Who are you anyway? Yoga has the answer!
By Barbara Girijananda Hess
The first sutra in the Shiva Sutras answers this question, Who are you anyway? This sutra explains who you are deeply inside yourself at your deepest dimension. This sutra is pivotal in Svaroopa® Yoga, the yogic sciences I teach from.
Shiva Sutra 1:1 Chaitanyam-aatmaa: The Self is Consciousness-itself
Key Sanskrit terms:
Chaitanyam – Consciousness, alive, vibrating, enlivened
Aatmaa – Self
What is consciousness?
Consciousness is inherent beingness, the pure beingness that has always existed, and existed before anything existed. This goes back to the big bang. Have you ever thought about what banged? Yoga calls this Consciousness or SELF with a capital S.
Consciousness, primordial reality contracts concentrating himself into the form of the individual without ever loosing himself; Let me repeat that another way.
Consciousness concentrates himself into an extraordinary form of itself which is you. Consciousness is inherent in you. You are the whole of Consciousness in an individual form.
Inherent means existing in something as permanent and essential. Sutras deliver personal teachings. This sutra says you are the whole of Consciousness-Itself. Consciousness is your inherent divinity. You can take that very personally!
In this sutra 2 words are used to name this source, Aatmaa and Chaitanyam.
In essence both these words; Chaitanyam and Atmaa mean the same thing – your own Divine Self. However, they have been put together here in the one sutra for a reason so we will look at that.
Chaitanyam is the name given to Consciousness concentrating itself into a fully embodied, unique and individual form. You. Chaitanyam is enlivened embodied Consciousness. And you are that.
What does enlivened embodied Consciousness mean?
Chaitanyam is a conjugation of the word Chit or Chiti. Chiti has a number of translations but in this context it means Consciousness and in this context certain qualities of Consciousness are being emphasized. These are the qualities of vastness, all knowingness and all pervasiveness.
Chaitanyam, the conjugated term for consciousness is emphasizing the quality of Self knowingness.
This lets us know that as the Whole of Consciousness Itself, we have the capacity of knowing we are Consciousness-Itself. Self-knowingness. The essence of this sutra teaches us that we are the ONE REALITY, which is the source of all that exists and we have the capacity to know this. This is unique to human beings. We are the only form of the formless that has the ability to know that we know. Self-knowingness is so important. It allows us to grow our awareness of this ever-expanding energy of the universe, Consciousness-itself, within ourselves.
You contain the divinity of the entire world and you have the capacity to know this, seeing it in yourself and everyone and everything else.
Like water contracts to become ice, Consciousness contracts to become you. Consciousness is what you are made of. Ice is water inside and out. You are Consciousness inside and out.
Water is still water if it freezes and becomes ice or heats and becomes steam. It is still water in different forms. Consciousness concentrates and takes different forms. The Self is Consciousness concentrated taking form in uniqueness and individuality. There are different forms of consciousness just as water can have the different forms of ice and steam – they are still water.
So, us humans are concentrated Consciousness –our essence is not different from one another.
Kashmiri Shaivism is a tantric path meaning you recognize that everything is Consciousness, that everything is divine. You see the divinity in everyone and everything including your own self.
One way you can know this is through yoga meditation.
The purpose of yoga meditation is to help you come to know, experientially, who you are. The style of meditation I use and am authorized to teach is named Svaroopa® Vidya Meditation. It is based in Kashmiri Shaivism. The name of this meditation itself describes the purpose. It is the gateway to the experiential knowing of your inherent divinity, your own Self as Consciousness Itself.
Shiva Sutras 1.1 Chaitanyam-aatmaa: The Self is Consciousness-itself
Patanjali defines Yoga as Stilling of Your Mind
By Barbara Girijananda Hess
Yoga is the Stilling of Your Mind: This is a sutra from the Patanjali yoga sutras. Sutras are short phrases like single threads of more complex teachings. They give the essence of deep teachings in short concise phrases.
