The Rare Birth Of A Yogi
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM prāpya puṇyakṛtāṃ lokān uṣitvā śāśvatiḥ samāḥ śucīnāṃ śrī matāṃ gehe yogabhraṣṭo'bhijāyate
The person who has fallen from yoga [yogabṛasṭa] after many years of living in the planets of the pious and doing virtuous deeds, takes birth in the house of the virtuous and prosperous
A person who has performed virtuous activities takes birth in a family of righteous people
athavā yogināmeva kule bhavati dhī matām etaddhi durlabhataraṃ loke janma yadīdṛśam
Or the Yogī certainly takes birth in a family of wise people. Certainly, such a birth is rare in this world
We can choose our body and the time that we wish to be born.
tatra taṃ buddhisaṃyogaṃ labhate paurva dehikam yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṃsiddhau kurunandana
O son of Kuru, on taking such a birth, he revives the intelligence, consciousness of the previous body, and tries again to attain complete success [yoga]
On taking birth, we continue the journey where we left off.
Kṛṣṇa talks about how we choose everything in our lives, including our birth, when and where we are born and whom we choose as our parents. This truth may seem difficult for most of us to believe. Our birth is not just an accident. It is an incident and we are the ones who choose all the details about this incident. We must understand that it is only we who program and design everything and everybody in our life, including our parents and environment.
For example, if we live to eat rather than eat to live, at the time of death, we will still have the desire to continue eating. So, we might choose the body of a pig. Or, if we have lived our life only for sleeping, we might choose the body of a buffalo. So, based on the attitude we have lived with, we choose the next body. This is the basic idea on which our janma-maraṇa cakra (cycle of life and death) revolves.
Here, Kṛṣṇa gives the assurance to Arjuna and to the whole of humanity that a person who has performed virtuous activities takes birth in a family of wise people or in a prosperous family.
When we live our life running behind our greed and desires, running after "what next? what next....?," naturally, at the time of our death also, we will not be ready to leave the body. The body will be tired of running behind desires continuously, but the mind will not be ready to leave. So we will leave the body in the pain and suffering. If we can just relax into the present, we will leave the body in a relaxed way, peacefully
Once we leave the body, in three kṣaṇa, three moments, we get into a new body and we are reborn. Kṣaṇa in Saṃskṛit means the gap between two thoughts. If we have been constantly running behind desires, the gap between two thoughts will be really small for us. When we learn to relax into the present, the gap between two thoughts increases and the three kṣaṇas can be a long time. Here, Kṛṣṇa says that on taking birth, we gain the intelligence of the previous body and continue the journey where we left off.
One thing we should understand here is that when we say death, it is not just the death that happens at the end of our life. It is what happens every day and night. Every day we leave the body. We go to the causal body when we fall asleep. Every day we die. When we wake up, we come back. Every day we come back to life. As of now, every morning, how do we come back to life? How do we take this body again in the morning? Just look deeply. What happens at the time when we get up from bed?
First thing, usually, the moment we gain awareness, either a thought based on greed or fear will hit us. There will be thoughts based on greed such as, 'I need to get this today,' or thoughts based on fear such as, 'I have to finish this work today.' Some thought based on fear or greed will hit us. Immediately, we will jump out of our bed. When we get up from bed, let the first thought be related to love and compassion.
Wake up only to express life in bliss. Wake up just out of joy.
Goals:
For the child to understand our choices in the cycle of life and death. If we alter our thoughts at the time of waking up, we will alter the whole consciousness.
- Is our birth an accident?
- Who programs and designs everything and everybody in our life?
- What does assurance Kṛṣṇa give to Arjuna?
- When do we leave the body in pain and suffering? What is a kṣaṇa?
- How many kṣaṇa between when we leave the body and we get into a new body?
- What should be our first thought when we get up from bed?
PROCEDURE
Normal birth certificates have only minimum information on them, like date of birth and parents' names. Get the children to design themselves a new birth certificate which has all information they can think of that they chose for their birth.
INFERENCE
We are the ones who choose all the details about our birth. Our birth is not just an accident. It is an incident.
PROCEDURE
Hold a short Unclutching meditation for the children. Explain that their thoughts are just like bubbles in a fish tank, the bubble starts, rises up, then dissolves again. Ask them what happened with their thoughts during the Unclutching meditation.
INFERENCE
It's possible to have shorter and longer gaps between two thoughts When we learn to relax into the present, the gap between two thoughts increases
Get the children to hold Vaakyartha sadhas on
- ❖ How they now understand sleep,
- ❖ How they can ensure that when they wake up, they are reminded to think about things related to love and compassion