Yoga Story 7. The Shadows of Sani, the true beacon for everlasting happiness

The Ganesha story that I have posted previously, in how Ganesha was ended up with the elephant head, is the most well known version of its myths. However there is another version that is not the usual story where it was cut by his father Siva but caused by the Sani (Saturn). This story has more of astrological origin that is directly related to the nature of Saturn, the planet of longevity and lasting happiness with discipline and humanity as the prerequisite price. The unfolding story is,

“Lord Sani was desirous of seeing Lord Ganesha after hearing his birth. So he went to the mountain Kalias, the abode of Lord Siva and his family. The proud Mother Parvati was holding the child and other invited guests were adoring the gorgeous child. Sani before getting the audience saluted all the Lords—Krishna, Siva, Brhama, Dharma and Sun, and obtained their permission to visit the baby Ganesha.

When he was standing before Mother Parvati, his head bowed down and was avoiding looking directly at her or the baby. Mother Pravati felt offended by Sani’s strange behavior and asked “why are you not looking at me and my child?” Then Sani explained his wife put on him a curse that whomsoever he would look would get destroyed, since he forgot to honor her after his outdoor period, as he was engrossed in the thought of Lord Krishna.

Having heard this all the gods and dancers broke into laughter and Mother Parvati instructed him to see the child. Sani was in a dilemma and however glanced at the child from the corner of his eyes.

Immediately the child’s head got separated from the head and the bleeding headless child was in the mother’s lap. Everybody was in panic and the mother started weeping bitterly. Lord Krishna went to the river Pushpamudra, where a male elephant was sleeping with its female elephant, keeping its head in the northern direction. These two were surrounded by baby elephants.

Lord Krishna cut off the head of the elephant with his Sudarsan cakra, and put it on his mount, the Garuda. Meanwhile the female elephant got up and addressed Lord Krishna, her prayer. The elephant having touched the feet of the Lord got the blessings of long life a Kalpa. Then the Lord rushed to Kalias put the head on the little Ganesha and granted the life force. He also consoled Mother Parvati who took back Ganesha in this form and nursed.”

Among those who know astrology, Saturn is the most dreaded planet by far, out of the nine planets (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu). While every planet is adorned and revered with their virtues and merits mostly; the Saturn is feared and avoided by at all cost, because of its associated nature being discipline and misfortune. However enduring happiness and glory also comes from Saturn’s slow and steady nature, unlike fast and quick ones like that of Mercury, or flirting and transient ones of Venus, etc.

Have you ever seen anyone, who keeps going up but never falls? Have you ever heard anyone whose lives are colored only with roses but not thorns? Fortune and misfortune go hand in hand. Without pain or sweat, we don’t know how to appreciate what goodness is. Saturn is the shadow of everyone, gods or humans alike. No one can escape from its gaze.

And yet, Saturn is in fact the most misunderstood and unfairly treated planet of all. We all love to hear and be inspired by those bitter sweet success stories, of those after enduring much pains and adversaries only to rise above all challenges. The focus, determination and willingness that are required for any significant achievements in life are all Saturn’s quality in nature. And yet we tremble at the mere sight of Saturn when he comes to knock our door. Sweat, pains, tolerance, discipline that are inevitable parts of growing process for human life…but just by mere mentions of them many would shy away, and wonders why they always feel lousy and are walking like a dead man in their alive but lifeless body, mind and spirit.

In Yoga, Saturn governs our life force, prana, and lots of pranayam exercises…that is the sure way to ensure his blessings. No one can be spared when Saturn put his gaze on. But if you do not challenge him directly, and instead welcome him with the way he looks away from you, then, no major disaster of getting heads knocked kind would happen. When he come to your door, then, just let him hang around for a while in the way he wants. Then his departing gifts are lasting happiness, longevity and success…

Yoga Story 6. Virabhadrasana (Warrior Pose)

