Guruji
I am done with Isha Yoga and back to good old Vipassana. I had been to Igatpuri again for the 10 day course. It was very painful as I fell and sprained my leg and could hardly walk. But at such a place, all this hardly matters and if one has the will then there is no stopping you. Meditation wise, each Vipassana course is so different and tends to get deeper and deeper( subtler and subtler ) even though there is nothing new thats taught. In spite of the pain, there were so many wonderful moments that I can never forget. But after this trip, a huge change that seems to have come is my acceptance of Guruji.
Might seem weird, but till now I never ever happened to call Goenkaji as Guruji. It might not even seem to be a big deal, but only I know what a HUGE change this is. Intellectually, I am so egoistic that its almost impossible for me to address anyone with high respect and words like Guruji is something that I can only ridicule about. But during this course, some change happened. A chunk of my ego happened to take the beating and wow how wonderful it is to dissolve some ego now I realize. Also, there seems to be a strong urge to do some Seva. I am dead sure that my next visit is going to be for Dhamma Seva.
I also happened to meet some real dedicated Vipassi's like Alex from Russia, Manut from Germany and a lot of other people whose names I do not remember. Talking to them has been very inspirational and I am trying hard to get myself to practice both morning and evening as suggested by Guruji. Currently, I do Adhithana only in the mornings. But its all changing...... changing...... changing......
Comments
Hi Vinay,... I'm currently
Hi Vinay,...
I'm currently learning Isha Kriya but have also signed up to do Vipassana in a couple of months from now...Do you see them as two clashing techniques or complimentary techniques or neither?
No clashes
Hi,
I dont see Isha Kriya and Vipassana as clashing techniques. They are both wonderful techniques but different in many ways. Vipassana is a way of purifying the self through Gyan or intellect, Isha does the same through Kriya or life energy. Either way, the goal is the same. Its just that one should choose whichever one finds more interesting. If one can devote enough time to practice both techniques together, then nothing like it. One can get the essence of both techniques and definitely progress much faster. But practice is the key :)
Your views on Isha and Vipassana
Vinay,
I like your postings here. I've been doing ISHA kriya for couple of years. I've astha TV and I heard Goenka ji several times. And based on his teachings ( focus on breath), I started doing it on my own. I do it daily for 2 hours before I do Kriya. I feel much better after watching breath. I was wondering if I should explore vipassana as well.
What is your take. I feel vibrations all over my body after breath watching and feel so good and want to give it (Vipassana). Please share your views.
Quite interesting
Hi Ajay,
Isha Yoga is an extremely powerful and effective technique. Frankly speaking, I think you must stick to Isha Yoga itself. In my case, I had already done vipassana and Isha yoga happened just by some circumstances. I think the goal of all paths are the same, its just that we have the liberty to choose the path which appeals to us the most. For example, a person who has tremendous faith will automatically be attracted to the Bhakti marg. Similarly, for someone whom the intellect is very dear will be attracted to Gyan marg and so on.
So unless you have decided to quit Isha yoga, dont think of changing to vipassana. Both Vipassana and Isha Yoga are excellent techniques. Choose any, it does not matter, but ultimately I think you must stick to one :)
I agree with you Vinay. At
I agree with you Vinay. At times you just want to quicken things up but perseverance is the key here. Your guidance was of great help to me. Thank you for running this blog. Love Ajay
You said it
Thats the perfect word perseverance. You said it :). All the very best to you.