Gurudev Chitrabhanu
We are like the shining sun, and our sicknesses, like passing clouds which appear to extinguish the sun’s rays. The wise person who gazes at the dull, gray sky knows that, in reality, the sun still shines brightly behind the veil of clouds. All that is needed to uncover its radiance is a strong wind.
As we begin to experience our true essence, we will realize that we are not our sicknesses. Our original nature is wholeness - health. We are perfect, infinite energy. We are Atma.
Then where do our illnesses come from? All illness of mind, body, or emotions is an effect of our ignorance of this perfect Self. When we are unaware of our intrinsic wholeness, we unwittingly invite our diseases by treating our body carelessly and by burdening our mind and nervous system with negative thought and emotions. Through ignorance, we allow ourselves to live in the realm of the limiting ego with its fluctuating anger, greed, and deceit.
Using the Energy Centers for Health and Healing
We abuse our body with too much of the wrong kinds of food and too little rest and exercise.
As we become aware of our perfect nature, we can begin to participate consciously in the healing process. We can use meditation to discover the fundamental causes of any disease and begin to reestablish inner physical and emotional harmony.
The first secret of healing is acceptance of health. Before you can begin to enjoy abundant health, you must possess the unshakable conviction that nature’s tendency is to heal, to regain and maintain the natural balance. This means that you must stop anticipating illness - excepting sickness to overtake you tomorrow, next winter, in old age, or whenever. The anxiety itself creates the environment for disease. It sets in motion a vicious circle in which inner negative expectations affect the outer circumstances, which, in turn, trigger negative responses in you, physical and mental system. You must begin to take notice of the interaction among mind, emotions, and the physical organism. How we feel about ourselves affects the way we conduct our lives and ultimately influences our health.
What we believe inwardly is eventually reflected outwardly; so as we build health in our consciousness, we will one day see health mirrored in the physical body. We receive - health, energy, and a sense of well being - according to the extent of our belief.
Now, as you begin to accept the possibility of your in born wholeness, observe the unique nature of your individual metabolism. No two bodies are exactly alike. Watch. How do the seasons affect your energy? How does the food you eat affect your digestion? What is the right amount of food for you? Remember that the food you eat today becomes the cells of your body tomorrow. Be aware of the material with which you choose to build this body. Take the time to be your own observer and be open to the clues your body gives you about its condition and its needs.
As you begin to accept responsibility for the state of your health, you are ready to link the energy centers to the healing and health-maintaining process. When you meditate on the first center, you are focusing your attention and health-giving energy on the earth element, which corresponds to the bone, skin, nails, and hair of your body. Remember that this center is located at the base of the spine, which is a vital part of your skeletal structure.
In mastering this first center, you are psychologically freeing yourself from the need to seek security in accumulating external things. This includes the desire to take in food beyond the body’s capacity to digest it. It includes also the unchecked craving for those foods which are non-nourishing or even harmful.
Meditating on this center reestablishes our conscious contact with the body. We become sensitive to the nutritional demands of our particular metabolism. Our tendency to overeat diminishes, and we begin to cultivate a new taste for healthy, life-giving foods.
When you bring your attention to the second center, you are tuning in to the vital energy of the water element, which is present in all the bodily fluids. Through the circulation of the blood, the water element is present in the body’s entire system of supplying nutrients and removing waste from each and every cell. It is also key to your digestion. The digestive process begins, in fact, the moment your food comes in contact with your saliva.
To appreciate the importance of this essential element, it may be helpful to keep in mind that the body is composed of 90 percent water. When functioning properly, our bodily fluids are an integral part of our body’s life-support system. What happens, however, when we introduce the negative element of tension? We are all familiar with the adverse effects of emotional strain. It can increase our pulse rate, raise our blood pressure, and eventually lead to heart disease. In addition, the chemical balance in saliva can be severely altered by stress. The result will affect our digestion and can damage our teeth.
So, when we meditate on the second center, we watch for the source of stress which upsets the equilibrium of the water element within the body. We pay attention, for example, to the subtle forms of deceit, which cloud our natural spontaneity and ensnare us in a ceaseless game of projections and second-guessing. We are the ultimate victims of our deceit, for it takes a great deal of our energy to uphold the smallest lie and to maintain a false impression. Even our dreams reflect our unspoken anxiety, so we watch these also.
