Duality
It is dual. It is all dual.
Two in one. There is a truth in this world that cannot be denied. A truth that lies outside of the realms of perspective. A truth that governs so inherently, we often look for reason beyond it.
Have you read Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harare? In that book you will come across a socio-anthropological analysis of gender inequality… to what can we attribute the battle of the sexes, and consequently the losing streak of the women? This book is a factual one. It speaks of biology, patterns of population genetic phenotypes — and how they impact human behaviour. It speaks also of ancient societies, archaeology, etc.
As with any such book, it is void of esoteric notions, spiritual reasoning, and unproved philosophies. The latter often running parallel with science, but never cross-pollinating.
Spoiler alert: Harare can only speculate on the reason for the inequality of the sexes from such a perspective. In his own words: “…we just don’t know why”.
And so, let us speculate too. We will go back ten thousand years, to the discovery of the oldest known statues of Lord Shiva and his first Disciple, Parvati (AKA Shakti). These figures were found to be performing Yoga Asanas (postures) and practising meditation. Although the origins of Yoga, much like coffee, lie so far back in the memory of time, it is hard to pinpoint the exact manner and moment that it came to us — Yoga is said by many traditions to have been brought to us by the ancient sages; with the intention of passing on an opportunity for humankind to realise its divine nature. We will discuss the Darshan story, one of the six branches on the tree of Indian philosophy.
The opportunity to find the balance of the mind, body and soul lies on the surface level — in the name:
‘Yoga’ meaning ‘unity’ or ‘oneness’ stems from Sanskrit ‘yuj’ — ‘to join’. This unity or joining refers to that of the spiritual union of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness. Bringing the Atma (single) to the Paramatma (universal). On a practical level, Yoga is a physical and mental means of balancing and harmonising the physical body with the mind and the emotions. To achieve the latter, one can begin the journey by mastering the physical entity with which we are most familiar — the body. As one delves deeper into the postures in Yoga, you learn first to master your muscles, your balance and the breath. Physical fitness and flexibility are but a means to an end, in the slow movement towards Nirvana. As one advances through this there is a natural progression from mastery of the physical flesh into mastery of the non-physical mind. Keep in mind that it is equally as possible to practice the Yogic path starting first with meditation and later incorporating the postures. (There was a chap in India who shuffled the order around a bit in his rewrite of the practical guide, so as to begin with the physical aspect, to make the journey a bit more realistic for those less devoted). Consistent Yogic practice thus evolves gradually from controlled bodily movement, controlling of the breath, to controlling of the mind, extended concentration, introspection, humility, quiet time, and furthermore to the relinquishing of feigned control of life, accepting experience, and being present in the now. One then enters the realms of soul-work. I can only imagine what this might behold, but having never experienced this, I can only theoretically tell you that when one has mastered this realm, one is ready to begin your journey to unification of your true self with the Universal consciousness. Obviously this is a long journey, very difficult for us flawed human beings, and hence why there have only been a few noteworthy enlightened beings who have been spiritual leaders over time. Namely, Siddharta Gautama, who is said to have reached enlightenment under a fig tree on the banks of the Ganges River. This man was the founder of Buddhism, thus known as Buddha. Jesus Christ, born in Northern Palestine around 2000 years ago as Jesus son of Joseph. The word “Christ” is not a name but a title, derived from the Greek “christos” which translates to the Hebrew term “messiah”. Jesus was said to have reached enlightenment as a young boy. Whether or not Jesus was a six-year-old performing Downward Dog in the house of Yahweh is indeed a mystery. But there are more ways to stoke the flames of enlightenment than simple postures, there are a few more techniques that can be employed to enhance your metaphorical strides, such as:
Asana — Postures
Pranayama — Control of prana/breath
Mudra — Gestures
Bandha — Capturing (of Kundalini energy)
Shatkarma — 6 actions to purify the karma
Concentration — Focused concentration to reach a meditative state
According to the philosophy (Darshan) at hand, once you have delved into each of these branches, a balancing of mind-body-spirit takes place, which in turn allows you to start working on the abovementioned ‘unity’ with the Universal consciousness.
