India - more than just a nation

India is one society that can’t be understood with normal sense and lens. If you are visiting Indian subcontinent and see the beauty of nature on the beaches of Goa, Cultural flavors and complexities in Rishikesh, Haridwar etc you might conclude that India is one of the most beautiful countries. If you are carrying the first world mentality, arriving to change the world for better, to serve the thirdworld countries then poverty, illiteracy, slums, filth and an indication for your need to change this country is what you will see. 

Samyak Yoga Ashram, India

India is neither fully systematic, Software-hub nor filthy society. India is not a physical entity. Unlike any other country in the world, India or Bharata (the name of this land) is more than a place. India is a search, a quest and an eternal journey of the humanity. 

Every nation is measured by the way it handles the poverty, the material growth of individuals and the society in large, the wealth acquired by the nation in order to provide enough facilities to the citizens of that particular nation. 

India is one such nation, perhaps the only nation in which billions of people since thousands of years have completely sacrificed every material happiness for the sake of eternal consciousness, for the sake of Samadhi, for the sake of complete happiness. It is not that we did not have the ability to have enough wealth. We had so much wealth that the popularity of our wealth had been attracting the invaders from every corner of the world since centuries. But we never worried of losing the wealth. This exists in the blood and veins of the minds in this society. 

India never worshipped the physical power, the strength to dominate others or the richness that can differentiate people. We worshipped Ashoka, the king who transformed as Monk, Vishwamitra the king of all to be the Yogi of all, the Buddha, Patanjali and so on. 

India is light. India is an effort of every heart to enlighten the light. India is not a space outside but inside. India with all the difficulties and complexities is the hope to have refined actions with sublime emotions. 

Be mindful when you are in India. Try to be more open. India has its own problems, struggles, errors in systems and so on. These superficial layers might hide the essence of what this nation has been offering. Make sure that you touch the depth of India. If you get the soul of India, you get the soul of yourself as India is the expression of a blossoming flower. 

Yogi Ganesha - Tips to be a Successful Yoga Teacher and Leader

Lord Ganesha is an interesting, perhaps the most interesting idols ever created in the history of mankind. Generally, It would be hard to imagine a God, an idol of God with a big belly and elephant face. A funny God! Nobody, apart from the Yogis / Spiritual practitioners would have dared to create, visualize a God that looks funny. You can't make a joke on the Gods in general and here you have a God whose appearance too looks funny. 

This is why, the wise men always say that you see based on the lens you have. You see what you want to see. We need a complete different lens to understand the world of Spirituality. 

Coming back, what's special about Ganesha? Why is he designed the way he is? 

Yogi Ganesha - The Teacher to Future Leaders!

Ganesha  is the combination of two words in Sanskrit. GANA & ISHA, where inGana means the group and Isha is the leader. Ganesha, therefore is the leader of the group. The image (or Idol) shows symbolically the qualities of a successful leader. 

1. BIG HEAD - THINK BIG

The big head of Ganesha is symbolically telling us to think big, dream big in order to become a legendary leader. A leader can foresee something which other can't. Your vision about your future is one of the deciding factors of your success. 

As a Yoga Teacher, have a vision of something that might look crazy now for every one, but a dream that can drive your everyday, your passion and make your life purposeful. 

2. BIG EARS - LISTEN MORE

Be attentive towards every member of your group. A leader, contrary to the popular belief that he should talk, should listen more to understand the pros and cons, situations and suggestions from the team members. 

As a Yoga Teacher be attentive to every student. Listen to them and listen to fellow Yoga teacher and your teacher too. 

3. SMALL EYES - CONCENTRATION, SHARPNESS

Be sharp in finding out the problems. Your concentration should stay longer than that of others. Be focused even at times the members of your team might be distracted. 

You might be popular, getting rich by teaching Yoga or becoming flexible every day. But nothing will distract you from the passion that you possess i.e. your teaching, spreading yoga so beautifully that every student in the Shala should leave feeling filled. 

4. BIG BELLY - DIGEST GOOD & BAD, CULTIVATE CONTENTMENT

As a leader, you should have the ability to digest the good and bad experiences of the team, of its members and yours too. You are not supposed to get high on success and low on failures. Practice of Contentment is one of the most significant factors a leader should always keep in mind. 

As a Yoga teacher, for example, you might be appreciated by someone taking your class. But when he/she appreciates, its his/her opinion about your class. They might not have taken a lot of Yoga classes before or they had bad yoga teachers. The same is applicable to criticisms too. If some one criticizes your class after the class, its their opinion about your class. It can't be a judgment. They are bound to have their opinion and you can take or leave the opinions which is dependent on you. Therefore, you should be able to digest different opinions and shouldn't let those opinions of others influence your pattern of thinking. 

5. TRUNK - FLEXIBILITY

The trunk of Ganesha represents flexibility. A leader should adapt flexibility in his approach. Your plan designed to face a particular situation might not be handy at times. You might have to look at the situation with a new approach or change your understanding. A leader should be prepare to get changed to the situations without distracting from the principles. 

A yoga teacher too should be flexible physical as well as psychologically too. Physical flexibility helps you in demonstrating the postures while the psychological and intellectual flexibility will enable you to understand the life integrally and yields success. 

6. MOUSE - FIND THE STRENGTHS EVEN IN THE WEAKEST.

Mouse is one of the most ignored animals if not the least. Perhaps, there is no civilization that has given a better place to the mice. Hence, taking mouse as a symbol of least, small, weak animal, Ganesha has made him the vehicle. A leader is the one who can see the strength in the weakest too in the group. Every team member will have his own strengths and weakness. A leader should be able to use the strong sides of every member to the most to bring on the best. 

