Inner Engineering workshop: 9th – 15th September, 2009

Inner Engineering is a program structured by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, a Yogi and mystic with profound mastery of the ancient science of Yoga. It includes Shambhavi Maha Mudra, an ancient Kriya (internal energy process) never before offered publicly. The program is scientifically structured to promote beneficial changes in one's inner chemistry to accelerate the release of physical, mental and emotional blocks…

The course was held from 9th to 15th September, 2009. I am sharing some lessons and experiences which I gathered during and after the workshop was completed...

1st day –
Su, the young trainer who got introduced to the course nine years back at the age of thirteen, told us a basic truth of Life, that seemed unbelievable –

"The entire Universe is contained within us”!

How is it possible?
We got the answer to the question as we stepped into the 5th day of the course.

2nd day –
Learnings:

 Rules and the adherence to them.

 Confidentiality in terms of not trying to teach the Shambhavi Mahamudra kriya to anyone, since the consequences would be fatal. The Shambhavi Mahamudra, an ancient kriya that has come down verbally from the sages to the common man cannot be recorded in any manuscript!

 Acceptance of all that are happening around us. The more resistance we feel towards something, the more difficult it becomes for us. The moment we accept a person or a thing the way one/ something is, our karma dissolves and we move on. The entire process of living becomes so very easy!

 Always be aware of what is happening around you.

 And we got introduced to the preparatory asanas of Shambhavi Mahamudra.

Here, it reminds me about ‘The Secret’, where it is said that instead of putting emphasis on the negative, we should concentrate on the positive thing. Eg – ‘it should be “pro-peace” and not “anti-war”!

And we should proceed towards making it happen in a positive way. One negative thought might dissolve the possibility of the positive. It is like desiring for something and simultaneously doubting the capabilities of what the Universe could actually grant us!


3rd day –
Learnings:

 Taking responsibility of one’s thoughts and actions is an essential aspect which we must take into consideration.

 Taking responsibility leads to liberation of inner being. It makes one flexible regarding the situations and at the same time removes insecurity from one’s heart. The outlook of the individual undergoes tremendous transformation!

 Living in the moment – should be the motto of our existence! We should enjoy every moment that we are living because that moment will never come back. We can’t live in the past or in the next moment (future). We can only live in a particular moment (present)! Once, the moment is gone, it never comes back! It becomes the past at that moment.

 Every moment is inevitable! We can never modify our Past but we can prepare ourselves for our Future. And there is no point in worrying about the Future but to prevent ourselves from unwanted worries and tension, we can actually plan our actions!


4th day –
Learnings:

 Food habits should be such that it not harmful for our system. Stimulants like tea and coffee should be avoided. Garlic has a medicinal value when treated as a medicine for a patient. But the same garlic would add to the toxic elements in the system when cooked and consumed. Onions, garlics, chilies and meat would not be ideal for the system, though in the Indian scenario we are used to them. Onion, garlic and meat are negative pranic food.

 One can consume nuts, green pulses, fruits, vegetables, curd, honey (a great energizer), beaten rice etc. These add value to our body.

 Potatoes and tomatoes are zero pranic food and can be parts of the normal diet, provided the eater is not suffering from joint pains (which could be due to high content of uric acid in the blood).

 Types and benefits of the Rudraksh for human mind and body.

 The mind is all powerful and guides the body the way it wants. Thousands of years ago it was said by a great ancient philosopher that there are 70,000 layers in the human mind. Buddha agreed to it and simplified it to only 7 layers, through which we could reach the innermost realm of the mind.

 No wonder Buddha reached out to millions of people so easily in an era when the concept of spirituality was confined to the Brahmins only…now adopted by many.

 When asked, Buddha reached to such a deep level within his inner being that he could see himself journeying through various life-cycles – starting from amoeba to that of a multi-celled human being!

 There are some preparatory asanas prior to the commencement of the Shambhavi Mahamudra, which have got various logical explanations assigned to them. The entire yoga process is strictly scientific.

 In the Indian concept, the masculinity is signified by Logic (Pingala) and the feminity is that of Intuition (Ida).Unless and until there is harmony between the feminity and masculinity in the same body, the functioning doesn’t take place properly. The preparatory asanas of Shambhavi Mahamudra help us to do so.

In ‘The Vinci Decoded’, one reads about the persistence of masculinity and feminity in the same body. That was what Da Vinci believed in and it got reflected through his paintings. His treatment of masculinity and feminity in the same body is different from the scientific Indian concept.

5th day -

We were going through the 5th day of the workshop. I got up at 3:30 am and started getting ready. It takes quite some time from my residence, to reach Victoria Memorial ground at 6 am. And we were picking up the other participants on the way.

