Discussion with P. P. Kaka Maharaj, February, 2010 - Part 2

In February 2010, the editor of this blog had the good fortune to spend several hours over a few days with P. P. Kaka Maharaj (Gurudev) in a discussion on Maha Yoga. We will be posting translated and edited excerpts from that discussion over the next couple of weeks. The following is the second part of that discussion

Editor: Heaven on earth, indeed! But in order to get there, Sadhaks need to become Maha Yogis! So please tell us how Sadhaks can get started. There is of course Deeksha (formal initiation) available to Sadhaks who are serious about following this path, but you have also created an introductory approach to Maha Yoga which can be tried by those who are in the early stages of exploring it. And you have also launched a tradition in recent years, of conducting periodic Maha Yoga Global Trails, with the next one to be held on May 16^th 2010. So please talk to us about these different methods for Sadhaks to get started on the Maha Yoga path.

Gurudev: We created the introductory approach specifically for the purpose of introducing Maha Yoga to everyone. As you know, for formal Deeksha to happen a Sadhak has to agree to follow certain lifestyle restrictions. Of course, the purpose of these restrictions is to enable the Sadhak to make rapid and unobstructed progress without encountering any difficulties once Deeksha happens. But we often come across people who are interested in Maha Yoga, but have not actually experienced Maha Yoga Sadhan, and are therefore understandably reluctant to make lifestyle changing commitments. The introductory approach has been created for them. By following the introductory approach they can gradually begin to experience Maha Yoga Sadhan without having to make any lifestyle change commitments. So instead of jumping in feet-first, this introductory approach provides an intermediate step to those who are interested, and which over time has the potential to create a strong desire in Sadhaks for making a more complete commitment which will inevitably benefit them.

Also, when we talk to people all over the world about Maha Yoga, they sometimes find it difficult to believe that there is such a simple, easy and no-cost way to achieving self-realization and they want us to give them more theoretical explanations. So then, instead of talking to them further about it and lecturing to them, we simply have them sit comfortably, close their eyes and observe their breathing, i.e. introduce them directly to Maha Yoga. As soon as they do that, Prana Shakti automatically begins to rise within them. This is a subtle process, and when we direct people to observe it, most of them feel it. As the Prana Shakti begins to rise within their subtle bodies, people begin to turn inwards. They have their eyes closed, so they don’t have any visual distractions to begin with, but they also gradually stop hearing the sounds around them and awareness of the chair or the Asana (mat or seat) on which they are sitting. It is not that their ears, eyes and other sensory organs quit functioning, but their awareness of the room in which they are sitting, or even the world around them, begins to diminish. The Prana Shakti, which usually moves around in a distracted manner through their subtle bodies, and being externally focused provides the constant barrage of sensory inputs, now becomes inward-directed. They automatically begin to experience a sense of calm and inner peace. I think this actual experience is much more useful and valuable to them than my giving long discourses and explanations. This was clearly the case in one of the peace events we took part in during our visit to California, when the organizers of that event were moved to write to us that the introduction to Maha Yoga we conducted there, with a short period of Sadhan, was much more effective in creating a sense of peace within the attendees than all the other discourses on peace given by other speakers.

Further, it is our intent to share this approach with everyone in the world. Not just to keep it hidden for the benefit of a few people. It also costs the Sadhak nothing, not a penny/paisa, either to participate in the introductory approach or to receive formal Deeksha. So cost can never be an issue with Maha Yoga.

As you mentioned, we have also been conducting periodic Global Maha Yoga Trials for Peace over the past few years. Our intent here is to increase awareness of Maha Yoga within all corners of the world. As you know, we have people all over the world participate in these trials.

