Boat is given to you to cross the river, not to start perfecting the boat and become a sailor. Spiritual Journey is not a pursuit of attaining perfection in any Kosha (Body/Sheath). Don't be stuck at one or more Koshas. Spiritual Journey for Moksha or Nirvana is not about - 1. Learning all the Asanas and perfecting many Yoga Postures. Making those Asanas the ultimate goal of your life. Fixing your eating, breathing, sleeping, cleaning and life to an extent that it seems your Physical Body is "the most" important thing for you. In other words, it is not about perfecting Annamaya Kosha. 2. Learning all possible Kriyas of the Kriya Yoga, all about 72,000 Nadis and all 114 Chakras and opening and balancing each one of them. The journey is not about raising Kundalini to play with the Powers of Astral Body and open chakras. It is not about doing Bhakti of Shakti for the sake of visions & powers. In other words, it is not about perfecting Pranamaya Kosha. 3. The spiritual journey is not about attaining 100% purity of emotions and 100% balance of Mind. Yes, "I-Thought" needs to die, but it doesn't mean you become all Love, Bliss & Peace before this happens. Yes, you will be using your emotions as tools later on, but that doesn't mean you focus too much on the Tools. You will have to wear your Ego again as a Costume after Self-Realization, but that doesn't mean you focus way too much on perfecting it because it's like spending too much time on your costume than the Real Thing. It is also not about fixing each and every Karma of yours, because Karma is nothing but the output of tools & costume. It is also not about surfing the waves of sweet-pleasant emotions of Bhakti at all times, because in the end whether it is a Bhakta or Shakta or a Bhogi, the Experiencer will be dead. In other words, it is not about perfecting Manomaya Kosha. 4. The spiritual journey is not about attaining all 8 to 18 Siddhis/Psychic Powers. They are not the prerequisite for Self-Realization or Moksha. If you develop and strengthen this Vigyanmaya Kosha a lot, then you stand a very heavy chance of creating mountain-load of Karma. This is the worst kind of attachment/trap. It is also not about gathering the knowledge about ALL possible sacred scriptures, texts, books, shlokas, mantras, Tantras, Yantras and all. 5. Spiritual Journey is also not about enjoying the bliss through Anandamaya Kosha for as many times as possible, as long as possible. The more perfection you attain the more attachment you are creating for yourself, which will be very hard to break later on and will actually defeat the purpose of Spiritual Journey. So you see, the perfection of all these Koshas is not the "aim". Aim or Goal of the spiritual journey is Moksha! You are given all these Koshas as a medium to reveal your True Self, to be Self-Realized. They are like a boat being given to you to cross the river. Imagine you intend to cross a river and you got a boat. But instead of crossing the river, you took the boat and started carving it, decorating it, perfecting it and then practising a lot in the river to sail it this way, that way and upside down and in few years you became a Boat Expert and/or Best Sailor. Means you did everything except crossing that goddamn river and be on the other side! How to know when it is too much? Very simple. When you start liking and enjoying your Sadhana! When your focus & attention starts going more on the pleasure, pleasantness, joy/bliss, love (sweetness of emotions) instead of your Vasanas, Karmic Lessons. Do not forget that each Sadhana/Spiritual Practice was given to you to fulfil a purpose, if it's done, leave the Sadhana. No need to keep doing it. If you don't know the purpose or expiry conditions of a spiritual practice, ask your Guru, Teacher who gave you that Sadhana. You might have been taught "to do the Sadhana". But you also need to know "when to stop doing it". When to leave it. There comes a time on Spiritual Journey when the only Sadhana that is needed is "not doing any Sadhana", Non-Doing, Dissolving the Doer, Surrendering!!! What if you have got an attachment with one or more Kosha & you are trapped? Well, now your Guru/Teacher have to be tricky with you :-) Many Gurus will do this - They will give you Sadhana & Teachings to strengthen another Kosha in you and then you will automatically leave the attachment of the other Kosha. For example, if someone is way head over heels about their beauty & physical appeal, then these type of Gurus will help their students develop & strengthen their mind or energy or something else so much that their beauty to them feels like something of no great importance. This is a "replacement of trap". Means earlier your trap was made up of Ebony and now it is made up of Sandal Wood. Many Gurus teach you to replace your negative thoughts with a positive one. Replace one thing with another. Well, it may look like a solution, but it never is. Real Gurus (Outer Sadh-Guru or Inner Guru - Trikuti) will "show" you, your own attachment by purifying your Intellect/Buddhi step by step. So that you start "seeing attachments/traps/hooks/cage". They give you Shakti to break the attachments. Once you start seeing them for what they really are and how they hold you back, you will leave them and also will never get caught in another one. Those who give you just Shakti but not Buddhi/Intellect to see the traps, then you may get into another one. So awakening/purifying your Buddhi is a very important step. This means all attachments/traps exists only until Buddhi/Intellect is not purified and Light of Wisdom is off. Once that Light is turned ON, everything appears the way it is. Attachments and Traps do not glitter like gold anymore, instead, are seen as such, a cage of thorns. One thing to remember here is that all that you can ever "experience" or "know" or "be" through any or all of your Kosha(s), is so limited in comparison to the #INFINITUDE that you will be once you break the traps of any and all Koshas. So, trust your own ability to break the barriers of all Koshas. Through your spiritual practices, you are becoming more and more Conscious, Aware of your different Koshas and knowing more and more about them not to fall in love with them, not to make them your home, but to break the boundary that they impose on you. Many Gurus can teach you Karma Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Bhakti Yoga. But Jnana (Gyan) Yoga can be taught effectively only by a Self-Realized Guru. In other words, only a Self-Realized Guru or Inner Guru Chakra - Trikuti can purify your Buddhi/Intellect. Many Gurus and people can touch/purify your Koshas, Shakti (Energy, Kundalini), Mind, Emotions, Power Center, Chakras and everything else, but only a Self-Realized Guru or Trikuti can teach you the purification of your Buddhi/Intellect. Buddhi/Intellect is that which "veils the truth". The truth of who we really are. It veils the "SELF". That veil is what we call Maya/Ignorance. After purification Buddhi/Intellect "transcends" and becomes MAHAT - Cosmic Intelligence and you become the Cosmic Being and finally you even break that boundary and just "be", only "SELF". TRUTH BITE Not all Self-Realized ones can do Hatha Yoga and all Asanas/Postures perfectly. Their physical body, habits, eating, sleeping, living, lifestyle is 100% Conscious, but may not be perfect. In other words, if someone's Annamaya Kosha is not perfect then that doesn't mean they are not Self-Realized. Yet in other words, the perfection of Annamaya Kosha is not the prerequisite for Self-Realization. Not all Self-Realized ones are adept in Kriya Yoga and the knowledge of Mudras, Kundalini, Chakras, Pranayama etc. Yes, technically Kundalini awakens, and their Pranamaya Kosha is 100% Conscious, but it is not necessary that the one who is Self-Realized has done some special Kundalini Sadhana and he/she may have blockages in certain Nadis/Chakras. Means perfection of Pranamaya Kosha is not the prerequisite for Self-Realization. In other words, if a Self-Realized one doesn't talk/teach/preach about Shakti/Kundalini and/or if they have blocked Nadis/Chakras, then that doesn't mean they are not Self-Realized. Not all Self-Realized ones are great in releasing Vasanas through Mental/Emotional Body, means Manomaya Kosha. And their emotional tools and ego costume may be really faulty, they may not be worldly-wise at all, they will feel and cry in love & pain of the entire cosmos, as their Manomaya Kosha is 100% Conscious. Just because they are in tears easily and make bad worldly choices doesn't mean they are not Self-Realized. The perfection of Manomaya Kosha is not the prerequisite for Self-Realization. Not all Self-Realized ones are Mystics as their Vigyanamaya Kosha may not have attained the height of perfection, it is 100% Conscious though. Having or not having Siddhis/Powers in no way is a measure for Self-Realization or the greatness of the Self-Realized one. Because the perfection of Vigyanmaya Kosha is not the prerequisite for Self-Realization. Everything around them works through the power of SELF and the power is applied wherever it is needed. Anandamaya Kosha is merged with the Cosmic Anandamaya Kosha, Supreme Consciousness, SELF. Hence Sat-Chit-Ananda is the very nature of a Self-Realized one, but may not be reflected as such if the Manomaya Kosha is not that developed or expressive, or may be reflected through their Physical body as a glow/light or through their Aura from Pranamaya Kosha. So not all Self-Realized ones may instantly, easily look like sailing in Love, Peace, Bliss. They are though, but it's just that it doesn't flow down to the lowest level to be visible through their Koshas. Some Self-Realized ones look crazy, furious instead. Their Anandamaya Kosha is 100% Conscious. But the display of Peace, Bliss, Love through Anandamaya Kosha or any other Kosha is not the criteria or prerequisite for Self-Realization. Not all Self-Realized ones have perfected all aspects of TRIKUTI (Guru Chakra) & VOID (Space of all previous Gurus & Wisdom) and hence may not become Guru to teach/preach the humanity. They may stay in Samadhi forever and live life in Sahaja but may not become a Guru for anyone or everyone. Mastering all these and/or becoming Guru is also not a prerequisite for Self-Realization. Becoming 100% Conscious of your Koshas and your whole existence is different than strengthening their abilities, powers. Being 100% Conscious is the requirement for Self-Realization. Being 100% powerful and perfect is NOT the criteria for Self-Realization. Self-Realized ones are 100% Conscious, they are not 100% Perfect. When you become Aware/Conscious of your Koshas, you break the boundaries, but if you perfect your Koshas then you fall in love with them. One thing that is the CRITERIA & PREREQUISITE, as well as a COMMON ground for every Self-Realized one, is - SELF-ILLUMINED BUDDHI/INTELLECT. In other words 100% Pure, Sattvik Buddhi. Buddhi is what makes one Buddha. Jay Shivay, Prakriti