As any Yoga teacher will tell you, should an expressed Asana not be a mirror image along the radial plane of the body, it is to be practised with equal duration and intensity on both the left and right side. For example, when a pose (e.g. Warrior 1) is performed with one leg in front and one leg behind, it ought to be assumed again with the opposite legs in front and behind. Furthermore, should a Pranayama exercise be performed first with the left nostril, it must be repeated with equal counts with the right nostril. See that it is in the coding of Yoga to acknowledge the dual nature of the human body. The duality of nature within all physical forms can be balanced and harmonised in the context of the mind/body/soul to realise oneness in the self, and only then can be realised as being one with the Universal consciousness.
Herein lies the existential nugget for Yogic practice. Had there been no duality, there would be no balancing act. Thus, in the very existence of Yoga lies proof of the fundamental dual nature of each human being, a nature that cannot be observed through the lens of biology. One that is not phenotypically expressed, as far as we know. One that is essentially invisible. A characteristic that is condemned as whimsical, and thus is rarely welcomed into Western scientific discourse. We are born with certain anatomy, categorised as male or female according to that anatomy, and expected to operate within the social framework of our given gender. This has caused many issues, hasn’t it? In the taboo of homosexuality, the confusion of transgender humans, the theatrics of cross-dressers, one must realise by now that we’re just not as simple as that. How are we to witness the sun and the moon existing within one sky, but unable to give the space of the sky to the vastness that is a human soul? Categorising a complex dual-natured, multi-faceted, self-aware homo sapiens into only one of two boxes from the day they are born until the day the last memory of them is wiped from the Earth is exactly the same as trying to force the sun to shine forever or the moon to infinitely glow. You are both He and She. You are all of the elements. You are Sun and Moon. You are Dark and Light. In our very essence we are dual, split along our radial plane, into divine feminine and divine masculine.
As well as homing the potential to become one with the Divine creative force, the body is home to networks — some physical and some non-physical. For the purpose of broadening our context, this text will aim to shed our impervious blinkers altogether by equally acknowledging the existence of Western and Eastern schools of knowledge. Wherein the visible networks familiar to Western society (the nervous system, the vascular system, etc.) are considered with equivalent importance to the invisible networks found in Eastern philosophies. So, let me explain the Nadis:
A nadi is a channel. These channels are pathways for the essence of life, AKA Prana.
Prana — The Life force:
-The energy
-The breath (see above Pranayama — Control of prana/breath)
-That which permeates all physical life
-Inherent intelligence of all living things to perform functions of life
-Moves upward through the body with each inhale
-Moves downward through the body with each exhale
Prana is essentially indistinguishable from the breath, our biological requirement for Oxygen, but in this context, it’s more than that. There are approximately 72, 000 nadis (energy channels) in the human body that serve as pathways of the vital prana (lifeforce) to travel through us. Understand that what we speak of may not be physical manifestations of the creative force, but work in much the same way as their physical counterparts –just as the much as the nervous system is part and parcel with various other physical systems of the body (and so largely influence the functioning of organs, muscles, the digestive tract etc.), so the network of the Nadis is part and parcel with those very same physical systems. Therein lies the practice of Reflexology, Reiki therapy, Tantric therapy, Marma therapy and many more. If you can understand this then you are opening up a world of potential healing practices that may benefit you, outside of Western medicine.
There are three integral nadis or “pathways” that are of interest in the Yogic practice — the Ida, Pinghla, and Sushumna. The latter running along the spine from cranium to pelvis. If you can visualise the spine as a straight line, imagine one pathway on the left — IDA, and the other on the right — PINGHLA. On the centre of the spine runs Sushumna, that is only activated once there are equal parts of Prana feeding into it from the left and the right channels, Ida and Pighla. It is effectively a pathway that works as a dual-spiral. Which cannot come into being with unequal portions of clockwise and anti-clockwise force. To allow the necessary energy to run via the Sushumna nadi, Ida and Pinghla transport it from the left and the right side of a pool of vital energy — this energy is known as Kundalini. Another name for this pool is the base Chakra: Mooladhar.
