MyLifeYoga

“Without the fundamentals, the details are useless.” – James Clear.

The problem is that we end up arguing about the details while missing the big picture. So what is the big picture? Here it is in a few bullet points:

1. Consciousness is a fundamental property of the Universe and not an after-effect of the brain. There is now significant scientific evidence in this direction.
2. We experience consciousness through a “Consciousness Unit” (Soul or Atma).
3. Consciousness comes to us from “Universal Consciousness” (Supreme Soul or Param-Atama or God).
4. The ego is a “knot of consciousness” present in the “Consciousness Unit” that consumes all our energy.
5. Ego is the roadblock to deeply connect with the “Universal Consciousness”. It takes our attention away from “Universal Consciousness” and puts it on itself.
6. When ego is diminished we experience health, connection, love, and happiness. This is because our connection with “Universal Consciousness” is strengthened.
7. We have a choice to express consciousness through the ego or while with the “Universal Consciousness”.
8. When living through the ego we are in the land of opposites. Happiness is followed by sadness. But when with the “Universal Consciousness” there are no opposites. Here happiness is our natural state.
9. When deeply connected to the “Universal Consciousness” our experience is beyond space and time and cannot be described in words. The common word used is: Bliss.
10. The Big question: Do we want to spend our lives in the fruitless service of our ego?
11. If the answer is “No” then we may use Yoga to sideline the ego.
12. Yoga is a systematic way of taking away our attention from the ego and directing it towards the “Universal Consciousness”.
13. The Yoga known as “Raja Yoga” has eight limbs. Yoga Postures (Asana) is only one of the eight limbs.

Credits:This has been written by Raj Shah and edited by Ketna Shah.

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Remember the days when we humans crowned ourselves as masters of the universe? We did so because we thought we were the only toolmakers, tool users, and problem solvers. Here is a BBC video that is a must watch. You will see how a crow when presented with a complex multi-step problem solves it with its pea-sized brain. Crows can make tools, use them, and solve complex problems. Here is another video that shows how crows use traffic to break open nuts and use stoplights to collect them in safety! (Click on the link)

But you really do not need a brain to be a problem solver. Even slime mold can do it! This is just a single celled creature (with multiple nucleus’s within), with no neurons, and yet it can learn, solve puzzles, and display advanced intelligent behavior! Watch this short TED video to see this for yourself.

More and more it seems as if intelligence is ever-present and universal. Life and intelligence seem like synonyms. We humans may have been gifted with an extraordinary amount of it, but in no way we are the only intelligent creature on this planet. Rather than seeing ourselves as masters we should view ourselves as guardians of the web of life. Our role may be better understood as protectors and preservers of the glorious intelligence that we find in every aspect of life around us.

Mahatma Gandhi

Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:

– I shall not fear anyone on Earth.
– I shall fear only God.
– I shall not bear ill will toward anyone.
– I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.
– I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.

– Mahatma Gandhi

Life need not be complicated. Mahatma Gandhi’s life shows us how powerful it can be when we put simple ideas as outlined above into practice. By following these simple truths, Gandhi was able to defeat the mighty British empire without any need for violence and gain freedom for his country. He also fought with his own countrymen to empower the poor and lower castes and he fought for women’s rights. His actions have helped transform an entire subcontinent and also inspired non-violent struggles all over the world.

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