Food: Raw or Cooked?

Its a hot topic of discussion amongst yogis and followers of spirituality, whether to eat food raw or cooked? With the rapid spread of yoga and Ayurveda globally and its collusion or assimilation with different cultures, there is lot of curiosity, harsh opinions, blind following on this issue. No doubt there is rise of food consciousness!

I have seen many yogis during my spiritual travel in India who are living only on fruits, roots or milk. Some of them have been drinking only chai as a source of their food. On the other hand I have seen yogis from certain lineages over-eating, eating rich food (cooked) and are obviously overweight & not in good health. 

So there is no thumb rule to prove the fact that yogis eat raw food or cooked food. The traditional yoga lineages (which have gone corrupt by adopting various influences) have varied opinions on whether to eat food raw or cooked.

For me the very question of 'this or that' type is full of injustice to the wholeness of the topic of discussion. We must understand the reasons why we eat food, why we cook, when we cook, when eat raw, which body types need what type of foods, weather conditions one lives in and so on...

Indian Thaali 

Ayurveda would treat food habit differently than the science of yoga. Yogic science expects human being to rise above the annamaya kosha and experience higher beings to experience ultimate 'Kaivalya'. So obviously the food pattern changes from solid cooked food to raw, fruity and juicy food with less spices and 'guna' consideration - Sattvik food. Ayurvedic considerations will be mainly the six rasas, seven dhatus, three doshas, three gunas, etc. 

Cooking of food is greatly dealt in many Indian sciences and the kings, gurus, wives of gurus have attained great expertise of cooking food. Bheem of Mahabharata has played the role of ballavacharya when the pandavas when in exile and he is considered as the inventor of 'fruit salad' (Ref; Durga Bhagvat)

The very reason of cooking food is to make it free of bacterias, decomposing the molecules for ease of digestion, making of rasa by combining various ingredients. There is such great detailing of cooking food in Ayurveda that which wood should be used for fire and how much time the food should be cooked etc is mentioned with clarity. For example chyavanprash is supposed to be cooked on the wood fire of Indian berry (Ber in Hindi)

Movement of raw food is growing big and big. Many yogis in the west proudly convey of their raw food diet. if the digestive ability of a person is good, eating raw food is not bad. secondly source of the raw food, bacteria in it also counts. Pitta dominant persons can go for raw food. But vata dominant people who generally are gifted with weak digestive ability should be careful with raw food. 

Raw Food: Fruits, vegetables & Juices

The kind of life one leads is important factor in deciding the food habit. For the ones leading sedimentary lifestyle, raw food is good. In my opinion, yoga teachers who undergo physical strain must not be totally dependent on raw food. Till their 40s they may not feel any bodily ailment but later on they may face issues with veins and muscles. 

Leading spiritual life means bringing balance to life. Hence real yogis should not go for raw or cooked food debate but should make a right combination based on their conditions. 

For those who wish to undergo cleansing, following raw food diet is advisable for a short period. Since the modern day yogis keep themselves busy in traveling, strains, stressful lifestyle, it is good to go for food that builds body to cope with all these.

We already have brought down health parameters to 'thin body' & 'less calories'. If we shrink the whole lot of considerations of food culture, we will be actually killing the science that has kept human race alive and going ahead with strength.  

In my opinion, the food should be 'light' that leads you to 'light'

Amen!

Shubham Bhavatu.

Rangi Arwind

 (Rishikesh)

Hope in the crumbling times...

The current phase that mankind is going through, I call as crumbling times. All that was made to believe is crumbling. The institutions are falling apart. Businesses are crumbling. Media myths are exposed. Value systems are being re shaped. Belief systems are questioned. Anything and everything that ruled over us through the organised form is clearly in doubtful existence.

In terms of Economics, the exploitation of resources and the resultant shaping of the world is in serious doubt. The imbalance that has been caused by the exploitation of resources has started taking its toll. Weather is changing, health of humans and animals is degrading, more natural disasters are happening.... When so much uncertainty and negativity is getting spread around, what is the ray of hope for the mankind?