One of the main effects that come when you practice yoga for sometimes is bravery and fearlessness in the way how we carry ourselves. There is also significant increase in our mental and physical focus that somehow we become less tolerant to our forever-busy-for-nothing in the hassled modern lifestyles. So without even going through the whole lots of self-help books in how to simplify our life, we just start to get more organized, systematic and prioritize what is more important from what isn’t. Thus life becomes less burdensome but more spontaneous expression of our joyous being; sharing happiness and gifts brought forward deep within the hearts. I feel most grateful to the yogic path I have been shown thus far, to be able to face any life’s challenges without fear and hesitations, but instead with courage and willingness. I suppose I became a quiet warrior without intending to. And I like it much better this way than playing a delicate princess or a queen that, as little girls we are led to fancy through fairytales…

The three variations of the Warrior Poses (I, II, III) are the most iconic Yoga poses among all Yoga Asanas. The first warrior pose raises its energy from the front with arms up over head, the second spreads sideways with arms outstretched, and the third balances forward with arms stretched forward parallel with the floor. All of them are mighty, fierce and strong standing poses that illustrates the power and ferocity of the warrior.

The warrior poses are physical and symbolic of warrior energy in that they require considerable strength in the muscles of the legs, which symbolize virility and power. And yet, at the same time, all three warrior poses demand that the chest and heart are remain open. The arms and legs are active, while the heart center, when open, banishes the fear of death.

In the yoga mythology, Virabhadra is the name of a warrior-devotee of Shiva, the lord of cosmic destruction and freedom bestowal. He was created from Shiva’s top-hair dreadlock out of his hot temper to make it even with Daksha, his father-in-law, who had committed the terrible sins of infuriating Shiva. According to the story,

“The great Shiva’s consort Shakti has many incarnations, as the gods often do, and one of her many lifetimes, she was known as Sati that was born to a mortal father named Daksha. Sati was incredibly beautiful and wholly devoted to Shiva. However, Daksha wasn’t a huge fan of Shiva, who is covered in ash, also known to have a bad temper and sat in meditation for thousands of years on top of a remote mountain. Not to mention his choice of clothing, which was pretty scant. Nonetheless, Sati’s heart was set upon Shiva while she was growing up and when came to her age to choose her marriage partner, she wanted no one but Shiva. Daksha had no choice but to give his lovely princess to the god he despised so much. But Daksha kept his contempt against Shiva even after Sati and Shiva were wed and living happily on the mountaintop.

One day, Daksha threw a grand party inviting all the gods and men of rich, except Shiva, which was an insult of the highest order. Sati became very upset that her father still would not accept the choice that made her happy. During the party, Sati appeared before her father with a saddened face and sorrow in her heart. All the guest turned to see Daksha’s beautiful daughter standing and weeping before him. Daksha, who loved his daughter very much, was distraught to see her so upset but stood by his decision to continue reject Shiva as her partner. Sati’s fury and great sadness ignited a fire that burned so brightly inside her that she went up in flames right in the middle of the party and was reduced to a pile of ashes before her father’s very eyes.

When Shiva came to know of what had happened, he became absolutely furious. In his fury and rage, he ripped off a dreadlock from his head, and this dreadlock snaked into the earth all the way down through the mountain, only to emerge in the center of the party, right in the very spot where Sati’s ashes lay. The dreadlock was transformed into Virabhadra, the great warrior, who rose out of the ground (visualize the warrior I pose, rising up with arms up overhead), drew his sword (visualize warrior II with arms open), and slice off Daksha’s head. When it fell to the ground, Virabhadra bent to pick it up and reached forward to place it upon a stake (think warrior III, arms reaching forward). This shocking act caused quite a uproar among the partygoers, who tried to flee the scene because they feared for their own heads.

In the world of the gods, things can happen almost instaneously, and this dire situation required the great Sati to secure another form very quickly so she could go reason with Shiva. She donned a new body and showed up at the party again, but this time, she scolded Shiva for beheading her father. “Look at what you have done!” she exclaimed to Virabhadra, knowing that Shiva would hear her on the mountaintop. “I know my father didn’t do a kind thing, but it wasn’t your place to step into the middle of it and kill him. Do you think that is going to solve our problem and make him accept you?” Shiva hadn’t really thought of that. He was just so angry at Daksha, he didn’t really consider how Sati would feel or that it would start a dramatic chain of events that would actually make things worse, not better. The problem was, he hadn’t thought at all. Sati demanded, “Make this right, right now!”

