13th Death Anniversary of My Nani. It took me three decades to understand you and the life energies within you.
NANI – My grandmother, my mother’s mom, the mother of my entire extended family I would say, who gave me a beautiful big family by having seven kids, and those seven kids created our generation which includes 19 of us who are now in the age of 30s & 40s … and who next, in turn, got married … and became mothers and fathers of this current generation of kids, which till date are 12 in total the newest member being few months old. … which includes two of my sons as well one being 3 and one being 5 years old.
A lady who created so many life energies and had an aura that cannot be forgotten by any person who has witnessed her personally. Imagine this whole existence would not have been possible without her…
So it’s safe to say a Mother is the Shakti / basic foundation of any life energy in this universe. As it has been said Shiva was shava (dead) until Shakti met him. The supreme by itself is inert or zero, it is the Shakti that pulsates with life. She is the infinity of forms; it is only at her touch that Shiva can come alive and became the enjoyer of all forms.
There were lots of judgments being passed about her when she lived, because as usual human race/mind is of a nature that does not value what you have in hand till the time that is gone. And for few of us, we were so young or unaware as to why she is being judged for being a hardcore vegetarian, for being so ritualistic about her sadhana/ meditation every day – morning and evening, the world may shake, but her daily sadhana/ meditation ritual will not be missed, She was so humble, so peaceful, so forgiving, so lively, so amazing that words are so less for me to even describe her.
I am in my 30’s (as I cannot reveal my age in an open forum) and it took me almost 30 years to realize how she became such a powerful soul on this earth. My Nani became a widow at an exceedingly early age after having 7 kids, my youngest Mausi was so small that she couldnt understand that her father was no more. In spite of all hardships, She could put it all together, hold it all together, brought up each of her children in an amazing manner and also children of other families who needed her in that time, she was loving and caring for all of them irrespective of they being hers or they being of any extended family member, I am sure there are people who could not agree more with me as to how she felt for them all.
I used to wonder as a child, why she is so kind, caring, loving, harmonious, and still strong. Why she doesn’t eat non-veg, why she doesn’t take onion, why no garlic, why always her clothes used to shine like new ones, why her bed was always so clean, why she had such great social discipline, individual discipline, and so on so on, the list is endless.
Why she would forgive her child who misbehaved with her, or for whom she would become a burden at some point being a widow, why she would say it didn’t matter as to how anyone treats her because at the end they are her own loving children …. and I guess She believed more in her Karma, and left other persons’ attitude or behavior on their karma, and why amidst all the hustle and bustle of life, she maintained her peace, her calm and her beautiful unbiased soul for everyone.
I never looked into the depth of her life till the time I started on my spiritual journey, my sadhana, my meditation in a rightful manner… thanks to this lockdown, I could give time to my life energies apart from my physical health. I can so strongly relate to her now.
As a kid, I didn’t understand much what she would do when she would inhale and exhale so quickly, then she would modulate her breath and do some deep breathing, she would sit in silence for a long duration without being untouched by the outside world… I could never understand the whole sadhana process, all I knew as a child that Nani is doing sadhana and we should not disturb her… But now I can relate to every action of her and every reaction of her to any situation. And I have got the answers to all these why’s and how ‘s of her life, her achievement, her amazing attitude towards life, what made her just the PERFECT SOUL. A soul so perfect and beautiful that I have not come across any till date.
The answer is yoga — SHE was a hardcore YOGI, where at that age of mine, there was hardly any mention of yogic sciences in our generation, She followed all the eight branches of yoga ( ASHTANGA YOGA) religiously and lived a life full of bliss. The eight limbs of yoga are as follows: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, and Samadhi …!!For all those who do not understand the typical Sanskrit words, I would briefly explain them in English, hoping that in case you are reading my post you would be able to understand the true essence of yoga which is much higher than just the physical health. And somewhere deep down I wish if this world is full of yogis what a beautiful place it would be to live in…!!
- 1. Yama is conduct towards others or social discipline.
- 2. Niyama is conduct towards oneself or individual discipline.
- 3. Asana is the practice of the postures for physical discipline.
- 4. Pranayama is breath- control for mental discipline.
- 5. Pratyahara is the withdrawal or discipline of the senses, it is a step of self-extraction and abstraction.
- 6. Dharana is concentration, introspective focus, and one-pointedness of mind.
- 7. Dhyana literally means “contemplation, reflection” and “profound, abstract meditation.
- 8. Samadhi is self-realization.SOURCE: Yoga A gem for women by Geeta S. Iyengar.
All the eight steps are interpenetrating and interdependent. They may appear to be different, but all lead to the same goal. As the rays of the sun are refracted to form the spectrum, so has yoga been divided into eight components which are all interwoven.
I would like to conclude it with a verse from Bhagavad Gita, where Lord Krishna advises Arjuna thus:
” tapasvibhyo ’dhiko yogī, jñānibhyo ’pi mato ’dhikaḥ, karmibhyaśh chādhiko yogī, tasmād yogī bhavārjuna”
[ The Yogi is greater than the ascetic, the learned, or the man of action; therefore, be a Yogi, Oh Arjuna.]
Bhagvad Gita