In these interesting transition times, some developments have caught my attention. Few months before major floods took place in the Himalayas and thousands of human and animal lives were lost. It was huge devastation. Though the lives lost, stood strong in the calamity was the thousands of years old temple of Lord Shiva in Kedarnath, the powerful energy spot!

Majestic Kedarnath Temple standing unscathed amidst the debris after devastating floods in the Himalayas.
Photo Courtesy: Tilak Soni

Fox News published the picture of devastating typhoon in Philippines that took place in November 2013, where the Church was standing tall and mostly without any real damage while the surrounding was totally destroyed.

The Holy Cross in the Church is not damaged in the natures furry in recent cyclone in Philippines though the bigger structures were damaged around and thousands lost their lives.
Photo Courtesy : Fox News

Recently, I came across the picture of Tsunami that hit South East Asian countries few years before, where the Mosque was intact while the concrete structures around were totally destroyed.

The Mosque stands still despite the devastation around by the strong Tsunami.
Photo Courtesy : www.Allvoices.com 

All these images are a strong message for mankind. The same mankind which is busy fighting over religious, national, racial, linguistic identities and so on. The same mankind that is insanely illusionary about its conquer over the nature through so called scientific advancements. The same mankind, in the name of economic development, is busy digging Mother Earth, cutting huge trees, polluting  the air and water, the same mankind that has gone so far from its true nature of harmonious existence with the fellow beings in the universe.

Be it a temple, church, mosque or any other place of worship, the message is clear and loud. The divine energy is the same, though named different by ignorant humans. It's the place of high energy that has remained intact and the divisive, illusionary beings have blown away. Drowned away.

Any place of worship is a high energy spot, not only because of the deity in the place, but mainly because the immense faith of the devotees who visit the place. The place of worship gets its strength through the pure intentions of the believers. This belief is the strongest force apparently represented as devotion to a specific religious figure of worship, but ultimately it's the recognition and respect to the 'supreme consciousness' which is beyond any identity.

So the message is strong and clear, let's build the spots of such high energy everywhere. Not through the bricks and concrete but through the unconditional faith in the supreme energy. Such energy fields when increase in numbers and ultimately cover every part of the universe, rest assured, we have lived the divine will of protecting and preserving the universe and being in harmony with it!

Let's build the energy fields around us through good intentions, through soft and pleasing language, through respect for the living and non living beings, through good karma, by abandoning divisive methods and means, by planting trees, by taking care of needy and under privileged, by being kind and compassionate...

Let's build the energy fields.
Lets revive the miraculous universe!

Amen.

Shubham Bhavatu.

Yogi Arwind
(In Seminyak Bali, Indonesia)

Who is Goddess?

All the gods went to the goddess and asked her in the chorus, "O' goddess Mahadevi, Who are you? What is your nature?"

The goddess (Devi) replied, " I am the brahman itself. From me originates the universe of the form and the non-form. The universe of prakriti and purusha."

" I am the bliss. I am the form & expression of bliss. I am all that is science. I am non-science. I am the brahman that every soul should know of. I am the non-brahman too. I am the five elements. I am the universe that is beyond these five elements. All that universe which is visible, which has form; is me!" The Goddess continued.

She says further, " I am the Vedas, I am that knowledge too which may not have incorporated in the Vedas. All that takes birth is me. All that doesnot take birth (permanant) is me too. I wander in the form of all Rudras, Vasus, Adityas, and Vishwadevas. I feed, take care of the Sun and the Rain God (Mitra & Varuna), also of the King of gods and Fire god (Indra & Agni) and of both the Ashwini Kumars (the doctors of gods). I take the form of Soma, Twashta, Pushan, and Bhaga, the early Vedic deities. I appear in the form Vishnu, Brahma and Prajapati."

