by William Bilodeau
A Yogic Interpretation
In times ancient to ours, the people of various cultures honored and even worshipped the elements and the senses. There was reflected in these cultures a strong awareness that the elements and the senses are great powers, forces that shape life and provide experience to all conscious beings. The elements we speak of here are, obviously, not the elements of the Periodic Table of modem chemistry that we study in high school. Those elements are creations of a scientific viewpoint and most of them are not directly experienced in ordinary daily circumstances. The elements we wish to focus on are the simple and basic building blocks of creation known and experienced since humans have reflected on life. They are: earth, that which has form and substance; water, that which has fluidity; fire, that which has heat and light; air, including breath and wind; and space. The capacities or activities of smelling, tasting, seeing, touching and hearing are, within this context, considered the senses, rather than the physical organs of perception.
These elements and senses in ancient times, were often experienced as powers or gods, directly involved in moment to moment existence. Witness the literature of Homer, or the great Mahabharata, wherein the gods are actively involved with human beings. Most of us have considerable difficulty accepting that ancient peoples really did experience the gods or powers in the way they have written. Acceptance of that comes only upon realization that all experience is interpretation arising from the philosophic ground we stand on. The ground that we as modem Westerners stand on is simply one of multiple possible grounds from which life can be known and experienced. Obviously the ancients stood on ground that allowed other possibilities. We will speak more on this point later.
Throughout history the elements have been honored in various ways. All cultures based in agriculture had festivals or formalized rituals in honor of the great productivity of mother earth (prthivi). Similarly, the sun (fire) has been honored by peoples around the planet, not only for providing the practical functions of heat and light but cosmologically for allowing the daily creation of the visible universe to unfold with the sunrise and return to its origin with the sunset. In India, even today, people still regard the waters of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Sarasvati Rivers and many others, as sacred, as well as the mountains of the great Himalayas. It is well known that the American Indians greatly respected and honored the natural forces that supported their lives. So there is much precedent from human history and tradition for regarding the elements as sacred or as divinities. We need not belabor this point.
The sages of India spoke and wrote on the divine nature of the senses, and how they are also powers involved in moment to moment living. The Kaushitaki Upanisad in describing the daily creation of life, states, “When he awakens, as from a blazing fire sparks will disperse in all directions, even so from this Self, (atman) the vital breaths (prana) disperse to their respective stations. From the vital breath, the sense powers (deva), from the sense powers, the worlds.” This statement proclaims that the sense powers are gods and that it is from them that the worlds arise. How different from our current Western supposition that the world is ready made, objectively real apart from us, and awaiting to be “discovered.” From the standpoint of our direct moment to moment living experience, the Kaushitaki statement shows profound insight. It is not until the eyes are opened that the realm of the visible arises into existence; it is not until the ears are hearing that the realm of sound arises into existence. Creation is momentary and arises and dissolves with the activity of the senses. It is clearly brought out in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (II, 18) that the whole purpose of the manifestation of life which consists of the elements and the senses is experience and liberation. Experience is necessary to liberation as it is the crucible of purification, the opportunity for discriminative practice within daily living. Samskaras (embodied tendencies) of bondage can only be attenuated through yoga practice in circumstance and they become replaced by samskaras of liberation. Thus the senses, like the elements, play a critical part in the configuration of life as it is lived and they have the noble purpose of leading one to liberation. That is why they are accorded such high honor in the lives of Yoga practitioners.
Now to return to our Western philosophical ground mentioned earlier. In our normal everyday experience, we encounter objects, things, people, places, which we perceive as separate from us and which we use to our advantage or purpose. These “things” are seen as “things in themselves,” isolated objects which are always perceived as “out there”. We use them, manipulate them, and abandon them when their usefulness has passed. This viewpoint is known philosophically as objectivist or realist. It is very familiar to all of us. It is the primary vision through which we have been conditioned to be in the world. From this ground, our thought patterns and speech are centered on self identification (asmita), which presumes “me” as an entity isolated from the rest of creation, and which constantly appropriates the living experience of the elements and the senses. From a Yogic point of view, this vision, constitutes ignorance (avidya) because it fragments the vision of totality, which is the goal of all true spiritual endeavor. But it is critical to recognize that the Western view of seeing and knowing, this philosophical ground, is not absolute, but relative and historically determined. It is only one interpretation, one of many possibilities of structuring the experience of the elements and the senses.
To move from the condition of ignorance (avidya) to one of spiritual knowledge (vidya), requires alternative training, other paradigms or models of knowing and being which must be practiced and embodied so that the movement of life can be experienced from the ground of sacred totality. In the practice of Yoga, observing and praising the elements and senses is an important method of alternative training. There are two things to highlight in working with this method: firstly, in doing so, we become focused on the dynamics of experience rather than concrete, reified objects or “things in themselves.” These dynamics or processes show that “things” are in a continual state of flux, changing, appearing and disappearing. For example in the turning of one’s head or in the act of walking, things rise into and fall out of experience. When we tune in to life’s manifestations as dynamic processes, rather than concrete objects, “out there,” then we are shifting awareness from fragmentation towards unity. Secondly, in the act of honoring or worshipping the forces that shape experience, we are moving off the ground of self-centeredness (asmita), wherein all things exist only for our individual purposes. In this movement of devotion, we approach the ground of totality by relinquishing the ground of separateness. It is only through knowledge and devotion that we are able to enter into the dimension of sacredness and experience the totality.
