DHYAN FOUNDATION

On one of my expeditions to Himalayas, I met a  tapasvi . He had a mystical calmness about himself. We had a long conversation after which I  thought  of leaving something for his expenses. I slipped my hand beneath the  asan  on which he was sitting to leave some money behind. As I did so, something pricked me. I lifted the cloth to find iron nails below… One of the 5  niyams  in  ashthang yog  is  ‘tapa’ , that is, to heat the  body  by giving it pain. It is a very basic purification, a means to cancel out your negative  karmas , a tool to aid progress and evolution. Fasting/  Upavaas  is one way of putting yourself through pain.  Upavaas  has a much greater connotation than what it is generally misunderstood as - mere holding back from eating certain foods. At Dhyan Ashram,  sadhaks  observe  Upavaas  in its aunthentic sense, that is, giving up pleasure to observe austerities...

The nine days of Navratris are very powerful. Each of these nine days has a specific purpose. During Navratris, the weather changes — various energies of this creation move from imbalances towards a new normalcy. Since a human being is poorna ansh of this creation, every object and energy of the creation resides within you as well. In these nine days you also move towards a new normalcy. The prana shakti inside the body also undergoes a process of realignment. And to realign, the body should be kept light. The nine days are divided into three parts, each comprising three days. Each set of three days is for the three parts of the body — the region below the navel, between the navel and shoulders and the region above the shoulders. The nine Devis worshipped during Navratris originate from Maa Durga, Maa Lakshmi and Maa Saraswati which, all of whom have their origin in Adi Shakti. The head region of the body is symbolic of Durga, and the middle and lower regions represent Lakshmi an...