Upavāś - Fasting (விரதம்)? Hari March 27, 2019

Upavāś, விரதம் (viradham), fasting are linguistically unrelated terms, yet, they are used interchangeable in daily use.

Abstaining from food is termed as;
Fasting - means abstinence.
sawm (صوم) in Arabic - also literally means "to abstain".
viradham (விரதம், நோன்பு) - determination to follow something for a specific time. It could be anything, not necessarily abstaining from food.

Upavas - 'upa' means 'to be near' and 'vas' means the abode of divinity. To understand this, we need to get a clarity on what this divinity and its abode is.

Abode of the divine 
This is often thought to be a religious place, presence of a divine being, consecrated object, a remote place in hills and forests. Hence, people travel to such places and try to sit there in the name of upavas. Divine also took abode in every being that is still alive.

உள்ளம் பெருங்கோவில் ஊனுடம்பு ஆலயம் - திருமூலர்
(body is a temple, its life energy is the divinity - thirumoolar)

life-force (prana, பிராணன், உயிர்)
In every living being there is a life-force that exerts its influence throughout the body, but resides in specific location in different states of consciousness. When we are awake and alert, the life-force is centered in-between the eyebrows, hence vermilion (குங்குமம்) is used to cover this place in emotionally vulnerable people. This life-force (prana) is the essential divinity present in every living being. Food (water and air) is இறை (Iṟai) and the life-force that ingests it is இறைவன் (Iṟaivan, Divine). As long as it is in the body, we get the due respect as a person. The moment it leaves, the body is treated like an object.

For any physical and mental activity, the essential fuel is this life-force. Depending on the quality of the air, water and food consumed, there is essentially a gain or loss of life-force. When the consumed substance is closest to its natural form, we get the maximum life-force (prana) from it. Raw grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, wild waters, fresh air are rich in prana. There is a loss of prana with every step of processing these foods like husking, grinding, cooking and boiling. When more prana is spent in digesting the food than what is gained from it, it just clipped off few seconds from your lifetime. It might quench the thirst and hunger, may even provide some nutrition but the loss of prana is definite. This is the ultimate reason for aging (மூப்பு) and eventually the body ends ups lifeless, i.e., all prana depleted.

The life-force reducing things we do with the food, water and air are often justifiable for the situation we choose to live in. We boiled the water to get rid of health deteriorating pathogens in it, started cooking grains as our smaller intestine cannot easily digest them in raw form, but now we do it for the taste we've acquired for the cooked food and cook several vegetables and fruits that we could digest very well in raw form. We do condition the air in densely populated situation to cool it down and disinfect it as well. Thought it becomes necessary to detoxicate the substances we consume, loss of life-force is certain.

Being near to this life-force, i.e., focusing, acknowledging and consciously soaking in its influence is called Upavas (உபவாசம்).

What does food and fasting have to do with this life-force observing exercise?
Upavas is to be near the abode of divinity. i.e., to observe and attenuate the mental focus to the center of this life-force (prana, இறைவன்) between the eyebrows. To do this, all the life-force (prana) expenses like bodily movements, thought fluctuations and internal organ functionalities should be cut down. No food and water puts the liver and kidney on vacation straight away. With no food to digest, majority of organs has no functions. The sexual drive and pride starts dwindling drastically. Breath gets more shallow, heart starts pumping lesser blood and brain functions are reduced drastically. While all these sounds like someone is passing out, in reality, it is when the life-force crystalizes in between the eyebrows. The person attempting the upavas is just to keep the mental focus on this crystalizing life-force all the time allocated to practice this upavas. It could be 24 mins  (நாழி), 48 mins (முஹூர்த்தம்), 3 hours (யாமம்) or 48 days (மண்டலம்). Once the crystallization happens, all signs of weakness is wiped out and rich rejuvenation of the body starts automatically.