" I am all that wealth which the performer of Yagya possesses in the form of the havi (the items offered in the yagya). I am the goddess of the whole universe. I give wealth and prosperity to my worshipers, I am the form of brahman, I am the main deity among various gods for whom the yagya
and worship is performed. I create the sky as an impression over my transperent soul. I reside in that intellect and mind which recognises the nature of brahman. The one who understands this nature of mine, he is entitled to earn the divine wealth and prosperity."

When the gods listened to this expression of her own nature by the goddess, they started singing in chorus in the praise of the goddess, "we bow before the goddess. We bow before the Mahadevi who ensures our welfare. We bow before the prakriti form of the goddess who has gone beyond the volatility and attained the supreme stillness. We bow before such giver of auspiciousness, following all the rules of respect and regard for her!"

They further continued the praise of the goddess, " we bow before the one who is of the colour of the fire. We bow before the one who has earned an enormous flow out of her tapas. We surrender to the shining goddess who is worshipped to gain the fruits of karma. O' goddess, the destroyer of the demons, we prostrate before you."

"The gods of Prana created the light of speech. The speech which is used by the creatures for communication. Such goddess of speech, Vagdevi, who grants the bliss like the kamdhenu - the make a wish cow, gives food and strength to her devotees, my she give us the darshan after getting satisfied of our worship and devotion to her." Said the gods.

We bow before the Kalaratri, the goddess who conquers the death, Vishnushakti, whi is praised by the Vedas, Skandamata (Shivshakti), Saraswati (Brahmashakti), mother of gods Aditi, and the daughter of Daksha, Sati. We bow before the goddess who washes away our sins and brings welfare to us.

Te gods said, "we know the form and nature of Mahalakshmi, and we meditate upon her, who gives us the strength. May this goddess guide us on the path of good."

(Definition and the nature of the goddess and her praise by the gods - as it appears in the Devi Atharvashirsha)

Shiva by Samarth Yogi Arwind

Samarth Yogi Arwind speaks about Shiva, as a part of Mahashivratri Knowledge Festival in Rishikesh

Consciousness Hijacked!

We are living in the world where our consciousness is hijacked. It has been hijacked by powerful ‘Maya’ lobbyists. And there are some signs of rescue.

Going by the reports from all over the world few terms can fit to describe the situation everywhere. They are - ‘unrest’, unease’ resentment, awakening, rising etc.

This appears like a collective uprising is taking place against something. This something changes from place to place, time to time and culture to culture.

This something for me is ‘deprivation from knowledge’

Masses in the world were kept away from the knowledge. They were misguided in the name of education, information and societal norms and laws.

Wasted interests, who are the lobbyists for Maya, always have run the campaign of misinformation. They have floated new and newer concepts of hierarchy, classes, groups etc which kept the populations in different parts of the world busy in identifying with. Be it in the form of nations, religions, rich and poor divide, and divide on the basis of race, caste, color, creed and currencies. Anything that divides is Maya. And her lobbyists have been so marvelously successful in their design. But they also are part of our wider consciousness.

These lobbyists are not a specific set of people. It’s you, me and everybody who on and off subscribe to the idea of division. This division is the basic tool used to create layers of illusion that keep one away from the ‘Truth’. Falling prey to the tactics of division and getting away from the 'truth' is what I call as 'Consciousness being hijacked'.

We are deprived from the ‘Truth’ of global oneness by the misplaced egos associated with the notions of nations. In the process, physical bodies became less important than the ‘passports’ made of paper. Concept of ‘patriotism’ is enough to provoke hundreds of thousands. Concept of ‘nation’ was used more by the lobbyists as a small territory to manage effectively their designs. Nations are important. Not as the physical boundaries drawn by few whimsical, but as a natural geography and history of evolution associated with it. That’s all.

We are kept away from the Truth of universal oneness by the idea of division between living and non-living things. What is non-living in this universe? If the air, which by the common understanding is considered non-living is an instrument to keep every living being alive, how does it become non-living? The soil which nourishes every plant which in turn nourishes humans cannot be a non-living entity at all. The ‘truth’ is there cannot be life independent of the so called non-living. 

We are deprived of the ‘Truth’ that there is wider consciousness of which we are small, negligent but important and integral part of. 

