History of Yoga

In order to grasp the essence of Yoga, understanding about the history and evolution of Yoga would definitely help. Yoga is one of the oldest art, or you can say science, or philosophy of the world that originated in Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago. Practice of Yoga is very beneficial not only for maintaining the physical health, but also for rejuvenating your mental, moral and spiritual health. The philosophy of Yoga is as ancient as the civilization. According to one of the classical texts of Yoga known as HathaYoga Pradipika, Lord Shiva is the first teacher of Yoga when he preached the Ashtang-Yoga to Mata Parvati. As per Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna is referred as the first teacher of Yoga.

A significant milestone in the history from where Yoga revived itself is considered to be the era of Maharshi Patanjali who systematized Yoga, its meaning and its related knowledge through his Patanjali Yoga Sutras around 400 A.D. So, for discussion on the historical development of Yoga, it may be divided into three phases:

Pre Patanjali Period [Before 400 A.D.]

According to Hindu culture beliefs, Yoga is an eternal philosophy – it has always been there. However, the historical evidences of Yoga were seen up to 4500 B.C. The main sources related to Yoga during those times are Vedas, Upanishads, Smrti, Teaching of Buddha, Jainism, Panini, Epics and Puranas.

The supreme secret of true happiness

First of all, let me shed some light on the meaning of true happiness. I am not referring to the momentary and shallow form of day to day happiness. True happiness is the sublime state of mind that is totally peaceful, fulfilled, ever-lasting and blissful. Once you achieve authentic happiness, you are elevated to a higher state of mind where no anxiety, no worry, no sadness, no unhappiness can touch you. You are not impacted by the vagaries of external world because when you find the true ambrosia within your heart, you are not dependent on the external happiness any more.

Well…. you might think that I am sort of becoming philosophical. Such happiness is only talked about in our religious scriptures, after death, in heavens. You may ask if it is possible to realize such a blissful state of mind while living on earth.

Optimistic attitude of a true seeker

Life is full of avenues and opportunities as long as you keep your hopes alive. A seeker is always optimistic and never gives up. A seeker with an open mind keep on listening to different saints, continue to read one scripture after another, keep on exploring different forms of sadhna with a fire in his belly to realize the true Self and finally attains the goal – the goal of achieving liberty while living, not after death. 

This principle is not only true in the spiritual world, but also in the material world. Let me tell you an inspiring story.

This is the story of a boy from Kentucky. At age 5, his father died. At age 16, he quit school. At age 17, he had already lost four jobs. At age 18, he got married. He joined the army and washed out there. At age 20, his wife left him and took their baby. He became a cook in a small cafe and convinced his wife to return home. 

Two types of seekers

In this dualistic work of happiness and sorrow, positive and negative, peace and restlessness, there is only way to transcend, there is only one way to achieve harmony and blissfulness- that is to seek; seek the higher goal, seek the Truth, seek the true Self, seek God.

There are only two kind of people in this world – those who are the seekers and those who are not.

Let’s talk first about those who are not. They are just contended in the worldly achievements and worldly pleasures. They believe this world to be true. They have no curiosity, no inquisitiveness to know the Truth. Even though they are always restless while running for outer pleasures- they don’t have any desire for peace or lost lasting happiness. While participating in the race of worldly achievements, they don’t have time to pause and think for a moment.  Either they are busy making money or thinking of ways to spend it- let’s plan an excursion trip, let’s go for a movie, let’s do a party, let’s go out to eat, let’s invite friends and what not? They don’t want to keep their mind unoccupied even for a moment because they don’t know how to deal with an unoccupied mind.  

This world is an Echo-Point

A disciple was traveling with his master to spread the message of love, compassion, harmony and inner peace. On the way, while crossing over a beautiful hill came across an echo point while crossing the hill. The excited disciple started shouting loud and to his amazement, the echo vibrated in the surroundings.

“This world is also an Echo-point, son.” Whatever you give to this world, the same comes back to you”, commented the master.

With the eyes filled with curiosity, the disciple sat down and started paying attention to the master’s words of wisdom.

“When you give love and laughter to this world, this world embraces you with love and laughter. And if you give pain and sorrow to this world, same feelings will echo back to you. Let me tell you a story of Winston Churchill and Alexander Fleming.

