Vasudev Murthy has tried to explain the mystery of yoga sutras propounded by Maharishi Patanjali 2500 years ago in a simplified form that could be grasped by the common man, writes Navin Upadhyay
AAt a time when yoga and pranayama are seen as a panacea for every illness that besets mankind, there has been a proliferation of literature on these age-old Indian practices. Much of the emphasis has been on the way yoga and pranayama can keep us healthy and cure even the most life-threatening ailments. Vasudev Murthy‘s Yoga sutra Simplified is an attempt to go beyond the popular physical aspects of yoga.
Claiming that a restless mind is the root cause of all our troubles, Murthy takes the reader through Patanjali’s 196 power-packed sutras and explains the purpose and meaning of yoga based on his personal experiences.
The writer talks about his college life when he went through frequent bouts of illness. It was also a time when he was erratic in his approach, wrestling with anger and impatience. That is when his father introduced him to a yoga expert and later persuaded him to join a yoga school. It was the beginning of a journey that transformed his life.
In course of time, Murthy started practicing yoga asana and meditation and discovered that yoga was not all about physical fitness but a much deeper exploration of inner life. When he started reading the Patanjali sutra, the first line that caught his imagination was: Yoga is a cessation of the mind reacting to stimulus.
He goes on to explain that the purpose of yoga is to have such control over the mind that it is indifferent to any “ tremor or perturbation” external or internal.”
Murthy has a great deal to say about ‘ ego’, on which he throws light in the following beautiful paragraph:
“I see, I perceive, I feel, I sense. I feel that this is truly the real me. But in fact, this is the real throwing veil of ignorance over the fact the real” me” is separate from experiences. You are praised, you win awards, you receive recognition, and you win arguments. In ignorance, you believe this—this illusion—is your true essence. But indeed it is not.”
Then he sums up `ego’ in a scintillating one-liner: The ego is therefore a manifestation of ignorance.
Taking this point further, Murthy says “as ignorance feeds the ego, we then move to an endless quest for happiness. We are surrounded by messages suggesting that happiness involves buying something or loving someone, getting a huge salary, having a child or visiting Paris, and so on. And if we indeed do buy that object or acquire those illusory sources of alleged happiness, we then hanker for more of the same. In other words, he becomes attached to the memory of a specific state of happiness and years for more experiences that feed memory.”
Murthy goes on to assert the need to eliminate the ego through the practice of yoga, pranayama, and meditation and says that when the ego is eliminated the illusory word vanishes.
Calming that yoga is a beginning of a journey to take control of our mind, Murthy says once you control your mind, once you are impervious to mischievous provocations and inducement to modify your mind, that is when you will discover the true YOU.
Murthy says that the first sign of an unquiet mind is shallow breathing.
“What happens when you allow yourself to be distracted by illness, poor behavioral patterns, desires, and delusions? Your breathing becomes rapid and shallow. Anxiety sweeps your awareness, your pupil dilates, and your despair for the solution that makes sense to you. The impact on your physical being is negative, while your mind ferments due to distractions. And your heartbeat goes up.”
Asserting that a quiet mind will set aside all distractions, Murthy talks about the power of mediation. He says that mediation has the power to deal with stress and bring peace that was difficult to even describe.
Citing an example of the miraculous power of mediation he says, “ In my own case, I have observed that my heartbeats can reduce to about 55 beats per minute from the regular 73. This involves deep breathing and a complete focus on the movement of breath and determined blocking out of all sensory distractions.”
Talking about pranayama, Murthy says prana is the life force entering our body through breath. Pranayama translates to the regulation of prana, and incredible benefits could be gained by regulating inhalation, exhalation, and halting the process of breathing.
On the concept of an enlightened mind, Murthy cites Patanjali to underscore the point that the mind must be made impervious to stimulation. “ The quivering jelly ( which the mind is) must transform into an impregnable diamond. And once that happens, we will merge unto that pure consciousness that pervades the universe infinitely in all directions,” he said.
Murthy has tried to explain the mystery of yoga sutras propounded by Maharishi Patanjali 2500 years ago in a simple form that could be grasped by a common man. In a world torn by chaos and violence, where people are increasingly falling prey to despair and depression, his book can act as a tool to explore ways to harmonize our existence with the everyday challenges of life.