Guiding Light: Yoga — a union with the higher self

Yoga has taken the world by storm, with the global market value pegged at approximately $70 billion, that’s a billion with a B! And with the pandemic, even more people have turned to yoga. Classes beam into living rooms via Zoom, and all you need is a yoga mat and an open mind! It all started with some very cryptically eloquent sutras by Maharishi Patanjali, one of the most popular ones of which is ‘Yoga Chitti Vritti Nirodha’, which roughly translates into “Yoga is when all the fluctuations of the mind cease”. Yoga is a union with the higher self, and that is only possible when the distractions in the material plane wane, allowing us to step out from the picture, and step into the role of the impassive observer.

And if you thought the Maharishi wrote tomes about the latest fad of Vinyasa flow in Yoga, then true to the terse style of our ancient masters, all he really said was “Sthira Sukham Asanam”, which translates into “The posture that you hold should be steady and comfortable.” All of yoga therefore is a preparation for this higher states of consciousness that seekers in our culture have aspired for millenia, and the gateway to this holy grail is preparing the body and the mind by following the 8 limbs of yoga that the Maharishi prescribed as part of the Ashtanga Marga.

As we approach the popular festival of Nag Panchami, which venerates Nagas (snakes), it is worth noting that Maharishi Patanjali was a Naga, one whose wisdom and knowledge has changed the lives of millions across the world. Snakes also have a traditional association with the kundalini shakti, which is supposed to reside in a coiled up form at the base of the spine, very much like a snake, rising to the Sahasrara, or crown chakra, as one of the symptoms of enlightenment.

Another important association is that of Rahu and Ketu, the head and tail of the serpent, which are the shadow planets, or the nodes of the moon that traverse the heavens in a retrograde motion, opposite to that of the other planets. Naga Panchami is also a very potent day to perform any worship or rituals which provide relief from afflictions related to Rahu and Ketu, of course under the guidance of an accomplished pandit.

So whether it’s your interest in yoga that you want to pursue, venerating the tradition of the Nagas or seeking relief from astrological afflictions, mark the Tuesday, August 2 in your diaries, as we celebrate Nag Panchami. Sarvam Shivamayam!

Published on: Saturday, July 30, 2022, 06:00 AM IST