The next global trial will be held on May 16^th this year (2010). People have been asked to sit for Sadhan in their own homes for 21 minutes beginning 6:05 am until 6:26 am local time. They do not need to synchronize their time of Sadhan with the time in India or anywhere else in the world. They should just follow the clock in their own country or time-zone and sit when their own clock reads 6:05 am on that day. They should just sit comfortably, close their eyes and observe their automatic breathing. It is important that they not try to control their breathing or anything else, just observe it. For example, if they find themselves not breathing in for a while after they have exhaled, that is fine, just observe it and realize that a type of Pranayam called Bahir Kumbhak has automatically and involuntarily happened. Bahir Kumbhak has happened, it has not been done! Of course, they might experience nothing breathing-related beyond just their normal breathing patterns, but they will inevitably experience a sense of calm during their Sadhan. It is important for the participant to not “do” anything intentionally during this period. He should just let what happens to his body and his mind happen. Prana Shakti will be the “doer” during this time, the Sadhak should just observe.

Our other intent with the global trial is to spread the concept of peace worldwide and to have people actually experience a sense of universal brotherhood and sisterhood. The air we breathe can be considered to be a gross aspect of the subtle Prana Shakti which resides in all of us. And as you are aware, we consider Prana Shakti to be the Mother Energy, which makes the air we breathe the equivalent of our Mother who supports us all! None of us can live without the air around us, so the air we all breathe on this planet of ours, regardless of the national or state borders within which we live, can be considered to be the Mother to us all. That makes us all brothers and sisters! With this in mind, I have a strong desire to make everyone on this earth realize our universal brotherhood and sisterhood, regardless of where we live, and to understand that Maha Yoga can actually and experientially give us this awareness. Therefore, I want to make as many people as possible aware of this path. Of course, it is up to them to pursue it and benefit from it; I just want to make everyone aware that such a path exists. Maha Yoga is the worship of Prana Shakti, our common Mother, which resides within us and supports us all!

Harvard-MIT study shows how meditation helps concentration

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110421122337.htm

Meditation May Help the Brain 'Turn Down the Volume' on Distractions

ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2011) — The positive effects of mindfulness meditation on pain and working memory may result from an improved ability to regulate a crucial brain wave called the alpha rhythm. This rhythm is thought to "turn down the volume" on distracting information, which suggests that a key value of meditation may be helping the brain deal with an often-overstimulating world.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report that modulation of the alpha rhythm in response to attention-directing cues was faster and significantly more enhanced among study participants who completed an eight-week mindfulness meditation program than in a control group. The report will appear in the journal Brain Research Bulletin and has been released online.

"Mindfulness meditation has been reported to enhance numerous mental abilities, including rapid memory recall," says Catherine Kerr, PhD, of the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at MGH and the Osher Research Center at Harvard Medical School, co-lead author of the report. "Our discovery that mindfulness meditators more quickly adjusted the brain wave that screens out distraction could explain their superior ability to rapidly remember and incorporate new facts."

Brain cells use particular frequencies or waves to regulate the flow of information in much the same way that radio stations broadcast at specific frequencies. One frequency, the alpha rhythm, is particularly active in the cells that process touch, sight and sound in the brain's outmost layer, called the cortex, where it helps to suppress irrelevant or distracting sensations and regulate the flow of sensory information between brain regions.

Previous studies have suggested that attention can be used to regulate the alpha rhythm and, in turn, sensory perception. When an individual anticipates a touch, sight or sound, the focusing of attention toward the expected stimulus induces a lower alpha wave height in cortical cells that would handle the expected sensation, which actually "turns up the volume" of those cells. At the same time the height of the alpha wave in cells that would handle irrelevant or distracting information increases, turning the volume in those regions down. Because mindfulness meditation -- in which practitioners direct nonjudgmental attention to their sensations, feelings and state of mind -- has been associated with improved performance on attention-based tasks, the research team decided to investigate whether individuals trained in the practice also exhibited enhanced regulation of the timing and intensity of alpha rhythms.

The study tested 12 healthy volunteers with no previous experience in meditation. Half completed the eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program developed at the University of Massachusetts. The other half were asked not to engage in any type of meditation during the study period. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), an imaging technique that detects the location of brain activity with extreme precision, the researchers measured participants' alpha rhythms before, during and after the eight-week period. Specifically, they measured alpha rhythms in the brain area that processes signals from the left hand while participants were asked to direct their attention to either their left hand or left foot. Participants' abilities to adjust the alpha rhythm in cortical cells associated with the hand, depending on where their attention was directed, were recorded during the milliseconds immediately after they received an attention cue.