The physical activities were enjoyable and I was keenly aware of the mental restrictions breaking away. It was some kind of liberation, which I felt!

The day went well and so was the uncooked food! I never knew that uncooked food for lunch could be so delicious! Yummy!

But yes, I certainly didn’t enjoy the banana and the hot Sanjivani (as they term it) porridge with soaked groundnuts as our breakfast!

Right after lunch, we were guided through a meditation session or a deep relaxation process. It was indeed a beautiful experience! Step by step, we were asked to create a space within ourselves for 100, 1000, 10000, 1 million. I’d a strange experience: I was visualizing a round hollow kind of a thing, where I could accommodate that number of black dots (signifying humans) – though I couldn’t count them. And then suddenly I saw a rotating globe for fleeting seconds. Immediately after that, I saw the cosmic vacuum that comprises of the total solar system. The entire thing happened so naturally to me…didn’t conjure up anything consciously!

6th day -

Revision of the lessons already learnt alongwith the practicing the Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya

7th day –

Practicing the Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya, participants sharing their experiences (while doing the workshop) and rules that are to be followed while doing the kriya daily.


My personal experiences till now:

 Sleepiness has reduced.
 Have stopped drinking tea and coffee.
 Feel slightly more relaxed than before. Meditation has already helped me a lot in that respect and Shambhavi even more.
 Calmness of mind and no inner agitation even if I have to express my annoyance consciously.
 Don’t react as much as I used to do earlier.
 Keenly aware of what is happening around me but can remain unaffected to a great extent.
 Strange state of blissfulness and inner confidence.
 And my family members and I are wearing the Panchmukhi Rudraksh mala (tested). We are already seeing the benefits!


Some benefits that one can reap by practicing the Shambhavi Mahamudra -

Health

 Optimize health and vitality
 Freedom from stress
 Provides mental clarity and emotional balance
 Increases and maintains high energy levels throughout the day
 Reduces sleep quota
 Prevents and helps to cure chronic diseases like Asthma, Allergies, Sinusitis, Hypertension, Diabetes, Obesity, Rheumatism, Arthritis, Epilepsy, Back pain, Skin and eye ailments, Migraine

Performance

 Increase ability to handle stressful situations
 Enhance focus, concentration & memory
 Improve productivity and efficiency
 Improve communication & inter-human relationships
 Maintain optimum levels of performance throughout the day

Experiences

 Establish a positive & open approach towards life
 Evaluate personal values and life goals
 Generate inner peace and fulfillment
 Transcend limitations and fears
 Live & experience each moment to the fullest

Transformation: Some excerpts from my diary….

When we fail to get something we yearn for; it is evident that we didn't have 100%, a desire. So one should never have a desire mixed with a speck of doubt! The possibility of materializing it would be none! If we ever have a doubt about the wish getting fulfilled, we should instantly turn the negative thought into something positive! And accordingly work towards our goal!

It's no use blaming someone for a particular negative situation. A person or a situation might just act as a catalyst to make an incident better or worse. It is our actions and reactions that are responsible for situations which shape up in front of us. Probably we have somehow failed to immunize ourselves to our surroundings!


And to have the actions or reactions in control, one needs to have control over one's mind. It is not always possible to keep a tranquil state of mind. Why? It is simply because we fail to attain the silence that soothes our soul that remains agitated otherwise.

We should never allow anyone to take ourselves or our loyalty for granted - be it in personal or professional spheres. We should just move on! And if it takes time to leave and go away instantly, then gradually one must get one's inner being immunized against the situations or one's environment. We need not get affected (due to expectations) or controlled by it. And at the same time we need to be aware of it, keeping our consciousness active!


At times, solitude is the best thing that can happen to us. We don't always need noise that is self created! Solitude has an embalming impact on our mind and the body! Atleast, for once in every twenty-four hours we need to rejuvenate ourselves! We just need to detach ourselves from the entire surroundings for a while and see. Usually the noise around us doesn't allow us to attain that mental state.

The moment we dissociate ourselves from the world around, immunize ourselves against the noise and become one with the universal tranquility - it becomes easy to get connected with cosmic silence! Immunization is a difficult task and this can be achieved only through a conscious effort, like meditation.

Acceptance is a must, which is difficult at times, especially if it is something negative. I have faced it earlier, and now I can ignore negativity to a great extent.

Why get bogged down by pains and sorrows?
Why not be kind and caring towards the world around and yet remain detached?
It will give a strange state of bliss and confidence within oneself!
I have experienced it with the passage of time!


Darkness has faded out completely...closer to the Light now!

- nilanjana, april 2008 - September 2009