Well, Shiva himself arrived at the party, where a few lone partygoers were peering from behind trees to see what the great would do. He came marching in with his trident in hand and waved Virabhadra aside to keep him at bay. Shiva looked around and realized immediately that Daksha’s head was not suitable for reattachment, so he found the nearest replacement, which happened to be a goat. Off came the head of the goat, and onto Daksha’s body it went. Shiva breathed a great exhale, and life returned to a Daksha’s body. The object of his rage was standing in front of him, but Daksha suddenly felt grateful that Shiva had realized the error of his ways and made amends. In his gratitude, and with the realization that he had not behaved in a dignified way toward Shiva, Daksha held one final party and made Shiva and Sati his guests of honor.”

So Sati, the gorgeous and beautiful princess, despite the great love and respect she hold towards her father and beloved, and yet, was brave, firm and defiant when it came to setting things right. Even the great Shiva couldn’t argue with her. A true warrior as she is in her heart, maybe it will do good to those who hasn’t outgrown of princess dream to emulate Sati. Then life can be truly “happily ever after!”

Yoga Story 5. Natarajasana (Dancer Pose)

One day I saw a picture of pregnant dancer from a Korean magazine, wrapped in a white ciliate piece of cloth dancing in trance in bare foot while oblivious of her round and protruding belly. I remember myself thinking, either she must be crazy or just totally in bliss that didn’t care anything in the world except her dancing… But somehow she looked strangely mystic and fascinating to my young mind of barely twenty at the time.

She was an unorthodox, kind of a maverick in the highly conservative and traditional Korean dance world in those days. Yet she was successful exactly because of her daring and free spirited ways of dancing that was distinctively different than many others. She was also old (in her early forty at the time) for a dancer when most of other dancers were long ago to have retired. She took up dancing only in her late twenty and never stopped since then even when pregnant. As I read the interview article further, I also learned that she was the first Korean disciple of Osho Rajneesh, the controversial and flamboyant Indian Guru who rendered strong influence in the hippy generation. She dedicated her success to the practice of Yoga and the guru’s teachings. Another picture of her with Rajneesh at the corner somehow left ringing in my heart with certain longing and wanderlust.

It was then and there, my interest in Yoga and Indian mysticism began. I raved through any possible written materials in Korean about Yoga, Rajneesh and other Indian mystics. There weren’t many. I searched high and low with little success. One thing led me to another…even deciding to learn English so that I could go to India one day to meet Rajneesh. But then, it never happened because he passed away before I could even have a chance…Anyway life has always a way to eventually bring us to where we most want to be, but in completely different ways than we might expect or dream of initially. I have not managed to become a professional dancer like her or become the disciple of Rajneesh. But in the end, I did become a dancer of life and disciple of the original cosmic dancer, Shiva…

Shiva has many different personae that illuminate his essence. The most well known is his role as the King Dancer, or in Sanskrit, Nataraja. Natarajasna (Dancer Pose) is a standing balance posture that involves bending one knee and grasping the ankle or foot from behind. As we then lean forward and kick back with foot, an arm stretches forward to complete the pose. This pose is the physical embodiment of one of the many guises of Shiva.

In this guise he is commonly portrayed with snakes around his neck, dreadlocks standing on end, balancing atop a tiny dwarf, and encircled by a ring or fire.
Snakes are metaphors and frightening creatures for most of us that dangles from Shiva’s neck as he dances. The poison the cobra carries symbolizes the toxic nature of ignorance, the misunderstanding of ourselves as something other than divine that is represented by the tiny dwarf-like demon upon which he stands. The remedy to that affliction, which is enlightened knowledge and he carries its symbolic flame in one of his palms.

Shiva’s world-destroying dance is potent symbol that can be understood both cosmologically and psychologically. He performs the dance of destruction that destroys the universe. This is also the dance of knowledge that takes us from the unreal to the real, from the ignorance to the knowledge, from the ego to the Self. From a yogic perspective, the dance disentangles all the mental webs by which we have imprisoned ourselves in patterns and habits throughout our lives that don’t serve us, but rather inhibit us. Shiva, as Nataraja, is the destroyer of our delusions and illusions.