Neither sorrow, nor happiness is real

A philosophy professor came up with an interesting question for his students at the time of final exams. The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on top of his desk and wrote on the board:

"Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist." A panic wave transcended  across the hall. Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion. Some students wrote over ten pages in an hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair. One member of the class however, was calm and quiet. He closed his eyes for a moment and delved inside to calm his mind in the source of intelligence. He wrote a line and within minutes, handed over his paper to the professor and walked out while smiling.

Spiritual eating habits

In Vedic culture, a lot of importance is given to the act of eating. It is believed that as we eat, so is our thought process. The food that we eat becomes part of us- not only the minerals and vitamins become part of our physical body, but the subtle part of the food becomes part of our thought process. So, a lot of emphasis is given on taking pure and saatvic food. When we offer food while chanting prayers and while paying our gratitude to Mother Nature and the omnipresent God, the food gets purified and become Prasad.

One of the reasons that the modern man is facing restlessness and depression is that just for the sake of taste and time-saving, modern man gets into the habit of consuming all kinds of tamsi food while watching TV. Such common practices leads to all sort of chaos in the society as well. As per our Vedic culture, food is considered as medicine for the illness of hunger and as the sustenance of life.

When we chant holy prayers, our mind becomes pious and peaceful in the remembrance of Paramatma that has made the food available to us in nature. Eating such saatvic food with peaceful mind helps the true seeker in not only attaining physical and mental strength, but also in attaining the goal of spiritual blissfulness.

Here are a few Mantras that a true seeker chants before eating the meal.

   Harir Daatha Harir Bhoktha, Harir Annam Prajaapatih I

   Harir Vipra Shareerast, Bhoonkte Bhojayathe Harih II

   

  O Lord Hari, You are the food, You are the enjoyer of the food, You are the giver of food.    Therefore, I offer all that I consume at your Lotus Feet.

Surya Namaskaar

There are many customs that are integral part of Vedic culture that pertains to showing our gratitude to the Nature (Prakirti) that manifests in the form of Sun, Moon, rivers, forests and animals around us. Since times immemorial Sun worship was a central and integral part of religious practice on the Indian subcontinent.  This is evident in the presence of Konarak and Arasavelli (A.P.)  Sun temples.

There are numerous references of praising the Sun for the purpose of good health and prosperity, in Vedas. Some of these Vedic hymns were incorporated into "Nitya Vidhi" (Daily routine prayers) for the well being of an individual, through the salutations to the Sun. These daily procedures were termed as Surya Namaskaar (literally translates as "sun salutations"). 

Answers from Bhagwad Gita on attaining pure Bliss

Srimad Bhagwad Gita is a sacred Hindu scripture, which is considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. The content of Gita is the conversation between the Arjuna and the God-personified Sri Krishna in the midst of a battlefield. It clarifies the doubts of all the seekers of inner happiness with extraordinary ease, logic and prudence. Presented below, are a few straight forward answers related to the process of attaining inner bliss.

Question: How can one attain that wonderful state of bliss?

Answer: The state, that is free from contact of sorrow and the affinity for the world, should be known as Yoga. Such Yoga is attained with determination of an unwearied mind. (Gita

6-23)

Two types of meditation

In ShivaPurana (Lingan Purana and Vayu Porana), Shivji gave discourses on Ashtanga Yoga (8 phases of Yoga) to Mata Parvati. The seventh phase of Ashtanga Yoga is described as Dhyana or meditation. For a true seeker, it is vital to understand the importance of meditation in order to progress to the higher stages of spiritual experiences. The spiritual knowledge and practices of a true seeker should be deep rooted in experiences during meditation.

The scientists of the yore, our Rishis and Yogis, categorized meditation broadly into two categories. One is the concentrative meditation where the emphasis is given to fixing the attention or concentration. And the second is contemplative meditation which involves analytical investigation. A true seeker is skilled with both of these types of meditations. Meditation is an art that can be learned with determination and can be mastered by persistence. So, practice is the key, like learning any other art. Just like with any other art, the importance of an experienced teacher cannot be undermined. When it comes to all the phases of Ashtanga Yoga, guided practice is very helpful for the beginners.

