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A monthly magazine in which we explore everything from self-development and health, relationships with family and friends, how to thrive in the workplace, to living in tune with nature.We also bring you inspiration from the lives of people who have made a difference to humanity over the ages.This magazine is brought to you by Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation, a non-profit organization.

COLLECTORS’ EDITION 2019

In this wonderful collection, Daaji explores Yogic Psychology in the light of modern-day science and psychology, and shares some simple yogic practices and approaches that support mental health and joyful living. Daaji is a changemaker for the unification of all spiritual paths and seeking hearts.

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  • vighnas
    December 2019 - Collectors' Edition, Vighnas, VOLUME 4, Yogic Psychology / 03 Dec 2019

    Vighnas

    Remember for a moment that the base of your consciousness is pure and still. When you have some time, perhaps this evening when you have wound down from the day, or very early in the morning when the outside world is also still, take a few minutes to dive deep within your heart and find that stillness. And then, during the day, witness for yourself what prevents you from being in that peaceful state all the time. Once we remove all the complexities, our inner nature returns to peace and stillness. Meditation propels our consciousness towards the core of our being, the center of our existence, and that center is also present at the center of every atom in our body. Yoga is a journey back home to that state of mental well-being, by removing all the patterning, conditioning, complexities and impurities in our field of consciousness. In short, meditation stills our mind. In this series, we first explored the normal everyday workings of the human mind within the field of consciousness – the 5 vrittis or tendencies – and how they create patterns and conditioning. The vrittis can either be pure, fostering well-being, health and spiritual growth, or colored, creating entanglement, pulling us towards complexity and impurity. From there we explored the next layer of complexity – the 5 kleshas, the colorings or mental afflictions that take us further away from our center of poise, thus leading to imbalance and suffering. Then we explored how we move even further away from our still center, into the realm of entropy, complexity and instability, as we become more and more entangled in those patterns and afflictions that play out in our life. At this stage, these patterns and habits become obstacles and distractions to our ongoing spiritual journey; they are known…

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  • December 2019 - Collectors' Edition, Solutions, VOLUME 4, Yogic Psychology / 03 Dec 2019

    Solutions

    Our journey in Yoga is to return to the purity and simplicity of consciousness at the center of our being. As we divest more and more layers, our mental and emotional state lightens progressively. It is not a linear progression but a spiral progression. Mental well-being is not the purpose of Yoga, but it is certainly a very beneficial side effect. The Heartfulness practices each have an important role to play in this, and most vital to the removal of impressions is the practice of de-conditioning we know as Cleaning. When we sit for Cleaning in the evening, we unload the impressions of the day and create a vacuum in the heart, similar to the way taking a bath washes away dirt from the physical body. What is being purified? Consciousness, and this has a ripple effect on our perception, bringing clarity, understanding and wisdom. A pure consciousness can more easily make wise choices. In fact, Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh once said, “The soul of a human being will be clean in proportion to the power of discrimination they possess.” The purer the heart, the more wisdom flourishes. Cleaning is complemented by Heartfulness Meditation. Over time, as a result of meditating in the morning with Transmission, we learn to absorb and carry the depths and fragrance of the meditative state with us throughout our daily activities. In a sense, we are meditating with eyes open, and this creates a field of protection, preventing emotional reactions and judgments, preventing the formation of samskaras. And so the need for Cleaning gradually diminishes and becomes more need-based, as we master the art of remaining meditative during all our activities. Heartfulness Prayer at bedtime connects us with universal love, helping us to sleep in a deeply profound state, and also allowing us to go…

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  • sleep1
    December 2019 - Collectors' Edition, VOLUME 4, Vrittis, Yogic Psychology / 02 Dec 2019

    Sleep

    All manifest life seems to require a period of sleep, of calm, in which to gain added strength, renewed vigor, for the next manifestation, or awakening to activity. Thus is the march of all progress, of all manifest life – in waves, successive waves, of activity and repose. Waves succeed each other in an endless chain of progression. —Swami Vivekananda The fourth vritti is sleep, defining yet another state of mind, for a completely different purpose. Patanjali says: 1.10: Abhava pratyaya alambana vritti nidra Deep sleep is the subtle thought pattern that embraces nothingness – the negation of other thought patterns. It is defined by the absence of content. Deep sleep is an unconscious state with no content. In deep sleep, our brainwave frequencies slow down almost to zero, and these are known as Delta waves between the frequencies of 0.5 to 3 Hertz. There is minimal activity. At all other times, except during Samadhi, we have thoughts; but not during deep sleep. Samadhi and deep sleep are not all that different, except that in Samadhi we can be aware. Why do we need to sleep? Delta wave sleep is rejuvenating and refreshing, because when we rest the body and mind other healing processes are able to purify and restore our system. Freshness comes as a result of deep sleep – we are mentally inactive, so our brainwave frequencies are almost zero, reflecting the stillness in our mental process. In deep sleep we are absorbed in the soul in a state of oneness. This is a deeply spiritual state, close to God, but we are generally not aware of it. Because we are close to God, resting in the soul, we experience joy and bliss, also without knowing it. There are very few waves in the mind – the lake…