Yoga seeks to rid us of the ignorance through various practices, such as asana, pranayam, and meditation, and by constantly reminding us of the fact that we are all divine in nature. Still we constantly forget, fall prey to the poison of ignorance, the dwarf. This seemingly helpless creature is usually busy causing mischief, which mainly consists of keeping us all caught up in our own daily dramas. Shiva does not let this little character get the best of him and instead uses him as a pedestal for his dance. By standing over the demon of ignorance, he is able to have a higher gaze, or higher level of consciousness, which allows him to rise above daily drama by just paying attention to the rhythm of his dance.

Where there is beginning, there is end; where there is creation, life, there is dissolution, death. Life and death exists hand-in-hand. But most of time we fear death while celebrate life. Because for ignorant, unenlightened mortals like us, death implies the end of everything we are familiar with in this limited physical reality. However, Shiva understands that destruction clears the path for rebirth and that in rebirth and growth there is compassion. Brahma the creator cannot do his work properly if Shiva the destroyer has not done his. It is Shiva’s destruction that provides the fertile platform for Brahma’s process of rebuilding.

Thus destruction is not something to be fear of but to be welcomed for changes to come about for individual growth as well as cosmic evolutionary process. Shiva is not filled with guilt over the destruction he causes. His focus, his detachment in carrying out the painful duties of what others fear the most, he does it by simply transmuting his true compassion into the cosmic dance he is engrossed in. He destroys everything that stagnates, holds or blocks in our obstinate limited vision. But that is true compassion for he only ignites the fire of true courage in us, so that we could face the adversity only to become equal to the divinity within us. Time and again, whenever I find myself falling into forgetfulness, torpor, and lose focus in the midst of busy, ever churning petty mind, to stray away from what is important, it is the Natarjasana I keep come back to, to find back the balance and necessary perspective to be up and bounty once again. Like the image of a dancer that captured my attention long ago, Shiva is the divine manifestation I find most resonation deep in my heart…

Yoga Story 4. Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)

“Once upon a time, there lived a wise Brahmin woman, Gautami. She was a widow whose only son was bitten dead by a snake. A snake charmer caught the snake, brought it to the woman and asked her how he should kill it; cut it to pieces or burn it alive. The woman asked him to leave the snake alone, alive, since none could do anything against the strokes of destiny; to do anything in the matter like killing the snake would be a sin. In any case, her dead son would not come back to life now.

The argument went on and the wise woman said that the death of her son had not cause her agony as the boy had met his destiny.

The snake, now breathing more freely, told the snake-charmer that he had done what he was instructed to do by Lord of Death. But the act of biting the boy was of the snake, said the snake-charmer, and he could not be absolved of the guilt of the boy’s death.

In the meantime, the Lord of Death came and explained that impelled by the wheel of Destiny (the Lord of Time or Kaal) he (the Lord of Death) had instructed the snake to bit the boy.

Arguments went on between the snake-charmer and the Lord of Death, non agreeing with the other. Then Kaal reached the spot and explained—it was all the result of the Karmas of the boy—which had to give their results at a given time, through the instrumentalities of the Lord of Death, and the snake.

Karmic patterns of our past lives, allotted to us to enjoy or suffer in our present incarnations, at a given time, become in astrology, planetary patterns and the dasha system(planetary period)— representing Destiny and Time of the Wheel of Destiny”

The above story is from my Indian astrology teacher Mr. K.N Rao. He used to be quite an ingenious story teller, who cultivated the habit of making his points with stories, to evade direct answers to any uneasy inquires. (You can go to my older blog posting, April 30th 2008: The illumination Pill, Korean Ginseng Candy, for more about him.) The above story is just one of the examples he uses it when people ask of him when they will die. Sometimes his tongue is as sharp as snake bites in telling truths (mostly to hypocrites) but, many times he feels tormented when he sees inevitable ends for those anguished Indian mothers or wives come running to him for their ailing children or husbands. In those difficult moments, he weeps silently for them with deep prayers in his heart. And regrets his ever getting into astrology. Fearful snakes… are the image of my teacher to many others, but, to me, one of the most beautiful human beings I ever encountered…

In India, snakebite deaths are quite common occurrences, especially in older days. With such huge populations and undeveloped wild lands all over, I presume it might be, though I myself will quiver just by sheer imaginations of a snake slithering around.

