The fruit of silence is the union with the Divine
“The fruit of yoga is samadhi-
the pinnacle of yoga.” We hear this, often, in yoga. It intrigued me; I never
understood what it meant while growing up in India. Our school field trips included
samadhis of revered gurus- often, their
tombstone area. Naively, Samadhi
connoted those resting places. What is the point of being a yogi if the goal is
“this” Samadhi?. Samadhi signifies more than we could comprehend. I find it hard to
explain this as the final stage of union with divine in a yoga class where many
seek physical fitness. It is more than fitness; it is beyond wellness and
exaltation. A similar yogic term that intrigued me was brahmacharya. Our convenient
translation of brahmacarya to “moderation”
did not justify the depth of this yama (commitment to nature as defined by
Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras). Brahmacarya and samadhi are related; we could practice it; we could live it- here
and now.
In Indian tradition brahmacaris
were celibates even though the ancient Hindu Ashram system defined brahmacarya as the first stage of human
life based on age (other stages being grihasta,
householder; vanaprasta, forest
dweller; and sanyasa, renunciation).
I always wondered why brahmacarya
cannot be practiced in family; in friendships; in dating; in spousal bonds;
parent-child and teacher-student relationships. To address this deeper one need
to understand the roots of the word: brahma
means divine and carya means stay or
move. Collectively it becomes move with the divine or stay with the divine. If
divine is love; living that love is brahmacarya.
What is that divine love? I borrow the definition of love from late Pope
(Saint) John Paul: Love is free, total, faithfull and fruitful. This love
emanate from faith and prayer. As mother Theresa puts it, “the fruit of silence
is prayer” When you are on the yoga mat listening to your breadth; submitting
your strengths, weaknesses, imperfections, dreams and belongings; listening to
your heart with love, compassion, service, peace and happiness you are moving
with the divine. When you do not steal (astheya),
kill (ahimsa), do not demand more
than what you are eligible (aparigraha),
speak the truth, and do not misuse of a relationship (opposite of love), you
are in the realm of divinity; and close to it when we follow the attributes of that
love.
Sama means equal; dhi means reflection. Samadhi also means a balance of
happiness and sadness; it’s a balance of masculinity and feminity; it’s a
balance of creativity and retrospection; it’s a balance of sun (ha) and moon (tha) in you. It’s in the balance we live with what have been given
to us. The fruit of silence is the music of your breath- an intelligent music that
does not have any parallels (Hathayoga
prathipika, 1:45). This intelligence is the beginning of your journey to
good karma, brahmacarya and samadhi.
Jay
(I would love to hear your thoughts)
are you saying that the music of one's breath is samadhi? I didn't get that...
ReplyDeleteJoshi
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ReplyDeleteNo Joshi.
ReplyDeleteThe music- anahatha laya- is the beginning of the process. In silence, we listen to the music and its nuances. Breath helps one to understand the body better. The process of yoga, physiologically, is to streamline the breath. When you stretch, bend, flex...we are trying to remove whatever blocks the breath (we call it cleansing the body, streamline prana flow, flush out "toxins" from nadis (energy channels. It is the beginning of wellness in all dimensions.
Second: breath helps one to understand the love and compassion bestowed upon us. It is beginning of the nostalgic movement to "home"
In silence, the breath (the intelligence of the body) define problems and find solutions for it. One will move towards a balance- Sama dhi
Hope this helps.
Hi Jay:
ReplyDeleteYour article, "The fruit of silence is the union with the Divine" is as intriguing as it is profound. Silence in our heart and mind is not easy to understand because of the tremendous amount of chatter that clouds every waking moment of our present-day existence. Depending on where we live, that intrusive noise permeates even our sleep.
I value the silence that should be the foundation of the yoga practice. The yoga space should be free of distractions such as chatter, cell phones, abusively dropping or picking up of mats, especially when practice is already in progress.
You mentioned the youthful excursion samadhis to the tombstones/burial grounds of gurus. I find myself walking some cemetery grounds reading headstones and wondering about the lives that once walked this earth. It may sound morbid, but I really appreciate the sound of silence.
Thanks for Sharing, Ozzie
ReplyDelete