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  • December 2019 - Collectors' Edition, Kleshas, VOLUME 4, Yogic Psychology / 01 Dec 2019

    The dualities of existence

    The first of the kleshas, avidya, which we explored in the last article, is the basis of the other four afflictions – ashmita, raga, dvesha and abivinesha. It is the ignorance resulting from a limited consciousness that creates lack of awareness. And the two things that are largely responsible for restricting consciousness and leading to mental affliction are desire and ego. It is by becoming conscious of desires and ego, and the role they play in creating mental afflictions, that we start to understand mental well-being. In a simplistic way, we can say that during our spiritual journey, the yatra, we learn to master desires in the Heart Region, and master the ego associated with the Mind Region. In fact the play of desires can create drama even if you are traversing through the Mind Region and likewise the ego can display many of its thorny sides while we are in the Heart Region. The process of going from avidya to vidya is the process of divesting all the likes and dislikes related to desire, as well as the various identifications of the ego, in order to return back to simplicity. In Heartfulness, this process of moving from mental complexity and affliction to mental purity and health, is done through the journey of the 13 chakras from the outer periphery of being to the Center of Being. We receive so much help in this process from our spiritual Guide and his yogic Transmission that keeps our attention focused towards the Center. Even still, we have to be vigilant to refine our outer behaviour. We bring those habits and tendencies to light that limit our personalities and work on consciously removing them. The remaining four kleshas are manifested through these tendencies that are the result of desire and ego, and are…

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  • fomo
    December 2019 - Collectors' Edition, Vikshepas, VOLUME 4 / 01 Dec 2019

    Fear of missing out (FOMO) & digital distraction

    I have added these two vikshepas to Patanjali’s list, as they have only surfaced as serious obstacles to progress in the modern era. FOMO is described by researchers as “the uneasy and sometimes all-consuming feeling that you’re missing out, that your peers are doing, knowing about, or in possession of more or something better than you.” It is exacerbated by the fact that we live in a world of WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and constant news on our smartphones. It is a fear that others are living a better life, and having more fun. It stems from a sense of envy, leading to a feeling of helplessness. Advertisers are always preying on this insecurity, by inviting us to buy products that will enhance our sense of belonging – those “Can’t miss out experiences,” be it a new car, a bigger house, the latest kitchen products, the newest smartphone or the latest fashions. FOMO is not new, it has been around for centuries, but it has become more obvious since the advent of social media. The first scientific studies were done by a marketing strategist, Dr. Dan Herman, in 1996, and the acronym FOMO was coined by Patrick McGinness in 2004 in The Harbus. Since then, it has been studied more and more frequently as a modern phenomenon. Social media are both a cause and effect of FOMO, which is characterized by a desire to be connected with what others are doing. Social media feed this vikshepa. We could even say that social media are the modern opiates of the people. They are so addictive. Unfortunately, social media post the highlights of people’s lives, so we are always comparing our own lives with the best of others. People show their best side on social media, or a sensationalist side to get…

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  • guilt
    December 2019 - Collectors' Edition, Vikshepas, VOLUME 4 / 01 Dec 2019

    Guilt and shame

    There is one more vikshepa that I have added to Patanjali’s list, as it is often a crippling obstacle to progress, and indeed to every aspect of living, and that is the vikshepa of Guilt and Shame. What types of impression dominate our lives? There can be so many, for example, worldly worries, sensuality and sexual attraction, prejudice, greed, grief, sadness, self-pity, jealousy, guilt and shame. As well as impressions formed by our thoughts and actions, we also form impressions by our inactions, creating even more guilt. These are the things that we should have done but did not do, and such things haunt us all our lives. For example, we may have hurt someone very dear to us without ever having made amends. Impressions like that are difficult to remove. Most of the other emotions associated with the human heart have some redeeming purpose and help us on our spiritual journey when used constructively for a higher purpose, even the so-called negative emotions like anger, fear and worry. But at first glance it is hard to see much value in guilt and shame, other than that they indicate we have a conscience. Someone who feels no guilt and no shame for anything is amoral and psychopathic. Is there a difference between guilt and shame? Guilt is a feeling that arises when we have either done something or not done something, for which we feel responsible. Psychologists explain it like this: With guilt we often want to make amends, and apologize for the hurt we have caused. Our attention is on the feelings of others, and correcting the situation. Guilt can eventually lead to socially-adaptive behavior. Shame, on the other hand, is focused inward, so that we view ourselves in the most negative light.1 Shame is the result of having transgressed…

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THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Collectors' edition 2019

Yogic Psychology

In this wonderful collection, Daaji explores Yogic Psychology in the light of modern-day science and psychology, and shares some simple yogic practices and approaches that support mental health and joyful living. Daaji is a changemaker for the unification of all spiritual paths and seeking hearts.
yogic pyschology
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It changes everything
Thought in action
Focus
Food as prana

Food as prana

in Focus, November 2019, VOLUME 4

DAAJI brings another angle to our relationship with food. It is not only for physical and mental health and well-being; it can also nurture our spiritual growth if we understand...

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HEARTFULNESS ON UDEMY

COLLECTORS' EDITION 2019