But i feel thirsty and hungry. What to do then?
With very little practice, one can see that the minor disturbances like thirst and hunger starts evading away. The crystalized life force (பூரணம், pooran) in-between the eyebrows is an excellent care taker of the body. As long as the intestines are free from stool, lungs are free from phlegm and unwavering focus is perfected, the crystalized life-force starts secreting starch rich saliva that drips via the uvula (உள்நாக்கு). It is called (உமிழ்நீர்/அமிழ்தம், elixir). This is not some supernatural phenomena, it happens to any healthy person naturally, when starved. Normally, we don't know to differentiate between this elixir, phlegm and the common saliva which is the byproduct (எச்சம்) of the digested food. Hence, we might spit it or swallow it. It is totally wasted when done so. The starch in this special saliva can only be digested by the enzymes and pores in the mouth. Hence, it needs to be captured with the tongue and rolled, chewed and kept in the mouth for a minute before swallowing. The life-force (prana) gain from ingesting this is 100%, i.e., all the expelled life-force in generating it is gained back in total. Once ingesting this saliva is mastered, the body becomes self-sustaining (காய கர்ப்பம், kaya karpam). The person can go without any intake. This might sound like a fiction in west, but there is at least one person in every state in India who is living without any intake. In places like Himalayas, Western ghats, Varanasi and Tibet there are thousands of people living for decades without food/water. They voluntarily or involuntarily mastered this lossless life-force recycling.

Attaining this self-sustaining (காய கர்ப்பம்) state, at least temporarily is the goal of a upavas. In this state, body unanimously repairs and services all the organs and hence rectifies any health ailment (yes.. Any!).

காரமும் மிகுபுளிச் சாரமும் துவர்ப்பும்

கைப்போடே உப்போடே கசப்போடே கூட்டி

ஊரமுது உண்டு நீ ஒழியாதே அந்தோ

ஊழிதோ றூழியும் உலவாமை நல்கும்

ஆரமுது உண்டு என்னோடு ஆடேடி பந்து

அருட்பெருஞ் சோதிகண் டாடேடி பந்து !

- அருட்ப்ரகாச வள்ளலார்

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Consciousness and Conscience (மனமும் மானமும்) Hari March 21, 2019

மனத்துக்கண் மாசிலன் ஆதல் அனைத்தறன்
ஆகுல நீர பிற - திருவள்ளுவர் (Thiruvalluvar)

(righteous is to deter wrongdoing as per one's own conscience. Without that, any act or word uttered in the name of good is shear showboating).

Conscience (மனசாட்சி) is just a mental conditioning. The knowledge gathered with our senses and the information processed and segregated as right and wrong forms this logical aspect called conscience. This is only existent as long as we are awake (ஜாக்கிரத நிலை). The moment we doze-off, it is dissolved and recrystallizes when awake again.

It is a very necessary one to co-exist amidst other beings. Conscience is the total humane factor of our being, but a very subjective one. Amongst tribes practicing cannibalism, killing another person does not cause any ripple in their conscience. Killing a cow doesn't bother a butcher. Robbing from meek doesn't bother many. Some even take pride in fooling naiveté and it doesn't interfere with their conscience anymore. So, conscience is very subjective and totally depends on the circumstances in which an individual is raised.

It is essential to understand that it is an ever evolving phenomena and is absolutely self made and re-moulded continuously. Conscience was programmed into a being to establish a better survival of their species and it had stayed the same in wild. When it came to the humans, it took several turns with evolution, as the exclusivity started shrinking their identity away from the species-level in the name of clan, creed, region, etc.

Hence, your conscience means nothing to the other, except for one vital aspect, that it helps the other to determine how much distance they are to maintain from you. Attaching anymore importance and advertising an individual conscience and adopting the conscience of a people we admire as our own are all unnecessary glorification of this transient malleable aspect which can as well be just a figment of our imagination.

Consciousness (சித்தம், chitham) is a subtle aspect of our being that is ever alert irrespective of our awake/asleep state. In sleep, even an habitual roller, doesn't roll off the boundaries of the bed. A totally asleep dog can be awakened by a simple change in direction of breeze. These aspects of the being is called consciousness. Considering the eyes, ears, skin, tastebuds, etc as switches that are turned off one by one when we start to fall asleep, consciousness is the last such switch that is not turned off in our regular day to day activities.

