Skip to main content

The journey of the soul

By
Soul is a unique pranic frequency. In unmanifested form it exists as the part of Para Brahma just as salt exists in ocean. Only when it desires a certain experience or a set of experiences, it chooses to go through the cycle of karmas or birth and death. The basic reason of the soul separating from the source is ego, or recognising one’s existence as an individual. The ancients called it “asmita”, “I”. This was the first step we took when we separated ourselves from the Divine Consciousness which is sukshma-iti-sukshma, subtlest of the subtle, the unmanifested. Ego led the soul to realise that it is an individual and so came into existence the jeev-atma.

Chitta is all-pervading, which resides in each one of us as buddhi. Buddhi is unlimited mind, it is the ability in us that has the potential to become unlimited. However, it remains shadowed by manas the sheath, which blurs its vision, which provides logic to the mind and fetters it with the vrittis. Together, buddhi and manas form the chitta. The jeev-atma, chitta and vrittis unite with panchmahabhutas (five elements) to take form of a human being. As the soul separates itself from the source, the distance is directly proportional to the evolution of the soul. For example, when a droplet of water leaves the clouds it is nearly pure, in its journey towards Bhuloka, it gathers dust. The further it travels, the more contaminated it becomes. When it touches the ground it becomes dirt. This is similar to the journey of the soul, also, now to go back it needs to do tapas, i.e. heat itself and rid itself of the impurities. Only then would it become vapour and get rid of the bandhan (entrapment) of form, shape and ego.

The three states of chitta are conscious, unconscious and subconscious. They exist because of desires, which are the reason why the soul chose to take the journey called life. It is “desire” which drove the soul to realise its individuality and combine with the chitta and become a jeev-atma. These desires form a circular pattern like ripples in water and go on expanding and contracting, keeping the soul entangled in their movement.

The vrittis operate at every level; the conscious, unconscious and subconscious, therefore complete consciousness is not achieved. It is only when the disturbances in the form of vrittis become still, complete consciousness is achieved and the soul realises its true self. This is the state of dhyan that can be achieved by the practices of yoga. That is why yoga is defined by sage Patanjali as “chitta vritti nirodh”. That is to stop the activities of the chitta, to still the thoughts emerging from desires so that the vision becomes clear.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MERGER OF SHIV AND SHAKTI

By
Shiv is the doer and may be likened to a vehicle. If you remove ‘i’ from Shiv, it becomes ‘shav’ (corpse). The ‘i’ represents Shakti, which is the fuel that energises this vehicle to perform action. Shakti is the force of the physical world. Shivratri is the night of merger of Shiv and Shakti making a complete whole. Shiv and Shakti pertain to manifest creation and arise from the unmanifest. The journey back to the unmanifest can be carved only through their complete merger which is the ultimate purpose of yoga and Sanatan Kriya . A practical example of merger of Shiv and Shakti is the institution of marriage where the merger of male and female leads to manifestation of a new life. If there is a mismatch in this merger of male and female, or Shiv and Shakti, the marriage remains incomplete. This imbalance is evident in the progeny who will exhibit anti-social and undesirable behaviour and traits. The rishis of yesteryear explained how incompleteness sets into the child in t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Let's play organic holi!

By
The day after holi: pink, green and blue faces, rashes everywhere, body aches, cold, cough and pains occurs - thanks to catching a chill in the wet clothes or an allergic reaction to the using chemical-laced colours and other numbers of particulates that float in during holi air. To keep away harsh chemicals dampening your spirits, all you have to do is to perform simple yogic techniques and raid your kitchen, kitchen garden or your granny’s spice rack to celebrate Holi naturally & organically. The best part, at the end of all the merriment your skin will glow. Yogic Techniques  1. JAL NETI:  (Nasal cleansing) Take 500ml bearably warm water in a neti pot, add ½ tsp black/rock salt and a pinch of turmeric. Stand evenly and bending slightly forward tilt the head at a 45degrees angle towards left. Insert the nozzle of the pot into the right nostril. While breathing normally from the mouth, tilt the pot so that the water runs into the right nostril and flo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chakra Beej Kriya: Part 1

By
Yog is not about twisting and turning yourself into knots and complicated postures, yog taps into the power of consciousness. As you practice yog in totality, as prescribed, you start glowing and the immunity of the body heightens, slowly you begin to exude the glow of the sun. The body that we greet in the mirror everyday is run by a higher force, which is invisible to the naked eye but very clearly visible to a clairvoyant in the form of colours and to a clairaudient in the form of specific sounds. These colours and sounds correspond to certain energy centers in the body, which control and govern various body parts and functions. Much before you identify symptoms of a disease or ailment and decide to visit a doctor, these symptoms are perceived by a yogic practitioner in the form of change in colour, texture, size and sound of various chakras. Sanatan Kriya prescribes various techniques under the topic of self-healing to access this invisible sheath of the body and through...
Post a Comment
Read more