Hari
OM
Monday is AUM-day; in search of meditation.
Are
you sitting comfortably? Are you
breathing freely? These are the two
points of focus of the previous two AUM-day's and also for your daily saadhana.
These should become so much a habit, just as the loose sitting and shallow breathing had before them, that you will automatically correct yourself
throughout the day. Over time you will
find that there is a trigger formed in the background which then sends out the
signal "sit up!...breathe!...loosen those shoulders…!" and so on.
So
important are these two factors to healthy life, some companies are now
ensuring their employees get up and stretch at intervals, that they have proper
ergonomic work spaces and will even put on company-sponsored stress-management
classes. Of course, many don't! It is therefore up to you to ensure you get
the proper R&R.
Please
continue the SAADHANA as set last week. It must become a natural and easy
process.
To
further understanding of praana, a brief exploration of the five aspects will
now be undertaken. It should be understood that there is a lot more to cover in
this regard, and it will be as we progress through later teachings here and on
other pages. However, it is useful, as has been said before, to peek ahead at
times. As we drive on the road, if we
all the time looked only at the five yards immediately before us, we are at
risk of missing an important turn, or worse, meeting with an accident. We must
know what is up ahead in order to steer more correctly and take appropriate
action. As praana is such an important function and aids our clarity of purpose
in meditational practice, we take an introductory 'glimpse'.
पञ्च प्राणाः/PANCHA
PRAANA-S
The
five aspects of the single term praana are divided thus;
प्राण /praana - perception
आपान/aapaana - excretion
व्यान /vyaana - digestion
समान /samaanaa - circulation
उदान /udaana - thinking of thoughts
Straight
away you will have noticed the lack of something. Breath! Breathing is actually
a purely physical response to stimulus.
What stimulates, is the life force within us. The five aspects are the
philosophical classifications applied to that force. The English names
immediately cause us to think again in the physical and at this stage that is
fine. The Sanskrit terms, though, refer to the non-physical behind the
physical, the causative factors if you will.
Pancha
praana then, is that part of our makeup which interfaces the physical (gross)
with the inner (subtle) body. Our sense
organs (sight, hearing etc.) must be in contact with the 'inner equipment',
that subtle control centre in our brains.
Due to this clear experience of connection to response, many consider it
to belong to the gross body alone; modern medical science for the most part is
derisive of the possibility of anything beyond the physical expression of the
force which allows us to interact with the external world. There can be no
denying the physical expression, that is for sure, however, to eliminate any
subtle contribution is to halve the whole.
Where
does breath come into this then? Well, as each of the main five take up their
actions, there are ten उपप्राणाः/upapraanaH, subsidiary functions. Among these are found inhalation,
exhalation and things such as yawning and sneezing.
As
stated, this is a mere teaser. What has it to do with meditation? As we are
attempting here to embrace the possibility of transcendentalism, we must first
have a clear and positive perception of what it is we are seeking to transcend.
The gross, physical existence is currently all that we know as a certainty. By
researching it fully, in conjunction with learning of the things beyond the
physical, we give ourselves the best hope of attaining the ultimate goal. There
are a few rare individuals who may have attained this state without traversing
the path of knowledge; equally there are countless seekers who have fallen into
the trap of 'dry intellectualism', forgetting to put into practice the very
thing which will prove (or disprove) their arguments! Balancing the practice of
meditation with the pursuit of knowledge is the most likely to produce an
equanimity in the transactional life. In this regard, let us finish today with
a quote from Gurudev on exactly this point;
"Meditation
kindles life. It fills the personality
with new vitality, strength and dash to achieve and to rebuild. Meditation
rehabilitates man's broken, tired, weary inner personality and makes him a
master of his destiny; an authority who commands the world of happenings around
him."
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