This consciousness (சித்தம், Chitta) is the foundation on which the so called mind (மனம்) , sense of judgement (புத்தி, budhi) and ego (அஹங்காரம், ahankaaram) are built on. These four parts are compositely called as Anthakaranam (அந்தக்கரணம்). This consciousness (chitham) is the result of all the undying education (சாகா கல்வி) obtained in its past forms and retained by the soul.

Consciousness is also the local store of all the karmic records of a being. Karmic records are all the incomplete transactions (desires, duties, curses and blessings) accumulated over a course of several lives that the being (soul) has taken.

The enlightened sages have further dwelled into these karmic records and categorized them as;

சஞ்சிதம் (sanchita karma) - The data lake of all the incomplete karmic transactions for each soul accumulated in several births are stored as sanchita karma. All these are in-store for the future births (forms).

பிராரத்வம் (praratva karma) - From the large dataset, a specific set of karmic records are hand picked by the soul (meaning ourselves) and we have taken this current human form to square-off exactly these records. It is to be noted, this set of records are always a mix of choices that bring both pleasant and unpleasant experiences.

ஆகமியம் (aagamiya karma) - While trying to square-off the praratva karma, we incur bits and pieces of more karma, which also needs to be squared-off in this life, if not, they get added back to the sanchita karma.

When someone is embarked on self-realization, they tend to be more aware of their actions. Slowly, but eventually they end up separating themselves from their own actions. This is the concise teaching of Bhagavat Gita.  At this point, one stops accumulating any more aagamiya karma and starts dissolving all their praratva karma at a faster pace. This is the exact reason why someone on spiritual progress often seem to be going through a lot more suffering in their life.

Pain in inevitable. Suffering is optional - Haruki Murakami

Realized beings, don't try to bypass this praratva karma because of their deep understanding and absolute knowledge that its their own choice and are in no way attached to this form (body) anymore to dodge such simple pains. This is the exact reason, why Ramana Maharishi or Ramakrishna Pramahamsa endured their cancers even though they were uber powerful and were curing other's ailments at the blink of an eye.

Unconditional service, heartfelt (in a trance emotional state) devotion,  yogic kriyas like kundalini awakening is said to burn away the karmas. This is emphasized in many cultures in several ways. This is absolutely true pertaining to the sanchita karma. i.e., The datastore of the karmic records, preserved for the future births starts dissolving fast with these acts. Especially in yogic way, when the yogi attains the breathless state of samadhi, all his sanchita karma dissolves rapidly and hence it is stated that this is their last birth and they don't have a need to come back again. Its only logical, as the sanchita karma is zeroed-out and nothing more to carve out a praratva, which is quintessential for taking another birth.

“Yogas chitta vritti nirodha" - Patanjali

(“Ceasing the fluctuations in consciousness is yoga”)

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Worship - வழிபாடு Hari March 13, 2019

சைவ ஆகமம் (shaivism) provides a succinct encapsulation of different ways of worship, categorizing the ways of worship as generic as possible, without taking any sides with transient concepts like religion, caste, creed, nationality, age, education, etc.

1.) சரியை (sariya) "to intend" - worship with intent. mind-only phenomenon. Such as making a wish to their deity, in-heart prayer, listening to chants, taking part in a mass, observing a pooja, archana, yagna, etc. Basically, all the worships that doesn't explicitly involve any physical effort, but just mindful intent for spiritual progress is classified as சரியை.

2.) கிரியை (kriya) "to do" - worship with action. mind+body. Just praying doesn't satisfy everyone. There are people who need to work on their own in carving their progress. So they start taking physical efforts like chanting mantras, yogasana, pranayama and every other form of worship with explicit effort for spiritual progress is classified as Kriya.

Performing yagna, pooja, archana, fasting, pilgrimage, walking on fire chunks, rolling around the temple, nail-bed ritual and many such more, though need physical effort, their primary purpose is to strengthen the intention. Hence such practices are cusp of sariya and kriya. These practices are often backed up by indirect reasons and if not curbed, can potentially evolve into meaningless superstition, when the underlying space and time changes.

