Meeting Shambhavi
I won’t forget this day of “Mohini Ekadashi” – when I received my first initiation in Kriya Yoga, by Sadhguru. The experience was calming yet very intensive. Kriya Yoga is the paradigm which involves usage of “pranayama”, “yoga”, “bandha”, “mantras” and “meditation”. So far, I found this process to be most suitable for my personality as the unconditional devotion that “Bhakti Yoga” asks for doesn’t comes naturally to me nor do I have the discerning capabilities that “Gyan Yoga” demands. As for, “Karma Yoga” – I try to incorporate it in my daily life but the kind of ego we have to carry throughout in this modern society makes it difficult to separate ourselves from our actions. This leaves “Raja Yoga” and I find “Kriya yoga” to be a superset of Raja Yoga – and a very powerful one.
I found the techniques used as part of “Shambhavi Kriya” to be especially calming. In that pre-conditioning, your mind is brought to certain state of receptibility and although no one can word the experience – I still would like to give it a pass for my own record. It’s like you have been suspended in between your thoughts and body. That is, at peak of the kriya, you can still see your mind thinking and body experiencing through senses, but you are detached to both. As if, you are there but you aren’t.
I know, it sounds weird, but it’s something worth experiencing. If you are interested you might want to check Inner Engineering, which is the first step towards Kriya Yoga, as offered by Sadhguru.
I also like the approach that Sadhguru takes towards the whole process. He always insist on living the life fully in contrast to many other counterparts.
The goal of Shambhavi is just to establish you within yourself, in all your entirety, making you capable of being happy and satisfied all by yourself – that is the kind of liberation that is sought for in it. A liberation from validation of outside world.
At last, I don’t have any disregard for other methods. They work for so many other people, however, so far Shambhavi is something which my system was more acceptable towards. So, it doesn’t matter which path you choose – getting there is of utmost importance.
Yogaratova bhogaratova
Sangaratova sangaviheenah
Yasya brahmani ramate chittam
Nandati nandati nandatyeva
Yogaratova, Bhogaratova – either in yoga or in bhoga, either in discipline or in pleasure, somehow make it. It doesn’t matter how; the important thing is you get there.