Thursday, 16 March 2017

Caution against extremes: Asana not for body torture




नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः ।

न चाति स्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ॥ गीता ६- १६॥
 
In the sixteenth shloka, Krishna gives us a word of caution against extremes. Asanas are meant for progress towards mind fixation and to achieve Ekatanata. However, today we see many Hathayogis using Asanas as a cult of body torture. Buddha too came under the influence of such tantric hathayogis and tortured his body for long in search of truth. On the day of Vishaka Shudda Poornima, Gowtama achieved Jnanodaya and became Buddha. It is believed that the previous day, a pious lady by name Sujatha saw the starving, skinny Gowtama meditating under the tree. She felt he would die if he does not consume food, so she offered him Payasa (rice with sweet milk) a well-known known sattvic food for him, which he accepted. After consuming that balanced food, he realized the importance of balance, his torturous sadhana fructified and he achieved Nirvana.  This message is very well captured in the saying;


अति सर्वत्र वर्जयेत्   Too much is too bad


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