Creation has been on for millions of years and souls have been taking birth regularly. If we look at the basis of the soul scientifically then we see that energy can neither be created nor destroyed it only changes form, and body is not just elements it is also consciousness. So obviously, if we believe in modern science, then we must also believe in consciousness. The soul exists in different bodies. Present souls have taken birth in a number of bodies.
If you look outside the window of a plane, no matter where you are in the world, you will find hundreds of buildings and skyscrapers as the plane takes off. As it goes higher, the buildings and skyscrapers becomes smaller and smaller, and slowly they turn into millions of lights which are actually homes. So it is interesting that when you access deeper stages of yoga and start experiencing past lives, you realise that the soul jumps from one life to the other, from one building to another, from one country to the other and this goes on and on in a cyclical manner.
And every time the soul takes birth in a new home, it assumes it to be the ultimate and embarks on a journey of physical success, completely forgetting that this success is temporary. The body will fade away and once again it will start in a new house, a new body. Every time someone in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital struggles for the last birth, s/he makes a promise that s/he will do something higher or better in the next birth, but with every new birth the soul forgets its promise. Because of the forgotten promise, ever birth is lower than the previous one, more painful and disharmonious.
The question then arises, what binds the soul to this birth again and again and what would make the soul free from this bondage? Five basic problems are common to every house binding the soul to cycle of birth and death. First is the body which is constantly deteriorating and one goes out looking for cures to ailments, for a better physique, to somehow arrest the ageing body and diminishing senses. The next problem pertains to finances, loss in business, a better job, better car, better house. If not these two, the soul is plagued by deteriorating relationships, the want for a better partner or the need to mend the one it is currently in, since every relationship is based on give and take. The fourth binding factor are emotions and instability arising from emotional attachments, so the person embarks on a search for emotional fulfilment. The fifth problem pertains to the family — the kids don’t listen, the parents are unsupportive, future of kids, etc. In my 20 years of teaching, I have identified these five basic problems to be common to 90 per cent of people.
It is one or more of these five problems which bind the soul to birth and death, and what releases is the gyan given by Guru.
Na gurur adhikam tatvam, na gurur adhikam tapah, tatva gyanat param nasti, tasmayee shree gurveh namah No tatva (element or physical asset) is greater than the Guru, no penance is greater. The knowledge given by the Guru is supreme because it releases you from these bondages into freedom. This freedom is an experience which is individualistic and is a part of the spirit’s journey between the Guru and the shishya.
Yogi Ashwini, the guiding light of Dhyan Foundation, is an authority on yoga, tantra and the Vedic sciences. His recent book is Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension. Contact him at dhyan@dhyanfoundation.com
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
