Posts filed under India

HEALING PLACES/INDIA: THE TAMARIND TREE IN ALVARTIRUNAGARI

In the deep South of India lies in the small and remote village of Alvar Tirunagari a temple that was built around a sacred tamarind tree. In India trees are revered as givers of knowledge. Many people here in India who are still connected to nature think for example that the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha sat played an important role in the Buddha being able to achieve enlightenment as it helped him in gaining wisdom.

The Tamarind Tree in Alvar Tirunagari is supposed to be more than 5000 years old. It's leaves never close like the ones of others of the same species and it is said that it is always awake and offering prayers to the divine. Also the tree rests on the roof of the temple with no roots to be found.

One of the priests of the temple told me that the tree is an incarnation of Adishesha, the divine snake that carries the God Visnu. It is also closely connected to Nammalvar, one of the twelve most revered saints of Vaishnavism that lived 3000 BC.

Posted on April 3, 2015 and filed under Healing Places, India.

HEALING PLACES/INDIA: ARUNACHALA

Arunachala literally means ‘the sacred fire’ and this fire can purify you and free you from past negative karma. Be it from this or past lives. See, we have many sacred mountains in India, but the Arunachala is a sacred center-spot. My teacher believed that all the enlightened masters of this world have a connection to this mountain. And the Siva loka, the realm where Siva resides, is linked to this mountain. My guru said that this mountain has strong magnetic energy and the people who walk around this mountain will feel that. This is why many people feel dizzy when they walk around the mountain. Because it’s energy is so intense. There is a constant vibration put out from the mountain all the time. This vibration reaches about 35 kilometers far around it. So when you are near the hill, the mountain’s energy will reach you and it will support your transformation or whatever it is that you need for your life in that moment, be it healing, spiritual advancement or finding your purpose in life. The mountain supports your wishes, even if these are material in nature. But to spiritual seekers who seek knowledge, it will give the most precious thing: knowledge from within. The mountain opens its caves to these seekers to meditate in and to reach the state of wisdom.

HEALING TRADITIONS/INDIA: YOGA THERAPY

One reason why yoga therapy is so efficient is because it engages the patient in the healing process. When we take responsibility for our health we can take care of ourselves better, because we are actively involved in understanding the causes of our suffering and how to alleviate them. The second reason why yoga therapy is effective is because it takes a multidimensional approach. It views every individual as a collection of different layers and therefore has effective tools to address more layers than just one. The third reason why yoga therapy is effective is because it views every individual as unique and therefore does not prescribe one solution that works for all. It takes into consideration different unique parameters of the patient such as their age, their illness, their strength, their mental capacity, the amount of time they can afford, the other illnesses that accompany them, family circumstances, etc. And then yoga therapy prescribes a unique individual approach that is tailor made for every individual. Another reason why yoga therapy is very effective is also because when implemented in an appropriate way, yoga therapy does usually not create any bad side effects for the patient because the practice of yoga is a non-invasive process that utilizes the international resources of the body such as body, breath and mind. My grandfather T. Krishnamacharya used to refer to it as surgery without surgical instruments.