Vipashyana

I do agree that it will be rather funny to write on philosophy after the blog on a song Pretty Woman. But this week twice I came across the word Vipashyana while explaining the Hindu Philosophy firstly a Belgian Couple whom I teach Hindi and my 360° friend Ton C.
So I decided to write a blog about it.

Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.

You can read more about it at Vipashyana

It is observed that one who does Vipashyana goes through tremendous changes in life. Hon. Mrs. Kiran Bedi conducted the Vipashyana Courses in Tihar Jail (which is India's largest Jail specially made for hard core criminals) while she was Jail superintendent and in her autobiography she mentioned how there was transformation in the thinking of murderers, cheaters and mafias.
When I was young I did the Vipashyana course too. There is an Ashram near my city devoted to this holy mission. There one has to stay for eleven days and to go through the course thoroughly. This staying is totally free of cost including food, lodging and other daily expenses.

In this 11 days one has to observe 2 main things 1) to keep total silence (to be mute) 2) To concentrate at the tip of your nose and observe the breath.

Once we are silent with others our conversation begins with oneself. It stirs one’s mind. We see our own side which was unknown to us.

I saw many short tempered people calmed down after doing this course. Though I did not exercise the silence sincerely I found the black side of my mind. I found that my mind was full of revenge may be because of constantly being forcibly calm. There were other things also that I never expected about myself.

My roommate was never been to desert but she used to dream a lot about hearing desert folk music and the voice of anklets. The Guruji when questioned said that either it was her hidden wish to be a folk dancer or it was her previous birth.

Also there was a quick tempered mother who used to throw anything at her children when she was angry. We saw that she also changed totally after being there.

Secondly observing the breath at tip of the nose helps to concentrate us at the incoming and outgoing breath. The control on breath is very important in Yoga.

Controlling the breath is the easiest way to control one’s mind.

Indeed, Vipashyana is a nice way to transform oneself. And I saw many foreigners are coming in India specially to attend this course to attain the ultimate tranquility.

Why Vipashyana is so much important? That is because Hindu Philosophy believes that winning oneself is far more important than winning thousands of acres of land in the war. Making our own mind slave is always better than to make people slave.

The Hindu philosophy starts with peace and ends in peace.

OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI:

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