The present day unrest, I believe is the beginning of acknowledging this universal consciousness. It is the beginning of knowing ‘All is one’. It is the beginning of shading away the wrong full notions of division in the name of ‘he’ and ‘she’, ‘us’ and ‘them’, ‘me’ and they’. It is the beginning to go inductive from deductive. It is the beginning of knowing that the ‘universal consciousness’ is so beautiful to live with. 

Interestingly, everywhere in the world, this awakening is inspired by the followers of ‘Yoga’ – The Assimilators. Yogis are bringing this light. Be it the tribes in the Middle East, occupy activists in the America or Anti-corruption crusaders in India. They are not the products of any system. They simply believe in the ‘truth’. They have pure intentions.

It is a time of ‘correction’ in the stock market of the divine. Shares of ‘illusion’ are on downslide. ‘Knowledge’ stocks are doing well.

Amen!

Shubham Bhavatu!

'I Am'

“Have this.”

“This is treasure.” His eyes were shining.

Yogi prepared himself for the meditation. For the meditation that is self-realizing!

“I am always in a relationship. I know how to deal with relationships. I purify my mind by cultivating a feeling of friendliness with happy people, situations. I develop the sense of compassion for them who are suffering. I experience gladness when with virtuous. I remain neutral with those who are perceived as wicked or evil."

"I develop these four types of attitudes, namely, Maîtra (friendship), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (gladness) and Upeksha (indifference or neutrality) to deal with relationships that help me make my mind clear and undisturbed. ” Said Yogi.

"This develops an ability to discriminate amongst people and situation and respond accordingly. This helps me understand and deal with my surrounding well. This makes me well placed in the society."

“Well, after this preparation for long time, there are multiple techniques of focusing the mind or making it experience one-pointedness.”

You should know that the seven chakras in our body are associated with the different states of mind. These Chakras are - Muladhar, Swadhisthan, Manipurak, Anahata, Vishuddha, Ajya, and Sahastrar. Concentrating on each Chakra with a given technique brings specific experience.

विशोका वा ज्योतिष्मती I

‘Vishoka va Jyotishmati’ is a state of mind that is ‘without any pain or suffering’ and ‘self illuminated with divine light’.

How do I achieve this state of mind?

“Okay, lets concentrate on Anahata Chakra (Heart Chakra or cardiac Plexus). This chakra is a lotus which is facing downwards and the stem is upwards. With the Rechak (exhale) this lotus is made face upwards. (There are micro details about how to do this). In the center of this upward facing lotus resides ‘Om’. The stem of this lotus is connected to the Sushumna Naadi that reaches straight to Murdhna. This Naadi is called Brahma Naadi.”

“During the meditative state when one exercises the complete control over thoughts, the whole lotus appears like the Sun, the Moon, the constellations etc. It illuminates. Then it leads to a Sattvic light that’s self illuminated. With no reference. This is inner light. Divine."

"And since it is Sattvic, it is called ‘without suffering’ as there are no Rajas or Tamas attributes”.

Mind in this state experiences the ocean of calmness and stability.

Here the yogi experiences ‘I am’.

(Author’s 'free flow' explanation of 36^th Sutra of Samadhi Pad of Patanjali’s Yog Sutras. Readers are suggested strictly not try any aspect of this meditation without guidance!)

Postpone The Death...

I am in pain. Severe pain.

When everybody is predicting collapse of the world or doomsday in 2012 as per the Mayan calendar, I believe it will happen certainly. Not necessarily as a result of any astrological phenomenon but as a result of ‘collective karma’ the human race living on this planet has done. Even if one tries not to be pessimistic about the future, one cannot afford to be unrealistic. Immense mass destruction happening in near future appears to me as a self inflicted tragedy by a human race living in illusion.

My constant interactions with friends and people in general, my meditative experiences, my intuition and more importantly ‘common sense’ easily guide me that the devastation is not far. Soon the collapse will happen! Big and mighty blow!

Mother Nature is furious.