So, what is the term “yoga” referring to?
Yoga is the science of human development, brought from India to America about 120 years ago. Yoga is interwoven in the writings of great literates like Emerson and Thoreau. The growth of yoga practices laid the foundation for meditation. If it settles your mind into stillness, it’s a “yoga” is a pivotal teaching in the Patanjali yoga sutras. All yoga systems say it is an inward journey to Self-discovery.
So according to this sutra, only practices that quiet your mind can be called yoga. Yet anything that quiets your mind would qualify, and you already know how to do many of these types of things. Does drinking a warm cup of tea quiet your mind? What about watching a sunset or even having a glass of wine? They all qualify as yoga.
One of my first “yogas” was swimming. As a young adult I loved to swim, and looked for any opportunity to do so. I swam for the pure joy of being in motion in an environment that was quiet and solitary. As I got older, I realized this was a great way to quiet my mind.
My mind was always so busy. When I slipped into the water, it was as if I was telling my mind and body that it was time to retreat and take a break. But relying on water as an escape is not the type of stillness that this teaching is describing.
The sutra refers to a type of stillness that goes beyond simply having a quiet mind; this stillness is a deep feeling of well-being that is expansive. It is an inner experience of peacefulness, a quiet undercurrent of joy.
What does stilling of your mind mean?
By definition still is a deep silence or calm. Free from turbulence or commotion; peaceful; tranquil; calm: similar to a lake without waves or perceptible current.
Swimming, watching a sunset, watching a bear cub sleeping in a tree or even studying or performing activity to a point of exhaustion does quiet your mind. Even in yoga poses, the goal is the quieting of your mind. You know how to exhaust your body and mind in a busy day. That’s not the stillness recommended in this sutra. The stillness referred to in the sutra is a positive feeling of wellbeing that expands into an inner infinity; a quiet undercurrent of joy.
What are you stilling? The mind.
Yoga teaches that your mind is your most powerful tool. It’s even more important than your body. Yoga says the purpose of your mind, is to block your ability to look within to see your own divinity. But how does your mind do this? Your mind does this by creating an almost constant stream of thoughts.
Yoga Sutras 1.2 Yoga”s-citta-v.rtti-nirodhah; Yoga is the stilling of your mind’s activities.
These thoughts are like ripples on the surface of a lake. When the surface of the lake is all churned up, you can’t see anything below. Your mind uses these ripples, your constant stream of thoughts, to block your ability to look deeper within yourself. Yet your mind has a unique characteristic built into its function. The mind can stay focused looking externally at the world staying caught in the ripples of your life or it can pivot to look internally. When your mind focuses inside it is like a scuba diver exploring deep under the surface of the lake. When your mind dives deep it is turning internally to your essence.
When you meditate, your mind goes beyond the thoughts, the ripples on the surface of the lake. You go to the depth of the lake, the depth of your own beingness.
In yoga-based mediation, you still your mind so that you can access the deeper dimensions within.
Something very special happens when you still your mind. When you still the ripples of your mind, it settles into a peaceful, calm, state. You can experience the vastness that you are inside. Your busy mind keeps you from seeing your own Self, just like the ripples on the lake keep you from seeing the bottom of the lake bed. But once your mind stills, you can see all the way inside – this is meditation.
Yoga’s Lifestyle Changes Will Expand and Release your Full Potential
It all begins with an idea.
By Barbara Girijananda Hess
If you do yoga practices you will create noticeable changes in your lifestyle. These are trackable changes that the sage Patanjali mapped out thousands of years ago. In his 2nd chapter, sutras 33 through 45, the sage describes how your practices will gradually and naturally change the way you live in the world.
These changes are known as yoga’s lifestyle changes.
You may have chosen, at different points of your life, to make lifestyle changes. Perhaps you decided to start eating healthier, or to quit smoking. You recognized when you needed to make a change for the better.