Prana is Subtle, while Breath is Gross/Physical. Prana flows in Pranamaya Kosha, while Breath flows in Physical Body. First of all, let's understand why so many Sanskrit/Hindi spiritual "terms" cannot be translated into the English language? Why do we have Sanskrit Non-Translatable Terms? The Answer to the above questions is that - English language hardly has any vocabulary for Subtler and Causal Dimensions/planes of existence. Hence, we face this challenge while Translating. Approximate/rough division of the Gross, Subtle and Causal can be as below and it changes when you are looking from different perspectives and for different purposes: GROSS – This includes Physical Body, Mind, Thoughts, Emotions SUBTLE – This includes Prana, Pranamaya Kosha, Vigyanmaya Kosha, Anandamaya Kosha and many more CAUSAL – Atman, Brahman, Adi Shakti or Shakti, Shiva and their many forms Also “Words” are for Physical/Gross dimension and they can be translated. Means a word can have a meaning. But Subtle & Causal dimensions requires Interpretation and have “Terms”. Terms can be interpreted, explained but cannot have direct/one-to-one translation. The “definition” of the English word “Subtle” itself is where the “difficulty, inability” of the English language starts from. PRANA IS NOT BREATH, PRANAYAMA IS NOT BREATHING EXERCISE Prana and Pranayama are Sanskrit Non-Translatable Terms. Prana is Subtle, while Breath is Gross/Physical. Prana flows in Pranamaya Kosha, while Breath flows in Physical Body. This doesn’t mean that Prana and Breath have no connection, they do have a connection like our different body systems are interrelated, interconnected with each other, but Prana and Breath are not one and the same thing. We breathe because we have Prana. We move, we sit, walk, talk, eat and are alive because we have Prana. Prana is the Cosmic Pulsation (Hindi/Sanskrit – Spandan) which is reflected in our Pranamaya Kosha (2nd layer/sheath of our existence, also referred to as Energy Body). The Pulsation/Spandan of Prana in our Pranamaya Kosha makes our Annamaya Kosha (Physical Body) breathe. In Pranamaya Kosha Prana flows in Pingala Nadi which supplies Prana to different body parts and brain. Now because the physical body does breathing due to Prana Spandan in Pranamaya Kosha, hence they are closely related to each other. Prana Spandan also makes our Manomaya Kosha “take in a thought” and “throw out a thought”. Now, just like people are not breathing properly and their breathing rate is disturbed in the same way people may hang onto a thought or may be stressed, anxious and hence thought rate may be disturbed too. So, through the Prana, Breath and Thoughts are connected. In other words, through Pranamaya Kosha, the Annamaya Kosha and Manomaya Kosha are connected and can have an exchange, persistent thoughts and emotions from Manomaya Kosha can flow all the way to Physical Body and the Asanas and Breathing impacts can flow from Physical Body to Manomaya Kosha. When Breathing is shallow, too many thoughts boggle the person and one becomes stressed. In other words, too, many thoughts will result into shallow breathing, but there is no point in looking at it in this way because you cannot minimize the thoughts, you do not have any direct control over your Manomaya Kosha unless you are a Sadhak/Yogi. Hence the useful way to look at it is that through proper breathing you can minimize mental/emotional disturbance. In other words, if breathing is disturbed, mind/emotions will be disturbed and Pranic Shakti (Rough translation – Power of Prana) will be lower and that will speed up the ageing process and/or the physical body may become diseased. So, breathing exercises are done to have a calm, peaceful mind and that helps us increase the Pranic Shakti in Pranamaya Kosha. In other words, Prana becomes pure as it doesn’t have a stronghold by Aham/Ego. Prana is an essential Life Force, and is the cause for us to be alive in body and use our different Koshas and body systems, including breathing. Breathing doesn’t create Prana, it can purify and balance it. Prana in itself is Subtle, but is the causal factor for Breath, Breath is not the causal factor for Prana. Because Breath is in gross body and it can’t be the cause for anything in the Subtle Body. In other words, we Breathe because we have Prana and not vice-versa. Just like Prana and Breath are not one and the same, similarly, Breathing Exercises and Pranayama are not one and the same. Sports coach often suggest their students to breathe differently at different times, but that is not Pranayama, it will impact the Prana though, but that is not Pranayama. Pranayama is a process, method of – Purifying the Prana (Removing the hold of Vasanas, Ego/Aham, Chitta-Vritti) which increases the Pranic Shakti, the intensity of Prana Moving the Prana to different Chakras and Nadis in the Pranamaya Kosha for healing and other purposes Moving different types of Prana Vayu (Pancha Prana – 5 Prana Vayu) for healing and other purposes Alignment (Balance, Purification) of all Koshas Most importantly, Pranayama is the Process/Method to move Consciousness/Awareness to different Koshas, Chakras and systems for the purpose of spiritual evolution, because Prana is the vehicle for Consciousness Pranayama requires – Physical Body to Breath, specific Breathing Techniques Physical Body to be in specific Asana and/or Mudra and/or Kriya Strict Schedule Strict/Maintained Lifestyle Pranayama results into – Better Well-being (Physical, Mental/Emotional)Sharpened Intellect (Purity of Buddhi) Better Awareness - Because Prana is the Vehicle for Awareness/Consciousness, hence through Pranayama Consciousness/Awareness is moved to different Koshas, Chakras and systems Awakened/Enlightened State of a Being Now if you see here “Breathing Exercise” alone cannot produce such high-end results. Pranayama is not just breathing, it is a “Complex Process” which involves many methods, systems. Hence Prana is not Breath and Pranayama is not Breathing Exercises. Prana is Subtle, Pranayama involves Subtle System and Gross System both, but the achievement of goals is in the Subtle dimension of your existence. Quieting the mind, calm, peacefulness all these are achieved in Manomaya Kosha which is a Subtle body. In other words, it brings Transformation of the Subtle and helps us move towards Causal, to just “be”. There are more people in the world interested in Physical Well-Being, then there are some interested in Mental/Emotional Well-Being. Hence Pranayama is being reduced to just Breathing Exercise and being sold as a Therapy for Well-Being. There are very few who are interested in Transformation, Transcendence and to those Pranayama is very important in its true meaning and context and Prana is the vehicle for Consciousness. Now, you may wonder why many Gurus, Spiritual Teachers, even Indian Spiritual Teachers just use the word "breath & breathing exercise" and do not stick to the Term Prana or Pranayama? There could be several reasons: They themselves have not understood the "Subtlety" of Yoga Principles. They have not understood, accepted the Subtle aspects, Transcendental aspects of Prana & Pranayama. They deal with masses who are after physical/gross aspect of life. They themselves have not Transcended the physical/gross limitation through Prana/Pranayama or any other method/means. They may not have realized that English and many other languages do not have vocabulary for Subtle and Causal planes of Existence. It may be just convenient to keep on using the wrongly translated word, without realizing the fact that in the English language this term means something gross/physical, hence many Westerners may get confused. An understanding that says "it's hard for the Westerners or other language speakers to remember, understand, pronounce the Sanskrit/Hindi words". But how can you justify "wrong translation"? Would it be OK, acceptable if I start calling "Eye Blinking as Breathing"? Because both of them happens rhythmically when normal, non-rhythmically due to external/internal factors. It's difficult to stop, think and make correction and cause a paradigm shift. On the name of convenience we have accepted many things which are incorrect fundamentally. Hence we must stop, think and make correction as we go before it's too late. The