She has been kind to give you everything. But the excessive greed of yours does not end.

She created trees to give you shelter and some necessary wood and medicine. You are using it as timber to sale.

She created land for you to reside and grow crops. You are using it to dig for minerals to sale. To build huge buildings to sale. To use fertilizers to grow more crop to sale.

She created rivers for pure water to quench your thirst. You are using it to build dams to generate energy and sale.

She created animals around to coexist with them. But you are using them to kill and get meat to sale.

Beautiful human race is created to make your life colourful. Humans around are to live happily together. But we are getting excessively competitive. We cheat, deceive, lie. We harm each other. We don’t mind false fully progressing at the cost of someone else’s life. We consider each other as enemies. Why?

When the divine has created this beautiful universe and its elements, it is to live together happily. It is for interdependence. It is to value each other’s importance. It is to use each other’s special features for mutual happy coexistence.

We want independence. We want everything for ‘me and me’. We divide. We divide on the basis of color, race, geography, history, age, class, caste, income, physique… and what not.

Excessive greed of our fellow humans in the business, insensitive rule of our fellow humans in the politics, divisive policies of fellow humans in the field of media, irresponsible behavior of our fellow humans in authority, and more importantly clueless, submissive fellow humans who get themselves ruled as a herd. All have caused a great damage to this beautiful planet. The imbalance has reached a boiling point.

The air has been polluted enough with no further scope, water has been mindlessly polluted with no further scope, land has been irreversibly damaged, land has been dug enough with no possibility to fill it to original composition. Minds have been cultivated corrupt enough to ensure inevitable decay of the human race.

I guess only miracle can change this huge mighty damage that seems approaching so fast is to bring ‘little change’ in me. And few of my friends and few more of their friends and ultimately the whole human race.

The little change –

By treating plants and trees as friends to live with and live for.

By treating the land as a friend to live with and live for.

By treating the rivers and all water bodies as friends to live with and live for.

By treating the atmosphere around as a friend to live with and live for.

By treating animals around as friends to live with and live for.

By treating fellow humans as friends to live with and live for.

Lets be independent by being interdependent. Lets be independent as ‘a whole universal existance’. Lets live 'together'.

Lets avoid the mass destruction. Lets postpone the death.

Lets befriend the universe.

Shubham Bhavatu!

Yogi Arwind, Rishikesh.

Sadhana is to 'Enjoy Heavens Within You'

Recently Yogi Arwind had a chat with Cristoforo about his Sadhana experiences and related queries. The questions were impressive. The questions and answers are useful for all sadhaks at various stages of spiritual evolution. Here are the excerpts with little editing:

Cristoforo:

Do you think its important to practice pranayama and meditation and asanas every day - or is sadhana something else? Can just getting on with the day be a deep form of sadhana - istead of forcing my self to squeez in some practice

Yogi Arwind:

Last sentense is beautiful. Sadhana is a flow. Sadhana is means to reach the spiritual goal which is connecting with the supreme and remaining in constant integrity with the supreme. Ultimate spiritual experience is enjoying heavens within us.

So means like pranayama, asan are significant if they help us reach the goal. Ultimately its our psychological being that has to enjoy and experience the integrity with the supreme being. Our bodily being has to be supportive to our other beings like emotional, mental etc. So means like aasan, pranayam are important to provide the stable base for further spiritual journey.

In fact, every thought, performing every action in a day as meditation is the ultimate phase of spiritual experience. Living the presence!

Cristoforo:

My communication with the supreme is weak in words nowadays - but strong in action and presence. I feel present in the kingdom of god living to learn, serve and cleanse my self - but my prayer is weak - sometimes I pray to an external form or idea - sometimes to my higher inner state - but I feel like I am just following other peoples ideas - I love to serve, purify my will and keep growing and fulfilling the will of the supreme - but my verbal or linguistic communication and understanding is weak - I feel worth in serving - but I want to deepen my communication - I used to chant mantras - but now I speak to the cosmos - not sure if I am speaking within or without - how important is it to speak and communicate with the divine with words.

