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Agni or fire is the first word of the Rig Veda. Did you know that according to ayurveda the various agnis in the body are at constant work burning body fuel and along with it body’s resources? For example, in the process of converting food into energy the internal chemical processes affect organs of the body. The heavier the food more the resources required to burn it and convert it into energy, the more the body ages. In a similar manner, fast breathing, sexual act, anger, attachment, greed, violence, sorrow and various kinds of indulgences lead you to engage in intense processing of thoughts, which utilise the body’s resources and engage the various agnis resulting in ageing. So, is there a way to make these agnis ‘shaant’(calm), resulting in anti-ageing, balance and tuning oneself to the subtler frequencies? The answer lies in performing Vedic havans, which are done on a large scale at Dhyan Ashram. Significance of havan and different havan kunds Fire is an eleme...

The article was published in Satya Times (UK)

The word Shiv consists of 'shav', which is a dead body and 'i', which is Shakti – the force which runs creation. This force needs a vehicle or a body to manifest into, so shav becomes Shiv and a child is born. The night of Shivratri has the power to give birth to your thoughts. It is a night of birth, a night of merger; a night of creation, a night of manifestation and a night of thought fulfilment and the one who can give you this experience of Shiv is your Guru. Being born in the land of Bharat, I have grown up hearing stories of Shiv and Shakti; I was told that Shivratri is a night of marriage of Shiv to Shakti, an auspicious and potent night. I would see elders in the family keeping a fast, making offerings, singing prayers to Shivji…for me Shivratri meant a holiday from school. I could not see the sense in celebrating an event that occurred centuries and maybe millennia ago. For me, Shiv and Shakti were protagonists of a puranic story, I was ob...

Most people will say yes to that. Desires leave us tangled in the world outside and disturbed in the world inside. The ancient sages gave us a technique to free ourselves from desires. Try it and feel the difference, says Yogi Ashwini of Dhyan Ashram. At any point in time, any one of your senses is always at work, all the time running after objects of desire. The doorways to these desires in the human body are our sense organs. Shanmukhi Mudra is the technique to shut these doors to Maya to be able to experience the real world, which lies within. Sit in Siddha Asana, keeping your back absolutely straight. Now, slowly raise your hands towards the face, keeping the elbows at shoulder level. Put the thumbs inside the ear holes, blocking any external sound. Then, close your eyes and gently press your eyelids with the index finger. Ensure that no light enters. Then, slowly press the nasal passage with tip of your middle finger. Keep the pressure soft and release the pressure o...

In every Indian household, there is one deity which holds the most prominent place on the pedestal, without paying reverence to whom, no puja, ritual, auspicious work can even begin. It is Lord Ganesh. According to the puranic legends, Mother Parvati found a young boy, in the absence of Lord Shiva, in the sweat of her body while bathing, and gave him the responsibility of guarding the entrance of her abode, forbidding anyone from entering the place. On returning Lord Shiva was denied entry to the place by this boy, for whom mother's word was foremost. The story goes on to say how Lord Shiva beheads the boy with his famous trishul, pinaka for this misdemeanour but on the insistence of Mother Parvati brings Him back to life for He had committed no crime but only obeyed His mother. Only an elephant head is restored in place of a human head. The story from puranas, through symbolism, allegories and depictions convey a larger message than entertainment. The uninitiated shoul...

All those who try to quit smoking experience at least one or more of these symptoms: cravings to smoke, difficulty concentrating, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, anxiety, cognitive impairment, increased appetite and, eventually, weight gain. So much so that it becomes a constant struggle to overcome this addiction. Many times, people shift their addiction from one substance to another. A tried and tested way to reduce all these symptoms is to practice Sanatan Kriya. The habitual use of tobacco in any form constricts the arteries to such an extent that the blood flow gets affected. To unclog the arteries, you need to ensure that the prana (life force) is appropriately distributed in your body. For this, you need to learn yogic breathing. So, first sit in vajrasana. As you inhale, you fill your breath in the abdominal region, move it to your thoracic and then to your clavicular region. Your exhalation takes place first from your clavicular, the thoracic and then ...

Environmentalists across the world have been expressing concern over global warming, soil erosion, oil spills, deforestation, hole in the ozone, depleting groundwater reserves, endangered species etc. While there have been campaigns to check pollution of air, water and earth, many environmentalists have ignored the pollution of space. Space or ether is contaminated by thoughts. Just like air, water, earth and fire need space to come into contact and form physical objects, in the same way, the thoughts are the breeding ground for other contaminants to foster and cause pollution. In fact, any phenomenon manifests first in thought and later indeed. The atom bomb was first a thought that later translated into the destruction of mankind. In this sense, if we check pollution at the level of thoughts, the need for conservation will never arise. Our physical body, too, is the five elements. Thus, the root cause of all bodily ills, too, is just a thought. Every time a thought is...