3.) யோகம் (yoga) "to join" - discarding both intent and action and just being a witness. This is shear observance, no chanting, no effort, no intent either. It is quite advanced and needs the basic understanding that we are a separate entity that is capable of observing our own body and mind as third parties. Mind, with years of habit, will kindle and bubble up all the incomplete thoughts that were garaged for a long time. Same with the body, it'll respond with pain, itch and a baseless compulsion to move. Normally, people lack the necessary understanding, strength and determination to observe these compulsions of mind and body as an outsider. Success in sariya and kriya will ensure this necessary strength is imbibed by the practitioner.

In the current times, the term yogasana was shrunk to "yoga" and catapulted to fame, though the meaning changes vastly with this shrinking. Yoga means "to join", while yogasana means "to perfect the seating posture". So, be aware not to mix this third stage of yoga with the body-bending asana's being practiced around the world as "yoga".

4.) ஞானம் (wisdom) - Attainment. This is not a way of worship, but the fruit and proof of success in spiritual progress. People who have attained this level invariably show a high level of clairvoyance, candor and composure. They exhibit a deeper knowledge on subjects involving cosmos and inner journey.

சரியை (sariya), கிரியை (kriya) & யோகம் (yoga) are not necessarily linear stairs to climb, but a logical path of a practioner. Sariya is introspection of principles (நாதம், சிவ தத்துவம்), while kriya needs energy (விந்து, சக்தி தத்துவம்) to do things. Obviously, one with already strengthened intent (sariya) will make the necessary attempt to take action (kriya). It will eventually lead to yoga (சிவசக்தி தத்துவம்), the combination of intent and action. When this yoga ripens, it blooms as ஞானம் (wisdom).

People have catapulted to wisdom directly from all of these three stages. Anandamayi Ma attained with strong sariya, Yogananda attained with explicit kriya and Vivekananda attained by direct yoga. They are neither fictional nor ancient historic figures, but people who lived amongst us in our generation and are photographed, recorded and captured in videos.

All the surrender oriented religious practices like praising and surrendering to krishna, shiva, jesus, allah, nanak, moses are all the way of sariya. For younger souls (சகலர்), their intent for spiritual progress is much weaker and this practice of sariya is often evangelized on them. Listening to the fictional stories on heroics and compassion of their deities, historic references, singing praises of object of their devotion are all intended to sow the seed and to nourish their intent to seek spiritual growth. Strong surrender dwindles the ego (ஆணவ மலம்) and hence their actions seizes to incur further karma (action-reaction-chain).

Patanjali's was predominantly the way of kriya. Kriya literally translates to "to do". All the yoga(asana) studios around the world are to explicitly take effort in spiritual evolution, which is the the essence of the way of kriya. By the time one is practicing the kriya, it is implied that their intent is already hardened. The one known pitfall of this path is, it often strengthens and polishes back the ego (ஆணவம்) of the practitioner. Hence, the need for a good guide to practice detached action and to constantly clip the sprouts of ego as they arise.

Buddha's preachings are the way of yoga. Vipassanā is a perfect example of pure observance without interference. Osho and J Krishnamurthy, contemporaries and despite their differences, were preaching the same way of yoga. To drop all the intent and action and just be a witness. In this stage, there are not shades of religion nor geographical boundaries. The practitioner transcends all such physical limitations. Monks of himalaya, tibet and zen and their followers do a combination of kriya and yoga to accelerate their attainment. Irrespective of the starting point, whether it is sariya or kriya, they eventually touch this yoga before attaining wisdom.

There are also combinations, Islam's way is combination of sariya and kriya; Zen is combination of kriya and yoga; Agoris, naga sadhus, rishis, siddhas and shaivites of himalayan and south-indian origin follow the combination of all three in their worship.

Shaivism also recognizes atheism as a perfectly acceptable way of worship. Buddha's preaching are absolutely atheistic as well. Atheists are often the ones who are not interested in believing but would rather quest to know the fact. This helps them climb the stairs much faster, detached. Biggest hurdle they would face is again the ego (ஆணவம்), which anyways starts dwindling once they attain the stage of true knowledge.

Every individual has the right to try several paths of their choice. A good society is one that grants and protects such individual rights. People (only the wise ones) can guide them to try some of the known paths, but with a clear understanding that it might not be suitable for that individual and ensure his/her options are kept open for further quest.