jodhpur

Looking through the reviews of a compact camera Sigma DP2 I came across the link to the photo-gallery of Julie Mayfeng India&Nepal. Whether she really shoots with Sigma I'm not sure but the color is very vivid (post-processing applied I guess). That's due to Foveon sensor in the camera.

Jodhpur (Rajasthan, India) is known as the Sun City for the bright, sunny weather it enjoys all year. It is also referred to as the Blue City due to the blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort. 

Dalai Lama: Who is Tiger Woods?

In what was described as a "brief interview," the Dalai Lama told the Associated Press that he had never heard of Woods, who last week said he plans to explore anew the Buddhist teachings from his childhood.

When the matter was explained to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader,he replied that "all religions have the same idea" about adultery.

"Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that's important," he said. "Self-discipline with awareness of consequences."

Actually the Dalai Lama's business is... a business. He just proves by such a reaction that he is a political figure rather than a buddist capable to deal with difficult and challenging issues. Very much of his words is a bland rhetoric and a popularity game.

In fact, buddism and other meditative practices are capable and very effective instruments to deal with sexual addiction problems. The Dalai Lama brushed off this Tiger's case as a matter of general religious issue. Well, it is the Dalai Lama, the statesman.

Humiliation of Tiger Woods

Unexpectedly Tiger contributed to my blog with his confession on infidelity and even sex addiction.

Because my blog is focused on how to cope with sexual indulgence and how to diminish sexual desire I can't let it go without commenting.

Lotus sitting posture can help Tiger in his forthcoming therapy course to diminish sexual desire. But obviously this method can't be recognised by public because public cherishes sexual desire while critisizing it's outbursts in people who they have chosen as role models.

Classical Yoga Texts: Overview and Some Pathos

Yoga legacy may be divided into 3 layers, roughly speaking.

1. "Yoga Sutras" by Patanjali

2. Goraksha's "Siddha Sidhanta Paddhati" and " Hatha Yoga Pradipika" by Svatmarama

3. "Gheranda Samhita" and "Shiva Samhita"

If you look through these texts without a bias then you'll see that all of them are predominantly meditative. Only "Gheranda Samhita" stands out of the crowd because it is a negligent and inaccurate variation of the earlier texts. It seems that the author of "Gheranda" didn't have any copy of "Yoga Pradipika" and put his verbal knowledge ( passed to him by his teacher) on paper which was no more than modified "Yoga Pradipika".

"Gheranda Samhita" is an interesting case because from the first sight it seems more exhausting in practical detail. It gives the bigger number of asanas ( 32) and mudras ( 25). It talks more about the conditions of yoga practice. But if you take a closer look at the text you'll see that much of this detail is pretty useless, incoherent and rather misguides than clarifies the subject.

Furthermore, while "Gheranda" adds second rate detail to the previous yoga texts, it spoils the important lines of "Hatha Yoga Pradipika" omitting or twisting their meaning.

When you realize that hatha yoga is a meditative practice then you'll see yoga in different light. What seemed complex would become more clear. You will become much more sensitive to the teachings of the first known yoga proponents like Patanjali, Goraksha and Svatmarama. You will realize that they are the best teachers you can take lessons from in our times when innovation obscures the core practice. And I have to say that it has become extremely difficult to approach original yoga practice in a practical way. So difficult that if you reveal the teaching of Svatmarama to the yoga practitioners in its true meaning then you'll be regarded as inadequate.

Bad Compiler Gheranda

"Hatha Yoga Pradipika" by Svatmarama makes an impression of the original and thoroughly thought work. "Gheranda Samhita" is also regarded as one of the most important texts on yoga but to put it frankly it is in fact a replica of the "Hatha yoga Pradipika" and a bad one with the language and observations being of poor quality.