‘Don’t waste pearls before swines’ traces its origin back to the gyan of Geeta. Yog is a practice which requires a very strict discipline and a Guru. If either is missing, there can be no Yog. Let me explain why. The Gyan should not be wasted in front of people who don’t value it. It should not be imparted to those who come to listen to the discourse with the sole purpose of defying it or arguing about it or showing disrespect. These people are not searching, they are only looking to prove to the world how great they are and much they know, they are ruled by their egos. A lot of energy is lost in initiating a person on the path of Sadhna by way of shaktipath and if this energy is channelised towards initiating the disinterested or people who are bound to leave it in between, then this energy gets wasted. Today it is surprising to see how people go about introducing the Yogic practices without proper instructions and without analysing the individual’s capacity. Through t...

The body and the soul Recently, I received a mail from a lady who lost her young son in an accident. When she went to adopt another child, she felt as if her son came to her and told her, “Why do you need somebody else when I am already there?” At times, when she gets up at night, she feels as if her son is sleeping next to her. Friends and people around say that it is psychological and caused by the trauma and pain of losing her child, that it is in her mind. Even the psychologists say so. But no, it is not in the mind. Another one of my readers recently died of a heart attack, all of a sudden. His family wrote to me saying that they can feel him in the house. They feel he is crying and asking for food. They asked me if it was their mind playing tricks on them. Again, it is not the mind. If you think it is the mind, then you can try this experiment. Just think of somebody you do not know and who has gone and try to develop closeness with that person and try getti...

The article was published in Satya Times(UK).

यह लेख संकलन लखनऊ में प्रकाशित किया गया था |

Originally published in Satya Times.

वैदिक सभ्यता कदाचित विश्व भर में सबसे उन्नत सभ्यता है। वैदिक ऋषियों द्वारा सृष्टि के विभिन्न पहलुओं का जो गूढ़ ज्ञान प्राचीन ग्रंथों में विस्तार से आलेखित है, वह आज तक बेजोड़ है। आधुनिक इतिहासकारों के अनुसार जब बाकि दुनिया में  असभ्य और जंगली लोगों का वास था, उस समय वैदिक ऋषि - मुनि शान्ति, प्रकृति के संसाधनों की सुरक्षा और संरक्षण तथा पशुओं के प्रति दया और करुणा की बात कर रहे थे और दूर अन्य ब्रह्माण्डों और आकाशगंगाओं की संकल्पना में ध्यानस्त थे। ऐसे ही  एक असाधारण वैदिक विशेषज्ञ थे-  सुश्रुत  जिन्होंने आधुनिक चिकित्सा के आगमन से पहले ही विश्व को शल्य चिकित्सा की कला दे दी थी। 600 ईसा पूर्व काशी में, जिसे आज वाराणसी के नाम से जाना जाता है, एक बूढ़ा आदमी रहता था। कोई भी उसके अतीत या जन्म या ठिकाने के बारे में नहीं जानता था, मानों वह यों ही कहीं से प्रकट हो गया था। ऐसी अफवाहें थीं कि वह देवों के चिकित्सक धनवंतरी का शिष्य था और शायद वह देवताओं के निवास से पृथ्वी पर उतरा था।  वह बूढ़ा आदमी प्राचीन भारतीय सर्जन(शल्य चिकित्सक ) सुश्रुत था जो शल्य विज...

Ayurveda lays a lot of emphasis on a suitable diet and regimen for every season. According to seasons the year is divided into six parts. The northward movement of the sun (uttarayana) and its effect of dehydration bring about three seasons beginning from late winter to summer. This is known as adanakaala. Adana Kaala Shishir (January – March) Dominated by sun or agni. Sun is bright, winds dry, causing dryness in the environment. Promotes drugs with bitter, astringent and pungent tastes which weaken the body. Vasanta (March – May) Grishma (May – July) Visarga Kaala Varsha (July – September) Dominated by the moon. Cooling and soothing property of the moon. Promotes drugs with sour, salty and sweet tastes which strengthen the body. Sharat (September – November) Hemant (November – January) The southward movement of the sun (dakshinayana) has the effect of hydration and gives rise to three seasons beginning from monsoons to early winte...