most important thing to understand here that, it is not about which language is being used, it's not the fight between two languages, and it's not about the "words" either, it's about "the meaning, the concept" which cannot be conveyed through wrong translation to those who do not have direct experience, embodied wisdom of Prana and/or Pranayama yet, those who have not experienced the Transcendental yet. Those who are Yogi, Sadhak it doesn't matter for them, because they have grasped the real meaning, the concept of it, the Prana itself and their Awareness has increased. The correct meaning and translation of the words like "Bike & Biking" matter to those who are reading them and trying to understand, not to those who are Bikers and have experienced Biking. So for those people who are new and are being introduced to themselves through the path of Yoga, the correct meaning, translation of these words matter a lot. Hence we should stick to the word "Prana and Pranayama" until & unless English language authorities, dictionaries come up with other equivalent Terms. You need to be clear about your own goals, as to whether you want to learn Breathing Exercise for physical/mental/emotional well-being or you want to learn and practice Pranayama. There is nothing wrong about looking for better well-being. But only if you understand Pranayama, you will be able to touch the Subtle existence of Prana within you and you will experience Transformation/Transcendence, only then you are a Spiritual Seeker, Sadhak, a Yogi. At times many people just look for overall well-being but then transformation within helps them explore the Subtle dimensions of life and they move towards Pranayama and/or Kriya Yoga. Jay Shivay, Prakriti

Power and Energy both belong to the Gross/Physical plane/dimension of existence. Shakti is Causal. First of all, let's understand why so many Sanskrit/Hindi spiritual "terms" cannot be translated into the English language? Why do we have Sanskrit Non-Translatable Terms? The Answer to the above questions is that - English language hardly has any vocabulary for Subtler and Causal Dimensions/planes of existence. Hence, we face this challenge while Translating. Approximate/rough division of the Gross, Subtle and Causal can be as below and it changes when you are looking from different perspectives and for different purposes: GROSS – This includes Physical Body, Mind, Thoughts, Emotions SUBTLE – This includes Prana, Pranamaya Kosha, Vigyanmaya Kosha, Anandamaya Kosha and many more CAUSAL – Atman, Brahman, Adi Shakti or Shakti, Shiva and their many forms Also “Words” are for Physical/Gross dimension and they can be translated. Means a word can have a meaning. But Subtle & Causal dimensions requires Interpretation and have “Terms”. Terms can be interpreted, explained but cannot have direct/one-to-one translation. The “definition” of the English word “Subtle” itself is where the “difficulty, inability” of the English language starts from. SHAKTI IS NOT POWER or ENERGY Shakti is a Sanskrit Non-Translatable Term. Power and Energy both belong to the Gross/Physical plane/dimension of existence. Shakti is Causal. Without Shakti, nothing will manifest from the Brahman or Shiva. Brahman or Shiva moves through Shakti. Shakti is the Dynamic Source through which entire creation manifests. Due to the Dynamic Force that Shakti is, Power, Energy can be felt, can be perceived. Hence Shakti is the “causal” factor for Power or Energy to exist and to be experienced, then how can they be same. It’s like saying Mother is her own Child as well. Yes, ultimately everything is Shakti and there are many dimensions of Shakti, many planes of existence of Shakti. But the Causal/Cause and the Manifestation are not one and the same. Creator and Creation are not One and the same. If they were same then they can be substituted. Means if there is no Guru to Initiate you, Transmit Shakti to you, then you can put your finger in the Electricity Plug point and can electrocute yourself. This is if you look at Power and Energy as if in Electricity or Electro-Magnetic form or Cosmic Energy. Another way to look at Power is as in “Feeling Powerful” in the body, or mind. Shakti is also “not” this feeling of Power. Because the feeling of Power is perceived by the Gross/Physical part of you. Shakti’s after effect can be felt at the level of Gross/Physical dimension but that itself cannot be equated with the “Causal” factor that Shakti is. In other words, “Ice” can give you a “feeling of freeze/extreme cold”, but Ice and Extreme Cold are not one and the same thing, because even a Viral Fever can give you cold shivering in the hot summer month. So, in a nutshell, “causal” cannot be replaced or substituted with “gross”. Not only that Shakti is Alive, but Shakti is also the Cause of Life. While Power and Energy are “non-living”, Gross/Physical and are not the “Cause of Life” itself. During Shaktipath, Shakti is Transmitted by the Guru and that means “Causal” Dimension is super-imposed once again to your Subtle dimension, to help you evolve spiritually. Due to Vasanas/Sanskaras/Chitta-Vritti/Karma, our Subtle Dimension which is the Reflection of the Causal Dimension gets some blockages and by Initiating you with Shakti, by igniting the Causal Fire again in you it helps you remove those blockages. Shakti causes a transformation in your Subtle dimension if you allow it to, if you provide the necessary ground for it, else it can stay within you as a Seed, which will sprout when the conditions are right. Shakti has many forms and names and each form/name is a different plane/dimension of existence and has a different purpose. The first and the foremost dimension/plane of existence comes into existence because of Adi-Shakti. Shakti is the “Feminine” aspect of Creation/Existence while Power/Energy has Positive charge, Negative charge and Neutral all three. Feminine principle in existence is required for the propagation of Source/Brahman/Shiva. Because it is a Feminine principle it is often shown with “female body”, but in reality, it is Formless. Though most of the time Shakta (Tantra Sadhak) instils the Shakti in Female Body Form Deities because it is easier to connect with them that way and it is easier for the Aham to bow down to Shakti in certain forms. Shakta is a person, a being who is capable of handling Shakti the Causal factor of life and different dimensions of life, and practices Tantra Sadhana. Shakti and Shakta are the Terms of Tantra. Hence Shakti is Sanskrit Non-Translatable term and must be accepted as is and should not be translated as “power, energy” or any other gross/physical dimensional word in English. Now, you may wonder why many Gurus, Spiritual Teachers, even Indian Spiritual Teachers just use the word "power or energy" and do not stick to the Term Shakti? There could be several reasons: They themselves are not Shakta, means Tantra Sadhak, Tantra Practitioner and have not perceived the Shakti as a Causal Factor. Most Spiritual Gurus are from Vipassana or Hatha or Bhakti. Traditions and are not well versed in the reality of Tantra which is beyond Body, Mind, Emotions or anything gross/physical. They may not have realized that English and many other languages do not have vocabulary for Subtle and Causal planes of Existence. It may be just convenient to keep on using the wrongly translated word, without realizing the fact that in the English language this term means something gross/physical, hence many Westerners may get confused. An understanding that says "it's hard for the Westerners or other language speakers to remember, understand, pronounce the Sanskrit/Hindi words". But how can you justify "wrong translation"? Would it be OK, acceptable if I start calling "Animal as Electricity"? Because both of them runs. It's difficult to stop, think and make correction and cause a paradigm shift. On the name of convenience we have accepted many things which are incorrect fundamentally. Hence we must stop, think and make correction as we go before it's too late. The most important thing to understand here that, it is not about which language is being used, it's not the fight between two languages, and it's not about the "words" either, it's about "the meaning, the concept" which cannot be conveyed through wrong translation to those who do not have direct experience, embodied wisdom of Shakti yet. Those who are Shakta and/or are Tantra Sadhak it doesn't matter for them, because they have grasped the real meaning, the concept of it, the Shakti herself. The correct meaning and translation of the words like "Bike & Biking" matter to those who are reading them and trying to understand, not to those who are Bikers and have experienced Biking. So for those people who are new and are being introduced to themselves through the path of Yoga, the correct meaning, translation of these words matter a lot. Hence we should stick to the word "Shakti" until & unless English language authorities, dictionaries come up with another equivalent Term. Jay Shivay, Prakriti

