The “causal” which is the 5 Koshas or auras of the 5 elements i.e. the essence of the 5 elements, and the way they are placed in you, and which gives you your own identity, your own particularity... that is the causal. The causal of the 5 elements, plus the Spirit... put together make the Soul, the Jivatma. This causal acts on the chakras... and through the chakras, on the other, the grosser side. So from the subtlest, the Spirit... to the subtler, the Soul... to the gross, the body. H.H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. World Health Organization, 1948
The psychological benefits of thoughtless awareness through Sahaja Yoga Meditation
Meditation cannot be deemed to be authentic if it does not lead to the experience of
the fourth or Turiya state, i.e. 'thoughtlessness' or thoughtless awareness.
Meditation refers to an exercise where the thinking mind is relaxed and silenced so
that the gap between thoughts is progressively widened. When in meditation we
enter this gap between two thoughts, we enter a space of absolute presence, of
present silence, of thoughtless awareness. This meditation state is fundamentally
different to the normal thinking state, where the content of our thoughts is always
either the future or the past, but never the present.
Stress is caused by the thinking brain, either through thinking excessively about
past experiences (causing trauma or experientially causal psychological problems)
or worries about the future (future related feelings of stress). The 'here and now'
state which comes from the practice of an authentic meditation leads to a witness
state, where past or present life events, future worries and problems are perceived
from a detached perspective, the perspective of the observer. Problems can be dealt
with in a much more effective way from this distant and detached perspective than
from the usual, emotionally involved, state of mind.
This detached state of mind, that is concomitant to the mystical meditative
experience, has been denominated by western philosophers as 'serenity' or
'ataraxia' (the Greek word for a state of joyful indifference). It refers to a state that
lies beyond the short-lived experiences of happiness or unhappiness, a state of
ever-lasting serene joyfulness and detachment. It is this state of joyful detachment
that makes true yoga a path towards freedom from suffering.
Relaxing the thinking brain through meditation by entering the space of the present, the 'here and now', even if it is only for a few minutes a day, has been shown to have numerous beneficial effects to our health and physiological system. At a subjective level, this state of thoughtless awareness is experienced as highly peaceful, pleasant and relaxing. Questionnaires on quality of life have indeed shown that people meditating with Sahaja Yoga show a significant improvement in their quality of life.
The physiological benefits of thoughtless awareness through Sahaja Yoga
At a physiological level, the state of thoughtless awareness has been shown to have
numerous beneficial effects, especially on the parasympathetic and limbic systems.
According to traditional yoga, there are seven energy centers in the body called
Chakras, which correspond to the seven nerve plexuses: the pelvic autonomic
plexus (Mooladhara Chakra), the aortic plexus (Swadhistana Chakra), the coeliac
plexus (Nabhi Chakra), the cardiac plexus (Heart Chakra), the cervical plexus (Vishuddhi Chakra), and the optic chiasma (Agnya Chakra): The seventh energy centre is the limbic system of the brain, which
consists of seven nerve nuclei which contains and integrates the control centers of
the other six energy centers.
In the limbic system all of the six Chakras form this final integrative Chakra, the
Sahasrara Chakra. Every Chakra thus has its corresponding alternative location at a
particular location in the brain, which controls that particular energy center. Every
one of these energy centers looks after the physical organs surrounding it, but is
also responsible for the psychological processes which are connected to particular
body organs. By using yoga mediation to energize this subtle system, which links
both psychological and physiological properties, the body, brain and the mind
become closely integrated.
This view of bi-directional interrelationships between body and mind is very
different to the still prevalent Cartesian dualism of body and mind in our traditional
western medicine, and can help to overcome conventional problems in defining the
relationship between psychological and physiological processes. Physical damage to
one of the Chakras in the body can have an effect on the controlling center of that
Chakra in the brain (leading to concomitant psychological effects). These
psychological problems can thereupon lead to psychosomatic disorders, which will
manifest themselves in particular via those physical organs which are being
controlled by the relevant regions of the brain.
Therefore, in yoga, body and mind are one, and are connected by this subtle
energy system, which consists of many feedback loops between body energy
centers and the energy centers of the brain. At the microscopic level, almost every
receptor of every single cell in the body or the brain is folded in seven spanning
loops. This particular characteristic of all receptor types has again been postulated to be related to the seven energy centers in the body, reflecting mini-Chakras at the cell level.
Sahaja Yoga (SY) meditation thus claims to activate the parasympathetic-limbic
pathway that relaxes body and mind. According to
this traditional yoga, the sympathetic nervous system is divided into a right-sided
channel, which is predominantly coordinated by the left prefrontal part of the brain,
and a left-sided sympathetic nervous system which is coordinated by the right
hemispheric posterior parts of the brain . In our day
to day lives we usually oscillate between these two 'functions of action' (activation
of left prefrontal systems for action/thinking/future-planning/fight) and 'functions of
inhibition' or retrieval (activating more posterior parts of the right hemisphere of
the brain for inhibitory functions/memory/depression/flight).
This division of the sympathetic nervous system into 'fight and flight' mechanisms,
with its different representation in the two sides of the cerebral hemispheres, is
fundamentally in line with evidence from modern western neuroscience. In
meditation, the parasympathetic nervous system is being activated, which, unlike
the body-activating sympathetic nervous system, is responsible for bodily
nourishment and recuperative functions, such as resting and restoration. The
parasympathetic-limbic activation achieved through the meditation relaxes us by
bringing us "into the center": the two opposing sympathetic functions are therefore
synthesized into perfect balance and harmony with each other, giving us a more
balanced personality.