Guru, a four-lettered word, has the phenomenal potential of taking you beyond; not beyond the pains and miseries of life, but beyond yourself. In other words, beyond what you know yourself as, opening the doors to the higher worlds and taking you through experiences which turn you from a normal being to a super being. A guru-shishya relationship is beyond the ambit of maya or a commercial transaction. Guru does not charge a material fee for what he gives you, for it is said that material is maya and it binds you to the physical and someone who himself is bound with the physical cannot take you beyond. In Vedic philosophy, the highest place and regard is given to the energy called Guru. Guru’s shakti (force) is not limited, as the energy is anant (endless) and akhand (expansive). The first Guru, or Adi Guru, is Lord Ardhanarishwar, Lord Shiva Himself. He is the energy responsible for the dissolution and transformation of all forms of existence. Souls who have complet...

पिछले सप्ताह हमने एक प्रयोग द्वारा अपनी हथेलियों के चक्रों से नाभि के भाग को स्कैन किया था। मुझे कई लोगों ने पत्र लिख अपने अनुभवों के बारे में बताया, जिसमे स्पंदन, आकर्षण, प्रतिकर्षण से लेकर गर्मी, ठंडक, हथेलियों में झुनझुनी आदि शामिल हैं । मानव शरीर परतों में निर्मित है, स्थूल शरीर उनमें से केवल एक परत है। जो आपने अनुभव किया वह स्थूल शरीर से अगली परत है, जिसे प्राणमय कोश अथवा आभा के नाम से भी जाना जाता है। जो कुछ भी इस स्थूल शरीर में होता है वह इसी कोश द्वारा नियंत्रित है। शरीर आत्मा का वाहन है। परंतु यह स्थायी नहीं है, इसका अंत निश्चित है। लेकिन, किस गति से शरीर का क्षय होता है, कितने शीघ्र यह वृद्धावस्था की ओर बढ़ता है, यह हम पर निर्भर है। वैदिक ऋषियों ने शरीर की विभिन्न परतों/कोशों को पूर्णतः समझ हमें योग का विज्ञान दिया और इस विज्ञान के प्रयोग से वे अपने शरीर को आखिरी श्वास तक तेजस्वी, दृढ और युवा बनाए रखने में सक्षम थे। वर्तमान समय में भी सनातन क्रिया का नियमित तथा सम्पूर्णता से अभ्यास कर रहे ध्यान आश्रम के साधकों का तेज तथा आकर्षण, योग के इस वैदिक विज्ञान की कारग...

You talk of mind pollution. What is it and how can it be removed? To understand pollution, you must first understand nature. In nature, whatever flows remains healthy and whatever stagnate leads to disease. Stagnation would lead to pollution, which is the first stage of a disease. So, stagnation of wealth, thoughts or that of the body would definitely result in disease. The disease could manifest in any part of the atmosphere as air, soil and water pollution. In the body, it may manifest in the form of diseases like cancer, which are a manifestation of emotional pollution. The simple solution for this in Sanatan Kriya is that you let yourself flow: help others, feed others, defend the weak, become the strength of the disturbed. In so doing, your resources, whether mental or physical, shall flow and keep you and your atmosphere healthy. Don’t allow any stagnation in your bodies or banks; and hence, no pollution will be there, neither mental nor manifested (physical). Yogi Ash...

There are five elements in our body, namely are prithvi (earth); jal (water); agni (fire); vayu (air) and akash (ether). These elements form the basis of the physical manifested creation Earth, which is the grossest and heaviest of the five, forms the foundation of the physical body of a being. It is the element of the mooladhar chakra. Jal (water) is the element of the swadhishthan chakra; agni (fire) is the element of the manipoorak chakra; vayu (air), which is the most mobile of all elements, is the basis of the anahat chakra; and akash (ether or space) is the element of the vishuddhi chakra. The manipoorak chakra — the centre of power located at the point corresponding to the navel in the physical body — is the chakra that carries the agni tatwa. Of all the elements, agni is the most distinctive. While it is possible to pollute the other elements, fire is one element that cannot be polluted. Instead it purifies whatever comes in contact with it. In certain prac...

Every avatar of Vishnu gave the gyan of the period. Karma is the fuel that propels a being on the journey of the spirit, good karma takes one to higher dimensions, bad karma takes him to worlds below. Connection with the guru catalyses this process, that is, the speed with which you go up or go down increases manifold. Krishna took birth to explain the path of karma only. If his purpose was just to kill the Kauravas, he could have done it from Vaikunth only, in a matter of seconds. What is difficult for Vishnu? But he took birth and also became a guru, to tell that if a being does good where he lands, and what happens if he does bad. Whoever had a connection with Krishna, whether good or bad, reached where they wanted to. If you are connected to a force (shakti), it is impossible that this doesn’t happen. Even if a paap atma begins to improve his karma, he can pull himself up. Karma has to be performed, rest is the domain of Krishna. There are two kinds of forces in...