Just yesterday a student of mine was quite agitated about the fact that we caution people not to teach the techniques that they learned on our course to others, unless they have been properly trained to do so. According to him, techniques like pranayama can be taught by anyone, even after a single class. I suggested that it was like a layman attempting a delicate surgical operation just because he had seen it on some TV show, but this analogy cut no ice with him, rather I think it irked him more, poor fellow 🙂
I was a bit surprised that in our own country we seem to undervalue or even trivialize yogic knowledge; or perhaps we don’t allow ourselves to recognize the depth at which it acts. In Hindi colloquialism, this attitude is referred to as “living under a very small sky.”
My argumentative friend contended that if Baba Ramdev can teach pranayama on TV to one and all, then so should everybody else. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed that Babaji teaches only the most rudimentary of breathing techniques, that too in a very easy, generalized format. He never teaches any advanced techniques, as he is well aware that these need careful supervision. Don’t get me wrong, I have met Babaji personally and am all praises for the work he is doing, but I am sure all of us know that beyond a certain basic level, any yogic or spiritual practice mandatorily requires trained supervision.
Practioners from traditions like Iyengar yoga or the Bihar school would no doubt agree, and even go so far as to say that progress must be slow and gradual, even when benefits are almost instantaneous. Even Ayurvedic techniques like nadi pariksha and marma operate on such subtle spiritual principles, and require such intensive training on the part of the practitioner.
While teaching Art of Living programs, my experience has been that every day one realizes how little one really knows about Consciousness, and how miraculously the human system works. Even today, after doing this for fifteen years, my friends and I study, practise and discuss everything from the most basic of knowledge points to the latest medical and scientific advances, to our own evolving spiritual experience. Guruji has constantly guided us and shown us how to maintain the correct attitude towards our craft.
“Daksha” means “one who is skilled in giving” and the very first representation of a spiritual teacher is that of Shiva in the form of Dakshinamurthi, the Adi Guru. Teaching others requires the skill of disseminating knowledge in measured and appropriate doses, with a view to helping the student grow in the best possible way, even when he/she differs from your viewpoint. And to be an Art of Living teacher, in my book, requires just one thing — a commitment to being happy, come what may. Go figure 🙂
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Wah bhaiya!
Dil khush kar diya!
Quite informative post bhayya
Being an art of living teacher, even i did’nt have a convincing answer, whenever my friends argued with me on this topic.
Quite often your posts helps a lot in saving my face.
Bhayya i am waiting forward for your Q&A posts. I expect my question on “Comfort Zone” will be answered.
lots of luv
Sunil, AOL Teacher
Wayanad, Kerala
Jai Gurudev , Vikram Bhaiyya, Its an absolute truth…..In one of my discussions with some of the friends …the friend said that Indian knowledge has not gone to everybody because of the secrecy involved in it but scientific knowledge( Western knowledge) is available every where even on Internet. I tried to explain them that the transferring the knowledge like Ayurved -nadi chiktsa, knowledge of plants herbs etc.or the other spiritual practices needs the capability or dakshta to teach & learn.It can not be told on papers or shown on video. It needs practice under the supervision of Guru. That is the reason in Indian tradition Guru always searches for capable Shishya to transfer the knowledge.In one of the case I seen that the father was great Ayurvedic doctor but the son is not good doctor & the knowledge of father has not got transferred to son because of may be lack of committement or incapability to learn the subtle knowledge. Jai Gurudev.
Lovely One Bhaiya,
Jai Gurudev!!
my frndz used 2 olways argue wid me on dis..!! i hv gt it.. hw 2 xpplain.! i so luv u bhaiya..!! jai gurudeva
Awesome, Vikramji..
A very good post..Thanks for sharing…
Hi Bhaiya,
Very Informative post, we have been observing the same happenings. One of my cousins is a follower of Iscon and he was very adament that Art of living people charge money for teaching some breathing exercises….I gave him a food for thought that knowledge distributed in form of langar/ bhandara is consumed in the same way, if you are being taught something in a closed group from an expet teacher, you realise the value of it and frankly speaking you need to be blessed to become an Art of Living member. I try not to compare anything with Art of living, but sometimes these type of situation arises, kindly suggest how to tackle them.
Jai Gurudev
You have beautifully explained the meaning of “Dakshinamurthy”.
Disseminating knowledge in measured and appropriate doses so that the student grows in the best possible way, even when he/she differs from your viewpoint.