If you're looking forward to create your own yoga studio for example, this quality is something that is a must for you. Instead of looking for a best team for your yoga studio, think on bringing the best out of the team that you already have. Look at the best sides of every one you have and find the ways to get them refined. 

7. SNAKE AND MOUSE - TEAM FIRST, ENMITY NEXT 

The most decisive factor of a leader is bringing the concept of "Team first." Every body in the group will have their own ideas and want to implement often. As they do not get the priorities, the ego of individuality arises and decreases the growth rate. We might differ in our ideologies, but united for the sake of the team and when it comes to bring the best of the team, individuality will not have its place. This is the idea behind keeping snake and mouse together working for one leader, Ganesha. 

As a Yoga teacher you will prioritize the things and the your students come first in your list of priorities and all the conflicts, personal or professional problems (you will have a few at any given point of time) do not come into the picture when you enter the class. The students, yoga class stand first and everything else next. When you want to inspire your students and spread happiness around you can not carry a baggage to the class and expect a fantastic class.

Click here to see "What should my students carry after my Yoga Class?

Every time we worship Ganesha, we are supposed to meditate on the qualities that he teaches by being Ganesha and inculcate the qualities every day. This is the real worship of any God leading to the realization of Universal Consciousness. 

I am Responsible of My Universe Inside Out

Our generation has been tremendously successful in understanding some of the most subtle secrets of nature and have benefited out of them. In the journey, often we might have thought that we are so independent, capable of achieving so many things that our ancestors have never thought off. 

But often, the chaos in life, helplessness at different situations have led us to feel more dependent and weak. Often in the race of achieving and being independent, we have achieved less and become more dependent. Hence, what is the secret of nature? who and how are we? are we independent and can make our own choices in the life or is it just an illusion of freedom? Does fate decide everything?

In the context of Karma, a beautiful metaphor of cow is often used to explain the subject we are discussing now. A cow is tied to a tree with a long rope and allowed to eat the beautiful grass that is grown near by the tree. The Cow can make all the choices on how and what to eat and the way to enjoy. But it has to be within the specified boundary of tied rope. It can roam everywhere within the radius and can't go out of the radius. 

AREN'T WE INDEPENDENT THEN?

No! Absolutely not. The idea of complete independence in the way we most often understand is an illusion. We are not independent at all. A simple example shows it clear. I bought a new phone and it's beautiful and I own it. But the bitter reality is "It is not mine". The payment I made is to use the phone forever. I own the phone I bought can be explained that I have the right to use it forever. 

The idea of using the waves to talk to each other was an imagination of a mind which was the foundation of the phones. Then comes the transformation in mettlurgy science which has contributed in the creation of different metals. Then, the network towers, so on and so forth. My few bucks can't really pay for all these ideas, efforts and dreams. Hence, I do not own my phone in a literal way, but I own it to use it, of course forever. 

ARE WE DEPENDENT ON OTHERS 

This too is a an illusion. Nobody is dependent on others. We are born to be free and absolute freedom finds it hard to be dependent on anything. 

I am Responsible of My Universe

SO, WHAT'S THE TRUTH?

My search for Spiritual Guru in India

The human mind is in quest of finding the real purpose of being here on the planet earth. It has always been our endeavor, be it in any civilization to know the root, the source of happiness, the reason behind all the miseries and to make the lives better every day. In this journey, India being one of the oldest civilizations has been pioneer in finding answers which seem to be more closer to the reality. With its different perspectives, popularly known as "schools of Philosophies" India has been trying to explore the reality behind the fabric of the world in deeper ways. 

All the explorations, the religious or spiritual texts when they are trying to put forth the fabric of the universe, the understanding does not seem to be easier. Hence, the journey of finding "the Guru" begins. A guru, the master who might have known, experienced better than the us would explain, show and guide us in the path. The position of a "Guru" in the path of spirituality plays a larger role than anything else. 

Hence, the path of spirituality or otherwise can be termed as "path of inner journey" needs a Guru. 

Follow your heart to find your Light - Samyak Yoga

But, here comes the thin line and the danger of losing the whole essence of the practice. 

Pregnancy Yoga: Pregnant with Enlightenment

When there is a new poetry striving to be born, to take form a poet experiences a feeling of richness, a fullness, an expansion and an extension about to take shape. He feels feminine. It happens with all the creative arts. It is exactly like a pregnancy of a woman. 

Pregnancy is more than just carrying a baby

Pregnancy is an expansion, a richness that takes its space with the new life taking shape in you. There is a fullness where there was an emptiness. Where there was a poverty now it is filled with richness. It is an extension of your own existence that you can nurture, nourish and awaken your own love and affection. Women feel completeness which can not be compared to anything with the pregnancy. It is carrying a baby. It is a process of transformation that slowly develops a new being in you. The existence of a new life in you has the ability to build awareness in you, to transform you and infuse positivity in you. It brings the life in your life. 

Moon days and Ashtanga Yoga Practice

What is the significance of Full moon days and New moon days and why the Ashtanga Yoga is not practiced during those days?

It is the tradition of ancient wisdom of India that they are not taught during the moon days. They are termed as “Anadhyapana” (days with absence of lessons from the Master). As these moon days will have their influence on human system, it will not be a balanced perspective as it will be otherwise. It does not mean, negative / positive. The students will not be able to digest the new lessons during these days. Hence, new lessons are not taught and besides, there are a special rituals (mainly fire ceremonies) performed by the teachers and students during these days. You need to have a balanced inner system for any knowledge intake. 

The only thing I need for Yoga Life

There are only a few fields wherein this beautiful word "Practice" is used. For example, Doctors do not say that they work, but they practice. It is a profession which requires every day practice. The same is applied for the law experts too. 

The beauty is here. This is the same word used for yoga too. It's Yoga practice (abhyaasa in Sanskrit)! Even if you teach, in the reality, you practice the teaching of Yoga.