With the foregoing supplying a contextual ground for understanding what is to follow, let us turn to simple exercises which might be helpful to the student wishing to explore concentration on the elements and the senses. These exercises are not considered to be exhaustive of the possibilities of such concentrations, but rather as seeds to help generate such activity. The student is urged to make his/her own observations during daily living or formal periods of sitting and express his/her insights in their own language.
Exercises Begin:
Look around at anything that has solidity, substance, form. That is the element earth (prthivi). Earth gives us a place to stand and a place from which to operate. It gives us something to hold, change, create, something to work with. Look at your legs and hands and any other part of the body that you can see. They are composed of the element, earth. You, may have other associations with earth that are important to you. If you are a gardener, your connection with earth may be in the garden. If you are a hiker or a camper, you may think of the mountains or woods when you think of earth. Perhaps those settings are especially important to you as moments for reflecting and appreciating the element, earth. Reflect for a moment from your own life, on the importance of the element earth.
No matter where we are, no matter what we are doing, earth is supporting us in all our intentions.
Jal , the element water, is absolutely essential to life. Without water, earth cannot be productive. If you have looked at a landscape in the peak of summer, one that hadn’t been watered in weeks, you would see how quickly things begin to wither and die. At that moment, you realize the essential presence of water. The same is true of a houseplant which is totally dependent on a human for water. If you play a sport or do any kind of physical work or dance, you sweat and need water; then you realize the importance of the element, water. Most of our planet, the earth, is composed of the element water, or at least the surface is. Most of the human body, we are told by scientists, is composed of water. Reflect for a moment from your life on your connection with water.
No matter where we go, no matter what we do, the element, water is present there and supporting our intentions and our actions.
The element fire (agni), extremely important in a spiritual context as a sacred symbol for pure consciousness, or purusa. The sun, as agni is a great symbol of pure consciousness. It is on days when the wind chill factor is minus ten degrees that we realize the importance of the sun in our lives. We know that if it got much colder, we would all be in trouble. The digestive fire in the belly is fire working in us. Central heat in our homes, is the element fire, working to support us. All of the lights in our work place, in our cars at night, in our homes, are puny imitations of the sun. Yet, they are all manifestations of the element fire. Fire is a great power and when it is running wild, like in a forest fire or an urban fire, it can cause great damage; in its Jess terrible forms, it is such a boon, a blessing in our lives. Reflect now from your life on your connection with this element fire.
The element air (vayu), absolutely essential to every living creature, is ,the main source of energy of every living being. As machines need electricity or gasoline as sources of energy, human beings and all living creatures need the breath. In doing pranayama while holding the breath, you realize how critical it is that you don’t stop breathing for too Jong. Everything that is alive is breathing. Every leaf, every blade of grass, every organism is breathing the element, vayu. Reflect from your life for a moment on your connection with the element, air.
Like the blades of grass, like the leaves on trees, like the insects and animals, like the birds, you are breathing; like human beings everywhere, you are breathing. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, the breath, the element vayu (air) is there to support us in our intentions.
The element space (akasa) is absolutely essential for anything to exist. Without space we would be crowded into one mass and that is an absurdity, an abstraction. Space is not always out there, space is very close to us, the space between our fingers, the space between our lips, when we open them, the space in the nostrils, the space in the mouth, the space in our ears that allows sound to enter. Reflect from your own life on the importance of space (akasa). No matter where we go, no matter what we do, no matter whether we are consciously aware of it or not, space is always there in support of us.
The senses are the gates to being. Just look around again and realize that you have a circumstance, a world, a life because the senses are open. And you have knowledge because the senses are open. There is no life without knowledge. So the senses are critically necessary to our lives. We may be able to do without one or two; but even with the loss of one, a great realm of experience is cut off. It is interesting to see the relationship between the senses and the elements. Without the elements, of what use are the senses, and without the senses, there is no knowing of elements. So the two are reciprocal, mutually supportive. They work together to give us life, to give us a place to be, a place to work out what we need to work out in order to know our essential nature. From the standpoint of ignorance, man’s given condition, we do not see the elements or senses as divine, as sacred. We don’t praise them. Rather, we exploit them and use them for selfish purposes and create deeper and deeper ignorance. From the standpoint of knowledge, yogic or sacred knowledge, we see the divine nature of the senses and elements and we praise them and acknowledge them every day. Occasionally, we sing about them or talk about them.