The image of a snake, with its lithe body and cold skin, fierce eyes and sharp teeth, and venom, invokes terror to anyone hears of it. Clearly there is something profoundly unsettling about snakes. It’s the way they look at you with that steady unblinking stare. It’s as though they have come from another world. And indeed, ancestrally they almost certainly have. They have come from the underworld. Snakes are much feared animal by its venomous poison and also by its association with evil image in Christianity.

In Yoga, Cobra pose (bhujangasana) is a simple backbend that resembles the look of a cobra raising its hood. It is performed on prone position with bent elbows and hands beside the chest, lifting our head and chest higher up by using the back muscles, not the hands, like snakes with no limbs. Its main benefits are on strengthening, stretching and mobilizing spine while also helping to open the chest and shoulders.

In Indian mythology, snake enjoys much more revered status with many myths are attributed to it (no wonder there are so many snakes in India…).

Shiva adorns himself with cobra around his neck, signifying a deep familiarity with the fear of death. Shiva’s son, Ganesh, wears a cobra around his waist, not just as an homage to his father, but as a symbol of his attempt to follow his father-teacher’s footstep along the yogic path and shows his commitment to mastering his fears. Vishnu sits on Ananta, his thousand-headed serpent liaison whom we learned to be reincarnated as Patanjali in previous story. When the Buddha was meditating under the sacred bodhi tree, the king of cobras slithered up behind him and opened his great hood, creating a large canopy to protect him from heavy rain. Kundalini is the spiritual serpent lying coiled in the base of our spine. It is sleeping for most of people but, once it gets awakened, rising through the spinal cord like a king cobra raises its head and body, much super natural powers and enlightenment follows. The goal of Yoga is to awaken the Kundalini and Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga is the ultimate fit for that.

Thus the cobra is a fearsome creature for most, but it is the friend of the yogi. Its many manifestations can help us on the yogic path as we stumble over obstacles, poisons, and fear. The snake is a powerful symbol of our ability to relinquish all fears as we progress on a spiritual path. The way we give up fear is not by running from it, as some might do from the cobra, but by getting close to it and seeing it from a different perspective.

Whenever I see people are immobilized by their own fear, thus, unable to make necessary changes for anything good to about in their life, I feel so sorry for them. Because fears are nothing but like own shadows…the more we run away from it, the faster it will chase after us until we are drop dead. By simply stepping out in the sun, it disappears instantly. There are so many excuses we are making in not doing Yoga…but the way I learned to deal with my own fear of snake is by simply doing Yoga everyday no matter how I might feel. I found it became my most trusty solace that I turn again and again…I hope you would also come to love Yoga like a lifeline…because, it is really a lifeline in this fear infested society we are living in…

Yoga Story 3. Salutation and Grace

They say the eyes are the window to our soul. Yes, I find it very true. Whenever I see the sparkling lights that radiates their innermost spirit in someone’s eyes, especially the children’s, I can’t help but to just fall in love with them. My heart will start pounding and makes me grin from ear to ear by sheer joy of such encounters. Maybe I am a still helpless romantic longing for divine lights and love all around us, in a hope to light up our life with more joyous and delightful chorus of the hearts.

The Prayer Pose (Namaste) that puts our hands together in heart level with slightly bowed head is such a beautiful gesture of humanity saluting to the divine force within, and without. Its literally meaning is “I salute to the inner pure being in you, and in me.” Thus, whenever I get to glimpse the purity of souls through the eyes, or get to stare at those eyes for a while… It’s so loving and sweet like nectar. I feel we all must have been angels before we were born, or before we become all ‘grown-up.’ But then, I don’t know from where it went wrong … because not many of us are having those pretty eyes anymore…maybe we just forgot what we were before and all we need is a gentle reminder our divine nature. Thus, Indians or yogis greet each other with “Namaste” each time.

There is another gesture, known as Anjali mudra, where in you put out your palms in front of you with slightly downcast eyes in receiving position, as though you are waiting for grace to fall upon from up above. It is yet another important yoga gesture that has a significant place in Yoga, related with the story of how the “Pantanjali Yoga Sutra” came about. According to a legend,

“About two thousand years ago, there were many factions among those who practice yoga. Lying on the great serpent Ananta on the great ocean of possibility, Vishnu noticed this separateness in the practice of yoga, and he thought it would be a good idea to find a way to bring everyone together. He decided to send his liaison Ananta, charging the thousand-headed serpent with the task of bringing the yoga groups together into one great practice.

