Life is a journey and journeys always have an unknown mysterious and exciting element about them. A journey is an exploration, a discovery about an unknown entity. The journey of life is also an exploration in that sense. We start this journey at birth when we do not know anything at all about the world, country, religion, situation, family or future we have entered into.
The only strength we possess at this time is that of faith and belief in all that we see around us. So our journey begins with faith. We end this journey with faith too, at death, as even death is an act of faith, a surrender to the unknown. So it can be said that faith and belief are the substratum of our lives. When we lose faith in something it dies in us and takes along with it some part of us as well, as something dies in us as well. In that case, it is important to guard and protect ones faith, belief and hope. For as long as they are alive in us we cannot die. The day hope dies, we die too.
And where does hope lie? Does it lie in wealth, status, luxury and comfort or does it lie elsewhere? If we examine ourselves we realize that Hope lies in one’s belief in oneself. Hope also lies in belief of others. In fact, Hope lies in the belief that we are not alone, we have not arrived here by accident. Hope lies in the belief that one’s life has a purpose which is profound beyond words. Hope lies in little acts of kindness. Hope lies in goodness.Hope lies in the heart. From the heart it percolates to the mind and permeates it. In the mind hope reveals itself as inspiration, love, joy, unity, peace, happiness and all their derivatives.
Disease is not only born in the body by bacteria and viruses. It is born in the mind too when hope, faith and belief die. Diseases born of the mind are somo-psychic and far more pervasive if they begin to affect the body. You can develop a vaccine for the virus or bacteria that invade the body but what is the vaccine for the virus that invades the mind. Along with hygiene and sanitization of the body, we also have to think about the hygiene and sanitization of the heart and mind.
The heart gets sanitized by simple acts of serve, love and give. As the love grows in your heart your heart becomes pure and you are inspired to serve and give. This brings about an immediate re-charging and re- energizing of your energy body and energy field. You are at once renewed with fresh energy which is filled with hope, faith and belief and the will to fulfil your dreams.
In order to sanitize your mind, so that no virus invades and destroys your mental equilibrium, you will have to turn to the subtle energy field of the heart. For, it is the heart alone, that can manage the mind and restore its true homogenous vibration. Whenever the negative influence of mind overpowers you, perform a simple small act of kindness. At once your mind will soften and correct itself. To manage the mind you need an outside agency, the mind cannot manage the mind. That outside agency is the heart. It is only the heart that can manage the erroneous and erratic tendencies of the mind. Awaken your heart if you want to be a master of your mind and experience its total potential.
What is disease? It is a state where your ease and comfort is disturbed, so it is called disease. Our ease and comfort are destroyed not just by physical discomfort but by mental and emotional discomfort as well. So we have to see ourselves not just as a physical body but as a mental and emotional body as well. Beyond these, there is the spiritual body that we are composed of.
Our exploration of life should thus not just be an outer one but an inner one as well. Know your Self. As you begin this inner exploration of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies that you are made up of, you will begin to recognize the underlying thread which runs through these four bodies. That thread is prana or energy. Together these five bodies constitute the totality of an individual. In Tantra and Yoga they are known as annamayakosha-physical body,pranamayakosha – energy body, manomayakosha- mental body, vigyanmayakosha- emotional body and anandamayakosha- spiritual body.
The underlying thread is pranayama kosha or pranic body which interweaves itself, thus permeating and energizing all the four bodies. Prana is energy.It is the etheric body; Ether is the last stage of matter beyond solid, liquid and gas. It is called bio plasma. Bio means life and plasma is that subtle state of matter when it is vibrating with ionized particles of both positive and negative energy.
In combatting disease rejuvenating the pranic field and restoring the balance of the positive and negative particles at once begin to show positive signs of recovery of health and well- being. When looking at how to deal with problems of health along with the physical body one must also find ways to treat this imbalance in prana.
Energy is greatly influenced by vibrations. This is because energy is vibration. You can say that energy is matter in vibration. This physical body is also matter vibrating at a particular frequency which can be measured in Hz. When this vibration drops due to any reason such as stress or tension, fatigue or chronic ailments then our immunity drops and we become vulnerable to infection and disease.
The mind too is matter which when in its optimum state vibrates at a particular frequency. When there is grief or fear, hatred or envy, pride or ego then the vibration of the mind drops and we are invaded by mental afflictions such as negativity and depression. There are many ways to come out of this disturbed state of mind. One can restore the vibration of the mind by simple acts of kindness and generosity. Gratitude for all that we have and compassion for the have-nots. These are techniques to heal the mind.
Every vibration has a sound and color. Grief produces a resonance in us which is its sound and it has a color too. This is why we are deeply affected by sound and color; just like the mind, the heart too has a vibrationary rate. The heart that is soft and tender and melts at another difficulty resonates with the sound of purity and is a golden heart. Such a heart lends a very high vibrationary rate to the individual and is able to resist the lowering of vibration by any virus of body or mind.
There are so many ways to re-charge and re-energize your vibration. In his age, the great rishi Patanjali gave the eightfold steps of yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Perhaps the man of that time was competent to follow those steps. Today not many of us can even complete the first step. But if one can, even one step is a sure and certain way to raise your frequency.