Gheranda ignored the division of asanas into 2 separate groups made by Svatmarama and united all of them in one list. The result of this faulty unification was that poses for health became as important as meditative poses given by Shiva ( which bear the yogic practice) and even began to dominate because of number. Later the amount of asanas grew to a big number. Siddhasana and lotus, which were initially cornerstones of hatha yoga practice, got lost and got to be associated with meditation -as if a different kind of practice. So, people have started to make difference between asanas and so called meditation in hatha yoga.

2 sets of asanas by Svatmarama, part 2

Hatha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh, [1914]

19. Being the first accessory of Hatha Yoga, âsana is described first. It should be practised for gaining steady posture, health and lightness of body.

20.I am going to describe certain âsanas which have been adopted by Munîs like Vasishtha, etc., and Yogîs like Matsyendra, etc.

Here is the first set of asanas, which I would call "given for health" by munis and yogis. Svatmarama explains 11 poses. The most important of them aim to impact abdomen area to improve digestion which is the main concern of yogis. They thought that good digestion was the gateway for healthy body. The best of these poses Paschimotanasana was even accepted by "Shiva Samhita" (classical yoga text) while others were ignored.

35.Śiva taught 84 âsanas. Of these the first four being essential ones, I am going to explain them here.

36.These four are:—The Siddha, Padma, Sinha and Bhadra. Even of these, the Siddha-âsana, being very comfortable, one should always practise it.

It seems ( surprisingly) that the introduction to asanas has just started with these two verses. This another set of poses is given by Shiva and is of unparalleled importance. They all seem to be of meditative nature. This meditative nature is probably derived from the "Yoga Sutras" of Patanjali. 2.46. Asana is steady and comfortable. 2.47. ( Achieved) by relaxation of effort and by coinciding with the Endless. So every living being has its asana. " There are as many poses as living beings." Out of all asanas Shiva taught 84.

40.Just as sparing food is among Yamas, and Ahimsâ among the Niyamas, so is Siddhâsana called by adepts the chief of all the âsanas.

41.Out of the 84 Âsanas Siddhâsana should always be practised, because it cleanses the impurities of 72,000 nâdîs.

42.By contemplating on oneself, by eating sparingly, and by practising Siddhâsana for 12 years, the Yogî obtains success.

43.Other postures are of no use, when success has been achieved in Siddhâsana, and Prâna Vâyû becomes calm and restrained by Kevala Kumbhaka.

45.There is no Âsana like the Siddhâsana and no Kumbhaka like the Kevala. There is no mudrâ like the Khechari and no laya like the Nâda (Anâhata Nâda.)

51.The Yogî who, sitting with Padmâsana, can control breathing, there is no doubt, is free from bondage.

Like a parrot Svatmarama praises siddhasana and lotus as well. These two asanas are the cornerstone of the practice and have to be practiced right from the beginning. The discrimination between 2 sets of asanas is obvious from the teachings of Svatmarama but this separation will become undistinguished later when Gheranda ( "Gheranda Samhita") unites all asanas in one list.

2 sets of asanas by Svatmarama

When I realized the importance and superiority of lotus practice I then wondered why was it falling out of the asanas routine. The dynamic practice of the modern schools of yoga doesn't leave any space for lotus sitting which is considered as meditation and therefore refers to the later stages of the yogic way.

But my practical experience shows that lotus sitting is paramount and needed at the early stages. The multiple asanas routine has become so complex and demanding in the modern schools of yoga that combining of static lotus sitting and dynamic asanas is very problematic and requires decided compromises. So, on one radical side we have got BKS Iyengar who rejected separate meditation and on the other Aurobindo who rejected physical  techniques though they both belong to the yoga tradition.

To find answers to my questions I looked through authoritative yoga texts. Svatmarama's "Hatha Yoga Pradipika" gave me even clearer explanation of the confusion.

To my surprise I found that Svatmarama's practice rotated not around multiple asanas ( as I presumed) but around  purely meditative pose siddhasana. His praise of siddhasana is astounding and reminds me my zeal towards lotus.

Futhermore if you look more attentively at the text you will notice that Svatmarama gives 2 separate lists of asanas.