Sri Nithyananda, the author of this book has established the Nithyananda Foundation for meditation, operating over 800 centres in 20 countries across the world, to bring transformation in the individual. Born on January 1, 1978, Swami Nithyananda is a self-realised master and has concluded that to bridge the modern Western system of logic and evidence and the ancient Eastern system of mysticism, we have to bridge science and spirituality for the benefit of humanity.
Before embarking on what he has to say, Swami Nithyananda makes it clear that to experience him and gain something from him one has to be ?just be like an empty cup here. Be totally open and receptive. Be like a child, innocent and curious; like a sponge, ready to absorb; that is enough.?
He divides knowledge into three types: the first is intellectual or knowledge of the mind. If one is attentive and had a good memory, it is enough. It is the knowledge that is gained in school and through books. The second is knowledge of the heart. Art, music, poetry, dance ?? need knowledge of the heart as also of the mind, because all these are creative activities which no one can teach unless you have the potential. Teachers can teach you the technique but ?you have to then absorb things and start doing on your own?. The third type of knowledge is spiritual knowledge?knowledge that is neither of the mind nor of the heart, ?but of your Being?! It is just a deep understanding beyond logic, which can neither be taught nor picked. ?It can simply happen out of a deep communion at the Being level.?
Swami Nithyananda then talks of the seven charkas which are the subtle energy centres and wheels of energy in the human body. The first body is called the jagrat shareera?the physical or waking body. The next is sukshma shareera?the dream body or the one that you use in the dream state, in which one sees places not ever seen in the waking state. The third is the kaarana shareera?the causal body which is used in deep sleep. The last two bodies meet the physical body at seven points along the length of the physical body. These points are called the chakras, which deeply influence our physical, emotional and mental activities. They have great power.
Swamiji then describes the anahata chakra located in the heart region and which is concerned with love, sentiments and other emotion. It means ?that which cannot be created? and it signifies that real love can never be created from outside; it can happen only when a deep awareness enters a person. He advises that one should practice the ?Mahamanta meditation? for opening the chakra.
Manipuraka chakra is located in the navel region and means ?the city of jewels?. It is locked by worries. He says that one should understand the difference between doing things with awareness and doing things mechanically and out of fear. Doing things in the former case will not bring ?any sort of binding. It will not bind you in space and time. You will be a master.? But by doing things in the latter way you ?it will bind you and cause misery to you. You will be a slave?. He advises that one should speak from one'sbeing. ?It will transform your life. There is no other way.? When the speaker speaks with totality, the listener is bound to listen with totality and ?his life is bound to be transformed.? For this Nithyananda advises that learning of the ?Manipuraka Shuddha Kriya? is necessary.
The swadhishtana chakra is two inches below the navel and means ?where your Being is established?, and where swa means ?self? and adhishtana means ?established?. It is locked by fear, especially the fear of death. The intensity and frequency of fear strokes can be greatly reduced by deeper understanding and clarity of thought. Darkness meditation technique is explained to arouse this chakra.
The sahasrara chakra located in the crown of the head means ?thousand-petalled? and is closed by discontentment and taking life for granted. Nithyananda says, ?When you live with overwhelming gratitude in you, you have found a space wherein nothing else is needed. It means that you have fallen into meditation. Then you will not worry about anything else.? He stresses that discontentment is a product of the mind and the heart and is a hindrance to one'sgrowth. It is the mind that stands between ?you and Existence. It prevents you from hearing, seeing, feeling and emoting with Existence.? Hence it is advisable to go beyond the mind. He advocates ?Sahasrara Dhyana? meditation for arousing the chakra.
Finally ananda darshan is felt when a clear understanding of our base emotions like, sex, fears, worry, attention, jealousy, ego and discontent is made. The direct relationship between our emotions and the energy centres or chakras is well explained in the book. By reading this book one can learn to transform one'sbase energies to high spiritual energy while discovering the higher dimensions of one'sBeing. We are helped to create our own space to flower and reconnect with our inner core, our true self, which is pure and eternal bliss?nithya ananda.
(Nithyananda Foundation, Nithyanandapuri, Kallugopahalli, Off Mysore Road, Bidadi-562109, Bangalore District, Karnataka.)
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