Meditation on the second center will make you more keenly aware of those inner tensions which impede the natural flow of your bodily fluids. Seeking the source of your stress, you can root it out and begin to enjoy the fruits of a new serenity.
The third center, at the navel, is a direct link with the stomach and intestinal area. The fire element is that physical energy which generates bodily heat and aids the digestion. Psychologically, you may experience the imbalance of the fire element in the emotion of anger. This sets off a chain of negative reactions throughout the body that may show up as indigestion. It is, therefore, advisable not to eat when angry. Take care that you dine when you are in a pleasant, relaxed mood. In that way, your emotions will aid the healthy functioning of the entire body.
Watch your anger. It can be triggered by the most trivial things. It may be very subtle. When we attempt to get people to act as we desire them to or try to manipulate events to conform to our plan, we lay ourselves open to anger. In our rage, whether expressed or not, we upset our whole metabolism.
The fourth center, located in the area of the heart, brings you in touch with the gift of breath - the air element. We must begin to appreciate this precious element. Each breath is the means for the exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen at the cell level. Oxygen is absolutely necessary to the activity of the brain. We cannot survive without it. Even our pores breathe!
Proper breathing is essential to our vitality. Have you ever noticed someone who is angry and upset? His breathing is quick and shallow. How many of us allow tension, fear, anxiety, and simple laziness to shorten each breath and undermine the body’s health? The practice of prana yama breathing is a great energizer and a good way to get us in the habit of breathing deeply. Each deep breath helps to calm the nervous system and bring about a new level of inner tranquility.
As you focus on this heart center, you will also see that the tendency toward high blood pressure and heart attacks is exacerbated by a life driven by the ego. This ego is anxiety-producing. It demands that we write our name on the flowing water of time. How long can we fool ourselves? Deep inside we know that, in reality, time will dissolve the ego and our name will one-day be forgotten. So what are we trying to prove, and to whom? Other people are absorbed in their own worry. They are immersed in the dissolving of their own egos as they move along with the stream of time.
When you recognize that this limited “me” is but a small point in eternity, you can put an end to the inner battle to prove and to grab at worldly recognition. Let go of that ego which spoils your relationships and fosters inner tension. Meditating on sohum, dissolve this brittle ego and discover the Real Self. Allow the vast river of love to flow between you and others, and moment by moment, begin to make the experience of life itself eternal.
You can psychologically begin to relieve much of the congestion in the area of the ears, nose, and throat as you meditate on the fifth energy center. This is the center for vocal expression, inner purity, and space. We all have a need for sufficient physical, mental, and emotional space. Unfortunately, we tend to forget that unexpressed emotion and unresolved conflicts clog our inner space. Held inside, they eventually erupt like volcano and appear on the physical plane, begging for our attention. They show up in the form of headaches or rashes, and any number of other uncomfortable symptoms. Suppression is obviously no solution to our problems.
With meditation, you can learn to express your feelings gently and genuinely, creating a new sense of harmony and inner spaciousness. Relieved of the pressure of accumulated frustrations, the mind can relax and the emotions can flow naturally. Free of their silent burden, the mind, body, and emotions will begin to cooperate with one another to form a healthy, integrated whole.
The first five centers are direct links to our physical organism. Meditation on these centers helps us to maintain the proper balance of basic elements in our makeup.
The sixth center is the point from which our heightened awareness can observe the workings of the first five. From this point you can note what the nature of your illness is and at which center your energy appears to be blocked. Watching your body, mind, and emotions and being aware of your food, energy and physical activity, you know where correction is needed. With proper knowledge of your own individual condition, you are able to take those measures which will ensure the maintenance of maximum health. Prevention is better than cure, for it takes a great deal of energy to bring about a cure. Therefore, we cannot afford to neglect our health today. Sooner or later, we will pay for our negligence.
The seventh center transcends the bounds of our physical organism. When you are truly one with your whole, permanent, inner Self, there is no room for sickness. At this highest point of awareness, you no longer identify with the passing clouds of illness. You know without doubt that you are perfect, absolute, conscious energy. You are the shining sun.
