FEATURE STORY

The Basic Structure of the Human Energy System

In the Yogic physiology, there are 114 chakras, out of which 112 are within the human system. Out of these 112, there are seven categories, with 16 chakras in each category. These seven categories are generally known as chakras in the world today. The first 3 chakras are survival processes. The Anahata in between the first 4 and the last 3 chakras represents a meeting of the survival processes and the enlightening processes. From Anahata onwards are the enlightening processes of life. That dimension of life may not open up for most human beings. Still, some people may evolve without any specific practice or intention – just by education, focus, and attitude.
Every human being is evolving themselves at their own pace. The question is, are they consciously evolving at a rapid pace, or are they going slowly? But no one can say that they have been the same since they were ten years of age. Every one of us is evolving in our understanding, experience, perception, and wisdom. Spirituality means that because we understand we are mortal in nature and our time is very limited, we want to evolve as fast as we can.

What Kind of Food to Eat, According to Yogic Science

Food is considered a very basic level of reception. How we receive food and what we receive is very important. As societies get more and more affluent, they start eating worse food. The urban population is eating a kind of food that a rural Indian would not touch. The largest market for antacids is North America, which has one of the most affluent populations on the planet. They have a whole choice of nourishment, but they eat the worst food because commercial forces decide what they eat. Most people do not eat consciously. A lot of the food that people in Western countries are eating today is a minimum of thirty to sixty days old. In Yoga, food is classified as sattva, rajas, and tamas. Tamas means inertia. If you eat anything which has tamas, inertia will come in your system. Inertia does not only mean becoming lazy.
Inertia means that the regeneration of the system slows down. Neuronal regeneration is one of the most important aspects of keeping your brain reasonably functional throughout your life. Cognition is not the same from person to person. There are various aspects as to why it is so. If you consume foods which are tamasic and cause inertia in the general function of your system and in your energetic processes, then your cognition levels will go down over a period of time. This is why people are drinking cups and cups of cola, coffee, or something else with their food ­– because they need to balance the inertia. This is a very rudimentary way of balancing your system.

How Food Can Help You Stay Young

In the Yogic culture, the maximum time within which you can eat food once it is cooked is one and a half hours. After that, we do not touch the food because it starts gathering tamas; inertia begins to happen. If you want to experiment, eat very fresh food for one week. Then eat food that has been processed and stored for one or two months. You will notice the level of alertness in the system at the cellular level. We call this ojas ­– there is no English word for that. If you create sufficient ojas, which is a non-physical dimension of energy, if every cell in your body is wrapped in ojas, your cellular age will remain almost constant for a long period of time.

Compatible or Not? Why Food Combinations Matter

Going further in terms of food, there is something called viruddha ahara. That means if you eat two things that work in opposition to each other, it is as if there is a war in your system. The digestive process is largely between acids and alkalis. For example, if you eat meat that is fatty by itself, it may not cause that much damage. But if you eat it with rice and ghee, like a biryani, now the damage is big because these things do not go together. This is why non-vegetarian food and milk products were never mixed because when you do that, it will go against each other and create a battle within yourself.

The Importance of a Clean Colon for a Healthy Mind

In the Yogic culture, food should not remain in your stomach for more than two and a half hours. Your stomach should be empty within two and a half hours. We want our stomach to be empty because on an empty stomach, everything works well. Another aspect that is completely neglected today is colon health. If you do not keep your colon clean, keeping your mind in a balanced state is very difficult. In Ayurveda and Siddha, if you are having sleepless nights or any mild psychological problems, the first thing they do is purging. If you purge the system and clean the colon, you will feel more balanced. It is not a complete solution, but it will bring the necessary atmosphere in the body to make corrections, either with medicine or certain practices.

Karma is the residual impact of your every action. Not all of it is conscious, but it plays out in our life.

What You Think and Feel Doesn’t Matter!

Other creatures are absolutely beautiful ­– no question. Definitely, they are more colorful than you. You have to put on pink to look colorful. They come like that. And usually, it is the male birds which have the maximum color. Once it comes to the body, you cannot avoid looking at life in two ways – male and female, masculine and feminine. If you look at life beyond that, then it does not matter whether you are male or female, more masculine or more feminine. Yoga is not a psychological process. This may not sound politically correct, but we do not care what you think and feel. We are only interested in the realities of life. Only if you learn to handle the realities of life, will you know life. Otherwise, you will misunderstand your psychological drama as a reality.
The biggest mistake human beings make and the worst kind of suffering they create for themselves is that they pass away without having experienced life in its full strength, in its fundamental aspects, in its beauty, and, above all, in its sophistication. If you appreciate the colors of a peacock feather, you must also look at the intricacy with which it is created. There is much more to it than just the anatomy. It is too sophisticated and too fantastic.

Is Your Life About Your Neighbor or About You?

We want to bring you practices that will give you access. If you look at car advertisements today, you will see most of them do not specify the engine, transmission, gearing, or anything like that. It is all about the paint, upholstery, stereo, and wood paneling. It looks like most people are only interested in buying a sofa, but they get a car because they have to travel. They have no interest in the engine. When you ask them about the engine, they will say, “Oh, I don’t know. The paintwork is good."

They want to buy paintwork because it is all about neighbor’s envy, not about driving a good machine. If you are interested in the makeup, not the person, all the best for you. At least with your own system, it should not be about your neighbor’s envy. It is about your system buzzing efficiently so that it feels like it is on and willing to take on bigger and bigger challenges. If it is full of friction, all you want to do is rest it.

Before You Know It, You Have Mortgaged Your Life

For most people, their body is an obstacle. This does not necessarily mean they are sick, though that may also happen. But their whole life is arranged around fulfilling the needs of body, food, sleep, and sexuality. Most people mortgage their whole lives to ensure their daily food and comforts. It is happening everywhere, but the United States is a classic example. Everyone has some kind of bank loan ­– a student loan, a car loan, a house loan, and the second lake house loan. Together, they have fifty years of mortgage payment. Even if the most significant dimension opens up in their lives, they will not go there. All they will do is queue up at the bank.
You know, there is a little bit of an argument in the United States about where Jesus is going to come the next time. Last time, in Jerusalem, 2000 years ago, when he said, “Come follow me,” only twelve followed him. If he comes to the United States now and says, “Come follow me,” no one will come because everyone has a mortgage loan to pay. Their lives are mortgaged.
Financial arrangements are made for our comfort, so that tomorrow morning, we do not have to worry about our food. But now those arrangements occupy your entire time. Similarly, things like your sexuality, your comfort, occupy your entire life.

Why the Five Elements Are Key to Your Ultimate Wellbeing

If you want to live fully, you need to attend to the five elements. Bhuta Shuddhi is about making your system buzz in such a way that it is never in the way. Whatever you wish to do, your body should not be in the way ­– it should be a stepping stone, not an obstacle.
If you have some kind of control or mastery over the five elements, then we can look at how to have mastery over time. If you have mastery over time, life and death will be the same for you.