28 Aug 2021 HYN Himalayan Yoga Academy
Meditation is necessary because it opens up the way to realize the potential of human consciousness . What is consciousness ? What is mind ? We talk of the body and we talk of the brain , but yoga speaks of mins and yoga speaks of consciousness as well . Human Consciousness is the all encompassing awareness , without any boundaries and distinctions . Mind is the manifest aspect of Consciousness which relates to the world , the environment , at the present time . Although modern psychology has divided the mind up into different categories : the conscious , the subconscious and the unconscious , yogis have described the mind as an attribute of consciousness , and
the consciousness as having four different stages of expressions and experience :
- jagrat , the awakened state , the wakeful state ;
- swapna , the dreaming state , a stage where you are neither awake nor asleep ;
- nidra , sleep , the unconscious ,
- Turiya , the state of inner effulgence in which you realize your being .
These are the four attributes of consciousness . Jagrat has been compared to the conscious , swapna to the subconscious , nindra to the unconscious , but I believe English does not have the proper words to define the actual states of consciousness , and these four states are only broad categories .
The great author Abhinav Gupta , who wrote two beautiful treatises on tantra , Tantra Loka and Tantra Sara , has described twenty –one states of consciousness . Each stage is different from the previous one . What does this indicate ? That our knowledge , our perception , our understanding of human consciousness , of human personality , of the human mind is very limited . It is a feat of analysis , logic and understanding if somebody , through years of study and research , can define twenty – one states of consciousness . This is the only one example of how deep you can go into the study of human nature .
We are talking of consciousness and you can give a shape to the consciousness in the formative years , you can give a shape to the awakened state of consciousness which relates to the outer world through the senses , through the mind , the indriyas . You can give a form to the state of consciousness which is in between the awakened and the dormant state – the dreaming state , but this dreaming state of consciousness .You can give it a shape , a form , an identity and this happens through the processes of pratyahara , dharana and dhyana . A beginning has to be made . Begin with the tools that you have , practice what you know with sincerity , dedication , and commitment . Practice what you know with the faith , sincerity and commitment to transform your attitude and outlook . Practice with sincerity to develop understanding of your nature and your child`s nature .
Human Consciousness For Children
In acient civilizations there used to be a method of knowing the nature of the child . At the age of eight , before being taught the practices of asanas , pranayama , and mudra , the child was put in a room in which different objects had been placed . People would watch to see which object the child was attracted to . When a child picked up the firdt objejct , the parents would get an idea of how the child was going to develop in the course of his life . There is a story about it . A rich person placed four items in the room : money ,gun , a rosary and a bottle of wine . He thought ,”If the child goes to pick the money he will become a big businessman , if the child picks up the bottle of wine I know he will become a sensual drunkard .” An eight – year old child went into the room , looked around , picked up the money and put it into his pocket , picked up the gun and put it in another pocket , picked up the bottle and drank it , picked up the rosary and walked out the door . The father said , “My God , he` s going to be a politician . “ Do not let this happen to your child . Give your child the opportunity to growling life with proper support and encouragement . Parents have to become the support group for the child . Parents have to provide the child with the opportunity to express his or her creativity .If we can do that , we will see a new sun shine over this world .