Pause… Let’s talk briefly about Chakras.
The word “Chakra” is the Sanskrit word for “wheel”, this referring to the spinning wheels of energy in the body. There are seven distinct areas of concentrated astral energy in the human body. When functioning optimally, a Chakra acts as either a clockwise or anti-clockwise vehicle for Prana to move along the Sushumna nadi (i.e. the spine). The life force pauses when it reaches a place of conglomerated energy, swirling and twirling, deciding where to go. For this reason, it is best when the Chakras are unblocked and functioning properly, so the Prana is able to do its spirals and move on up to the next consecutive energy wheel.
But Why? What is vital energy? Why do I want it travelling through me, twirling and unfurling me, keeping me awake? At the base of our spine there lies a secret. A sweet sleeping serpent, coiled and curious. An Ouroboros hungry for its own tail. A force that will lie dormant within you forever if it is not awakened and goaded up the Sushumna Nadi, to your Crown Chakra. It is potential waiting to be realised. It is the unmanifested power within you to transcend the manifested, become one with the unmanifested. When the seven Chakras are clear, the Pranic energy is flowing, creating a pathway in the shape of balanced spiral, a pathway for the Kundalini energy to travel up from the base Chakra, up the spine… to awaken in self-realisation. The Kundalini energy is your sexual desires, the lover in you, it is the urge to write a song, your impulse to dance, the music of your soul, your sensuality, it is all that gives life. Needless to say, if one of our seven Chakras are blocked, there is resistance to the flow of Prana.
To get back to Ida and Pinghla, in order to facilitate the movement of our dormant serpent-like life force, there must be a balance between the left and right side. As I mentioned, Ida is the left side. The left side is that of the moon — Chandra. The feminine. Her. She. Sleep. Rest. Kindness. Darkness. Sorrow. Quiet. Contentment. Sensuality. Gentleness. Softness. Coolness. The left purifies, it is in cahoots with the right side of the brain. It shelters, it provides understanding. The left is negative; thus it perfectly attracts with and balances the Pinghla. The latter is of the sun — Surya. The right. The positive. The masculine. Him. Awake. Energetic. Brightness. Hardness. Active.
Needless to say, when either of these forces are in excess or lack in the physical body, it can lead to manifested symptoms like depression (Ida), aggression (Pinghla) or lethargy (lack of both). Each of us are made up of both forces, making for men and women to fall on a vast range of masculinity and femininity. It is thus foul play to forbid little boys from crying, or little girls from being boisterous. As it stands, you have a line between your eyes, separating your yin from your yang. Your positive from your negative. As clear as light and day. Balanced? Maybe some more than others. It is an Ayurvedic belief that each thing that occurs in our body is a manifestation of the unmanifested energy that is you. With this reasoning, we can attribute those times that you fell ill after having an argument with someone you love to the turmoil happening in your soul, upsetting the system. We can attribute ulcers forming in the stomach lining to be a consequence of unmanageable emotional and mental stress. When we break things out of anger. When we dream of questions.
So, you may be wondering what does one do with this information?
In response I ask, are you interested in balance?
IF yes -> employ balancing techniques.
IF no -> take your dormant serpent, your lacklustre attitude, your humdrum prose and get out.
It is the nature of humans to ignore that which is good for us. Our mortal curiosity takes us ever closer to the precipice of life, hoping just to peek over the edge. Unwilling to step back for sheer ignorance of how far the fall really is. Unashamed of our groping in the dark, because everyone’s groping and the darkness does not judge.
