The Science of the Subtle

When you go seeking after knowledge of any kind, sooner or later you get to a point where what you are dealing with becomes subtle. 

Physicists & chemists have been studying the physical world for several centuries. But in the last hundred years, they have been studying Quantum Physics which deals with the subtle. This relatively new science has taken us closer to the truths of the physical world than we were ever before. 

The study of physiology and medicine systems is very old. But with Yoga and Pranayama being re-introduced into popular culture, we find that it is the science of the subtle and gives us clearer answers to health questions. 

The world of business management and leadership has been around from the dawn of the first civilizations. However, in the recent times, we have been able to dive deep into the human psyche to understand and decipher how people tick. This is the realm of the subtle. Those who study, learn and practice the subtle arts of behavior management, be it their own behavior or that of the others, find more success than those who do not. 

The intense study of Cosmology in the past several decades has lead us to realize that 96% of the Universe is made up of something we do not understand yet. We have been able to explain only 4% of the known Universe to our own satisfaction. We have conveniently named the rest Dark Matter and Dark Energy to denote that we do not know what it is yet. Investigations into this, I feel strongly, will lead us deeper into the world of the subtle. 

The answers always lie in the Science of the Subtle!

Nirvana Shatkam

When you start taking Adi Shankara's Nirvana Shatkam seriously and start applying in your day today life, there is a lot of release from the tensions of the daily rut. However there is a world of difference in understanding the Nirvana Shatkam at the intellectual level and in internalizing it and making it completely transactional as a part of personal reflex. 

So how do you make it transactional? Well, though the Shatkam says that I am not the 5 koshas, all I have access to at this time as a normal human is the annamaya kosha, the praanamaya kosha and the manomaya kosha. The Vigyanamaya Kosha and Aanandmaya Kosha are still ideas to me. So I keep stressing at the first three levels that I am not these. Neither am I the Saptadhaatu, the shadripus, the four purushaarthas. The list of what I am not is in the Shatkam. I am Shiva. That is an idea still at the intellectual level. But that intellectual level is exactly what I am not. 

With the Grace of the Paramaatma and my own constant practice, the shackles must slip away. Is this how it works?

When the time is ripe, the master will appear and student will discover !

Prayanam - for fighting cold weather

The temperatures in Riyadh during early mornings is presently hovering around 12 degree centigrade. Everything is so cold in the morning. The floor, the clothes, the utensils in the kitchen... brrrr... even with hot water in the wash basin, once you dry your hand, they become cold almost immediately.

 

But there is relief. When I was doing bahya pranayam the other day, I got sudden and lasting relief from the cold. My palms warmed up immediately and I felt the warmth spreading through my body. You have to try this. So what exactly do you do in Bahya Pranayam?

 

Sit on the floor, in sukhasan, siddhasan or padmasan. This is a given. Check out basic asanas if you like.

 

Step 1. Breath in normal

Step 2. Breath out forcefully to exhale all air from lungs and abdomen.

Step 3. Then apply the three bandhas as follows.

   a. Jaalandhar Bandha - Press your chin to your throat so that the throat cavity is closed

   b. Uddiyana Bandha - Pulling the stomach inwards as much as you can

   c. Moola Bandha - Muscular action of pulling the anus and lower abdomen inwards

Step 4. Hold in this exhaled position as long as you can hold the breath.

Step 5. Release the three Bandhas one by one [Jaalandhar, Uddiyan, Moola] in that order.

 

This may read as many complicated steps. Believe me, it is not all that difficult. You can get the technique with a bit of practice, in a week or so many times. Then it is the matter of doing it regularly to perfect it.

 

So now, to drive away the early morning cold, try bahya pranayam a few times, of course along with the other pranayam. :)

 

 

Mediocre But Arrogant

It all started when I was working for a soft drink manufacturer. I mean, this urge to go "do an MBA". So I joined the local B-School. They said it was one of the best. After all, I had gone through a written test, a group-discussion, an interview, you know, the works. Then after 5 months my company promptly transferred me to a different city. I packed all my luggage but the MBA program and left for a new city.

There, I settled down and went on with life. The thought of a quarter done MBA would bother me once in while. Then one fine day I applied for a distance education MBA course. Some institution was giving it real cheap. When I got started, I found that, that was what it was. Really cheap! So I chucked that as well.

The new city was a happening place. So life went on. Then I changed jobs. The MBA bug wouldn't let me be. Finally one day, I quit my job. I thought, it is "now or never". I told the chief at the company where I was working that I was going to "do an MBA". He tried to talk me out of it. He said, "No one needs an MBA. No one uses it anyways, even if one does it. I dont have an MBA!. An MBA is just an "insurance" '

I was mediocre but I guess not arrogant. So I told him that I had wanted to do it for a long time and he must please wish me luck.

After a long wait, after belling the CAT, some mock interviews, and a real interview, I got a letter asking me to come and join a much coveted MBA program.

Today, I am almost through with my MBA. I am still mediocre but , arrogant? Maybe not...

So am I a complete MBA? One is left wondering...