what kind of breaths are there? I dont know which breaths give the brain the most oxygen and whihc breaths are best for running faster or which breaths are best for feeling like im flying. these are some of the many things i want to learn on my billion year voyage to god.
There is only one thing to know, it cannot be learnt. That one thing is knowledge itself, and when you have discovered that all learnings shall be yours.
They are called pranayama - most books on Hatha Yoga describe this to some extent. But it's often been said that these techniques can be dangerous unless practiced under qualified supervision.
Yes, and the most direct way to knowledge is to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and read Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. Pranayama techniques do help with calming the mind and nervous system...makes chanting and/or meditation more focused. Bill, what I think you're referring to are kundalini yoga techniques, designed to quickly stimulate the kundalini at the base of the spine...I've heard of LSD-type casualties happening with that. Regular hatha-yoga style pranayama methods are safe, right Bhaskar?
This isn't something I know much about. It's worth noting that Gurdjieff said he'd met many people who had become 'damaged' through breathing exercises - I've always taken that, along with warnings of the dangers from other sources as meaning that it's better to seek proper instruction if you want to try this. The only 100% safe technique I know is the Vipassana Buddhist practice of 'mindfulness of the breath'. This involves only observing the breath, and not seeking to control it or breathe in an artificial way.
Bill...around 1970 I attended a few kundalini yoga classes given by followers of an Indian Sikh "guru" named Yogi Bhajan. Some of the the breathing techniques were indeed very vigorous and designed to stimulate the dormant kundalini force in a short time. I remember reading a few years later that some verified mental-illness casualties had happened as a result of these techniques...they're actually similar to taking drugs, because the self-examination, personal development, and scriptural study that is integral with genuine sadhana were in no way integrated with these lessons. That all being said, from time to time I still use one of the kundalini breathing exercises that I learned, but it's a technique for calming, not stimulation.
I actually know someone, a Premie (follower of guru Maharaji, or Prem Rawat, as he's now re-branded himself) who got into kundalini yoga type exercises back in the 80's (not that Maharaji teaches kundalini yoga). He became very mentally disturbed after sometime, and ended up in mental hospital for a month - although he's ok now.
Does anyone have the Woodstock DVD and seen where they were doing those breathing techniques. They were breathing in and out really fast while laying on the ground... is that what you are talking about?
One of the kundalini techniques in the classes I attended was very fast breathing, but done in a sitting position...could be a variation.
Pranayama techniques from Hatha Yoga are to learnt from a guru in person, otherwise it can cause serious physiological problems. Sae thing with kundalini yoga, meditation, even scriptural study can go horribly wrong unless our reasoning pattern is guided correctly. You only have to look around the forums to see examples of such ill-digested knowledge. Spook your direct path made me smile. I admire your guru bhakti. I am more inclined to take the Ramana route - relentless self-inquiry.
I was actually in the presence of "Yogi" Bhajan for a couple of kundalini/hatha classes...but he and his whole approach didn't appeal to me, so much emphasis on the physical...it did take SP's bhakti + scriptural approach to ring my spiritual bells...the ringing has never stopped. Ramana route...per Ramana Maharshi? Being on this board has prompted me to get refamiliarized with the teachers whose works I touched on many yrs. ago in pre-SP days, please pardon my ignorance at times.
Although I would perhaps phrase it differently, my own way seems to combine both elements. I think faith and devotion are essential, I can't stress that too highly, but also an uncompromising search for the deepest and highest possible truth/knowledge/experience - jnana or gnosis. One's faith should be in God I think, and not in any particluar set of ideas or teachings about God, other than in a general sense. So you could have faith in Krishna or Jesus, but still see that they exist beyond all these various teachings, methods etc. To quote a phrase, they stand above all heirarchies. You can even have the same faith and yet move between what seem like contradictory ideas about it - But there seems to be level beyond all these different approaches where everything is both love and knowledge at once.
You can't really have one without the other without the risk of imbalance. Blind faith is no good, that can lead to both fanaticism and stupidity. Cold,clinical, and indifferent knowledge is no good, that can produce an aloof and elitist kind of personality, or an anti-world type of attitude. Karma or work is also an essential element. Without that it seems not much can be very 'grounded'.
His devotees once pleaded with him not to go when he was "dying" He said, "Don't be silly where could I go?" I often think about him when I think about the topic of death... after all it was through first thinking about death in his uncle's studies, that he dived deep within, followed the "I" and found out Who I am? so deeply, that he became the saint we know and love... He listens to your comments right now.
I know that one fast breath technique is called breath of fire... There is this story about this New York House Wife, who did breath of fire for hours to lose weight in her house, and ended up channeling all these famous gurus... Ram Dass ended up visiting her and she told him things, private things that he never told anyone about that Neem Karoli Baba said to him... He ended up following her for a little while, but she couldn't handle the consciousness energy that came to her.... and totally ended up going into all these wild ego trips... she still is a guru and spiritual teacher though, just one with a bad rep. Even though Ram Dass said she was on ego trips and all... she still honors Ram Dass and doesn't hold anything against him at all... I think she has probably come to term with her own ego trips... but probably still isn't ready to put herself on the marketplace as a "guru" You could look up some of her story on the web, "egg in my beard" article by Ram Dass. I found it on there... But the breath of fire part of the story I got from "it's here now, are you?" by Bhagavan Das
