Ishvara Pranidhana: Surrender to God
by Beau Boucher
Ishvara Pranidhana culminates the Niyamas, those things we should do. Practice of the previous Niyama, Svadhyaya, leads to the realization that divinity is present within each one of us. Ishvara Pranidhana is the practice of surrendering to and dedicating yourself to that divinity. Divinity is known by many names throughout the world, and by even more throughout history- for simplicity lets say God. The practice of yoga then, is the science of God realization. Yoga is a science. Often in the yoga world there is the implied notion that science is materialistic and devoid of spiritual value, but science is not the enemy of God. Science is God explaining God to God through the phenomenon of the human nervous system. Chemistry, physics, mathematics- these are the languages of God.
Yoga is often defined as union of the body and mind, or individual consciousness with universal supreme consciousness. The fact is, God is already here. God is already inside each one of us, and when you shift your perception in this manner, the whole world shifts with you. Yoga asks us to adopt the inner attitude that the person or individual is not doing anything. That everything one does comes from God, and belongs to God. Every breath, every action, every moment, is a divine movement of the eternal. As long as you think of yourself as a person, you'll see persons everywhere, but once you relinquish the personal, then you'll see the universe everywhere, you'll see God everywhere. In yogic philosophy, the practice of adoration and devotion to God is referred to as Bhakti.
To practice Bhakti is to practice Love. This means you keep your attention on love- you think about love, express love, respond to any gesture of love from your environment- and most importantly, you radiate love. Love is a force, like electromagnetism or gravity. What is gravity? It has no mass and is invisible, yet it's a known force that shapes the fabric of our reality. Love, as well, is a force that shapes the fabric of our reality. Love has the ability to rearrange the atoms of one's face into a smile, to cause the release of beneficial biochemicals throughout the body- love has the power to heal. It's known that if babies do not receive love and affection they have a strong chance of developing psychosocial dwarfism. This means if love and affection are absent, regardless of nutrition, the child's body will not utilize Human Growth Hormone even though it is present. This means that without love - the infinite intelligence that builds the human body from a single cell to trillions of cells, loses motivation. Without the force of love from another human being, divine consciousness is rendered incapable of organizing atoms into a healthy child. Love is not a metaphysical abstract concept- love is a tangible force, and once you create a vibration of love around you, you inevitably attract loving relationships and the ability to heal others simply with the vibration of your presence. Ishvara Pranidhana is the practice of radiating love in all directions at all times- for if God is everywhere, if God is infinite- then so too must be our love and devotion.
No comments:
Post a Comment