Yoga does this for you naturally. Your practices open you to the experience of your deeper dimensions. When you experience the deeper dimensions of your own Self, you will begin to notice a natural “cleaning up of your act”.
Patanjali maps these lifestyle changes using the names Yamas and Niyamas. While they begin to happen naturally as a result of your practices, Patanjali is telling you to practice them intentionally.
Because the Yamas and Niyamas are lifestyle changes, you don’t have to take time out of your daily schedule to do them. You incorporate them as a lifestyle. If you are doing other practices these lifestyle practices will organically start to happen. It is part of the organic process of upliftment. Other yogic texts also outline these lifestyle practices. For the sake of this blog, I will be referencing Patanjali Sutras 33-45.
Yoga says you unleash the full power of your heart and mind when you do these practices.
Yama means to refrain from doing something; Practices on what not to do. The yamas are a guide on how you handle the world, and everything and everyone in it.
The Yamas are: non-harming (includes vegetarianism; non-lying (speaking only truth); non-stealing; disentangle yourself from sexually based identities and actions, celibacy; eliminate greed.
Niyama means don’t refrain, which means you actively do something you wouldn’t have thought of. Practices on what to do. Niyamas are how you, yourself, move through the world.
Th Niyamas are: purity; contentment; practice the hard stuff, tapas; study of the Self and chanting yogic texts; surrender to God.
A yogic lifestyle gives you clarity and focus, so that your Divine Essence shines through your heart and mind and out into the world.
These practices unleash the full power of your mind and heart. You show and live your full potential as you practice this yogic lifestyle. What is the promise or potential achieved when doing these practices?
Let’s take ahimsa, non-harming, for an example. As you master ahimsa, all others cease to feel hostility in your presence.
There are many examples of great leaders who have changed the world dynamics through ahimsa.
Gandhi characterized his practice of ahimsa as a science, and said: "I have been practicing with scientific precision nonviolence and its possibilities for an unbroken period of over 50 years." India’s independence was largely gained through his practice of ahimsa.
Martin Luther King was well known for his nonviolent practices in the civil war movement. He did not call himself a yogi but he lived his life and led the civil rights movement with a deep dedication to the spirit of ahimsa, or nonviolence.
I remember bowing and sending blessings with deep love and respect to the congregants in Charleston S.C. who had their fellow members shot at a prayer service. The first declaration that came from the leadership was the call for forgiveness. I felt the world pause because of their practice of ahimsa. I believe the movement to remove symbols of separation and judgement was wide sweeping partly as the example they set.
You might say, these are great leaders so of course they could lead a group. I say they are human just like everyone else who became great because of their practice. They released the greater power of their heart and mind through the practice of ahimsa.
None of us start great. We grow into our greatness.
The first of the Niyamas is purity. The promise or potential achieved when practicing purity is that you gain a greater understanding of the nature of the body, mind and senses leading to a constant cheerfulness. You are more ready to experience your own Self, divine essence when practicing purity.
When practicing the Niyamas, you are motivating yourself to do things above and beyond the standards of normal society. Many yoga practices focus on purity whether it be a series of poses or breathing practices. Repeating a mantra or chanting helps to purify your mind. One way I practice purity is in my home setting. For many years I have maintained a cyclical clearing of stuff from my home. I keep my environment de-cluttered and cheerfully give away things I no longer need. I clean regularly and keep my organization simple. I find while doing this practice of cleaning or “purifying” my environment, it naturally draws me to staying conscious of more pure eating and thinking patterns. As cheerfulness bubbles up, I recognize this is coming from my practice of purity and I stay conscious of purity in mind, body and environment. Practicing purity is a lifestyle for me ever evolving and involving.
These practices and lifestyle changes are available to everyone. It is a lifestyle practice which means you practice it throughout your life as you deepen into your own divinity. Practicing the yamas and niyamas will expand and release your full potential.