Friends! Stress is spreading like an epidemic these days. Work stress, travel stress, family stress, weather stress etc. There are countless types of stress. A few days ago I came in contact with a friend. He was associated with a yoga institute. During a conversation with him, he told me that after every yoga pose or every chakra meditation, one has to pause for 8 or 10 seconds. This gives immediate relief and the brain also gets ready for the next step. When I did this, I also got relief. Earlier I used to do it continuously without any break, due to which I used to feel little tired and also feeling a slight headache. Is the secret of ending stress hidden in this? It may be so. It means that one should keep relaxing by taking breaks in between work. One should not exceed one’s capacity. When the body and mind start feeling uncomfortable during work, then take a break. This is helping me in writing as well. After writing a little, pause for a while and new thoughts and memories get refreshed.
The main question is how does yoga provide relief from stress. I think that the thoughts buried in the subconscious mind create stress. It is the same thoughts that create stress in the soul. Because the soul is connected to the body, it is natural that it will create stress in the body too. Pressure is also a form of stress. When I had an encounter with a bodiless soul, I saw innumerable thoughts buried in it in the form of darkness. The soul seemed to be under stress because of it. The soul wanted to come towards the light. It seemed as if the sun was covered by an eclipse and it wanted to come out of it. This could be done only by eliminating those buried thoughts. But buried thoughts do not disappear on their own. They have to be expressed in the mind again and again. Then, with yoga practice, with oneness or detachment towards them, they gradually disappear. Because that bodiless soul did not have a body. Therefore, it is possible that it took rebirth and took a new body. Now, one gets a body according to one’s deeds. One can get it as a man as well as an animal or a bird. Then those suppressed thoughts start coming out in the new body. This provides only temporary relief. Because they cannot be eliminated. Because animals and birds cannot practice yoga. Those thoughts definitely become weak. It is possible that they may be destroyed but it will take many births and ages. In humans, this happens very quickly through yoga. That is why it is said in the scriptures that animals and birds can also be liberated directly. But it seems that this happens in very few cases. That too only when very favorable conditions are found. This is because animals do not have much social security. Due to this, the thoughts of their present struggle-filled life remain suppressed in their minds. They do not have the knowledge like humans that the soul is everything. That is why they are body-centered. That is why every kind of security is needed in a civilized society. Many say that the work of the government should be to provide only military security. Then who will provide security of employment or income? This is also no less important than military security. If there is military security but no security of income, then also the person will remain in tension all the time and will never be able to relax.
Stress is ignorance and relaxation is yoga or knowledge. If we make fun of relaxation, then in a way we are making fun of yoga. If we consider stress to be good, then in a way we are considering lack of yoga or presence of ignorance to be good. We cannot separate them. It is not necessary that work should be done with tension. Work can also be done with relaxation. This is the art. Then what is stress for one person, is relaxation for another. Therefore, the scale of stress and relaxation is different for every person. Everyone’s body structure and thinking of the mind is different. Meaning that the work which is stress for one person, is relaxation for another. It is stress for one because when his suppressed thoughts will try to come out while working, he will resist them. This will make him feel more stressed. Earlier those thoughts were sleeping comfortably. There was tension at that time also, but it was less because there was no need to exert much force to suppress them. They were already asleep. But when the energy starts awakening during work, then the sleeping thoughts also start awakening. Many people, fearing or hating them, exert force to suppress them. This makes them even more stressed and tired. This means that the tension increases instead of decreasing. Along with this, new thoughts of new work also get suppressed by joining them. If the same work is done by a yogi, then his stress decreases instead of increasing. This is because he has the habit of emptying the box of suppressed thoughts through yoga. Of course that yogi has less physical strength. It is clear that stress does not increase by working, but it increases by working in the wrong way. Actually, working in a yogic way reduces stress. This is a combination of karma and yoga. This is Karmayoga.
There is a common belief that the power awakens only through Kundalini yoga. This is not so. Kundalini Shakti awakens through every work. And it rises to the brain. That is why while doing any work, the sleeping thoughts start waking up. That is why after deep work, a man becomes sexually inclined. This is because he wants to recharge his Muladhara again quickly. Although gradually it gets recharged on its own. Yes, it is a different thing that the complete awakening of the Kundalini Shakti is called Kundalini awakening.
The person who gives stress is not the one who gives work. Rather, the one who gives stress is the one who snatches away the freedom of the mind. Meaning, the one who prevents the suppressed thoughts of the mind from coming out openly. The thoughts
Coming out is called the opening of the heart knot. These suppressed thoughts wrap the heart and tie it in a knot. That is why there are more heart attacks due to stress. Suppressed thoughts also suppress or press the blood vessels. Suppression is in their DNA. Suppression is their nature. This is their habit. They keep the whole body suppressed. It is to resist these suppressed thoughts that every person wants freedom. In reality, freedom is a state of mind. Only a yogi is the most independent, no matter what external situation he lives in. Light, sun or heat expands everyone. Darkness and cold suppress everyone. That is why winter depression occurs. These suppressed thoughts remain contracted in a coil. Kundalini Shakti opens them. The meaning is clear that only a yogi can be a top class manager, leader or officer. Only a yogi can give equal respect, love and freedom to everyone. It is a different matter that as soon as one hears the name of yoga or Yogi Baba, idle people start gathering. Of course, they also gradually start becoming action-oriented when they come to know the truth. Udaar Hridayanaam Tu Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. The worldly meaning of this Vedic saying is often taken to be that one who considers the whole world as his family, is an open-hearted person. In reality, its deep spiritual meaning is that the person who does not suppress any thought in his heart by keeping love or hatred for it, but keeps everyone open by keeping equal feelings towards everyone, is great or an open-hearted person. He is a Yogi. You can interpret stress or depression in any way you want, but its basic form is these suppressed thoughts only. Actually, stress and depression are the same thing. If stress is the physical symptom of these dormant sanskars, then depression is their experience.
Friends, I sat in the open park and basked in the sun and the stress also became much lighter with Vipassana. So now let’s go to the closed room.
Demystifying Kundalini 