Life and Spirituality

A Galaxy, one of many in the Universe. The Universe is the father of all life, Earth is the mother I n a previous post it was mentioned that the basic purpose of life appears to be to evolve. In ancient times when civilization began, humans applied their mind to this notion. They came up with a large number of practices designed to improve body, mind and soul of humans. Many such practices were described by a common name Yoga. There are very many different types of yoga such as hatha yoga, kriya yoga, karma yoga and so on for the ways to improve body, mind and soul are countless. This author has had deep interests in both physical sciences as well as spiritual sciences. As a result of this combination, the author had described a form of yoga that emerged from an intersection of both these sciences and gave it the name Entropy Yoga. It has been followed and taught by some in different parts of the world since it was introduced. An interested reader can find it in

Yoga B ased on my interest in both science and spirituality, several years ago, I had coined the term  entropy yoga in this blog to interpret some principles of yoga from the point of view of classical thermodynamics. Some articles were also posted on ezinearticles.com. At that time it was not expected that the term will become popular with some yoga enthusiasts and some yoga schools but it has and as with most everything it has undergone varying interpretations by those who transmitted it. Someone has even produced entropy yoga mats but not having seen one at close hand, this author is not aware of their specifications.  The original ancient specifications of yoga mats do need modifications because of availability of modern materials. Ancient materials were things like grass and animal skins that are not necessary anymore. If there is a manufacturer out there who would like to produce entropy yoga mats, please do get in touch and I shall gladly share my idea of it. The

T he unfortunate suicide and demise of Robin Williams has renewed a debate on depression in the social media. In an earlier post in this blog – The Joy of a rustic life –  it was described how the poor seem to be far happier than the rich. Yes there are times of devastation when the poor have no support or buffer, such as a poor farmer in debt and drought who is driven to suicide but in the main I have found this conclusion to hold most times. This phenomenon appears to apply not just to the rich and poor but also between rich and poor countries. Levels of stress and depression are much higher in the richer countries of the world than the poor who seem to laugh much more after saying Manyahna with a banana for lunch. I have experienced this at close quarters after having lived in both types of countries for several years. When a poor country or even a rich one is mentioned here, the reference is to those that are not disturbed by an internal or external war, even an internal

The various asanas (physical movements) and breathing exercises come later. If done before steps like entropy yoga or what Patanjaili described as Yama and Niyama, they may not amount to much more than improved physical abilities and freedom from common ailments afflicting persons who lack physical exercise and activity. For a broader benefit and success in life begin with entropy yoga. The maximum benefit from physical yoga movements is derived when thoughts do not wander and are focused on the physical movement alone, for in the very first few lines of his text on yoga, Patanjali, the father of yoga describes that yoga is to still the activities of the mind. Entropy yoga prepares the mind for such a focus. President Obama in a Yoga Asana at the White House!?!?  :) INTRODUCTION Y oga is an ancient Sanskrit word.   Since the term was invented a few thousand years ago, a lot of water has passed under the bridge and many new meanings having been given to it.

Photo shows roof of Naini Mata Temple in Nainital with text overlay by Ashok Malhotra My cousin Pradeep and a face book friend posted something this morning about a Mantra on his wall: Mantra Dhaarnaa Yon Kar, Vidhi Se Le Kar Naam Japiye Nishchaya Achal Se, Shakti-Dhaam Sri Ram These verses in Hindi may be translated as: From right Teacher learn right technique of repetition of right name Then mediate with greatest faith, Upon the Lord’s most vital name I fully agree with my dear cousin that the chanting of Mantras done correctly is a powerful technique, even magical. That is the reason one has magicians chanting spells in fairy tales to perform magic. Recently a college classmate and dear friend got into serious legal difficulties. His name is Rajat Gupta. Until recently he was one of the most senior corporate executives on our planet well known to Prime Ministers and Presidents including Obama and Clinton. He can be found in Wikipedia. However, amongst so