Bodhisattva is the person who is on the path of Self-Realization, he/she has attained Bodhicitta, compassion for all sentient beings, and he/she is ready to die, reborn out of compassion for the Realization of others/all humanity. Since I read about Bodhisattva, I was wondering if there is some wrong/polluted understanding that may be there, and yes it seems like most of the new age books, new age Gurus have distorted the True Meaning of Bodhisattva. I wondered how come in a Spiritual Community where people are heading towards Liberation from death/birth cycle, they are being taught to come back, take another human birth for the benefit of others. That just did not seem right to me. Walk the whole spiritual path, and then not be Self-Realized. So I thought about it for sometime and here is what came to me. Bodhisattva is the person who is on the path of Self-Realization, he/she has attained Bodhicitta, compassion for all sentient beings, and he/she is ready to die, reborn out of compassion for the Realization of others/all humanity. Now here it seems “death & reborn/re-birth” are mistaken by most people. Self-Realization is DEATH OF ALL THAT YOU ARE NOT, so yes Bodhisattva is on the path of death, he/she is ready to die. “Reborn/Rebirth” as a divine being happens once one is Self-Realized. In Hindu/India Scriptures/Texts also we call it – Dwija, means born twice, once out of your human mother and once out of your own Soul when one is Self-Realized. Technically also in order to be Self-Realized one is born again from his/her own Soul (5th Dimensional Body) and cross 6th and 7th dimensional bodies, merges with Supreme Consciousness and finally be 8th Dimensional (No Body). But yes, I can see how all new texts/books/people’s understanding here is mistaken as they believe/think that Bodhisattva are those who keep taking physical human births again and again, and do not wish to Self Realize. Because those who have not experienced Self-Realization they do not know Death in any other way, they only know the Human Body Death, hence they do not know the Rebirth as being born out of the True Self (Atman/Soul/Supreme Consciousness Union). In original texts Bodhisattva are people on the path of Self-Realization, it may happen to them in this life, or next or may be next, depending upon their Sadhana and Remaining Karma, but they are on that path. Self-realization doesn’t happen to us for our own personal benefit, there is no individual/person alive/living after Self-Realization. Self-Realization is a death one accepts for all sentient beings, and as a result of that, a Divine Beings is born for the benefit of all sentient beings. That is the true meaning of Bodhisattva. Jay Shivay! Prakriti

This whole path from Guide to Guru and from being a Disciple to Devotee to Divine may not happen with a person in One lifetime. It may happen in several lifetimes. Oftentimes people use these words "Disciple, Devotee and Devotion" without understanding their true meaning. Without knowing the true meaning of these words, that which one is trying to achieve cannot be achieved, because in other words, one doesn't know what it means, to be a Disciple, or Devotee and what is Devotion. It's very easy for anyone to say "He is my Guru, She is my Guru, or I consider you my Guru, or I want you to be my Guru, or You are my Guru or that I am the Devotee of him/her". But until one is truly a Disciple, Guru can't be Guru, until one is in Devotion and becomes a Devotee, Guru/Self/Divine can't play their Role and transmit Wisdom, Shakti/Power in any way. So it's very important to understand what it means to be a Disciple, Devotee and what exactly is Devotion. Disciple or Devotee is a "receiver of wisdom, energy, life and everything", and it matters to understand what do we mean by "receiver" and then one can try to be a "good receiver", else it won't matter, it won't work, one will simply waste time. All of you have the body, mind, and emotions and you also have lots of methods, philosophies, opinions, prejudices, experiences that you gathered, developed while living life. When you start walking Spiritual Path consciously or may it be a Corporate/Business Path, then you use all that you have. You utilize the body, mind, emotions, and everything else that I mentioned above in order to reach the goal. Spiritual Journey has Liberation as a Goal, Corporate/Business goal could vary from person to person, but there is a Goal that one has in mind, before embarking on any long, arduous journey. Now suppose while on your journey you realize that you are not going in the right direction, you are not making progress, you are not getting what you were supposed to get, you are not reaching anywhere, then you will start looking around, looking towards those who have successfully achieved the goal that you are trying to achieve. You will realize that you don't understand those things which are necessary for success, you will accept that you need guidance from someone. In other words, you will start looking for a guide, or a mentor. As soon as you find such a Person/Guide/Mentor, you will reach out to him/her to clarify your doubts, you will try to gather knowledge from him/her, you will start sharing your concepts, philosophies, prejudices, experiences and even your decisions, so you can have his/her point of view. You will use Guide's/Mentor's perspective and YOUR MIND to pursue your journey. Regardless of Guide's specific instructions, you will end up doing, which you anyways had in your mind, you looked for Guide for validation, verification of your own mind, which you may get sometimes, and may not at other times. Now suppose after pursuing your journey with the help of Guide/Mentor, you still did not reach your goal, instead, you hit the major setback and you achieved nothing, lost time, energy, resources and your mind went NUMB. You felt clueless, as to how to proceed further, you hit a dead end and you find yourself completely in the dark. You struggled with this setback for some time and you finally ACCEPTED that it's not going to work through your mind. This acceptance helped you push your mind aside, and you started looking for a Guru. When you found a Guru, you started listening and following his instructions PRECISELY. Your own mind stopped causing much resistance and whenever a doubt arose, you reached out to Guru and got the clarification. Even if you did not understand that at once, you had trust, faith that someday you will understand it completely. You placed your trust, your faith in the Guru, realizing that Guru won't misguide you and Guru himself/herself has reached that goal, which you are trying to achieve. This is who and what a DISCIPLE is. Disciple surrenders his mind, becomes no-mind and pushes his own experiences, philosophies, methods, prejudices, opinions aside, and keeps doing what Guru is asking to do. Even at times when you do not want to do, you keep doing it, because in the past you got burnt when you tried to use your mind. This is the stage where you are practicing the "Full Surrender of Mind", where you are implementing that, where you start living life with Surrendered mind. Time to time there will be resistance in you, but over the period of time, it will vanish and you will become truly a very good Disciple. After few years of being a Disciple, slowly you start realizing that life is moving in the right direction, you crossed some major milestones without much problem and it's working, success is not too far. Realization of that started "opening your heart". Love started cultivating in you towards your Guru. Your faith, your trust now converted into Love. Now your own mind is totally out of the question, it doesn't create any resistance what so ever. You follow Guru's instructions out of love now. This is who and what a DEVOTEE is. A Devotee is the one with No-Mind and Open-Heart. A Disciple is Devotee in Making! Now that you are a Devotee and your Heart is Open, Guru doesn't need to instruct you using words, language. Guru can instruct you through Power/Shakti/Energy. Guru can transform you just by looking because you have become a ULTIMATE RECEIVER. Guru rarely talks to true Devotees, they just live around the Guru in complete Surrender, they understand each other without verbal communication, and they both LOVE each other. A devotee is ALWAYS thinking about Guru only, Guru becomes the "center" of Devotees life. The Devotee finds it painful when Guru is not around, or when he/she is not around the Guru. Love toward Guru starts becoming unconditional. Devotees ONE POINTED MIND is pointed towards the Guru and his HEART has nothing but Guru, devotion for Guru. Now it gets very interesting. Because the end goal is Liberation, Liberation even from the Devotion towards the Guru, so Guru starts alienating himself/herself from the Disciple, this makes disciple go crazy. The more Guru sends him away from himself, the more heartburns disciple gets. Guru is not trying to torture or punish the Devotee here when Guru knows Devotee is madly in love with him/her, he is simply trying to TURN his Devotion towards SELF/DIVINE/GOD/Devotee himself. The more Guru keeps him away without even explaining the reasons, the more THAT FIRE of DEVOTION burns the Devotee. Devotee starts feeling longing so painful that slowly it becomes suffocating. Day and night devotee burns in this longing, suffers, cries his heart out, and is totally baffled as to what did he do wrong, so Guru is keeping him away, what mistake he made, he simply loved, he just want to love Guru and nothing else he wants in life, he doesn't even want liberation at this point, he wants his Guru's love only, he wants his Guru only and the fire starts going on and on and on inside the devotee. Now Devotion is the FIRE, and Devotee is ON FIRE! Slowly after much suffering through that longing and after much pain, there comes a time, when Devotee is ready to die. Devotee believes that he/she can't take it anymore, Guru doesn't love him anymore, Guru doesn't want him, Guru has abandoned him, then what's the use of this life, why am I still living? Such thoughts start taking the grip on the entire existence of this Devotee. Now Devotee turns towards GOD/Divine. Devotees' complete attention turns towards