Namaste,
I'm actually reading our fellow Suhas Tambe's excellent book, one of the most profound yoga books I've ever read, and would like to discuss some issues there exposed, and also to share my personal experience with you. This thread will be for the vrttis or mind modifications, the state of pratyahara, and the vision of Isvara.
Sensory perception
Sense impulses should bypass the thalamus and the memory banks. This will make the number of future modifications decrease and will allow the mind to disengage from sensory perception.
My experience: For the past two years I've been cultivating a perception I accidentally came across. When looking at objects, places and people, it looks like it is the first time you watch them, everything looks "new", brilliant, vibrant. One also has the joyful sensation of being in a "timeless", magical world. It's like dreaming awake. Vibrating prana can be clearly felt at the region of Ajna or Manas chakra (not sure yet which one). It is easier for me to experience this in the nature or under sunlight. It is impossible at night or in full darkness. The natural tendency of the mind is to return to the "normal" state, so one has to endeavor to maintain this perception.
The question: Is the above explained perception the proper path to vrtti control? Is it what buddhists call "the clear perception"?
The gap between two thoughts
What does this mean? A moment of unmani (thoughtless) state? Or a totally new experience for a yoga student? How is it?
Pratyahara
I've always believed pratyahara was the turning off or disconnection of the senses while fully conscious. As I understand, the book extends this concept to "disengaging mind from sensory activity". This means that one can also perceive under pratyahara, the difference is that the mind does not "meddle" with the sensory input.
The question: If one achieves to "re-route" the sense impulses so they pass through the sides of the brain reducing vrttis to a minimum, has he/she achieved a state of pratyahara, at least a "minor" one?
Vision of Isvara
As I understand, pratyahara culminates with a vision of the inner divinity and his tutelage thenceforth.
The question: But what kind of vision? An epiphany? A trance like spiritual vision? A lucid dream? Under what shape... according to one's culture/religion, or an universal one? Or simply, is the experience so engrossing that one undoubtedly knows the contact occurred?
Thank you.
__________________"I don't suffer from madness. I enjoy every minute of it." ~ Unknown author
0 comments:
Post a Comment