The art of Ashtanga Yoga

"Ashtanga Yoga" are the eight phases of Yoga that can help a soul to realize the Supreme Soul, a being to realize the oneness with the Supreme Being, a consciousness to realize being the part of the Supreme Consciousness. According to the ancient texts, these eight phases of Yoga were first explained by Lord Shiva during his discourses to Mata Parvati.  After Vedic period, around 400 BC, a great sage Maharishi Patanjali explained Ashtanga Yoga in detail in Patanjali Yoga Sutras.

When a seeker begins his seeking under the guidance of a Self realized Guru, the seeker is expected to follow the logical path, that are the eight steps of Ashtanga Yoga.

Yamas

The first phase of Yoga involves moral code of conduct that helps the seeker in controlling inner and outer senses. This helps in becoming free of any kind of lust and desire. The five Yamas are: 

Ahiṃsā (अहिंसा): Nonviolence, non-harming other living beings
Satya (सत्य): truthfulness
Asteya (अस्तेय): non-stealing
Brahmacārya (ब्रह्मचर्य): celibacy
Aparigraha (अपरिग्रहः): non-avarice, non-possessiveness

The superior most path of Self realization

A group of pious villagers often used to gather in the evenings for divine discussions on the subject of life and God. On one of such lovely evenings, when they gathered under the huge Pipal tree, one of the villagers began the discussion by saying, “Friends, we are fortunate to have so many holy men and saints in our village during past few years. But I often wonder, they all tell us about various paths to the realization of Truth. But which path would be the most superior one?”

Another villager tried to answer, “In my opinion, with the help of the path of Yoga and meditation, many Yogis have attained the higher state of existence in the Himalayas and elsewhere. So, the path of Yoga and meditation should be followed by the true seekers.”

Life is much more than a race

Just imagine, you are driving on a highway on your new car. You are in high spirits, enjoying the comforts of soft cushioned seats, listening to your favorite music, appreciating awesome scenery on both sides of highway and thanking the almighty for all his blessings. Life is beautiful, you are enjoying the journey and you have covered more than half a distance.

Suddenly, you saw a Mercedes zooming ahead of you at high speed. Not only one, but many others are getting ahead of you. You assumed that it’s a race and you have to get ahead of these guys. Now, you stared peddling at full speed as per the capacity of your car. Under pressure, you started ignoring the rules of the road as all of your attention is to get ahead in the race. Not only that even if your car is getting minor dents on the way, you are ignoring that. You are no more appreciating the scenery. Instead all of your focus is now on winning the race. Same journey that you were enjoying before has become a tiring endeavor.  

The science of Pranayama

Prana refers to the subtle vital life force that is the link between the physical body and the mind. This vital energy makes us breath and keeps us alive. Pranayama is a Yogic discipline of breathing exercises developed by the ancient sages of India thousands of years ago. 

Prana flows through thousands of subtle energy channels called ‘nadis’ and energy centers called ‘chakras’. The quantity and quality of prana and the way it flows through the nadis and chakras determines one’s state of physical and mental health. If the Prana is well regulated and its flow is spontaneous, smooth and steady, the mind remains calm, positive and enthusiastic. Many ailments are attributed to the blockages in the prana flow throughout the body as per ancient science of Ayurveda. 

Pranayama is the fourth 'limb' of the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga as per Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Regular practice increases and enhances the quantity and quality of prana, clears blocked nadis and chakras, and results in the practitioner feeling energetic, enthusiastic and positive. Regular practice of prananyama techniques brings harmony between the body, mind and spirit, making one physically, mentally and spiritually strong.  A seeker practices Pranayama before sitting in meditation because such breathing exercises helps in calming the mind and prepares it for meditation. 

Gratitude brings you peace and inner happiness

Happy moments? ... Praise God.

Difficult moments? ... Worship God.

Painful moments? ... Trust God.Quiet moments? ... Seek God.

Every moment? ... Thank God.

Most of the people resort to the Supreme power during the difficult moments of life. But how many of us praise God during happy moments? The remembrance of God at all the times and the sincere heartfelt gratitude towards God brings you long lasting peace, equanimity and inner fulfillment.

Quotes on mysticism

Mysticism is the pursuit of communion (or Yog) with, identification with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate Reality, Divinity, spiritual Truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. When the seeker realizes the union with the Supreme Truth, he or she becomes a mystic - full of divine peace and spiritual blissfulness. Mysticism is the path only for those seekers who have the boldness, strength and intelligence to look beyond the rigid constraints of traditional religious institutions. 