Divine, he/she starts looking towards Divine in order to get answers like, why did you even create me, why did you send me on this early plane, just to suffer? You also don't love me at all, my Guru doesn't love me either. Why did you do this to me? Do I exist? All such questions now Devotee starts asking from God/Divine. The pain, suffering, longing, fire in Devotee is so much that he actually FORGETS about GURU altogether, now the Focus, Attention, Question is about LOVE. The devotee wants to know if he/she is loved by God at all or not, if even God doesn't love him then one better die, what's the point in living such a life, where no one loves you. This suffocates the Devotee to an extent that he/she stops BREATHING externally, that Fire/Pranic Energy starts flowing from the Central Column, Sushumna Nadi and hits the Crown Chakra, Shakti unites Shiva. And that's it. That's when Devotee gets Enlightened/Awakened. Now, this whole path from Guide to Guru and from being a Disciple to Devotee to Divine may not happen with a person in One lifetime. It may happen in several lifetimes. Also, ANYONE can play Guru for you, when you are ready, when you have renounced the world/mind. Self can play Guru through anyone who can kindle the fire of love, then unconditional love, then devotion. It happens that one ends up loving another person initially and slowly that love becomes unconditional and then that person goes away in one way or the other from one's life and longing starts and love becomes unconditional, the fire of devotion starts burning day and night, and ultimately one Awakens! Not ALL those who love the other unconditionally may arrive at this end, because one may still have not Surrendered completely, and may still have mind/world left to deal with, play with. Now based on the fact if you have surrendered your mind, renounced the world from your mind you become Disciple and Guru can play his Role and be the Guru for you. If you have become no-mind and your heart has opened in love, then you become the Devotee of your Guru and Guru can give you ALL that he/she has and can take you to the Ultimate! Based on your own level you can call yourself Disciple or Devotee or none of these. The same person can play Guide, Mentor or Guru or none of these, depending upon where you are in your journey of life. If you are NOT ready, you will never know that there is a Guru/Self/Divine around you, you will never be able to benefit yourself from the Guru/Self that you may have around unless you are READY! So to what extent you can receive from the Guru depends on upon YOUR CAPABILITY TO SURRENDER your body, mind, emotions, not the Power of Guru/Self. Because Self can play Guru through any person or even Stone if you are ready. Meera was the devotee of Lord Krishna and used to see him in the Stone Statue of him. Such is the power of Devotion and SELF/GURU. You can learn to "live life properly" through a Guide or Mentor, but you cannot start and finish Spiritual Journey until you become a Disciple and then Devotee. It doesn't matter whether you are a Disciple or Devotee of any person or stone or everyone you meet, or the life itself. It's the state of No-Mind, Open-Heart and Fire of Longing is what works through different people, deities, Self/Guru/Divine and helps you reach the Ultimate! Jay Shivay! Prakriti

You take pride in multitasking, don't you? But when it comes to your evolution it should be a linear sequential progression. Why? Aren't you a proud multitasker? Most of you are. Very much. Though when it comes to your transformation you suddenly go, no no no, not all at once, not from all sides, please, please, please, one way at a time, please beat me up on one side at a time. You think Universe listens to you? Since the day you are born you grow in all directions simultaneously isn't it? Or did your kidney, liver wait for you to shed skin first? Or did your nails, hairs wait for your pancreas to be fully grown first? No! All layers of your body grow simultaneously. You transform inside out and outside in simultaneously. This is how evolution works. Transformation happens in all layers of your existence. Though you may not be able to cognize it, because your mind, your awareness is limited and in a way, it is very good, else most of you may not be able to decide what to grow first, Heart or Liver? The choice would have been even more difficult in case of Mind or Body :-). Also, what you are not able to cognize is that other than the physical body, you also have an energy body, mental/emotional body, wisdom body and a bliss body/sheath/layer. PANCHA KOSHA Annamaya Kosha - Physical Body - it's all about sensory pleasure mostly, physical experiences, isn't it? Pranamaya Kosha - Energy Body - Shy, hiding, most of you have troubled, shallow breathing, isn't it? Manomaya Kosha - Mental/Emotional Body - Most of the time busy making a bold statement. Notice the look on the face. See the attitude in the body, I don't care sort of. Vigyanmaya Kosha - Wisdom Body - Hidden, not accessible to most of you. Anandamaya Kosha - Bliss Body - What to say? A Spirit dancing in bliss. When does one start on their Spiritual Path? When #Vairagya (Non-Attachment) & #Vivek (Pure Discrimination- Function of Pure Intellect/Buddhi) arises in Vigyanamaya Kosha. In other words when Jnana/Gyan/Wisdom arises through pure Intellect/Buddhi in the #Vigyanmaya Kosha. When Ignorance/Agyan/Illusion/Maya is reduced. When this sheath, body-layer becomes pure, conscious, a True Seeker is born. Going forward this layer keeps the Seeker's path illumined through wisdom received from an inner Guru or the outer one. The work here is not done until the Seeker is Self-Realized. You don't switch off the Torch until your journey in the deep, dark, unknown terrain is over. Jnana Yoga is in constant progression through Vigyanmaya Kosha until one is Home! Pursuits to strengthen Wisdom (Vairagya & Vivek) and purify Vigyanmaya Kosha are called as #JnanaYoga. As a result of Vigyanamaya Kosha becoming pure & alive, one's Pranamaya Kosha, Energy Body starts becoming purer and stronger. Energy, Kundalini starts rising. Chakras start reflecting Vasanas at Manomaya Kosha level and Annamaya Kosha Level. Once blockages are removed from those two Koshas, Chakras balance themselves here in #Pranamaya Kosha. Kriya Yoga is in constant progression through Pranamaya Kosha until Kundalini reaches Crown Chakra and stays there, establishes itself there. When it never comes down and as a result Ego/I dies in Manomaya Kosha that is Self-Realization. Pursuits to strengthen & purify Pranamaya Kosha are known as #KriyaYoga. As a result of Vigyanamaya Kosha becoming pure & alive, one starts distancing from their Physical Body/Annamaya Kosha, from the games of pleasure through senses. Sanctity is brought in actions, speech, hearing, touch, taste and seeing. Senses are bondage, Seeker starts seeing that. Every time one indulges into sensory pleasures, the futility of it hurts real bad emotionally. One's actions through #Annamaya Kosha starts becoming pure, non-selfish. The physical body is kept in a good condition through Yoga, Asanas, deeds. Seeker starts losing doer-ship and Karma Yoga is in constant progression through Annamaya Kosha until a Seeker is Self-Realized. Pursuits to strengthen & purify Annamaya Kosha and removing the sensory bondage are called as #KarmaYoga. As a result of Vigyanamaya Kosha becoming pure & alive, one's Mind and Emotions, Manomaya Kosha starts changing. What was pleasurable until last night becomes a source of pain by the morning. One by one all identities, roles starts becoming visible as a separate object. Seeker becomes the observer of his/her emotions and the drama. All Vasanas starts revealing themselves. By and by #Manomaya Kosha starts becoming pure. Seeker starts losing all that he/she is not. One starts losing oneself. Jnana/Wisdom start whispering - you are done, you are gone, you are no more, you are nothing, nothing, nothing. Then Surrender happens, #Bhakti/#Devotion arises in Manomaya Kosha. Because Manomaya Kosha is the place for Ego/I/Identities/Vasanas, it hurts like hell. Bhakti Yoga is in constant progression through Manomaya Kosha, until Seeker is consumed and his/her separate, individual existence is no more. Though it may take a lot of time, years to remove #Vasanas and #Surrender in Devotion and then one may burn for weeks, months, years in Devotion. Vasanas belong to Ego/I, they are not something dangling in mid-air. Pursuits to remove Vasanas, Ego, Identities, I, from Manomaya Kosha and feel the burning and surrender is called as #BhaktiYog. Bhakti is the last stage before Enlightenment/Self-Realization. Would you die for anything else but Love? Would you die for Wisdom (Jnana), Energy(Kriya) or Physical body (Karma)? No! As a human one lives for love and dies only for love. It could be love for something or someone or oneself or Soul, but it is love that we choose to die for. It is love that we surrender to. Ego/Mind prevents surrender to anyone/anything but Love. It's Love that makes Ego/Mind blind. It is Devotion/Bhakti that dissolves the Ego/Mind. Except for love, Ego won't kneel down and surrender for anything/anyone. If devotion has started burning you, know that your end is near. Though, before you end, you will burn like crazy. Flames go higher right before they annihilate and become eternal. Where is the start and where is the end? Jnana/Gyan/Wisdom = Vairagya (Non-Attachment) + Vivek (Pure Discrimination). Yes, starting fire is lit in Vigyanamaya Kosha and this Kosha works like a Torch and stays "on" throughout the spiritual journey of a Seeker. This