Although all participants had showed some attention-related alpha rhythm changes at the beginning of the study, at the end of the eight weeks, those who completed the mindfulness meditation training made faster and significantly more pronounced attention-based adjustments to the alpha rhythm than the non-meditators did. "This result may explain reports that mindfulness meditation decreases pain perception," says Kerr. "Enhanced ability to turn the alpha rhythm up or down could give practitioners' greater ability to regulate pain sensation."

The study also sheds light on how meditation may affect basic brain function, explains Stephanie Jones, PhD, of the Martinos Center, co-lead author of the paper. "Given what we know about how alpha waves arise from electrical currents in sensory cortical cells, these data suggest that mindfulness meditation practitioners can use the mind to enhance regulation of currents in targeted cortical cells. The implications extend far beyond meditation and give us clues about possible ways to help people better regulate a brain rhythm that is dysregulated in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and other conditions." Kerr is an instructor in Medicine and Jones an instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School (HMS).

The senior author of the Brain Research Bulletin report is Christopher Moore, PhD, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Additional co-authors are Qian Wan and Dominique Pritchett of MIT; Anna Wexler, Joel Villaneuva, Jessica Shaw, and Ted Kaptchuk, Osher Research Center at HMS; Sara Lazar, PhD, MGH Psychiatry; Matti Hämäläinen, PhD, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at MGH; Rachel Wasserman, Penn State University; and Ronnie Littenberg, PhD, Women's Mental Health Collective, Cambridge, Mass. The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Osher Research Center at Harvard Medical School.

Discussion with P. P. Kaka Maharaj

In February 2010, the editor of this blog had the good fortune to spend several hours over a few days with P. P. Kaka Maharaj (Gurudev) in a discussion on Maha Yoga. We will be posting translated and edited excerpts from that discussion over the next couple of weeks. The following is the first part of that discussion

Editor: Thank you Gurudev for this opportunity to talk to you about Maha Yoga on behalf of the readers of Self Awakening, our quarterly e-newsletter (archives available at www.mahayoga.org). Last year we had a similar discussion in which you spoke about your own life experiences and your advice to Sadhaks. Incidentally, that interview was very well received by readers of the e-newsletter as evident in the feedback we got. This time I would like to get your thoughts on Maha Yoga, Deeksha (initiation) and Sadhan (meditation). Shall we begin?

Gurudev: I am happy to hear that the discussion we had last year was well-received. Let us hope the discussion we are about to have will also be useful to Sadhaks. Let us begin.

Editor: Great. We hear quite often from you and others in our Parampara (lineage) that Maha Yoga is the best approach to Yoga. Most of us who have been following this path for a while believe it is, because of the experiences we have had over the years. But people who are new to Maha Yoga often ask us why we believe that is the case. It would be great if you could shed some light on this topic.

Gurudev: As you are aware, there are several different approaches to Yoga, all with the same goal of taking a Sadhak to self-enlightenment. There are Hatha Yoga, Laya Yoga, Mantra Yoga and Raja Yoga, among others which are designed to take a dedicated and diligent Sadhak eventually to self-enlightenment. All these forms of Yoga require a Sadhak to devote long periods of time under the supervision of competent Gurus, in practices that are designed to eventually result in self-awakening. But these are very difficult approaches to follow and most Sadhaks, while deriving many benefits, both physical and mental, fail to become spiritually awakened. Given the popularity of Hatha Yoga these days, I would like to point out that even in the great Hatha Yoga treatise, “Hatha Yoga Pradipika”, after describing all the asanas and other practices, in its very last verse the author, Svatmarama, says:

As long as Prana (Universal Life Energy) does not enter the Sushumna (the subtle pathway or “Nadi” along the spine) and reach its highest goal at the crown of the head, as long as the absolute is not manifested in Samadhi, as long as the I does not become one with the Brahman (Supreme, Universal Spirit), so long all the talk of knowledge and wisdom is merely the nonsensical babbling of a mad man.

So, even after describing all these difficult and long-term Hatha Yoga practices, there is a disclaimer at the end that these practices may not necessarily result in the Sadhak’s Kundalini becoming awakened.