Recently, I came across a few interested quotes about mysticism which I want to quote here.

The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion. Herein lies the germ of all art and all true science. ~ Albert Einstein

I said before, the most beautiful and most profound religious emotion that we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. And this mysticality is the power of all true science. ~ Albert Einstein

When you study natural science and the miracles of creation, if you don't turn into a mystic you are not a natural scientist. ~ Albert Hofmann

Mysticism and materialism

A seeker went to a Saint and asked humbly, “Dear Sir, it is commonly believed that for pursuing spiritual path, one has to give up material pursuits. Most of the sadhus and holy men even give up their household to pursue mysticism. Can’t both coexist – mysticism and materialism?”

The compassionate Saint looked at the seeker and with a gentle smile and chanted a shloka,

“Shuka Tyagi, Krishna bhogi, Janak Raghav Narendra, 

Vashistha Karmanishtsya, Sarvesham  Gyaninaam samana bhokta   II”

Shukadev was a renunciate, Krishna relisher, Janak Kingly,

Vashistha action oriented, all Self realized ones equally enjoys  II

The Saint continued, “Son, materialism and mysticism are independent of each other. Materialism is in respect to the outer world, whereas mysticism is all about the inner world. Sure, both can coexist, but only with the help of spiritually elevated and purified intellect. One doesn’t have to give up the material world for achieving the goal of supreme blissfulness of the inner world. Kabir, Guru Nanak, Sant Ravidas and many Saints realized the goal of life while leading a married household life. Even I haven’t given up my worldly pursuit while pursing my spiritual goals.”

Your true essence is Ram

A young IAS officer came to know about the arrival of a Brahmnishta Saint in the town. Under the influence of his saatvic (virtuous) sanskaars, he went to meet the Saint. The Saint was sitting in a room with about a dozen devotees and talking about the significance of reciting the holy name (Naam japa).

At the end of the discussion, the Saint told the devotees to clarify their doubts and ask questions. The Officer asked, “Dear Sir, please tell us an easy and practical method of realizing our Aatman and the God.”

With a smile of his face, the Saint said, “Son, reciting the holy name of God while contemplating upon his essence is the easiest and practical way to realize the true Self. Recite Ram... Ram … Ram every day and fill your heart with the love and devotion for that holy name.”

“Sir, we already know that. Please tell us something new.”

“Oh you donkey, don’t just keep on asking questions for the sake of asking.”

There was a complete silence in the room. Even the Saint closed his eyes in silence. With a heavy heart, the Officer stood up and left the scene.”

A sincere new year wish

New-year time – the time of joy and freshness; the time to celebrate and welcome the new year with a lots of hope, optimism and enthusiasm; time to be with friends and family; time to make new resolutions; time to thank God for all the blessings and pray for more. Yes, once again it’s that time of the year which brightens us all.

A true seeker of inner happiness also remembers that along with the festivities and celebrations, it’s the time for some calibration – the time to review and grade ourselves against the true goals of human life – the goal of realizing the Truth; the goal of Self realization; the goal of achieving inner peace and true happiness.

The importance of performing rituals

Gautam the Buddha went to meet Rishi Kashyap. Rishi Kashyap was performing Yagna along with his hundreds of disciples. Gautam Buddha sat and observed the rituals being performed. On the first sight, Rishi Kashyap was impressed by the blissful aura of Gautam Buddha. After finishing those rituals, Gautam Buddha went for a walk on the banks of a small river. During their spiritual discussions, Budha started talking about the importance of living in the moment and meditation.

Rishi Kashyap knew that Buddha discourages performing rituals and other symbolic prayers. In the confused state of mind, Rishi Kashyap asked, “Dear Sir, are these religious rituals that our ancestors have been performing for ages meaningless?”

Buddha looked at the river and asked, “If someone wants to cross this river then what should he do?”

“If the river is sallow, one can walk across the river. If the river is deep then one can cross the river by swimming or with the help of a boat.”

The higher form of sacrifice

The Saints have wonderful ways of delivering the spiritual message. At times their acts and their talks seem unusual, but all of those are motivated by compassion and goodwill for the benefit of the true seekers.

