Link to the Show / Show NotesHatha Yoga prepares the mind and body for meditation. In meditation we connect to our deeper Self and balance the five elements in this way. We connect to the Universe (Ether) through the breath (Air). Deep breath slows, deepens and stabilizes the mind and active emotions (Fire). With the passions controlled we can observe the senses and connective emotions (Water) with detachment; upon which the body becomes stable (Earth). A stable body in meditation is one of awareness. Since we started with breath connecting to Ether, higher consciousness will be observing the thoughts and mind/body events.
KARMA AND THE FIVE ELEMENTS
According to Vedic thought everything is an expression of pure God energy, pure God consciousness. As stated above, all physical bodies arise out of this balanced God state. But as a result of past Karma and the Samsaras (mental impressions) that accompany them, the five elements arrange themselves to create the body that reflects the appropriate person, animal, or whatever. This karmic energy points to the lessons that need to be learned in that lifetime.
For example, a person who needs to work through anger problems in this lifetime will inherit a body, mind and upbringing that will challenge them to confront their anger and hopefully transcend it. In the case of anger, the element of Fire will likely predominate. An Astrological chart reveals this. It is a portrait of the soulÃ??s Karma and the pattern of illusion in which we may become trapped. As Karma means Ã??actionÃ??, we may mistake ourselves to be our actions, not our essence. This is Maya, the illusion that we are merely an acting, mind/body experience.
THE THREE GUNASIn the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains the nature of Maya, in Ch.14 v.5:
Ã??Sattwa or goodness, Rajas or activity, and Tamas or inertia; these three Gunas of mind bind the imperishable soul to the body, O Arjuna.Ã??
The three Gunas arethe three qualities of nature. The term Guna means Ã??that which binds,Ã?? as each Guna is like a separate strand, which when placed together form the rope of Maya. They are what bind us to the illusion that we are merely a physical/mental creature. All matter and energy consists of the three Gunas in different quantities. They are the component qualities of the physical, mental and spiritual worlds. The 3 Gunas are:
Tamas: Stability, inertia, ignorance, attachment. Tamas binds through inertia and our tendency to cling to situation and form. Best expressed through the physical body as the desire for physical life, which provides the vehicle for spiritual development.
Rajas: Activity, passion, desire. Rajas binds through motivation and our desire to experience pleasure. Best expressed through the mind and emotions as the desire for happiness and intellectual stimulation.
Sattwa: Harmony, knowledge, peace. Sattwa binds us to the truly good things of the world and as such to worldly happiness, which is also a barrier to final liberation. Best expressed as the Soul qualities of peace, contentment, love, forgiveness, etc.
Each of the Gunas has a proper and necessary function. Tamas provides the solidity and stability of the physical world; for us, that means our bodies. Solid objects have a preponderance of Tamas, especially when at rest. Rajas maintains the mind and emotions, animating the physical world through need and preference. When the body needs to eat or move, Rajas gets us moving. Sattwa looks after the higher mind and Soul and its progress, compelling us to learn about ourselves and to seek completion.
But each of these attributes also act as obscuring factors as their expressions show our projected illusory limitations, thus forming the rope of Maya. When Tamas becomes a mental or emotional state, the intellect becomes stagnant, which brings clinging and ignorance. An excessively Rajasic body will bring exhaustion and instability. Neither Rajas nor Tamas is healthy for higher learning. Higher learning requires a Sattwic mind. If suddenly you become sleepy as you read this you would stop learning, as the heaviness of Tamas overcomes your attention. If suddenly you became hungry or sexual or angry, also you would stop learning, as Rajas would compel you to act and disturb the mental peace necessary for learning.
All beings are under the sway of the three Gunas, even enlightened beings. The difference is that enlightened beings are not identified with the Gunas. A Saint will generally exhibit a harmonious, balanced and peaceful nature, those things associated with Sattwa. Yet the Saint will be established in the Self, not identified with the qualities of Sattwa.
Saints have a preponderance of Sattwa.Humans have a preponderance of RajasAnimals and other Subhuman creatures have a preponderance of Tamas.
To illustrate how the Gunas typically work: This morning, as your alarm clock went off there was an excess of Tamas. Your body and mind were heavy and perhaps you had just mistaken yourself in a dream as being your real self. Sleep, inertia, and delusion are Tamasic. As you started to become motivated and got up from the bed, Rajas was dominant, as Rajas is activity. The need to go to work to earn money so you can have things that give you pleasure and that you enjoy is also Rajasic. Worldly pursuits are mainly Rajasic in nature as they are primarily self-centered. As you read this, in search of knowledge and understanding beyond pleasure seeking and accumulation, Sattwa dominates (hopefully!).
Most of the time we are Rajasic, striving towards Sattwa, trying not to be pulled down by Tamas. Our experiences take on the quality of the predominant Guna. Even though waking from sleep is generally Tamasic, Saints, for example, awaken in a Sattwic way. Our spiritual practices, or lack thereof, determine whether we are growing toward higher knowledge and harmony, descending into darkness and delusion, or simply maintaining our outward desire driven existence.Either way, our true Self is always there, unspoiled and causeless, silently and peacefully existing beneath all actions and beyond the qualities of the Gunas.
Play in your Iphone
RSS Feed