Independent Research in Bali. The Trilogy (2009—2014)

Paradox 2. Yoga for Body? Yoga AGAINST Body!

So, “Yoga-Sutras’ (VI BC – II AC) were the beginning, but not the end of Yoga. Different kinds of asanas (postures) were developed through centuries of practice by Hatha-Yogis. Their Bible was “Hatha-Yoga Pradipika’ (written in XVI AC) by Yogi Swatmarama from Natha-Sampradaya (one of the Tantric orders). Basically, they accepted Yoga as the way to liberation, as well. But they were not satisfied by just conscious liberation – they strove for complete physical liberation! By that I mean that they developed asanas in order to transform the ordinary human body into the so-called “light body’. Literally, their spiritual ideal was the total conversion of the material body into the energy body and finally into the spiritual body. As a result, they didn’t strive to improve the physical body but worked for its dissolution and final disappearance into the light of consciousness. What a wonderful dream! Who would believe in this nowadays? In this era, most people want to enjoy being in their bodies as long as possible, if not forever.

Paradox 3. Yoga as Healing? Yoga AS development!

Another modern ignorant belief consists in considering Yoga as an ancient medical system, which is nonsense. Originally Yoga was one of the Hindu Darshanas – a practical philosophy which helped its devotees to see Reality as it was and to transform unreal existence into real being. Yoga was considered to be very strong Tapas (an austerity), which actually REQUIRED good health as a essential for practice and development! To treat the physical body and heal its illnesses, the Indians had a medical system – namely Ayurveda, which was applied especially for physical healing. Of course, we can find many links between healing and spiritual development, and correlations between Yoga and Ayurveda. But to be precise in answering the question, “What are we practicing?” we must differentiate Yoga from Ayurveda. This work has already been started by Dr. Frawley (USA) – one of the few Westerners recognized as a Pandit by Indian Parishad – whom I met in India. Yoga can indeed assist in the healing process, however Yoga by itself is mainly a spiritual practice used to achieve liberation.

Dasa Yoga + Vipassana Meditation

Atma Ananda. Dasa Yoga + Vipassana Meditation: Shiva-Buddha Culture // “Ubud Community’ (Bali, Indonesia), №43 | March 2010.

Everybody knows that the Balinese culture is based on a Hindu-Buddhist synthesis. Being separated, Hinduism and Buddhism developed specific methods of spiritual practice in Indian tradition, thus over coming their ritual background. Hinduism produced Yoga while Buddhism developed Vipassana meditation (since Buddha was not satisfied Yoga). A unique unity of both Hindu and Buddhist cultures became the very ‘flexible foundation’ for Yoga and Meditation. It is possible to develop this option in different ways, and I will describe just one of them.

God Shiva was the first Yoga-teacher, and Yoga is very natural for Balinese Hindus. Even during rituals they concentrate on ‘asana’ and ‘pranayama’ and sometimes meditate for quite a long time in the temples. Now, Yoga has become more universal in these modern times; Western teachers do not emphasize its Hindu background except for repeating some mantras before and after a class. While mostly modern styles of Yoga are popular in Bali, thanks to the development of tourism, a few Balinese teachers are very creative in their own traditional manners. Dasa-Yoga, practiced by Made Mangku, consists of special sequences of asanas together with incorporated elements of Balinese dance, all based on his own trance experiences. Moreover, he uses this Yoga in his work as a traditional Balinese healer. Although his style was developed after learning Sivananda-Yoga and Vinyasa-Yoga, you will hardly be able to distinguish the non-Balinese postures or principles from his holistic teaching.

Buddha was the first Vipassana teacher, and there is a Buddhist monastery Brahmavihara Arama in Bali where they teach this Meditation. You know, Buddha developed Vipassana because he was not satisfied by Yogic practice which he studied till the very Samadhi. As a special place for Meditation, the monastery stands alongside Hindu-Buddhist temples where Buddha is worshiped as God. In Balinese ritualistic culture, Trance (that is a descent of a particular God into a human body) suppresses Meditation (the ascent of an individual into pure universal Consciousness). Anyways, Buddhist ideas exist in common mentality, and there are some Balinese whom are interested in Vipassana practice. For example, I gave a special introduction to Vipassana for a Balinese group in Denpasar. We also combine Vipassana with Dasa-Yoga, since Made Mangku explored this technique and was satisfied by its energy effect (up to a tendency to Trance) making it useful in his own manner.

