WHO WAS PATANJALI

Today this modern world reads, thinks and does all kind of yogic kriya’s and recognizes the importance of yoga in our daily life. However very few know who he was and what was his lineage. Some regard that he was born 150 years before Christ and some regard him that he lived 1500 years before that but they all agree that he was greatest exponent and compiler of yoga aphorism.

It is said that he was son of Rishi Angira and his mother name was Gonika. Gonika was very well versed with yoga principles and wanted worthy son who was capable of accepting her knowledge of yoga. One day when Gonika was bathing and offering water to Sun, being incarnation of adishesha; he appeared in handful of water held by her. She was surprised when this snake transformed into a man with folded hands. He pleaded her to accept him as his son.

Nothing can be verified about all these tales of Patanjali's birth and his likely domicile hence it symbolizes likeliness of his coming from a totally different sphere to give knowledge of yoga to the people of this earth. Some say he was born in India previously known as jambudwipa but for some his abode was not earth but ethereal and celestial abode. The most believed story is he was incarnation of adishesha. who had seven hoods. There is no doubt that with spirituality and transcendence of highest order, he had power to assume human form and turn again into spirit after giving his knowledge to the people.

His childhood was also extraordinary as he could communicate with people the moment he was born. The intensity of his mind was such that not only he could see pass, present and future but argued any topics of conversation with vigor among contemporary sagas, rishis and intellectual of his time with fluency revealing accurately the things of the ancient past and immediate future.

His contribution was not restricted to yoga aphorisms but was also master and great scholar of Sanskrit language. He refined this language and laid down rules of Sanskrit grammar which gave power to this language becoming more accurate, delicate, effective and creative. He married with a maiden called lolupa, whom he found in a hollow of a tree on mountain called Sumeru considered as the celestial mountain of enlightenment and lived to ripe old age. Beyond this nothing is known about him and whatever that is known, it is mired in myth

Given that he lived in the age of Vedas, he identified all the knowledge and compiled into sutras or threads presented in the form of aphorisms called Yoga Sutras widely recognized throughout ages. It is the finest example of presentation of sutras in aphorism style. There are total four chapters and 195 phrases easy to understand and memorize. There are fifty one sutras in Sadhana Pada, Fifty five in Vibhuti Pada, Thirty four in Kaivalya Pada and the balance in Samadhi Pada. Each chapter gives details about how one can master his feelings and thoughts particularly Sadhana Pada is important from practice point of view. In this chapter Patanjali stress eight limbs of yoga which an individual can practice to get higher level of awareness. This practice translates into mental power which is written in Vibhuti Pada. Kaivalya Pada is again about liberation one can achieve through yoga and lastly Samadhi Pada is the description of psychological state attained through enlightenment process.

There is uncertainty about which chapter he wrote himself as there is difference between the languages in these chapters also some may doubt about authenticity of these aphorism itself. But many people affirm the unity and the coherency in all the chapters taken together. Hence it is difficult to resolve this authenticity debate. What ever that is written every body agrees that all these chapters have great degree of homogeneity and consistency at all levels. Also what was previously an obscure and long drawn out abstract knowledge, Patanjali summarized it in an easy and practical way validating this knowledge through lives and experiences of practitioners making it an extremely practical manual for spiritual development and advancement. It is framework capable of gaining inner tranquility and attaining spiritual realization.

SAHASTRAR CHARKRA OR CROWN CHAKRA THE GATEWAY TO INFINITY

This is the seventh and the last chakra situated in the crown of the head. The name sahastrar stands for thousand and chakra stands for the convergence of one thousand important nerves flowing through our body. Intersecting with each other and forming huge plexus called brain. The body parts are attached to brain through nerves running all over the body making us conscious of all that is happening before us. It is also called lotus with one thousand petals. The bringing of consciousness at this chakra leads our awareness to infinity thus giving feeling of oneness of everything. It is here that we feel the timelessness. One can also experience the world of sound when meditating at this center.

The balance in this chakra makes a person balanced, creative and idealistic. They always strive for spiritual enlightenment and self realization without keeping any material gain for what they do. This gives meaning to their lives and that becomes their goal of life. Their thinking is always different from others and hence they are always misunderstood. The biggest quality they have is the quality of leadership and spiritual perfection. The more the challenges they face, the more they become self sacrificing. The imbalance makes the person more puzzled and unstable.

While meditating at this center, the enlightenment process starts with the awakening of this chakra. This process of awakening is bit complicated and not easy to understand. According to some sages, in some individual it awakens naturally but in most cases one needs years of years of concentration at mooladhar chakra. It starts with cosmic consciousness or serpent power or Kundalini shakti sleeping at the base of our vertebra suddenly awakening and traveling through a nerve called Sushumna. Passing through all six chakras as a ladder and uniting with Purusha or the satori residing in crown, this energy works at three levels i.e. physical, mental and energy level. But after transcendenting human existence these chakra are no longer required. At each level the human existence is different because of power he acquires to create a thing or substance.

It doesn’t happen in one day. Perhaps it takes years and years of meditation at Adnya chakra or third eye chakra which after passing through different stages ultimately gives the experience of enlightenment. There are many descriptions of this enlightenment experience or Samadhi which is not just one experience but a spiritual process where one experiences one’s development from form to formless in wide span of time. In fact I would call this process of detaching oneself from his ego and entering in the world beyond karma and their results. It is transcendental process where we get freedom from all ideas and thoughts. One gets freedom from one self from each level of existence.

It is also being said that all these seven chakras can be partially or fully awakened and the awakening need not be in sequence. Hence when Sahastrar chakra is fully awakened then one can experience inspiration one receives from God. He can see blue light from sky and enlightening him. It is the light which flows from heaven saturating his soul in each respect. It is this light which takes him to the realms of God where he can listen his voice. It is at this center the meditator experiences infinite bliss beyond his existence of ego. It is at this place one comes to know that he is birthless and so is deathless. He becomes one with infinite eternity and it enters into his consciousness that he is immortal. When he sees this moment that he has grown into infinity, the next moment he grows into eternity. The creation becomes one with creator. Once this is achieved, his existence remains for the benefits of other human being. They operate under divine will and entirely rely on God. They see other people and things as they are and accept them as the will of God. They never fall in the trap of karma and always strive to transcend them.