fire purifies Annamaya Kosha, changes the cellular biology, nervous system, neural pathways in brain and DNA. It strengthens Pranamaya Kosha, awakens and raises the Kundalini. And finally dissolves everything in Manomaya Kosha when it becomes Bhakti, and becomes the Eternal Flame. So you see Jnana/Gyan/Wisdom is like "eyes" for you to see where you are going. A Guru can increase vision in your eyes from time to time, but a Guru is not a replacement for your eyes. In other words, Guru cannot give you Vairagya & Vivek. That is what you awaken by yourself. Brahmakara-Vritti has to arise in you, before a Guru can help you. One may argue that Kundalini Shakti arises first and then Jnana/Wisdom (Vairagya & Vivek) happens. But no, that is not correct. Those in whom Kundalini Shakti awakens, but Vairagya and Vivek are missing, they become Shaktas, players of Shakti. Their energy matures and is Enlightened, but they are not Self-Realized. Their Ego/I/Mind doesn't die because they haven't got "eyes" (Jnana/Wisdom) to be able to see what they are doing, where they are going. Remember, Jesus on the cross said - Father, forgive them as they know not, what they are doing (something like that). What did it mean? Blind Power is dangerous. What tells you what you are doing should be done or not? Buddhi/Intellect/Wisdom/Jnana/Vivek. Without Vairagya one never knows the true purpose of Shakti, and never becomes Shiva. So, one can't be Self-Realized without that. So you see, all four body layers of yours are transformed simultaneously, all four types of Yog/Unions happens within you and it stays that way until the end. The more these four Koshas starts becoming purified the more you feel your fifth layer, #Anandamaya Kosha. It starts becoming more and more conscious & alive. One day you break all Koshas and you are out. You are out of all gross, subtle, causal dimensions, body layers of yours and become Nobody who has no body/boundary/limitation. You Realize the Self. What is this fuss about? Choosing & Walking a particular path If I ask you to describe "adult/physical adulthood", what will you say? That it means mature mind & emotions, it means mature genitals, functional reproductive system, muscle mass, increased height, weight, body size, hairs wherever. Means you will take "all layers, all systems" of your physical body into consideration when you describe an adult. Similarly, when it comes to Union/Yog (Spiritual maturity/adulthood), you can't leave one or more layers of your existence out of the equation. You can't say I will only do Jnana Yoga because Kundalini/Kriya scares the hell out of me. You can't say, I am not a lovey-dovey type and can't do Bhakti. You can't say I don't like reading scriptures, books, or intellectual stuff, so I am not made for Jnana Yoga. I won't marry or have relationships because I am doing Karma Yoga. All this is nonsense, created by Mental Spiritualists (Read the last heading of this article). You can't leave the Yog/Union out of the equation in any layer of your body. Your existence as a whole matures and becomes integrated. And as a Whole (Atma/Soul) you go into Union with Supreme Consciousness (Paramatma). You may not practice Kriya Yoga specially but that doesn't mean your Kundalini won't be raised & established in Crown when you are Self-Realized. You may not practice Bhakti/Devotion explicitly, but that doesn't mean Devotion won't happen to you and without it and without Surrender you can be Self-Realized. You may not read books or scriptures, but that doesn't mean Jnana/Wisdom was not lighting up your path all the way to Self-Realization. You may not understand Karma Yoga, but that doesn't mean the "Doer/Experiencer/Bhogi is not dead" by the time you are Self-Realized. You also need to understand that Kriya is dependent upon Jnana, Bhakti is dependent upon Kriya and Jnana both and Karma is dependent upon all. None of them works alone, none of them happens alone, none of them is of any use alone, for the purpose of Self-Realization. Your nervous system is dependent upon muscle system which is dependent on skeletal system and external limbs are dependent on all of that. All systems in you are interdependent, for the purpose of maturity/growth. Bhakti without Jnana is like having full mental & emotional maturity & ego in a six years old child. Kriya/Shakti without Jnana is like having a fully developed body and reproductive system with a mind of six years old. It's a disaster, its a retarded situation. How can you walk one path only and expect others not to happen to you? How can you grow just one body layer/system and leave others undeveloped? What kind of a Being are you trying to be? So you see, it's not at all about walking a particular path. Such things comes to the mind of those for whom spiritual journey is a mental/egoistical feat. Your growth is HOLISTIC and should be treated as such. Don't try to choose between growing Heart and not Kidneys. Wrong Starting Point Sadly, in a lot of people these days Spiritual Journey starts at "Manomaya Kosha". Means due to fears, personal gains, or mental/logical reasons they pursue the Spiritual path. The light is "off" in their Vigyanmaya Kosha. Eyes are closed. These people do not understand what "Vairagya & Renunciation" are? They have all confusing notions about them. Because you see, they happen in Vigyanmaya Kosha and are understood only by the Pure Intellect there. Vairagya & Renunciation are beyond the understanding of mind/ego. Such people also believe that they can attend Satsang, do Bhakti (La la bhajan singing, pooja, rituals) and that will take them to God. How? Bhakti is Blind without Vairagya & Vivek/Buddhi/Pure Intellect. Such people do lots of mental gymnastic about Sacred/Scriptural Wisdom and they firmly believe that, that is what Jnana/Gyan/Wisdom is. No! Again, they are blind. Wisdom is beyond Mind/Ego, beyond Manomaya Kosha. These people love to do good deeds, stress a lot on good actions and they think that is Karma Yoga. How? Blind Karma doesn't result in any kind of Yoga/Yog/Union at all. So just because such people are doing Pranayama, Yoga and going to Satsang and chanting Mantra, ritualizing Yantra, learning Tantra and have taken Initiation that doesn't mean they are True Seekers. Their seeking will not end up in Enlightenment or Self-Realization. There is no harm in living healthy, thinking healthy and doing good deeds, but mind it, you are not going towards Self-Realization, because you are still moving horizontally. While True Seeking is a Vertical catapultation (I keep creating new words on my own to make life easier). Until eyes are open, means Vairagya and Vivek have been awakened in Vigyanmaya Kosha, you are not going to see the Real World. Until then you are blind-walking, who knows where. Till the time fire hasn't been lit in your Vigyanamaya Kosha you ain't going anywhere baby. Enjoy! Jay Shivay, Prakriti

Dharana is also not meditation. Let's understand in detail. First of all, let's understand why so many Sanskrit/Hindi spiritual "terms" cannot be translated into the English language? Why do we have Sanskrit Non-Translatable Terms? The Answer to the above questions is that - English language hardly has any vocabulary for Subtler and Causal Dimensions/planes of existence. Hence, we face this challenge while Translating. Approximate/rough division of the Gross, Subtle and Causal can be as below and it changes when you are looking from different perspectives and for different purposes: GROSS – This includes Physical Body, Mind, Thoughts, Emotions SUBTLE – This includes Prana, Pranamaya Kosha, Vigyanmaya Kosha, Anandamaya Kosha and many more CAUSAL – Atman, Brahman, Adi Shakti or Shakti, Shiva and their many forms Also “Words” are for Physical/Gross dimension and they can be translated. Means a word can have a meaning. But Subtle & Causal dimensions requires Interpretation and have “Terms”. Terms can be interpreted, explained but cannot have direct/one-to-one translation. The “definition” of the English word “Subtle” itself is where the “difficulty, inability” of the English language starts from. Dhyana does not mean Meditation Now if you just type "Define Meditation" in Google, it displays the definition as below - Meditationmɛdɪˈteɪʃ(ə)n/nounThe action or practice of meditating. "a life of meditation" synonyms:contemplation, thought, thinking, musing, pondering, consideration, reflection, prayer, deliberation, study, rumination, cogitation, brooding, mulling over, reverie, brown study, concentration, speculation;rare cerebration"cultivating the presence of God in meditation and prayer"o a written or spoken discourse expressing considered thoughts on a subject.plural noun: meditations"this is not a mythopoetic meditation on manhood, it's a historical study" Here you can clearly read above that the definition itself says "it's an action" and you can see that all the synonyms are "action", "active verbs" that involves "mental activity". It clearly says that Meditation means "Involvement of Mind, Practice through Mind". If you search for the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition for Mediation or Meditate, it is given as below - Definition of meditatemeditate; meditatingintransitive verb 1: to engage in contemplation or reflection - He meditated long and hard before announcing his decision. 2: to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awarenesstransitive verb 1: to focus one's thoughts on: reflect on or ponder over He was meditating his past achievements. 