For the man of today, another great rishi of the modern age, Swami Sivananda, gave the ten steps “Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize, Be good, Do good, Be kind, Be Compassionate.”These are techniques for increasing your energetic vibration so that you live a happier, healthy balanced, harmonious, creative, positive and constructive life and thereby have a better quality of experience every moment of your day.
Along with the challenge we are facing of food and shelter we are also facing the challenge of how to remain happy. The mood swings we face constantly deplete our vibrationary power. In the course of twenty fours of our day how many mood swings do we have. Make a note of it and you will be surprised at the number. At one moment we are happy and at the next, we are sad and full of grief; or tense and fearful. Will this not affect our health and well-being? Of course, it will.
We all know and believe that we should be good and do good to others but are often unable to when negative vibrations overpower us. Our surroundings, our way of life all contribute to this invasion of negativity that we may find ourselves indespite our best efforts. At that time we may need some additional help to pull us out of the negative swirl or black hole that starts swallowing us.
One of the most effective and immediate ways in influencing energy is sound. This can be seen in how fast and greatly music influences our moods and responses. Who doesn’t relax and feel at peace and happy on hearing nice soulful music? At once you begin to flow with the vibrations of the music.
In order to influence the pranic field and restore its ratio count of positive and negative ions you need subtler sounds that can penetrate beyond the physical body to the otherkoshas or bodies that constitute our being. In yoga and tantra there is a profound study on the science of sound and its level of penetration. This study is known as the science of mantras.
Mantras are sound energy capsules. Some act as mild saridon or dispirin, others are stronger like anti-biotics, yet others are like cortisone and coramine or life-saving drugs. There are millions of mantras and each has a seer who heard that mantra in deep inner states of meditation. Mantras are realized, they are not the products of thought or the conscious mind. Although countless and innumerous, each mantra has its own power and efficacy and can never fail in producing the desired result.When activated they penetrate deep into the layers of your being sanitizing, purifying and oxygenating each one of them. Thus a transformation is felt in ones total well-being.
There are mantras that overcome fear, stress, anxiety, depression and all sorts of negative emotions that often take a hold on us. Maha Mrtyunjaya mantra allays difficulties of every kind. The Siddha kunjika mantra which I call the positivity mantra attracts positivity in all dimensions of our life. The Mahamari mantra ” Jayanti Mangala Kali Bhadrakali Kapalini Durga Kshama Shivaa Dhaatri Svaha Svadha Namostute” is a Durga mantra to bring one out of the clutches of a deadly disease. It can be chanted for protection from any disease that assails one-self and the world at large.
For the man of tomorrow, whose problem is the mind, Swami Satyananda, a great rishi of our times, advocated Mantra and Seva. By practising these at once the pranas are balanced and the peace and happiness, faith and belief are restored. You can practice mantra anywhere at any time except when you are driving. Even when you are sick and lying in bed you can repeat the mantra; this will aid the healing process by rejuvenating the koshas or sheaths that compose your entire being whether physical, mental, emotional, psychic, karmic or spiritual.
From the mightiest galaxy down to the tiniest bacteria or virus, everything in this creation emerges out of spandan or vibration. Since we are born out of vibration it is but natural that vibrations have a deep and immediate effect on us. A mere sound vibration can shatter glass or start an avalanche. In the same way a sound vibration can release us from stress and anxiety and bring us peace and calm.
Today there is a branch of medicine that is called quantum therapy which speaks of energetic medicine. Mantras do much the same thing by generating a specific energy field as per the requirement and need of the individual. Energy is all pervading and thus has a far reaching effect as it is able to penetrate into the deepest recesses of our being. Just as water irrigates every bit of the earth finding its way into the darkest corners of the earth where even light cannot reach, in the same way sound energy reaches the innermost dimensions where nothing else can reach, filling us up with positive healing vibrations until we are fully irrigated and nourished.
Saundarya Lahari is a most efficient mantra shastra revealed by Adi Guru Shankaracharya. It gives many prayogas or techniques by which one can overcome afflictions of every kind. It covers all the suffering that man may face whether adi- bhautik, physical, adi-daivik, psychic or adhyatmik, spiritual. In the mechanical age in which we live, it is mantra that can take us out of the gravity that keeps pulling us down and bring about an ascent of awareness.
At this time invoking the grace of Shakti or the Cosmic Energy from which everything emanates, even a virus or bacteria, will allow her compassion to flow to us, which is what mankind needs at this time. We need kindness and compassion, love and empathy, unity, devotion, surrender. In short we need Bhakti. It is only Bhakti that can save us from ourselves. Food alone does not feed us. It is love that feeds us too. It is love we need.
Anyone can give us food but who will give us love? It is love that will allow us to flourish and prosper. In the absence of love, food is not tasty, the home is not happy, the air feels stale, and we become strangers to each other and eventually to ourselves. What we need is a Prem Avatar, who can awaken our hearts and show us how to Love. Let us pray that we get lucky!
Along with all types of sanitization that are recommended we should also upgrade ourselves a bit and sanitize our hearts and minds as well! Perhaps that is one of the lessons we can learn from a great tragedy that has occurred for human life on planet Earth.
Namo Narayan