Yogi Arwind:

I am impressed with the precise description of your state of spiritual evolution. Well, when we say we are in tune with the supreme, the difference of inner and outer does not remain any more. Its an ultimate oneness - 'Shunya' awastha - which is all encompassing. Nothing is left beyond it. All sounds, feel the same, as part of wider being - the divine. Getting used to this sate of being or experiencing this being constantly is a challenge and hence Sadhana is required.

Sadhana can be any form - from listening music to chanting mantra to meditating on some thought or object. For every person, different trigger works. I guess for you the mantra works.

Awareness has no language. It is just there. Its comprehensive experience. So trying to limit it with spoken words or understandable language is not advisable. We shall not enslave ourselves to the means of words. They are important means but not the end in itself. When we travel to New York from London, reaching to New York and enjoying the surrounding, places there is the goal. We shall achieve that by reaching there by boat, plane or whatever means. It is not true that only British Airways takes us to new York. There are other airlines and other means of travel.

Similarly, we shall not limit our experience of 'union with supreme' to some means of mantra or any specific techniques of meditation. We must acknowledge its importance as well as significance 'limited' to take us there.

In nutshell, keep chanting mantras as they are the tool to take to the higher experience. Use them as a tool and not the goal

Please don't judge on the basis of - whether you chant regular for x number of times etc

Just use it as a trigger. Bullet should hit the spot!

Cristoforo:

Thank you for your words and energy

Yogi Arwind:

You are welcome.

Cristoforo:

I used to chant the Mritunjaya, the Dhyana Sloka and an other guru mantra that I forgot the name - "om sahan vavatu, sahana bunktu, saha viryam, karavavahai etc". But then I stoped because it lost power.

I was questioning what I was singing - I thought I was just blindly following what someone had suggested.

Now I will chant with grace and love, devotion and totality again.

Yogi Arwind:

Beautiful!

Mantra gains more power with

1. More recitation

2. Meaningful recitation

3. Recitation with focus / concentration ( one's all beings viz, body, mind and soul should be totally involved)

4. Recitation with the firm feeling that gods are actually going to listen it (Conviction, Belief, Faith)

5. Not disclosing it with arrogance to others

Cristoforo:

This is my big question.That my rationality is stumbling upon. Should I be humble in the presence of external gods - chant and pray to them. or are they all part of my inner true self. When I pray to Saraswati, should I bow and give thanks and blessings to her grace and wisdom or am I resonating that state within me.

Yogi Arwind:

Well, I understand where it comes from. Its a phase through which every sadhak goes. Let me try to explain.

Brahman is one. the truth. The divine which creates, sustains and destroys.

The universe which we see and experience and beyond is his creation and representation.

Hence every universal being is the part of this ultimate truth

You, me, trees, rivers, animals, mountains... every seen and unseen. Every matter and live beings.

In the process of making these things simple to understand for a common man, sages started using examples, symbols etc for thousands of years.

So came in form the various gods. These gods are nothing but various permutations and combinations of energy fields. So for someone who understands symbolism behind Saraswati, her worship is means of Sadhana.

For someone who understands 'divine sound of OM (AUM),' chanting of OM is sadhana

For someone who understands tree, or river as a representation of divine being, praying them or taking care of them is Sadhana.

What we need to understand is, ultimate goal is to achieve the state where we recognize ourselves as a part of supreme being and experience so. Imagery of gods are an attempt by sages, wise men to simplify things.

The supreme (Brahman) is with no attributes. Or with all attributes.

Most importantly, spirituality starts where rationality or logic ends.

Hope this helps you to develop perspective...

Cristoforo:

Mr, Master, friend and Lover. Divine light and blessed existence. Thank you for your messages. I will print it and stick it in my diary. Your words have helped me a lot - to overcome the paradox of linguistics and to live love with devotion and joy. My prospective is definitely been developed.

Yogi Arwind:

Shubham Bhavatu!

This text is copyrighted. ©Yogi Arwind Foundation