2: to plan or project in the mind: intend, purpose He was meditating revenge. Here also you can clearly see that it's talking about Mind, Mental exercise, mental involvement, thought-process, focus, concentration and so on. Even none of the synonyms of “Meditation” define the word “Dhyana”. So, in a nutshell here is why Dhyana does not mean Meditation: • Because Dhyana cannot be done, it happens to you when you achieve stillness in body & mind through different purification & balance techniques. In other words when Vasanas are removed. Dhyana is like a Calm Ocean, an Ocean without any Waves/Disturbances of Thoughts, Emotions, Vasanas. • Because Dhyana is not a “doing” or an “action” • Because by “doing” or by “action” you cannot achieve “stillness”. This stillness is not “non-doing” or “inaction”. In other words, Dhyana is not “non-doing”, “inaction”. Instead, it is the action of the highest level, because it happens in the Subtle most existence of yours and not in Gross/Physical plane of existence. • Dhyana happens to you, it is a State of your Being, not the State of your Mind or Body. Hence one may be in Dhyana while his/her body may be walking, talking, cooking, cleaning and his/her Mind may or may not have Thoughts. If Thoughts are there, the Being is not affected. In the State of Dhyana, the perception of the world around happens as a Being, neither as a Body nor as a Mind. • In the State of Dhyana neither there is a “fight” with Mind or Thoughts nor there is any need to “bypass the mind”. All the so-called Meditation Techniques are all about either “suppressing/bypassing/denying the mind” or “involving the mind in different ways”. While to attain the State of Dhyana all this is not necessary. Cleansing of Vasanas/Sanskaras/Chitta-Vritti through Hatha Yoga, Pranayama and Kriya Yoga sets up the necessary ground for Dhyana to Happen to you. All techniques, practices, sadhana is for removing the hold of Vasanas in you and as a result, Dhyana happens. In the West, there is a movement going on since last few decades, almost a century you can say; where people are Meditating and they do not even know what is meant by Meditation which is the "wrong" translation for the Sanskrit word Dhyana. Most people will tell you that they “Meditate”, means they do an action of Meditation. And upon looking closely you will realize that there is no “Transformation” in them. There is no “Transcendence” of Life Principles, which are bound to happen to anyone who attains the State of “Dhyana”. As per our Vedas and Agamas, no one taught “Dhyana” to anyone. In other words, Meditation was not taught by a Guru to a Disciple. Either Guru used to give methods/teachings to remove Vasanas/Sanskaras/Chitta-Vritti or Guru used to give SHAKTI to remove Vasanas, so Dhyana can happen to the Disciple and his/her Being can come to the Foreground of his/her own Perception. So, what these Western Shops of Meditation are teaching? Re-programming the Mind, Brain-Washing, replacing one type of Thoughts with another, or forcefully suppressing the thoughts, emotions, mind and all that is not Dhyana. All these people “sitting cross-legged with eyes closed” are in fact “fighting with thoughts & emotions”. That’s a very torturous and painful way to be. When the body is busy doing something then only Thoughts and Emotions keep wreaking havoc, and now these so-called Meditation Teachers are asking students to bear the nonsense by being still, by sitting closed eyes, that is a sure shot way of making someone run away and feel horrible after few years having a conviction that “they cannot meditate”. Yes, many people run away from Spiritual Practices thinking they are “not fit” for Dhyana. Because their teacher for years taught them Meditation, and Dhyana “never happened” to them. So, this Meditation seems to be something Western, because in India Dhyana wasn’t taught directly. Dhyana cannot be taught directly. Yes, preparation can be done, the ground can be set up to allow it to happen by itself. The Guru as a Being can directly Transmit Dhyana to the Being that Disciple is if the Disciple is ready, but it can’t be Taught. Transmission through Shakti can happen. All the States of Being can be Transmitted by the Gurus to Disciples, but they cannot be “taught” Mentally/Psychologically, because Being is beyond Psychology. People say Meditation came to West from India. No, it did not. It stayed there only as Dhyana. Dhyana was and is a Sanskrit Non-Translatable, hence it never came to West and it did happen to people in the west, but to a very small number of people in comparison to the number it was being taught to. In the West a Yoga & Meditation Teacher/Guru may ask the Student – Are you Meditating? Instead of asking – Are you “Being Meditative?”. See the first question is a Verb/an Action, which applies to Body, Mind and Physical/Gross Reality. While second is “beyond” the gross reality. Can a student be asked, “Are you doing Dhyana?” Dhyana and Doing cannot be used together in one sentence like this. Yes, one can be asked if “they are in Dhyana” because Dhyana is the State of Being. Just see how the answers to these questions actually change the “future course of action/Sadhana” for the Student, because if it’s about Meditation then different techniques will be suggested to “do Meditation” by the Teacher, while if it is about Dhyana, then no technique will be suggested for Dhyana itself, instead techniques for Purifying and Balancing of Body, Mind, Panchakoshas, Vasanas/Chitta-Vritti removal will be given by the Guru. Dhyana is the “first” state of Being and subsequent States are different types of Samadhis. Yes, once Dhyana starts happening to you, means your Being starts coming into your own perception, then it doesn't matter which pose you are sitting or what you are doing, you will still stay in Dhyana. So Dhyana is when the first time you perceive something that is beyond your body, mind & emotions. And it's a very peaceful, calm state as a Being and then you can either sit or do whatever to "deepen your roots" into Dhyana. You can sit and do it, or you can be on your head and do it. In other words, physical body, mind, emotions have "no hold, no control" on the State of Being that happens to you. Dhyana leads to Samadhi. If you see the 8 steps of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras then you will see that Dhyana is a precursor to Samadhi. In other words, Dhyana (Which people wrongly translate as Meditation) leads you to Samadhi. In the State of Dhyana the hold of Body, Mind, Emotions on the “Being” that you are goes so low, is so minimal that you the Being starts coming more into your own Perception. Means more the Being is perceived, lesser the body/mind/Vasanas are experienced. The more you Perceive your own Being, the greater the distance and lesser the attachment and hold from Body, Mind & Emotions. While normally everyone is so attached to their body, mind, emotions only, because they “cannot” perceive their own Being. So Dhyana/Meditation is a State of Being where you Perceive your Being and as a result Mind becomes Calm, peaceful, Body becomes restful, still. The more the State of Dhyana happens to you, the more you are closer to different types of Samadhis. When you are in Dhyana/Meditation you are strengthening the perception of the Being that you are. Dhyana is about “Being”, not about Body, Mind, Emotions which are bundled as Vasanas & Karma. The more you remove Vasanas through Kriya Yoga, Pranayama, Self-Enquiry, Tantra and other techniques, the more you become Stable in the State of Dhyana. When someone is rooted properly into Dhyana means when the state of Dhyana is 24 by 7 for a long period of time with Full Intensity then Samadhis starts happening. Ultimately the Nirvikalpa Samadhi means Enlightenment happens. Now, you may wonder why many Gurus, Spiritual Teachers, even Indian Spiritual Teachers just use the word "Meditation" and do not stick to the Term Dhyana? There could be several reasons: They themselves have not looked for the "definition of Meditation" to understand the subtle difference. They may not have been rooted in Dhyana themselves, may not have strong perception as Being. They may not have realized that English and many other languages do not have vocabulary for Subtle and Causal planes of Existence. It may be just convenient to keep on using the wrongly translated word, without realizing the fact that in the English language this term is a Verb, hence many Westerners may get confused. An understanding that says "it's hard for the Westerners or other language speakers to remember, understand, pronounce the Sanskrit/Hindi words". But how can you justify "wrong translation"? Would it be OK, acceptable if I start calling "Reading as Walking"? Where Reading requires Eyes and Mind, while Walking requires almost all the senses and Mind, specially when eyes are missing. It's difficult to stop, think and make correction and cause a paradigm shift. On the name of convenience we have accepted many things which are incorrect fundamentally. Hence we must stop, think and make correction as we go before it's too late. The most important thing to understand here that, it is not about which language is being used, it's not the fight between two languages, and it's not about the "words" either, it's about "the meaning, the concept" which cannot be conveyed through wrong translation to those who do not have direct experience, embodied wisdom of Meditation/Dhyana yet. Those who are Meditative, who are Dhyani, it doesn't matter for them, because they have grasped the real meaning, the concept of it. The correct meaning and translation of the words like "Bike & Biking" matter to those who are reading them and trying to understand, not to those who are Bikers and have experienced Biking. So for those people who are new and are being introduced to themselves through the path of Yoga, the correct meaning, translation of these words matter a lot. Hence we should stick to the word "Dhyana" until & unless English language authorities, dictionaries change the definition/meaning of the word Meditation, or come up with another equivalent Term. Jay Shivay, Prakriti

