Human beings are born with a specific purpose, which they even remind themselves of in the womb. But they lose all sense of it when they get stuck in the cycle of life and death without a guru, writes Yogi Ashwini
Gyan flows from Guru to shishya, there is no book or kriya or mantra that can replace a Guru. It is the Guru-shishya parampara that has bestowed Bharatvarsha with the reservoirs of gyan in the form of Upanishads. In fact, the term ‘upanishad’ translates as ‘sitting near the Guru’ and is formed from two words — ‘upa’ that is ‘near’, and ‘nishad’ which means ‘to sit’. Just sitting in the company of Guru can reveal truths so profound and deep that even till date many parts of the Upanishads are yet to be explored by modern scientists. Garbha Upanishad, the treatise on conception and growth of a child in the mother’s womb, is one such example.
Given at least 4,000 years ago by Rishi Pippalaada, the Garbha Upanishad details how conception takes place, factors that determine gender and traits of the baby, the environment inside the womb, the stages in development of embryo and what it goes through. It might come as a surprise but in the womb itself, the being starts making promises. It forgets them the moment it is out of the womb. In the absence of a Guru, the being is unable to fulfil the promise in its lifetime, and before it knows, it is making another promise — this time in an ICU — to improve in its next birth. The body disintegrates. Once again, it takes shelter in another womb, repeating its promise and forgetting to keep it. The cycle goes on.
I have detailed below the journey of the spirit from the womb to the world as given in Garbha Upanishad as a reminder of the promise each one of you made…and as a wakeup call, to find a Guru who can put you on the reverse journey, lest you waste this birth as well.
The five-fold body comprises of earth that sustains, water that consolidates, fire that illuminates, air that brings in motion and ether that lends space. The five sense organs help perceive the physical creation, the genitals are for pleasure and apana for elimination. Intellect helps understand, mind helps to think and words are used to speak. This body is supported by six rasas (tastes), associated with sixgunas (qualities). It consists of seven dhatus (tissues), three malas (wastes), two yonis and is nourished by four ahaars (foods). The proper combination of gunas gives rise to six rasas from which blood is created. From blood develops flesh, then fat, followed by bones, marrow and finally semen, in that order. From the combination of semen and blood, the human embryo is formed.
At a time conducive to conception, with the union of male and female, after a lapse of one night, embryo is a semi-fluid. It takes the form of a bubble on the seventh night and a solid lump at the end of a fortnight. It hardens by the end of a month, the head forms at the end of two months, feet after three months, stomach and hips after fourth, backbone develops in fifth, and the eyes, nose, and ears in the sixth. In the seventh month, the embryo gains consciousness and by the eighth month it is complete. It derives its nourishment from whatever is consumed by the mother through nerves and vessels.
This five-fold self, combined with intelligence, immerses itself in eternal om, whereupon it derives the essence of eight natures and their sixteen modifications. In the ninth month, it is reminded of all the past lives, the karmas it performed — good and bad. The fetus contemplates that it has seen innumerable wombs and taken countless pleasures, been born and reborn repeatedly. It has borne pain and grief and sees no respite; it is suffering alone and the bodies that enjoyed the pleasures are gone. So, it pledges to immerse itself in yoga once it exits the womb to carve its journey back to the source — to Maheshwar, Narayana and Brahma. But the moment it comes out of the womb, it is touched by vaishnav prana, maya, and forgets its past lives and deeds and also, the promise it made, because its priorities change. The journey thus begins…
At Dhyan Ashram, sadhaks have had experiences which complement what is documented in the Upanishad and all of them are educated individuals with sound minds. Dr Prasan Prabhakar, who is an MBBS MD Medicine, has been practicing Sanatan Kriya in Kochi and reported seeing a white tube, the same which is described as the entry and exit route for the soul in vedic texts. Seema Singh, MBA in Marketing from Hyderabad, after a dhyan session, described her past four lives, how she was murdered in her last birth and how the soul entered the womb of present mother, the mother’s labour pains and her subsequent birth, corroborating the continuity of life and consciousness of the soul as described in Garbha Upanishad. And these are just two examples.
The Garbha Upanishad calls human life a yagya which uses the three fires in the body, Koshta agni (digestive fire), Darshana agni (which powers our sight) and Gyan agni (the power of discernment). Soul is the yajman; Mind is Brahma, grosser thoughts and desires are sacrificial objects, mental strength is the vow; intellect and sense organs are utensils, motor organs are the havish (performers of sacrifice), skull is the vessel, hair is darbha grass, face is the altar and teeth are other utensils.
Rishi Pipalaada goes on to detail the human anatomy with 107marmas, 180 junction points, 109 snayus, 700 channels, 500 muscles, 360 bones, four and a half crore hair, heart weighing 8 palam and tongue weighing 12 palam (approximately 35 grams). The body has one prashta pitta, one adhak kapha, one kudava sukra and two prashtas of fat. The measure of excretory waste depends on intake.
The sage had described the body and its journey in detail 4,000 years ago, urging the being to perform the yagya of life. The success of which, that is fulfilment of the purpose of birth, keeping of the promise made inside the womb, and not losing the sense of one’s priorities, lies at the feet of Guru.
The writer is guiding light of Dhyan Foundation
