The human existence is not just limited to the physical, the physical is just an aspect, an aspect which is perceivable by the five senses. Majority of the people go through the journey called life with this limited perception of themselves. The perception being limited, obviously there is none or minimal fulfillment... From morning to night and from puberty to old age the majority of beings chase what is the limited i.e. the satisfaction of the five senses and since one is chasing the limited, till ones last breath one remains limited and dissatisfied.
The ancient masters understood the complete being, and were therefore forever satisfied. The satisfaction levels were phenomenal even when there were no movies, no stock markets, no designer wear, no literature to read and the best of all no parties to attend! And the whole world acknowledges that the best of philosophy (the Upanishads), the best of literature (the epics), the best of romance (Radha and Krishna), the best of dance (Bharat Natyam and Kucchipudi), the best of carnal pleasures (Kama Sutra) and much more was the fabric of the ancient Indian society.
Our ancestors were not a boring, nomadic race. They enjoyed all aspects of the creation to the hilt and yet were contented. The satisfaction level was so high that during their later years they would leave everything they possessed and would happily move to the final stage of the human journey i.e. the Sanyas Ashram.
The ancient practice of Yoga would help us understand why? Yoga is not standing on your head. Nor is it breathing rapidly or doing complicated postures in quick succession. Yoga is not about teaching the whole world that creation is false. All of the above is just limited and bound by the play of the five senses. Yoga is experience ... just experience, for only when you experience do you realise the futility of the experience. Only then you would go beyond the act. Empty words and lectures can only keep you occupied for a short while.
Exercises and kriyas directed to just the physical would seem empty after a short while and your search shall continue. In the Mahabharata Arjuna needed the experience of Lord Krishna, just words even when they were coming from the mouth of the divine himself were useless.
As per ancient thought a being exists in five layers. First one is annamayakosh which is the physical layer, is directly controlled by the pranmayakosh, the layer from where the flow of prana happens. It gives life to the former. The third layer, the manomayakosh, is the logical mind. The being controls his physical mind from this level. The fourth layer, thevigyanmayakosh, is the subtler aspect of the being, the intuition or what is called the gut feeling originates from here. The fifth layer, the anandmayakosh, is the state of ananda which a being experiences when he is in total harmony. Sanatan Kriya: Basic - Essence of Yoga works at the first four layers and brings about a perfect harmony and balance in the being.
Hope people stop taking 'standing upside down' as perfection in Yoga bcz it is considered as d most difficult asan but d most difficult is to be still while sitting in one posture, until one is searching for peace & Divine outside but d moment one realizes that d whole creation is within(our thoughts) & one can find peace & solace inside self then it becomes d easiest to be still even for hours together bcz d internal pleasures r far more pleasurable than d external and attaining contentment no longer remains an insurmountable task, it is attained spontaneously without any rigorous effort.
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