Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Datta Kriya Yoga Session – February 5, 2017 – New Zealand
Compiled by: Smt Hira Duvvuri
Datta Kriya Yoga has three important aspects: Prana Yoga, Asana Yoga, and Dhyana Yoga.
Asana Yoga appears like school exercises. But it is very important. Sitting posture, breathing style, are all important. If it is difficult to do Asana Yoga, then you must do walking, jogging, bicycling, or treadmill. It is very necessary. There are thousands of asanas and mudras. No need to do them all. Some are essential in human life.
Books are available. Take and use for reference. All age Kriya students must purchase and go through the book. Understand how to sit, how to walk, how to move the legs, arms, and neck. One secret is, if you go through these Asanas, with proper breathing technique, the Asanas become very powerful. Without the breathing technique, it is only exercises and body building. Sit and do breathing exercises. Inhale and exhale. First Asana Yoga.
If you want spiritual growth, then practice the small asanas with simple hand and leg movements, only 20-40 poses. These are not exercises. Meditation-Relaxation exercises.
The second part is Kriya. What you do, work, talk, travel, computer work is Kriya. Prana or breathing technique makes it Kriya. Then you do not get tired. You may drive 10-20 hours without getting tired.
12 Pranayamas are very important. Surya Chandra nadi Bhedana and Sahaja pranayama cleaning the insides. Your concentration and memory power improved. It appears simple, left and right nostrils. Practice 40 times daily, early morning and before bedtime. You will experience the benefit. Avoid spicy food. Eat mild food. Very necessary. It is dangerous to grow a big belly. If you have a thyroid problem, take some medicines and do serious breathing exercises. Don’t use too many methods of modern science. Avoid too many over the counter medicines. First be your own doctor and heal your body with meditation and control of body and mind. Otherwise, not eligible for Yoga. It is very simple. Early morning drink 4 glasses of lukewarm water. Gradually increase day by day from 1 glass to 4 glasses. Very simple medicine. Tell me your report after one month. I practice this. I have reduced medicines. I feel light. No tiredness. No afternoon napping. Not too much food. Too much food induces daytime sleep. Decrease food intake. Don’t fill your stomach. It is a big danger. Stop eating before you are full. Don’t eat till you burp. Then you will sleep. Mothers encourage children to eat their fill. Don’t serve yourself too much food. Eat a little bit at a time. Others may think you are eating all the time. Take only a small quantity. Unnecessarily don’t get depressed and upset over silly things. Like a dog, like a lion, people react. You must observe all these things if you are practicing Datta Kriya Yoga. This is not nonsense. It is highly sensible.
Dhyana Yoga class we are now not conducting. It is a very big subject. Bhagavatam, Vedanta, it is more intellectual and very special classes.
You now practice only Asanas and Breathing techniques. Only four techniques will be taught here. So many different sections are there, how to clean eyes, skin, nose, ears, and how to heal and cleanse the Nadis. All exercises are taught. Learn for three days and practice. Don’t take this lightly. Swamiji is teaching since 45 years. You must learn and practice. Taking courses alone is not enough.
Many do not know how to even get started. Exercises you understand. Kriya Yoga is not like that. This is a hidden Yoga. You cannot easily understand it. If you have interest, you can understand it. Otherwise, you cannot understand it. Please practice this daily.
Dhyana yoga is very serious.
Asana Yoga is a very easy method. It is not scary or hard. With practice, you begin to command your body. You will be able to control your sense organs and organs of action. Stomach, legs, hands, excretory organs, and the sense perceptions all you can control.
Organs of actions are in your control. Enemy is food. Once food is controlled, then postures are easy to do. Quantity must be controlled. People are not satisfied with quality. They want large quantity. Many say, we are born only to eat. Why do you tell us to control eating? We don’t like your teaching. Always eating, drinking, and sleeping. How to control food? You are teaching Fasting Yoga. It is not good, they say.
There are three parts in our body.
Healing music concert we had yesterday. It is a part of Kriya Yoga. Healing music you experienced. Very unusual music. It is all Kriya Yoga. You can blend the sound of inhalation and exhalation to set the tone. Some people do short, incomplete breathing. There are five pranas. If you take full breaths, if you practice doing it, when you walk, sitting, watching tv, eating, practice deep breathing, not short breaths, like a dog, or a puppy.
Bad smell comes from the stomach. Take it out with deep breathing. Then you become pure. The bad air expels even the spicy smell from your stomach. Even if you eat onion and spices, deep breathing will remove the bad smell. Sweating also creates bad odor. Sit aside when you are tired and concentrate on your deep breath. Listen to the sound of your own breathing. So-ham. The breath is like a railway engine. Inside there is digestion process going on. You test yourself. You eat food. You do some exercise. Make a calculation of calories eaten and deep breathing time. Just sit and do one day. Next day, you walk and do natural deep breathing. Tell me the result. Keep a count of the measure of how much you eat, and how much you exercise. 12 hours a day you do deep breathing and see how many calories you burn. It is very effective. You will realize the power of your own breath. You forget and take short breaths, then the effect is lost, if you gasp like a dog. Those are half breaths. With determination, maintain deep breathing all day long. How effective it is, you will recognize. Exercise, coupled with deep breathing is extremely effective. You will experience how well the food gets digested.
Asana Yoga is very necessary. Do Sukha Asana. Cajole the knees to go down. Do the butterfly action with soles touching each other. Do deep breathing. When you are listening to lectures also you can do this. Slowly you practice. Wear pants for Kriya Yoga. Don’t wear a heavy silk saree to Kriya Yoga practice.
If you have a big belly, you cannot do the exercises. First, control the food intake. Too much ghee you avoid. Too many chapatis, with potato curry, you should avoid. Limit the quantity of consumption.
Kaliji will do Asana dancing like a rubber body. You will run away scared. She is the best Triyoga teacher. Throughout the world, she has followers, in Japan, China, Russian, any place.
Sri Guru Datta