Maha Yoga, on the other hand, is a direct approach to having self-awakening happen. A Sadhak following this approach does not need to do anything in terms of Yoga practices; in fact the less he involves himself in intentional “doing” of any practices during Sadhan (meditation), the better will be his progress. So, if the Sadhak is not to do anything, then who is going to be the “doer”? The “doer” will be Prana Shakti (Mother Energy, or Universal Life Energy). Prana Shakti is a subtle form of energy, the gross manifestation of which is the breath we inhale and exhale as long as we are alive. Once awakened, the Prana Shakti will clean out all blockages in the pathways (Nadis) within our subtle bodies, so she can move freely throughout our subtle bodies. All a Sadhak needs to do is to get out of her way during Sadhan; and she will not stop until she enters the Sushumna Nadi and takes him all the way eventually to the Samadhi state! So unlike the other Yoga approaches which involve “doing” various practices under the supervision of a Guru, a follower of Maha Yoga needs to just entrust himself to the inner guidance of the Prana Shakti and let whatever needs to happen, happen. And once unleashed, the Prana Shakti will not rest until the Sadhak achieves self-enlightenment.

Editor: Thank you for that clear and important differentiation between Maha Yoga and other approaches to Yoga. We hope Sadhaks internalize the key attribute of Maha Yoga, which is that the Sadhak is not the “doer” of Sadhan but it is the Prana Shakti within himself which is both the “doer” and the Guru. Now moving on to the next issue, we often get asked about the benefits of Maha Yoga. It would greatly help the Sadhak community if they can hear from you all the different ways Maha Yoga can benefit them.

Gurudev: Maha Yoga has the potential to uplift all attributes of a person’s life (Jeevan Kalyan). Not only that, it has the potential to uplift all human-kind as described in the Bhagvad Geeta. In fact I consider the Geeta to be a discourse on Maha Yoga itself, because all the different Yogas discussed there by Lord Krishna are aspects of Maha Yoga.

As I mentioned earlier, Maha Yoga does not involve “doing” on the part of a Sadhak. So that makes it very simple, because the Sadhak does not need to “do” anything, he has to simply let it “happen” during Sadhan. It does not involve an external Guru. Once the Prana Shakti is activated in a Sadhak, she becomes the Sadhak’s Guru; a Sadhak has to simply allow her to guide him. And unlike an earthly Guru who might make mistakes in his judgment about what a Sadhak needs for spiritual progress, Prana Shakti, which is the Sadhak’s internal Guru knows him intimately, including all the Samskaras (past actions and thoughts which influence a Sadhak) from this and all of his previous lives! So she can guide him in the best possible way, helping clear out all the blockages in the pathways of his subtle body (Nadi Shuddhi) to eventually take him to self awakening and enlightenment. And further, because the Sadhak allows the Prana Shakti to be the “doer”, his ego becomes diminished, and unlike other approaches which have the Sadhak be the “doer” of whatever practices that are prescribed, a Maha Yoga Sadhak has no difficulty letting go completely of his ego, a very important precondition, when he nears the Samadhi state.

The clearing of blockages to the flow of Prana in a Sadhak’s subtle body (Nadi Shuddhi) has all kinds of benefits. It is as if God becomes pleased with the Sadhak! By God, I mean the Prana Shakti. And once that happens, the Sadhak’s outlook towards life changes, he gradually reaches an elevated spiritual state and he finds that whatever needs to happen in his spiritual life or otherwise, happens automatically. He will find himself less directed towards chasing material things not necessary for his spiritual progress, thus he will find himself more contented with his life. He will also find his material circumstances change so as to enable his spiritual progress. The material world experiences he needs to have in order for him to progress spiritually will happen automatically. He will develop a sense of calm, which might help him materially as well, but more importantly, his need for material progress as a definer of his self-worth will gradually disappear. Over time he will develop a sense of detachment and the intensity of his desires and aversions will gradually diminish. He will begin to see his life from a very different perspective. His pleasures will be more in the spiritual realm rather than the material. He will begin to truly experience heaven on earth!