Whether it is Spiritual Wisdom, Sanskrit or Ayurveda, people translating traditional wisdom in English have corrupted the culture and have shaken the foundation. Whether you are aware or not there are large intellectual groups who are busy taking the traditional wisdom about culture, health and other matters and go on mistranslating and/or wrongly-equating it in the English language. Such groups are funded from inside and outside the country, for socio-political and most importantly financial gains. Just pay attention seriously and think for some time, how come so many mistranslated words, terms exist and what are the "impacts" you have in your life due to such deeply rooted misunderstandings? Be mindful, because unknowingly you are going to give these misunderstandings as a legacy to your children, the younger generation and the negative impact on them will be manifold. Hence please do not enjoy & celebrate the bliss of ignorance. Indian people usually were less sick when they were eating proper Oil and Ghee, instead of Refined (technically which is not oil) and Butter Oil (technically which is not ghee) and were following lots of other Ayurveda Practices. In countries like America USDA is one of the most corrupt and insanely profit-driven organization totally committed to "creating sick population" and shaking hands with Pharma Industry under the table to fund hidden researches for financial gains, not the public welfare, and Agriculture industry to create monopolistic giants like Monsanto and promote GMO, Sugars, Sodium, Fluoride, Slow poisons in so many hidden ways that normal public can't even imagine. USDA Calorie specifications, guidelines, standardised regulations have created the highest sick population in the history of America. Once such organizations have extracted all the juice from their own country population, they head towards other countries, to find most corrupt and rich "insiders" in the country and team up with them to start injecting the similar poison on the name of health standards, regulations and then collaborate with Pharma Industry to provide sickness suppression medicines because now there is enough sick population and then with agricultural industry to complete and maintain the "vicious circle". And they have a proven track record to create sick population and grow pharma industry. Common people fail to see the distorted "big-picture". Such "Rakshas Forces (Infiltration Forces)" heavily start campaigning against the Original/Traditional Wisdom of the Country saying that "ghee is bad, oils are bad", this cholesterol, that trans-fat and such a limited "hidden agenda" driven scientific research outcomes are forced on the general public. Doctors are trapped into such campaigns, they are taught "prescribe only what pharma industry has to sell", Industrialists come forward to set up new industries/refineries and it seems whole country "buys-in" and slowly the Natural, Organic, Thousands of years of "Proven Wisdom" is thrown out and this "newly born limited scientific research" is forced on to the life of common public. Ghee, Oils are thrown out, Refined is brought-in and in couple of decades we see an epidemic of Arthritis, Gout, Joints pain, Diabetes, Hypertension and people over 30 years of age live life depending upon Doctors and Pharma industry who have no intention to "heal" them, as that's against their interests. To maximise Profit Margins and duration, this infiltration is specially done to those countries where population is more and is younger and is going to be younger for few decades to come, like India. So, people please Wake Up, before it's too late. If you really want to live a healthy life, read, educate yourself and understand the wisdom of Ayurveda. Modern Science is good for instant pain reliefs by suppressing pain-centre in the brain and surgeries. There is NO CURE available for any disease whatsoever. The Ratio & Percentage of Physically and Mentally Sick people are "highest" in the human history. Something has gone seriously wrong, let's just start fixing from our "kitchen" in the house. Such Rakshas forces have succeeded in infiltrating our lives because many of us were just "too lazy" and "too busy with mundane" to educate ourselves and "TOO HYPNOTISED" by the English Language. CLARIFIED BUTTER IS NOT GHEE Ghee is prepared from "Makkhan" and Clarified Butter produces Butter Oil. In Western Countries like America and Australia, many Indians buy butter and heat it to clarify and use that "thinking it's Ghee". What they do not realize is that the Raw Material for Butter Oil is Butter which they are heating. While the Raw Material for Ghee is "Makkhan" which they do not have. BUTTER IS NOT MAKKHAN Though both of them are prepared by reversing the emulsion of the milk-cream. That means from oil-in-water to water-in-oil. But they are not the same. Butter is prepared from fresh cold cream by churning it, till water oozes out and butter is formed. To prepare Makkhan the milk is first turned into Curd (Active Culture Dahi/Yogurt) and then this Dahi is subjected to a traditional churner, in the process the foam, which comes up is Makkhan. So the raw material for Butter is "Cold Cream" while the Raw Material for Makkhan is "Dahi". CHAACH ( छाछ ) IS NOT BUTTER MILK While preparing Makkhan from Dahi, the leftover is called " Chaach (छाछ) ", some people refer to it as Butter-Milk, which it is NOT. While preparing Butter from Cold-Cream the byproduct is called as "Butter-Milk". Similarly, you need to understand that "Non-Homogeneous Milk" must be used to create Makkhan and not the Homogeneous Milk that we find in Grocery Stores in the USA and Australia, which you can boil endlessly and it won't produce proper "Malai". So, Butter is NOT Makkhan, Butter Milk is NOT Chaach (छाछ), and Clarified Butter is not Ghee. Now, you may ask "how does all this matter?" Well, it does. Your body pains, your health issues, your rusted intellect, your ageing body is screaming out loud that it matters. We are the most comfortable generation, yet most sick generation on the planet; physically, mentally and emotionally. It matters because of "how the body absorbs, digests and reacts" to Butter, Butter Milk, Butter Oil in comparison to Makkhan, Chaach and Ghee. The latter are easily absorb-able, digest-able and "Jatharagni" (Digestive Fire/Heat) doesn't react to them badly and "Apana Prana" in our body is not disturbed, hence "Gastric issues" do not happen, and headaches, body aches, arthritis, joint-pains and lots of other health problems do not happen. Disturbance to the Apana Prana is the primary cause of Heart Attack, Stroke and Paralysis. And Apana Prana gets disturbed due to the Reactions of Jatharagni. When Jatharagni is "low" that means the food inside your stomach is being digested on "candle", just like we say sometimes "are you cooking food on the candle, means why is it taking forever to cook?" So lower Jatharagni means food will stay for a long time in your stomach and intestines, and because of lower heat, bacteria will start infesting and causing all sorts of nonsense in your system. Bloating, Gas, Acid, Gastric Attacks, Headaches, indigestion will happen and then no matter how much you walk or roll-on-the-floor it can't be fixed easily. And serial-crime on your body might result in serious and permanent damage. In Ayurveda, Ghee has been praised for its medicinal properties. Many Ayurvedic medicines are prepared using Ghee and especially Indian Cow Ghee. It is highly used throughout India since ancient time. It is easily digestible and helps in digesting food, provide lubrication, good heart and used as a skin moisturizer as well. Cow’s ghee contains various anti-oxidants and riboflavin. Ghee is lighter than Butter Oil and does not deposit in the body if used in a limited amount. Moderation is the "key" in life for consuming anything; may it be food, or thoughts, or emotions or some other poison. It's difficult to stop, think and make the correction and cause a paradigm shift. On the name of convenience, we have accepted many things which are incorrect fundamentally. Hence we must stop, think and make a correction as we go before it's too late. The most important thing to understand here that, it is not about which language is being used, it's not the fight between two languages, and it's not about the "words" either, it's about "the meaning, the concept, the correct process" which cannot be conveyed through wrong translation and wrong equations, to those who do not have direct experience, embodied wisdom of traditional Hindu culture. Note: These Rakhshas Forces are not imaginary, and these talks are not entertainment. This is a serious matter and you can research about it yourself, if you need help, email us and we will send you some information about widely, publicly available disclosure material about big-time infiltration into countries and cultures, especially India. Have the patience to read and digest voluminous information, think about it, use your intellect, before blindly throwing an opinion and throwing your life into the hands of your ignorance. A Yogi, a Seeker should be healthy. Without health, your Sadhana and Spiritual Journey is a very difficult task. Jay Shivay, Prakriti