Try COSMIC Meditation to overcome COVID 19 isolation stresses

By Raj Natarajan

We are confronting stresses unknown to us before caused by the COVID 19 pandemic which has taken many hundreds of thousands of lives around the World. The future looks very uncertain as the virus spreads unabated, especially in some of the highly developed countries of the World.The other serious by-product of this virus is the increased stress leading to mental illness which, in turn, is manifesting as physical illnesses. As we know, physical body is a reflection of the mind and any disturbance caused by toxic thoughtstranslates into physical illness. Physical and mental wellbeing complement each other, and health of physical body is necessary to ensure the health of the mind and vice versa.

One way to overcome the mental stresses created by the COVID 19 pandemic is to take up intense practice of Yoga and meditation. Let’s look at the origins and some of the basic facts of Yoga and meditation.  Yoga means “union” and broadly it is the union of “Jeevatma”(individual) with “Paramatma” (God or the creator of the universe of which we are a tiny part). The following diagram illustrates the steps to the ultimate union with “Paramatma”which is called the “Cosmic State”

YOGA IS TO UNITE:

Yoga is a means of realising the Cosmic state from the animal state going through the above indicated stages of physical, mental, social and spiritual developments.

There are mainly two stages of Yoga in one’s lifetime i.e., “HATA Yoga” is a dynamic, health building exercises called “Asanas” which is for young people and the other is “PATANJALI Yoga” which is for people of middle age and beyond which helps slow breathing and calming of the mind. Yoga systems were developed in India more than 4,000 years back and saint Patanajali is seen as the father of this ancient health science.

If you start reading any book on Yoga written by the finest exponents of the science (and art), you will find only a small section of the book is dedicated to physical exercises (asanas) and major part is about the control of the mind. If you come to think of it, we do mind control during our every day activities. For example if you are reading an interesting newspaper column and someone calls your name and you don’t answer but later you apologise by saying _ “sorry my mind was focused somewhere else” which shows that you can control your mind. Therefore the question is how can we practise this mind control to ensure both physical and mental wellness  and how the practise of Yoga and meditation can help this process?

Holistic approach to Yoga is the answer and this encompasses recognising 5 layers of human existence which are: Annamaya Kosha (physical layer), Pranamaya Kosha (vital layer), Manomaya Kosha (mentallayer), Vijnanamaya Kosha (wisdom layer) and Anandamaya Kosha (bliss or union with God). Practise of Yoga and meditation under proper guidance and specialist supervision addresses this holistic approach to achieve both physical and mental health. This holistic approach to Yoga is illustrated in the  picture (left).

Achieving the optimum functioning of all the above layers of existence by a human is possible through the practise of Yogaand meditation. A world which is restless, impatient and hungry for quick results has brought on itself untold problems and stresses. Yoga teaches you to be slow and be patient but strong and diligent. Practice of Yoga encompasses the following 8 steps:

1. Yama (physical restraint the DONT’s)
2. Niyama (discipline – the DO’s)
3. Asana (exercise)
4. Pranayama (breathing- the life forces)
5. Prathyahara (restraint of senses – mental discipline)
6. Dharana (concentration – focussing the mind)
7. Dhyana (meditation)
8. Samadhi (super consciousness – union with God)

The first four steps are to achieve physical health and the next four steps help achieve mental health. As all the above steps are very subtle in nature, it is important that a student of Yoga gets advice and training from a capable teacher because trying to practise these steps without advice and proper training may result in unwanted and even catastrophic results. The above steps are to be practised one step at a time andfor example jumping straight to step 3 or 4, without achieving step 1 and 2 will not yield the desired results. The great Indian scripture, Bhagavadgeeta teaches us the following 4 ways of achieving the ultimate goal of Yoga which is super consciousness:

1. Karma Yoga (selfless action without expectation in return)
2. Bhakti Yoga (control of emotions through path of worship)
3. Jnana Yoga (pursuit of knowledge to help humanity)
4. Raja Yoga (mental culture and psychic control)

Mind control is the most difficult of all because our mind is like a monkey and jumps from one thought to another. If we try to close our eyes and think of nothing and blank our mind for one minute we will not be able to achieve it without intense practice for a long period of time. Such is the power of thought process and the control of this process called mind control is achieved through meditation. As we fight the problems we face in our World for day-to-day existence, our mind gets filled with toxic thoughts and meditation helps in taking a  deep cleaner ( like a vacuum cleaner) to these toxic thoughts. Many say that meditation is a way of replacing all the toxic thoughts with good thoughts but another school of thought called “Sahaja Yoga” preaches that replacing toxic thoughts with “no” thoughts (silencing your mind) is the best way to achieve mind control.

There are many types of meditation and for stress management “cyclic meditation” is recommended by Vivekananada Yoga AnusandhanaSamsthanlocated in Bengaluru, India.Cyclic meditation is based on well known two nerve systems of our body and they are Sympathetic nerve system which react to threats and alert our body and para-sympathetic nerve systemwhich help to relax the body. Please visit their web site:www.svyasa.org to enrol for learning cyclic mediation or get help from the Yoga school near you. Cyclic Mediation simply involves in tensing and relaxing your muscles, in a cyclical way, which helps in activating  para-sympathetic nerve systems.

Once you have completed the Cyclic Meditation, it is recommended to end with “Shavasana” which is lying on the Yoga mat on your back in a sleeping position with your hands spread by the side in a comfortable position. Now practise COSMIC Mediation which is described briefly as follows:

Closing your eyes, allow your thoughts to look inwards, forgetting your surroundings of outside World and concentrate on your regular and slow breathing. Imagine your soul which is the source of your spirit and powers within, which may take the form of a ball of bright light or an idol you worship (for exampleLord Ganesh) to raise from within and detach itself from your physical body and travel towards the vast and infinite sky and merge with it.Now imagine you are above the clouds and the curved surface of the earth is in sight with the coastlines of the land below and you are floating in the infinite and timeless space, the amazing backyard of the creator of this Universe. This feeling makes it easier to achieve the detachment from the worries and fears of the day-to-day life and total unconditional surrender to the Creator of the great forces of nature which gives the ultimate relaxation and mental peace.

You can experience this floating sensation for any length of time with your eyes closed and in “Shavasana” position. You can slowly trace your thoughts back to the physical World around you and sit up and end with “Paranayama”, breathing exercise which also can be learnt by contacting your nearest Yoga school. This is called the “COSMIC Mediation” and your powers as a human being lifts you from the normal animal state to realise the full human potential.

Some of the pre-requisites for practising COSMIC Mediation are:1.Your belief in the soul which is the source of spirit and powers which exist within every living being and 2. Your belief that human beings are the only living species which are endowed with the potential to reach the cosmic state of mind. Therefore Yoga and meditation, in general, admonish the human beings to stop living like animals and realise their full potential as human beings.

Finally if you are experiencing extreme stress during this COVID 19 pandemic, try COSMIC Meditation which is very simple to practice but may take a long time to perfect and achieve the ultimate relaxation and relief from the stresses. Therefore patience and perseverance are the key to learning and practising “COSMIC Meditation”. If you require help, please email the author at: rajnatarajan50@gmail.com with your contact details and help is always on hand. Good Luck.