As with any form of mental exercise on the self, the first step is awareness. To become aware of the aspects in you that stem from the feminine or the masculine is a good way to establish which of the two have a higher frequency in your daily life. In a world dominated by one gender, it is clear that the more frequently manifested energy in our world is that of Pinghla, the masculine. Of course, Mr Yuval Noah Harare was unable to come to this conclusion in his book outlining the Western scientific perspective of homo sapiens. How does one discuss unseen energies that have not be proved? How does one start to approach a topic regarding energetic population imbalances with the imbalanced population in question? When there is a severe lack in the feminine expression in society… when the harder, energetic, sun force is revered above the gentle, understanding moon force, what are we to do? The sun is brighter than the moon, no doubt, but it is the moon that governs the tides. Our separation from nature is evident in our inability to let the sun force set because the moon force must rise. Imagine a boisterous, selfish sun in the sky that would never set because it didn’t want to give up the limelight? All would perish. We confuse silence for weakness, brightness for riches, and stillness for inaction. We reject the misunderstood “lazy” implications of our left sides. Men throughout time have been inculcated into “manhood” with the fall of their last tear, the result being the domination of their equal counterparts. Those with penises have been preferred through many ages in many societies. Those with a womb laid to waste, suffocated, squashed, feared to death (witches).
We now move into the area of Western biology once again. We know the stomach is known as the second brain because there are similar functions that occur in both. Hence, we should be aware of what we eat because it will affect the release of particular hormones that correspond with how we feel.
Similarly, the calf muscle is known as the second heart. This is because the calf muscles perform a function much like that of the heart. The heart is a set of cardiac muscles that pumps oxygenated blood throughout the body with rhythmic contractions. This includes to the extremities, and so when the blood travels with the help of gravity down to the toes, it takes a similar pump to get the deoxygenated blood from the feet back up to the heart. The calf muscles perform this contraction and so qualify for the title as secondary heart. It is thus wise to take good care of our calf muscles, just as it is wise to look after our gut. When the calf muscles are underdeveloped, they work harder to pump the blood up to the heart, thus resulting in muscle fatigue, sometimes deep vein thrombosis.
The question is, does the knowledge of these biological facts inspire you to optimise the health and consequent functioning of your anatomy? We are not necessarily logical creatures; our DNA has areas of randomness (“junk” DNA) that seem to code for nothing. The brain is divided by a longitudinal fissure into two cerebral hemispheres:
The left hemisphere: Controls the right side of the body
Analytical thought
Logic
Reasoning
Language
Science and mathematics
The right hemisphere: Controls the left side of the body
Creativity
Imagination
Intuition
Holistic thought
Music and Art
We’re biologically half-and-half in the science vs. art//imagination vs. reason//intuition vs. analytical thought department(s).
Much to our dismay, emotion (which is much determined by the state of your gut) is a very compelling force that plays, arguably, the largest role in our beliefs and convictions. The powerful humans in our society who are deemed most “successful” are measured in their ability to engage in cold, hard, emotionless (i.e. professional) business, consequently generating large amounts of profit.
Do you believe in bettering yourself just because you know it’s possible? Or does one usually wait for something to go wrong before one engages in betterment tactics, out of fear? In my experience, the latter case is more likely. There is something terrible about having to let go. There is resistance to levelling up, due to fear of failure, fear of admitting that it is necessary in the first place; and oh, the deep cognitive dissonance we have, in our contrasting fear of being in the know. Awareness. And to never be able to return darkness to places where light has been shed. How appealing is a golden door that acts as a one-way valve, one that does not allow you to pass through twice…
The following photograph shows a Dutch man who had been having trouble with the second heart muscle on his feminine side. The woman in the photograph, practiced in Body Stress Release therapy, was a dear friend of his (not Dutch). The woman is wearing black, her hair reflecting a moony white glow in the sunlight, shrouding her face. She is hunched, focused, a Healer. She is there to help. Where She touches He, the light of Surya flows between them. The man is bare, exposed to the sunshine, feeling present. He is on the receiving end of her lunar power. His left calf had seized up months ago, (from various sporting activities), and he had yet to find a means to ease the tension. He had had needles stuck in to stimulate blood flow. Here She was to help Him along. To lie him still. To invoke surrender.
Light and Dark. Sun and Moon. Surya and Chandra. Positive and Negative. Ida and Pinghla. Duality.