Once, a prince was riding his well decorated chariot towards the outskirts of his kingdom. Suddenly he saw a small hut, outside which a saintly looking old man was sitting in peace. A few young men were also sitting there surrounding the old man. As he came closer, he recognized the old man who used to be rich minister in his father’s ministry and turned into a Saint a few years ago. Out of respect, he stopped the chariot and stepped closer to the Saint. While touching the holy feet of the Saint, he said, “Dear Sir, I bow to you and your great sacrifice. You have sacrificed your worldly comforts and are living in such a small hut in solitude.”

To the surprise of the prince, the Saint got up and while approaching the feet of the prince, he said, “No prince no, I bow to you as your sacrifice is higher than mine.” 

Importance of peaceful mind

Hindu mythology is an ocean filled with the treasures of wisdom. Our Rishis knew that the best way to convey the deep wisdom of the Vedas is to tell it in the form of a story with a deeper message. It is easier for the human minds to remember the stories and understand the deep purport hidden in those stories. This is the reason our ancestors wrote Puranas to convey the messages of spiritual wisdom hidden in the Vedas and Upnishads.  

Once the circumstances built in such a manner that Sri Kartikeji, who was also the Chief Commander of Devtas Army, had to fight a battle even though Shivji tried to stop him. Upon his return from the battlefield where he saw a lot of bloodshed, Sri Kartikeji became compassionate and emotional. With a heavy voice he asked Shivji, “Dear Father, why does it happen with me that I do not get the deep purport of your advice. Only after the fact, I realize the significance of your words, whereas Ganesha always act upon your words and hence avoid the difficult circumstances in life.

Magnificent bars of spiritual wine

It is very common to divide different religious philosophies of the world into two categories – the Western religions and the Eastern religions. Western religions refers to the faiths that originated within Western culture, and are thus historically, culturally, and theologically distinct from the Eastern religions. A true seeker never compares any of the paths that lead to the Supreme Truth. Different paths have their own beauty, magnificence and importance. All the religions of the world provide a different window view to the same Truth, to the same Light and to the same God.

As mentioned in my last blog, the Saints and spiritual poets of the world have often compared spiritual bliss with a divine wine. I recently came across some beautiful poetic lines from Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, who was a prominent classical poet in the early twentieth century. His grandparents were Kashmiri Pandits, who converted to Islam in the 19th century. Because of family background, he had good understanding of the Vedanta as well as Islam.

Once, upon his return from the European travel, a journalist asked him, ”Sir, now that you have travelled to the western world for many years, what do you think about the Western religions in comparison to the Eastern religions?” 

Wonderful wine of Spirituality

Human mind needs something more than just money, power and wealth. Only good food and gorgeous clothes are not enough. It needs some intoxication in the form of excitement, joy, merriment, enthusiasm or pleasure. Such intoxication is absolute requirement of human mind. Without such a joy, the life seems to be lacking something, it seems to be incomplete.

Human mind is also filled with a lot of worries and negative thoughts – about the memories of the past and about the anxieties of the future. There are two ways to get rid of mental restlessness – either to forget it with the help of external intoxications or to rise above the restlessness of the mind by exploring the real form of peace and happiness within; by exploring the Truth.

It is human nature to seek easier routes for achieving the desired results. This tendency of human mind resulted in the advent of all sorts of intoxications like wine, alcohol, drugs etc from the time immemorial. One can easily buy with money a variety of agents that can help to relieve you of the day to day tensions and tranquilize your mind. 

The ultimate question

From childhood only Hanumanji was different than all others of his kind. He was curious and full of questions about the evolution of world, the nature of mind, the true Self and the real God. He used to ask all such kind of questions to his mother all the time – Mother, please tell me where did I come from, what will happen to me after death, how did this world come into being, if there is God why can’t I see it … and on and on ?

Tired of his questions, his mother used to send him to holy Saints who lived in the forest and who used to perform Saadhna towards realizing the true goal of life. Hanumanji used to go to their ashrams and used to pay due respect at the feet of holy Saints. Then he used to serve them selflessly as per their instructions for days, weeks and months. Then, with their permissions he used to ask his deep spiritual questions. The Saints used to answer his questions up to certain extent and then after a while, Hanumanji’s questions used to confuse them as well. The moment Hunumanji used to see a blank face, he used tell them, “Dear Sir, the Saints are supposed to answer all the questions of the common man. If the Saints fail to pacify the spiritual inquiries of a Saadhak, then who else will help them?” After that Hanumanji used to tie the Saints to the tree and then leave. 