Alterations in physiological parameters during Sahaja Yoga meditation
The relaxed state which one experiences subjectively in meditation is in fact
accompanied by alterations in those physiological parameters which have
traditionally been related to stress.
At the level of the physical body a series of physiological parameters have been
shown to change after several weeks of SY meditation, supporting this postulated
activation of the para-sympathetic nervous system.
1) Dilatation of pupils: The pupils of the eyes dilate, a sign of parasympathetic
activation (Rai, 1993).
2) Decrease of pulse rate (Rai, 1993, Rai et al., 1988; link to Rai et al., 1998, 1997)
3) Decrease of the heart and respiratory rates (Rai, 1993, Rai et al., 1988, 1997)
4) Decrease in urinary homovanillic mandelic acid (Rai et al., 1988, 1997, Chugh et
al., 1987, 1997)
5) Decrease of systolic blood pressure (Rai et al., 1998, Chugh, 1997)
6) Decrease in blood lactic acid (Rai et al., 1988, 1997, Chugh, 1997)
7) Increase in galvanic skin response (measure of decreasing sympathetic nervous
activity) (Rai et al., 1991, 1988, 1997).
8) Decrease in the temperature in palm of hands and on top of the head,
correlating with the experience of thoughtless awareness (Rai et al., 1991, 1988,
1993).
9) Increase in beta-endorphins: An interesting psychopharmacological study by
Mishra from the McMaster's University in Canada,
showed a 70% increase in plasma beta-endorphins in male subjects after meditation. The endogeneous opiates, b-endorphins, are known to have a role in
body homeostasis. They strengthen the immune system, and are involved in the
maintenance of a healthy psychological functioning. They can even combat cancer
cells, which could explain so-called 'miraculous cures' in cancer patients after the
practice of Yoga meditation.
All these measures indicate an increase in parasympathetic activation and a
decrease in sympathetic dominance. Most of these parameters are typically
elevated during stress, which is a manifestation of increased sympathetic activity.
Alterations in brain activation during Meditation
The electro-physiological activity of the brain changes through prolonged practice of
Sahaja yoga mediation from typical fast waves during normal consciousness to a
state of slow waves, similar but not identical to the sleep state. The slow waves (the so called theta
waves) are thought to be formed by the limbic system, which it is believed is
activated during Sahaja Yoga meditation. Likewise, studies using high resolution
brain imaging have shown that during meditation, activity in the frontal and other
cortical brain regions (thought to be the areas that originate thought processes) are
reduced, while activity in the limbic brain areas increases, especially in the
hippocampus, an area associated with the
stress hormone cortisol.
The limbic system regulates emotion and motivation. It has traditionally been
considered an evolutionarily lower brain centre than the cortex, which is responsible
for higher level cognitive functions. However, the limbic system is essential for
regulating our individual drives. Without this motivation no cognitive functions
would be possible. Indeed, depressed patients, for example, with their lack of drive
due to abnormal activation of the limbic system, suffer from cognitive and
attentional dysfunctions. Without the battery, i.e. the emotional and motivational
centre of the brain, all other functions the brain is capable of are bereft of their
motivational charge and ultimately can not unfold to their full potential.
Meditation with its relaxation of the body and limbic system, provides the necessary
energy sources for a full potential of cognitive functioning. Only when we are fully
relaxed, motivated, satisfied and full of energy can we truly activate our full
potential, whether it is cognitive or artistic. Interestingly, another brain region that
appears to undergo increased activation as a result of meditation is the
hippocampus, which is linked to the stress-related hypothalamus-pituitary-axis.
Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder or depression show a reduced size in
their hippocampus that may be related to increased stress-induced cortisol levels. An increase in hippocampus activation may thus be
another indicator of stress reduction through meditation. Thoughts can indeed have
a corresponding reaction at the physiological level. Anger, for example, has been
shown to raise pulse rates and blood pressure and can even tear blood vessels,
leading to heart infarction.
The therapeutic effect of SY meditation on disease processes
Several studies are being currently undertaken in Australia, Russia, India and the
UK to show the therapeutic effect of SY on several physiological and mental
diseases and disorders. The studies so far published have shown that :
1) Epilepsy: Several months of Sahaja yoga meditation reduces the number and
the duration of epileptic attacks in patients with epilepsy. It has also been
shown to improve the clinical electro-encephalographic pattern of epileptic brain
activation (Rai, 1993, Panjwani et al., 1995, Usha, 1991, Gupta et al., 1991 (link
to Gupta), Yardi et al., 2001)
2) Asthma: Patients with asthma and with hypertension have been shown to
significantly improve with SY meditation. The improvement relate to a
significant reduction in the number of acute asthma attacks and an
improvement in\ their lung function (Manocha et al., 2000, Rai, 1993, Chugh,
1997).
3) Depression: A study in the UK has shown that several months of SY
meditation significantly reduced the depressive symptoms in patients with major
depression, as opposed to control patients treated only with behavioral therapy
(link to paper: Morgan et al., 2001).
4) Drug abuse: Sahaja Yoga meditation has been shown to have impressive
effects on reducing drug consumption in 501 drug abusers treated for a year
with Sahaja Yoga meditation at the University of Vienna. 97% of chronic drug
consumers stopped taking drugs, 42% after the first week of meditation, 32%
after the first months. (Hackl, 1995).
5) Diabetes and Menopause: As yet unpublished studies from Melbourne
University in Australia have shown beneficial effects of Sahaja Yoga meditation
on diabetes and menopause. Details will be available in the future.
REFERENCES