I will always remember this Since now I am in the process of learning How not to speak. Till date I have been failing quite frequently but I am sure remembering this post will help.
Thank you
Dear Bhaiyya,
This is the most oftenly asked question by the people around me.Even the same question has been asked by the one who has already done basic course.
the debate took us to a very hot level.
some times i prefer to be silent rather than explaining them.Some people feel AOL is for only rich peoples and not to a poor one.
thanks for your answer..may be next time i can answer them well 🙂
JGD,
Pallavi
What happened to the student? Did he come back?
I think we all got the answer for many !! 🙂
Jai Gurudev !
Sudharshan kriya is a copy and modification of many popular breathing techniques like Osho’s chakra Breathing, kapalabhati and bahastrika and yogi bhajan’s sodarshan kriya. Nothing unique about this. I have personally seen many people being badly affected by this breathing technique and have resulted in many diseases. AOL teachers have no answers as they believe this kriya which is just another holotropic breathing technique to be sacrosanct. AOL teachers also do not have the critical, analytical and discriminating facultires and are too much into hero worship and blind faith. How can these blind people be torchbearers of indian traditions which was highly experiential and indicvidualistic. AOL teachers beleieve one size fits all as their guru claims so. Thein is the graveyard of all wisdom. Now every guru claims that his breathing technique is best and cure all. Nityananda’s Nityadhyan is one popular technique, so is Jaggi Vasudev’s shambavi maha mudra.
Iyer!
He actually enoyed the course and the kriya thoroughly; his issue was about teaching it to one and all the very next day, without any more training! Incidentally, some of his colleagues made a very marked point about appreciating the subtlety and depth of the program, at which point he fled rather than stay back and discuss further. His boss, furthermore, asked me to disregard his attitude as he is known to be a non-performer! As they say in AOL, Non-responsibility=complaining 🙂
Dear Paramartha
Unfortunately the personal experiences of several senior and knowledgeable Osho devotees is contradictory to your allegation. Also, several independent medical researches (ie not commissioned or sponsored by AOL) have established that the Sudarshan Kriya is markedly distinct from techniques like hyperventilation, rebirthing and holotropic breathing; you would be happy to know that we this was corroborated by teachers of such techniques themselves. Also, it has been our privilege to share the Sudarshan Kriya with several swamis, meditation teachers, yogis and healers, and they have remarked upon the depth and subtlety that this technique offers, also noting that it is not part of the traditional yogic kriyas as delineated in the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika.
However, if you have come across AOL teachers claiming that the technique is the be-all and end-all, and a panacea for all ills, then I am on your side — perhaps their own sadhana has not matured, and they should not be preaching acceptance and responsibility 🙂
Guruji has always taught us to respect all spiritual traditions and Gurus, and I have never heard Him speak ill of the so-called “competition” — please also realize that we have been here for a long time, and do not judge our success by numbers or by commerce, nor feel threatened by the burgeoning spiritual rat-race! (Those who wish to enter it are free to do so, but even after winning they would still be rats!)
Incidentally, the Kriya is often modified to suit individual conditions eg different illnesses, and there are several medical conditions such as MDP, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, as well as advanced stages of pregnancy, when the Sudarshan Kriya is NOT taught.
Incdentally, millions of people all over the world have reaped the benefits of this technique, and the medical research studies are freely downloadable off our website http://www.artofliving.org
We have never tom-tommed our work, preferring to let the results speak for themselves.I am happy to say that I have never needed to advertise my courses, since word-of-mouth has been enough to fill up the classes everywhere I go. I understand that some of my colleagues may not feel the same way, but in the end they all realize that it is only our personal sadhana and state of mind that allows us to be effective channels of the Guru’s grace and knowledge.
One unique factor of the Sudarshan Kriya is that the teacher/facilitator’s state of mind plays a critical role in the effectiveness of the technique, hence it is more about our personal spiritual experience rather than a production-line technique! I would invite you to bear this out through your own experience of the Part 1 and Part 2 courses — there is no way that a true seeker can remain unmoved by the beauty of the Sudarshan Kriya and the grace and energy that flows palpably behind it.
Jai Gurudev
Vikram
What can one do if a student takes a coaching class for cricket or football for a couple of days and demands to be teacher, because he thinks he has learned the art of sports.