If you want ever lasting happiness

Here is a famous Chinese proverb: 

If you want happiness for an hour- take a nap,

If you want happiness for a day- go on a shopping spree,

If you want happiness for a month- go on a honeymoon,

If you want happiness for a year- inherit a fortune,

If you want happiness for a lifetime– help someone,

If you want eternal happiness – know yourself.

How true ! The worldly happiness like taking a nap or going on a shopping spree for buying luxuries of physical comfort or even the happiness associated with honeymoon is only momentary, short lasting and incomplete. Because you have given so much importance to money and wealth, and it is deep rooted in you that money can bring you long lasting happiness, you might be able to extend that worldly happiness to as long as a year if you inherit a fortune. But if you truly want to have a glimpse of inner satisfaction, peace and complete happiness, then help someone selflessly. When you help someone, the Divinity within smiles at you, which is manifested in your heart as true happiness.

Ambrosia of Satsang

The word Sat-sang has a deep meaning associated with it. “Sat” is the Supreme Truth, the ultimate Reality, the eternal Consciousness, the God. “Sang” means the company. Satsang is the divine company of Truth- the omnipresent, eternal, conscious, supremely peaceful, pure, complete, blissful and divine Truth.

The routine meaning of the word Satsang is associated with the company of Saints who have realized the Supreme Truth, who have realized the true Self. To be around the holy Saints, to listen to their talks, to read their holy scriptures under their guidance, to perform self-analysis of such spiritual wisdom – all of this is commonly known as Satsang.

Life is a mystery and only Satsang can help us to solve this divine mystery. Satsang is the only remedy in this world for the sorrow and restlessness of mind. Only satsang can bring deep long lasting blissfulness amidst this chaotic ever changing material world. Only Satsang can help one to absorb true virtues of life like kindness and selflessness. Only Satsang can make you truly fearless by resolving all kinds of fears including the fear of death. Only Satsang can help you gain some understanding of your own true nature and the reality of this world. Only Satsang can help you gain control over your ever vacillating, thought spinning and restless mind. Only Satsang can introduce you to your own true Self. Only satsang can introduce you to the deep, eternal peace that is ever present within. Only Satsang can introduce you to the divinity within. 

Learn to steal time for meditation

A householder used to pay visit to the Saint once in a while. Every time the Saint used to ask him about his progress in Saadhna. The pious soul always had some excuse or other. One day, when the Saint asked him about the same, he said, “Dear Sir, for you it is easy to make time for saadhna (seeking) as you don’t have family or any such responsibilities. But for us worldly beings, it is very difficult to take time out for Yoga, Pranayama and meditation. But sure, once I retire, I will begin practicing all these methods of seeking.”

The Saint told him a brief story, “During the days of British rule in India, a Britisher was travelling on the horse through a farm. After a while, the Britisher started seeking water for his thirsty horse. He saw from a distance that a villager is taking water out using Aarat – old way of digging water from well wherein the bull is made to revolve around the well and water keeps pouring out from the well. However, it creates a lot of noise. When the Britisher brought his horse closer to the Aarat, the horse jumped back scared with the laud sound. The Britisher told the villager to stop moving the bulls, but ironically the water also stopped. So the villager told the Britisher, “Sir, your horse has to learn to drink water while this pulley is moving with its own sound. If you try to stop the noise of the Aarat pulley, then your horse has to remain thirsty.”

Can Yoga and meditation increase size of your brain ?

Dr Dharma Singh Khalsa is the founding President and Medical Director of  Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation (ARPF). His team performed  years of scientific research on a group of  people who performed singing Yoga meditation that they call Kirtan Kriya. His team’s studies utilized recognized methods to measure aspects of brain health and specialized scans such as SPECT and fMRI, as well as sophisticated memory and blood tests, to determine the results. He presented a summary of his research at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Boston.

Interestingly, he summarized the outcome of his research and the benefits of performing singing yoga mediation into three categories: mind, body, and spirit.

A. Positive influences on Mind:

1. Improved Memory: People with memory loss improved on important memory tests after practicing singing yoga mediation. 

Importance of reading holy scriptures in life

An old farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early, sitting in his garden reading his Bhagavat Geeta. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could. 

One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagawat Geeta just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand, I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagawat Geeta do?”

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before here turned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.