We were invited to a Yoga performance by the’ Balinese Cultural Creation’, a center in Denpasar. There, Yoga was represented as a part of the Balinese original culture for some invited tour operators and local journalists.

Paranormal Diagnostic for Healing

Atma Ananda. Balinese Paranormal Diagnostic. // “Ubud Community’ (Bali, Indonesia), №44 | April 2010.

Since Made Mangku has successfully used this system for many years to heal his patients, we have incorporated it into our guidance for those spiritual seekers who are studying Balinese culture. While notions of Chakras, Auras and Karma have become well-known, they originally came from the Hindu religion. Having almost one year of interesting experiences with our foreign clients, I can summarize it in a nutshell for others. Everything that you do in Bali can be deeper depending on your understanding.

Checking the System of Chakras.

Work with this energy structure is well-known in Hindu Yoga, especially in such technical methods as Hatha-Yoga, Kriya-Yoga, Kundalini-Yoga etc. Basically, seven charkas are located in Sushumna – a vertical channel in the spine on a subtle level, where energy transformation links material and ideal levels. So, each charka is responsible for a particular area in the physical body, an emotional state, a way of thinking, and so on. Diagnosis gives general information about the current state of each charka, which can then be interpreted for healing or development. There are many methods to chec k the chakras, and Made uses some special ones.

Checking the Condition of the Aura.

Another dimension of subtle anatomy includes the system of koshas, or ‘bodies’. While the Hindu philosophy describes five ‘bodies’, usually a so-called ‘aura’ is a vision of pranamaya-kosha, closest to the physical body. It has an original color or vibration frequency (which can seldom be changed during our present life), reflecting the general position of the person in the world. Most ordinary people have ‘dirty’ auras because of materialistic tendencies or common unhappiness. Diagnosis gives information about the personality as such and necessarily requests for purification. Made uses special ‘washing’ rituals depending on one’s needs and situation.

Checking the Karma of Past Lives.

There are many speculations on the concept of past lives and reincarnation. Moreover, traditional explanations are also different in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and other philosophical systems. One of the superstitions is about ‘soul’ as same ‘individual’. For example, Buddhism does not accept existence of soul but develops the theory of reincarnations. There is nothing permanent on physical, astral and mental levels, while the causal body can keep some ‘programs’, in particular structure longer than one human life. Anyways, visions of past lives are usually given as an image or story, containing the most important karmic problems.

I give much more detailed explanations during personal diagnosis because this is a differentiated knowledge.

Energy and Consciousness

Atma Ananda. Energy and Consciousness (Realistic Balinese Review) // “Ubud Community’ (Bali, Indonesia), №40 | Dec 2009.

Well, my first year in Bali has passed; and having overcome its initial charm I have become more realistic. As always, I am grateful to Agung Prana, and the healer, I Made Subur Harta for opening new possibilities to go deeper into the original Balinese culture. But since my duty is to see reality as it is, I am not going to prize or reprove anybody else here. All following conclusions are based on many meetings and experiences; and I will abstract their essence only. Generally, it is both disappointing and inspiring according to specific “Balinese dialectic’ where “black and white is the same’; nevertheless not creating any “gray area’ strangely enough.

“Energy Decoy’: Advances and Obstacles on Path

Balinese are very sensitive to the energy of places and other people. They are mostly engaged in feeling energy, sending energy, accepting energy and so on. Well, there are three worldly bondages, namely sex, money and power (energy); and for sure Balinese choice is not the worst. Especially because they attend to sacred energy, it can be accepted as marks of some progress in spiritual development as well. No wonder that almost every Balinese is paranormal in his/her own way. Yet, in serious spiritual traditions any supernatural powers (or Siddhis in Sanskrit) are considered to be the greatest obstacles, which must be ignored because of their illusionary nature.. They create subtler Chitta Vritti (mental forms) fixing a person in the world of vital energy as well.

“Time Machine’: Eternity of Ancestors Worshipping