“Yoga is the journey of the self
through the self to the self”
Sounds like a confusing trip no? This famously quoted line from the Bhagavad Gita is quite a loose translation of the complexities at hand here. Yet if you’re not confused at least some of the time are you even paying attention?
In this modern world it can feel like truth is more and more an elusive concept. In a world of fake news and failing institutions we can’t rely on external definitions or doctrines.
The Truth with a capital T might be unchanging but it is not inflexible, and yet it is very hard to squeeze into words.
The truth is not “out there” it’s “in here”, its intrinsic to the very fabric of your being. You need to come closer in to the heart of your own being, and this journey of self discovery is what yoga is all about. Once you find the truth inside yourself no-one can shake it.
“ Things are not as they seem,
nor are they otherwise”
Another quote of ancient wisdom this time taken from the Buddhist text of The Lankavatara Sutra, is an invitation to look a little deeper. Yes the obvious is obvious, everybody can see that, but what else is going on here?
To observe water as ice, liquid or gas as different manifestations of the same thing you need a deeper understanding and the right tools. You need to know where and how to look, to create the right conditions.
The ancient Yogis have left many tool to help discover or uncover, the glorious multidimensionality of the human experience. Or in other words the truth that you are! The more you learn to focus on the root or the heart of the matters at hand the deeper your understanding and the better your ability to direct or effect change in your world.
The Pancha Maya Koshas from the Upanishads, provide a guide to the holistic nature of human form. These are 5 inter-permeable, and inter-active layers of being.
The Five Pancha Maya Koshas
- Annamaya ~ food/ physical body
- Pranamaya ~ Prana/ energy or subtle body
- Manomaya ~ mental/ emotional Body
- Vijnanamaya ~ Wisdom/ awareness body
- Anandamaya ~ Bliss/ Cosmic connection body
These teaching based on the inner discoveries of centuries of truth seekers, can provide a map to navigate the wild depths of full spectrum of being. Relating to different elements of self experience and the world around us we can learn to shift our focus to the deeper and more subtle realms.
If your only measure of reality is taken from external sources how can you ever hope to find your own solid ground within it? When we see only the gross/obvious manifestation of the body it is easy to become identified with partiality rather than the whole. If our focus is absorbed totally in the matter of the moment we can mistake what is temporary and fleeting, as permanent. It’s important to be able to step back and see the bigger pictures at play.
Learning how to focus on the depths rather than the swirling eddies on the the surface of these times can provide an anchor to hold steady in turbulent times.
Learning how to direct your focus, can help you discover the magician that you are, a star player in the mystery magic show of life itself.
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