specific desire and matching to that desire finds a Guru. As one holds the hand of the Guru, he/she moves to that level of the pyramid and the desire manifests. The problem begins after, as then, usually the person gets caught in the desire and is unable to move further. So he/she slips, and begins the downwards journey.
The problem of kalyug is that our desires are embedded into the physical, physical is what the majority understands, so even when one sets on a search for Guru, he/she measures him on physical yardsticks – how big is his ashram, how many factories does he own, etc. Beyond that, one is unable to comprehend, missing out on the essence of what the Guru is. In present times one would give more respect to a Math’s teacher than a Guru, for the thought pattern is – ‘At least he will teach me something which I can use”. What the Guru has to offer, hardly anyone can comprehend or has the desire to receive.
Its ok to be embedded in the physical because for majority that is the starting point, but if you have found a guru and are walking his path and over a period of time your desires are still as they were, then you need to think, whether you are wrong or you are in the wrong place.
Long back, a Babaji had come to meet me from Gyanganj (it’s a village enroute Kailash Mansarovar, where many yogis dwell, and who are apparently taken care of by the Chinese government). He was in Delhi for treatment of cancer which was yet to manifest in his body, but which had been intimated to him by his Guru. He told me, that in the forests of Madhya Pradesh, there is a lake of crocodiles where a Mata ji does her sadhna. She is among the few, who in present age has some state in yoga. She lives with the crocodiles who do her no harm, such is her sadhna. I told him, “Ok, then I will go to meet her.”
Babaji replied, “What will you achieve by meeting her? Her sadhna is her state of mind, the level you are at, you will not be able to understand it. It’s her sadhna, if you want to achieve it then just go and sit there. Anything short of that would amount to disturbing her and you will achieve nothing.”
Yoga is not about achieving more in the physical, it is the journey of leaving the physical and achieving sidhhis to go beyond. You need not leave immediately, but the desire to leave should be there in you, then as you walk the path automatically things will leave you and you will realise the ultimate.
Rahim in a couplet explains that bishop, a powerful piece in the game of chess, can never become the queen, he walks diagonally. Even though he kills a lot of powerful pieces, achieves a lot of physical feats, he cannot achieve the ultimate (which is the queen in game of chess). An ordinary pawn on the other hand, only walks straight and has capacity to achieve little in the physical, but if its focus is fixed on the last square, it becomes the queen. Similarly in life, if you have focus and desire for the last square, you too will achieve that. It is Guru and focus on desire for the Ultimate that will take you up the pyramid of evolution, else you will keep going in circles, achieving physical.
When you meet a Guru gradually desires change from lower to higher...As you move up the pyramid of spirituality, the accommodating power at every subsequent level reduces. So there are lesser and lesser number of people around. Like you find very few people in the upper reaches of Himalayas, only a few bodies can survive in that environment. A move up the pyramid is a move away from the base which symbolises physical desire and physical creation. So if you are looking for networking, building contacts, collecting assets, expansion of business, showing off your position in an organization etc, you are actually working on the reverse principle and moving towards the base of pyramid.
The present understanding of the term guru is rooted in the physical with innovative terms like ‘love guru’, ‘business guru’, ‘management guru’ etc becoming popular. Earlier there was just Guru. This is indicative of the wrong thought process and desire pattern of people. Even pilgrimages have turned into picnic spots in present times, where people go in the hope of fulfilling material aspirations. If your desires are rested in the physical, then you need not go to a Guru. Simple charity and service and following the laws of creation is enough to achieve physical desires. Guru is needed when you want to understand what lies beyond, and desire for siddhis of yoga to go out of the ambit of life and death.
The higher you are in the pyramid of spirituality, the greater is the impact of the fall and the more you hurt yourself. The fall takes you to lower dimensions and births, and you fall only if you lose focus and guru’s hand slips away from you. Kabir has said, Kabira Te Nar Andh Hai Jo Guru Kahate Aur. Hari Ruthe Guru Thor Hai Guru Ruthe Nahi Thor.
Gurus don’t ask you for wealth, so it is a risky proposition. When you go to them, you go for your evolution, not to fill their coffers. There has to be a reason to find a Guru, desire should be firm to achieve the ultimate and siddhis of yoga, not for physical gratification and pleasures, but for going beyond.
Guru Purnima is on July 8th. To become a part of Guru Purnima Celebrations at Dhyan Ashram with Yogi Ashwini ji, visit www.dhyanfoundation.com.
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By Yogi Ashwini
In the previous article, we had introduced the Gandhari Nadi, its role in balancing the body and how cervical is a symptom of congestion in the Gandhari. We also learnt certain pranayams for regularising the flow of prana in the Gandhari. In this article, we will discuss the asans to stimulate the Gandhari and correct problems of cervical.
Rajju Akarshan Asan. Rajju means rope. If you go to an Akhadaa you’ll see pehelvans practicing by climbing a rope using their hands. Just imagine a big rope hanging in front of you. Hold it with both hands as if you were about to climb it. Begin to move your hands as if climbing the rope by alternately gripping the imaginary rope near your forehead and bringing your hand down straight and letting go. Exhale forcefully when you bring one hand down as if pulling on the rope. Maintain awareness of the lower back region because when you are climbing a rope, that region should be strong enough.
Dhanur Akarshan Asan. Stand straight with your fists behind your neck and elbows pointing up. Stretch your left hand forward as if holding a bow. Bring your right hand forward as if bringing an arrow upto the bow from a quiver. Pull and let go as if shooting an arrow with the bow. Release your breath quickly when you release the arrow. Now repeat the same while reversing the positions of the hands. When you exhale, be aware of the manipoorak. You will actually feel as if an arrow has left the bow and the sound of exhaling should also be similar to that of a quick woosh, the sound is essential. The whole body should have a slight shiver as the arrow is being released.
Ardh Gaumukh Asan. Stand straight with your left hand behind the back from below with your palm facing outward and fingers pointing upward. Take the right hand behind the back from above and catch hold of the left hand and remain so for as long as possible.
The above asans when performed in tandem with Gandhari pranayam have the effect of cleansing the chakra controlling the spine and body balance and strengthening the shoulder/cervical region. For correct practice, visit a Dhyan Foundation center near you.
Yogi Ashwini is the Guiding Light of Dhyan Foundation and an authority on the Vedic Sciences. His book, 'Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension' is an acclaimed thesis on anti-ageing. Log onto to www.dhyanfoundation.com for more