by Gurani Anjali
Did everyone do the practice from a few weeks ago – focusing on the body? That is so important, the body. Your own body, not your best friend’s, not your worst enemy’s, just your body. When everything is in its place, there is no imbalance.
You are like an arrow being thrown from a bow into circumstance. You are like that. You are always that dart. You are always going toward. You are like a thunderbolt. And wherever you go, you are splitting everything. Did you ever feel that, that you are splitting everything? When you go to a person, and you feel like you are going to split them into two. When you go to a door, you open it up, like that and you walk in. You split everything. You are like the ax that splits the log. The log is there and you are there. Have you experienced that?
You have to take that responsibility, because once split, you have to know where to put the pieces. You have to know how to tie them up and bundle them up. You cannot just split it and then leave it there. That’s a practice in daily circumstances. Everybody is splitting everyone and someone has to go around and bundle everything up…”Okay, I’ll put this piece in and this piece in and put all the pieces together.” You do that every day of your life, so you are the center of the planet and you have to take that responsibility.
You really have to take responsibility for that which you are holding (dharana). You cannot just split, then use it, and then say, I have nothing to do with it. You have ‘everything” to do with it. Everything. Yes, like an arrow that is shot from the bow, like the ax that cuts, like the knife that slices, you go into so many situations and you are always slitting everything up into pieces. And if you realize that you are doing that, then you will come to grips with yourself – to realize that now you have pieces. And when you have pieces, you have to take responsibility to build a new piece.
That takes consideration. That takes thoughtfulness. That takes the power to hold (dharana) these worlds together. How do you have that power? How do you know that? By being responsible, by knowing I am and I was and I will be. And if you are no longer here in your own physical body, you will have left behind impressions. No matter how settled you are. People will remember you in thought, in word, in deed. And you leave pieces of you behind. Very important, this life. So wherever you go in all circumstances, you become that – that vajra (thunderbolt) which cuts through everything. Consider, what are you cutting – what are you fragmenting?
So in practicing dharana, everything you hold, your attention goes to it. In that going to it, there is the going away from everything else. The going to this, means the going away from that and that and that. Everything disappears, but this. This becomes the object of my intention. And when you go to it everything else disappears.
You have so many doors to your room, but when you open a door, you mainly go to one door. And that one door that you open, your full focus is on that, and you go through that. And you are that one that goes into everything. You go into everything. You go into your car. You go into your room. You go into your bed. And you also go into a person. How? By thought, word and deed. You are always going into. Into. In this physical, manifested world.
But there will come a time, when you go into, into, into the unmanifest (avyakta). Then you reach a quietness. Where the all is all you see. And in that place you don’t question anymore. You’re just so much into the ‘going into’ that you don’t care about the questioning of “why am I here?” There is no more questioning, you see.
So, the beginning stages of dharana show you how you are focusing. And the second is realizing that you are responsible for that. You are going towards that. As you are going, that is going towards you. There is a unity. And in the holding, there is Yoga. What is Yoga? You, me, unity, oneness, the path. Now if you question further, “What is a cup? What is the water? What is me?” Infinity, timeless, unexplainable but full of expression.
So this object I’m holding in my hands is a very simple thing for people to see. This is water, this is a cup here and the hands are holding it and I am holding it. Where am I going? Why am I going? What am I composed of? What is the cup composed of? What is the water? What are the hands? What is the touch? Infinity. Now of course, if every situation like this were viewed consciously, then there would be very little time for unconscious acts. It is the unconscious acts that makes you unconscious. It is the unconscious acts that get you into trouble.
Everywhere you go, you focus. You focus in every situation. Then it is a conscious act, every time, every time, every time. This is holding. Holding. Holding. Let your ear go to it. Don’t question qualities. Just hear. Just hear it. And if you keep hearing it you can hear it in a very subtle form. You just have to go with it and follow it. You can hear sound very, very far, but your mind must be into it. The thinking must go before the action. Focus in going, holding. But in the holding, in the touching, in the being, just be. And in that reaching you go from one thing into another. You just go.
When you put pressure into anything, it pressurizes, and it in turn pressurizes you. But if you go from one thing and let that lead you into another, your body will go with it and you will get the proper notice – you don’t have to think it. You don’t have to think it.
The same thing with music and song (nadam). The body is full of rhythm, full of timing. It’s the confused, unconscious thoughts that are not consciously placed in conscious acts that causes confusion. The breath rises and the breath falls. And everything goes with that. And you have to go with it. And come back with it. Our holding (dharana) and stopping and making it go here and there without proper discrimination, makes us fall prey to confusion.
Know the intention of your heart. Know your desire. And then focus. The focusing will take you there. Focus. Even in cooking, or cleaning. The first thought is “I’m going to clean or cook or play.” That thought is fixed and all motion, all rhythm, all timing, just goes with that. And it becomes. But in the middle of acclimating to the decision – that you are going to do something – another decision is often made over that decision, then there is a sort of a break. And you begin to say, “I don’t really care for this, I don’t think I want this.” Then there is indecision. Indecision always tells you that there is a second decision – the rhythm of life.
It’s very important for you to remember the breath. The breath is the power that is in your thinking. Your thinking gets its power from understanding. And everything goes one into the other. Just like the keys on the piano, do, re, me, fa, so, la, te, do. Everything has its steps. One is a stepping stone to the other. One feeds the other. One step leads to another step. Every activity in life also has these steps that have to be worked out. So is the breath with the mind, with the thoughts that you have, with the intention; you hold it in the up breath and in the down breath. You keep working with it, in your breathing. Your intention is worked in the rhythm of the up and down breaths. And then keeping that same rhythm going, you manifest it with your bodily movements. The same that is inside, is also outside. Think about this.
Whatever the breath is carrying with the thought that is how the body is going to move, too.
Keeping the rhythm perfect and breathing perfect, the bodily actions will also be perfect and will be in harmony with the internal up-breathing and down-breathing. In and out. Up and Down. And then you will find yourself walking like the breath; going here and there and touching this and that, being here and there. And you will go with the same thought in mind, the same intention, but it will be worked in the rhythm of the breath.
Then that rhythm comes out as an external manifestation in the form of your bodily limbs; like your legs, your hands, your arms, your face, and your expression. It comes out. But it keeps that rhythm only if you keep that focus upon what you are doing. When there is a change in thought, the rhythm changes. Then again it will go back to its rhythm to keep up with that thought that you have, that you need to be in union with. Because the breath acknowledges your intention.
Don’t waste your life. Don’t waste your time. Don’t play with trivialities. Don’t play with heavy vrittis (thoughts). Don’t play with stupidity. Don’t play with nonsense. Be alert. Be firm. Be careful. Be careful of what you have. There is so much to keep you occupied. It is such a shame to hear of complaints and how things are not done right. There is no need for it. Everything can be beautifully balanced if there is focus – one-pointedness. For that you need dharma (Yoga tradition). Dharma needs karma (action). Karma and dharma will hold you and make you become. And liberate you. Om shanti.