Proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet, proper meditation, and positive attitude.
These are the 5 principles of yoga according to Swami Sivananda. Two weeks of living these points, via asana practice, chant sessions, silent meals, pre-dawn wake ups, and community living, one craves experiencing these virtues in the life outside of the ashram.....
This opportunity came during a Friday off mid- yoga vacation. Along with 34 other yogis, I boarded a bus for a jam-packed journey to the tippy toe of India for sight seeing, temple visits, and a break from structure and sanctuary. Heading to Kalimat, where the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal meet, we enjoyed the bus ride where silence was replaced with chatting, and roadside sugar loaded-chai was tossed back as a happy alternative to several days of ayurvedic tea.... We absorbed the peace and real world practice of daily temple worship at the Siva, Vishnu and Kanykumari temples by day, and the Hanuman temple by night.
It was extraordinary to feel the different prakriti (nature) of each temple and how it matched its namesake. The Siva (God of purification, transformation, and destruction) temple rippled with courtyard light illuminating flower petals fallen from shady branches---Vishnu temple (god of stability and preservation)carried a weighty granite feel as its 3000 year old pillars protected the resting 30 foot statue its sleeping master.....The Kanykumari temple (Goddess bride left behind by Shiva) welcomed young Hindu women making light offerings to the Goddess in hopes of a matrimonial future. And the Hanuman (monkey god of devotion and courage)temple hosted a festival where reincarnated chants danced though Brahmins who carried bamboo stretchers transporting important aspects of the divine through the thick chambers and corridors of the jungle walled home of a very tall primate. We joined the masses in lighting butter lamps, and marching through the alleys of the monkey's maze. Musical pillars were played in our honor, and ghee was ingested for luck---
With each forray into the Hindu culture, one gains a visceral experience of the thin veil between the gods, their aspects, and how they manifest in human form.
Many people misunderstand this country for its seemingly blind devotion to its infinite gods----- but that is sophmoric if one hasn't felt the manifestation of the mythical aspects as expressed in the actions and deeds of the people on the streets. Lakshmi,the appreciative Goddess of Prosperity finds her way into the hands of the boy on the bus collecting fares..... Ganesha, Elephant God who removes obstacles and helps create abundance can be seen in the big bellies of fruit merchants and chai masters. The sweet loving nature of Durga, Mother Goddess, shows up in the deliberate and gentle service of the ice cream man as he counts back change to a 5 year old patron....
A "proper" understanding of the grace of India, along with the ancient breathing, meditating, diet, mental attitude, and exercise practices it teaches us, is to see that the Gods are not separate from the people...It's divine to be back on road...