And would will the music teacher do if student learns the basic 7 scales. May be play it on a piano or guitar and wants to teach the music (because he thinks he knows the music and can teach). Infinite music can be produced from the seven notes, or ragas, according to individuals dedication and state of mind or evolution. So 7 ragas Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni or seven scale C D E F G A B are needed in the beginning. The basic ONE SIZE FITS ALL at this stage should be good enough.
Then it’s on the sadhak or student’s dedication towards the music how to explore the subtleties.
And it’s also useless to compare schools if one really wants to learn good music. There have been schools through ages, good ones and bad ones. If you find a right one stay there and learn music. Music can never be learned by arguing or compare different schools or systems of school.
Few days ago i was watching Sankar Channel morning 7.30 a.m. Guruji was asked how to find a right Guru? The answer was,(from my memory) Why search for a right Guru, become a right disciple and Guru will come to you. Also (from memory) He said Guru or God is not a person, not a form, but a chaitanya shakti (consciousness) within each of us.
It is so beautiful !
The passage of knowledge from the Master to the Disciple …
Its a phenomenon where the knowledge in all its sublities, in all its splendour and respect is assimilated in consciousess of the disciple…..
knowledge is neither a commodity nor can it be priced …
knowledge not recieved in all its wholeness is not complete and could be dangerous …
and to recieve the knowledge in its wholeness requires us to be ready tooo…
Thanks all for the article and comments. Techniques like sudarshan kriya can certainly help people to relax and get into a peaceful space for meditation and clear up energy pathways. If the technique doesn’t work for some they can drop it and pick up many others which suit their constituion. For some rare beings there is no need for any technique at all. The technique itself can be a barrier. Essentially it is all about Being in the moment and in a peaceful space. It is the constant state of becoming of acheiving more and more either spiritual or material that takes us away from our being. Running after meditation techniques, gurus and advanced, super advanced courses can take us away from our natural state.
TM was touted by Maharishi Mahesh as the be all and end all of meditation at one point. Many of the disciples of Maharishi now have come up with their own techniques as they find TM was limiting. Same will happen to the techniques they teach after some years. Self knowledge and awareness is the key. No technique can help if there is no self knowledge or awareness. That is the reason all techniques are limited. The real guru teaches the limitation of these techniques and focusses on the essential.
Well said Shantakumar! “The real guru teaches the limitation of these techniques and focusses on the essential.”
The latter part of the Ashtavakra Gita outlines this very truth. Of course, it is to be shared with discretion, as a half-baked sadhak cd easily be led into “Yogmaya” if he tries to apply this at an inappropriate juncture 🙂
At the same time it is wise for us all to remember that the very effectiveness of the technique is only due to the grace of the Guru which is behind it. The Master’s presence endures beyond His teachings, techniques and physical form, and is experienced by the sincere sadhak/devotee as a tattva that permeates and perfumes his very existence!
Warm regards to all and thanks for sharing
JGD
V
oh!wow!
this is so helpful and beautiful, bhaiya!
thank you!
JG:D
hetal
Very nice, Vikram. I find it helpful to understand these different view points and perspectives. Felt good reading it and got few helpful pointers.
Jai Guru Dev
Aruna
Dear Vikramji, I am visiting your blog after a long time. Reading the question by Parmarthaji and your subsequent explanation to him, I wish that we had more Art of Living teachers like you but sadly, nowadays I find that the type of fanatic and immature teachers as described by Parmarthaji are more common and that gives misconceptions about AOL to a lot of people. This has of late made me move away from the organization as I feel quite repulsed by such people. I feel a very strong connection with Guruji but somehow I seem to have almost completely lost my sense of connection with the organization. We need to bring back the same spirituality, love and respect for diversity in at least some parts of the organization. It seems to have become more rigid than it was before. The openness and the divine nectar/juice are often missing. I may be wrong in my perception but this is the way I strongly feel right now.
Dear Achintyaji
I understand and share your concern, I only hope that people wake up and correct themselves before it is too late for them. I spent time with Guruji last week, and He has neither compromised nor diluted His vision and approach; its up to us to constantly upgrade ourselves and be sincere sadhaks so that we can really do justice to His grace, and allow the “juice” to flow!
Do visit us more often , and please keep sharing your views.
JGD
Vikram
vikram sir,
firstly my deepest pranams to your feet…sir the way u have answered perfectly depicts gurujis knowledge i.e not to shy away from criticism and also one should have guts to criticise …..you have done it here with absolute beauty ….wat can we say u r the most unique instrument of param pujya guruji…the foremost in being the hollow and empty .. thanks again sir…gratitude gratitude let your grace flow ….