Down on earth lived a lovely woman who had the misfortune of being unable to have children. She was a devout worshipper of Vishnu and prayed every day for the miracle of a child. As she prayed, she held her hands open to receive any grace that might fall upon her. She waited and hoped and never gave up.

One day, as she was down on her knees with upturned hands reaching toward the sky, Vishnu decide to let the grace of his grand serpent fall upon this sweet woman. Into her praying hands fell baby Pantanjali. (“Pat” means “to fall” in Sanskrit, and “anjali” was the gesture the woman made with her hands.) This was no ordinary baby boy. He had the upper torso of a normal human, but his lower half was a snake’s tail. Apparently Ananta didn’t have time to make a complete transformation on his fall to earth. But who was the woman to question a gift from above? So she loved him and raised him as her own, despite his serpentine half.

Pantanjal grew to be a great master of yoga, and he helped the world by uniting all the different ideas about yoga into one grand work, called the Yoga Sutra means “thread,” and this classic text consists of short aphorisms, which pull yoga together into one great fabric. Each little phrase encompasses great wisdom, which has sustained yoga for the last two thousand years.”

Patanjali’s yoga sutras outline several different methods for achieving ultimate happiness, or yoga. The most well known of these is Ashtanga yoga, the Eight Limbs of the Royal Path in Yoga. (It is different than the contemporary and athletic style of ashtanga Yoga, founded by an Indian Guru Pattabhi Jois, and became well known by Madonna).

The Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga path includes; yama, the guidelines for ethical standards and moral conduct; niyama, the observances and disciplines recommended for yoga practitioners to follow; asana (postures) and pranayam (breath work) which together constitute Hatha yoga; pratyahara (senses withdrawal) that describes the natural process of senses turning inward; dharana (concentration), dyana (meditation) and Samadhi (enlightenment) together known as Raja yoga.

Praying with outstretched hands, in anjali mudra, symbolizes the unwavering belief that whatever one is praying for will soon arrive. Inherent in this gesture is a strong pulsation of faith. Faith is what is required to be able to make great leaps and receive great blessings, as Patanjali’s mother did.

While Namaste and anjali are generally interchangeable names for a similar gesture, there is no myth associated with the Namaste mudra. Namaste is a sort of variation on anjali that helps us in our efforts to find a balance. The word “Namaste” is also an important and pervasive aspect of yoga practice. Our gesture of bringing our hands to prayer and the salutation is reflective of yoga’s end goal, to be enlightened of the inner pure being.

This beautiful gesture of greeting with folded palms is, in fact, common gesture not only in India but in many different cultures. The prayer like hands gesture “wai” with a slight bow is used widely in Thailand, as a way of thanking or apologizing. Chinese style is a bit different which they do with wrapping one hand over the other in a kung-fu style in the heart level. Japan and Korea have, yet, another unique style of greeting. They do fold hands, but, in the low front of abdomen with almost ninety degree bowing forward position.

Though there are slight variations in styles, and yet, fold hands with smiling eyes or mouth to greet others are such humbling and graceful gesture, expressing our humanity and unity brought forward from bottom of our hearts. Sadly, there are some short-sighted pastors or other religious authorities that I heard, asking their people not to do the Namaste pose, saying that, it is a prayer to Hindu gods.

God resides in each of us in whatever forms or names we feel connected with. That way, we can stay close to our God. When we put our hands in Namaste or Anjali gestures to pray, we are praying to the God we hold dearly inside our hearts, not some foreign Hindu gods, just because yoga is originated in India. Yoga means, union, or bringing together, which is just the medium that unites our body, mind and heart with breath; so that it channels out our inborn love and reverence toward other fellow beings and God, regardless of any ethnic makeup or religious orientations. Not only Yoga, but, any spiritual disciplines we employ are just the means to arrive to our inner most being, residing in our hearts, that which our eyes are the direct reflections of it. Thus, why not we welcome each other with Namaste or pray in Anjali mudra more often? Who knows how fast we might able to arrive at the doors of our God?