Now reflect from the experience of your life, on the senses. Start with sense that is associated with the earth, the sense of smell. Be still and observe smelling. What is known through smell could be cooked food, perfume, a fragrant flower, smelly garbage, car or bus exhaust, dirty diapers, etc.. It doesn’t matter whether it is a pleasant smell or an unpleasant one. That is just a value judgement. The sense of smell fills us entirely, at times, and we are totally taken by it. Reflect for a moment on your own life and the sense of smell.
What rich, what valuable experience the sense of smell brings to us.
The next sense is associated with the element of water, taste. We have so many opportunities to praise the sense of taste, every time we eat. Eating provides us with rich experience, not just for pleasure, but experience for the sake of liberation. In the Bhagavad Gita (IIl.13) it says “that wicked men who prepare food for their own sake alone, that is, not sharing with the gods and others, eat sin.” By this is meant that anyone who eats for their own selfish purposes, to just sustain their bodies, or just for sense gratification, is producing samskaras (tendencies, habits) of bondage. Whereas to see the act of eating, as sacrifice, to see the elements and the senses involved in that action, this is liberative action, producing samskaras of freedom. Reflect on your own life and the sense of taste and the opportunities that regularly occur to see that action as liberative.
The next sense is tied to the element of fire, that is the sense of sight. It is staggering, what we can see. Every day, every waking moment, we are looking, looking. We look from the minutest up to the stars in the vast sky and see everything in between. With the aid of instruments, i.e., microscopes and telescopes, the visual range is greatly expanded. This ability to see, vision, is a tremendous power, the power to produce more experience for the jiva (human embodiment). And because this sense is so powerful and so productive of experience for us, it, like the other senses, is called a god, a deva. Reflect on how impoverished your life would be without the sense of sight; and how lacking in that experience of vision you would be. Reflect on sight in your own life.
Next is the sense of touch, associated with the element of air. It is hard to imagine life without the sense of touch. Touch again is a very rich vehicle of experience. It is through the sense of touch, that we can stand, or sit, or lie down. It is through the sense of touch that we know that we are breathing. It is through the sense of touch that we may hold something and use it. It is through the sense of touch that we know whether something is hot or cold, soft or hard. All of this experience comes through the sense of touch. Reflect on touch in your life.
The last sense is the sense of hearing associated with the element of space. Close your eyes and listen carefully. In one of the Upanisads, it is said that one who can sit and listen, one who is in touch with the sense of hearing, who acknowledges and praises it, is truly full of riches. Sound rises and falls and comes from any direction. It is helpful not to think about the source of sound but just to observe its coming and going.
With the mind quieted, surrendered and open, through the sense of hearing, we can come to know the play of purusa and prakrti, prakrti being the manifestation of experience and purusa being the pure witnessing consciousness.
The above exercises emphasize reflection as the means of concentration in order to introduce the practitioner to the elements and the senses. One can certainly go beyond reflection and experience directly these great powers. For example, while taking a shower, one could simply feel the sensations of water hitting and running off the body, feel the temperature of the water, listen to the sounds of that activity. While eating, one could be open minded without reflection, and experience directly the sensations of seeing the food, feeling it in the mouth, tasting it fully, hearing the chewing. Brushing the teeth, putting on your clothes, washing the dishes, any of the daily activities of living can be a wonderful occasion for direct contact and revelation. Going for a walk and focusing on the sense of touch, feeling the movement of legs, hips, anns and feeling the contact of feet with earth is a liberative practice. One can go to a body of water and simply be there with the water, experiencing directly its movement or stillness. Looking up at the open sky, one’s mind can be stilled to conform with the emptiness and plenitude of space. The occasions for concentration on the elements and the senses either reflective or direct, are endless, and they present the student with important opportunities for transformation. This type of activity becomes both the work and the recreation of the serious practitioner.
We have pointed out the great power that the senses and the elements have to create experience for the jiva, the embodied one. The critical question always comes down to what we do with that experience. How do we perceive it and where do we take it? To what is it dedicated or offered? Do we use it unconsciously, allowing the conditioning of the past to further deepen ignorance and bondage by claiming personally all experience (asmita, I-am-ness), taking as much pleasure (raga, attraction), and avoiding as much displeasure (dvesa aversion) as we can? Or do we come from the ground of intending Yoga, liberation (moksa), wherein the foregoing positions of asmita, raga and dvesa are relinquished and one is left with the unhindered flow of life (rta). In that state of freedom, life moves without agency (asmita) and the jiva simply becomes the occasion for all experience to occur. Then the senses and the elements are experienced from the ground of sacred totality, and their greatness is easily and naturally praised and extolled. For one on the path who intends to experience this state of freedom, it is important to relinquish those characteristics of ignorance cited above, and to imitate or practice the conditions of freedom to the best of one’s understanding and abilities. By acknowledging and praising the elements and the senses, we are engaged in imitating the conditions of freedom, engaging in that process of radical alternative training, we call Yoga.