Yagyas, Karma and Meditation
Purifying the Heart with Right Action (Whole Body Health)
Suffering is due to our disconnection with the inner soul. Meditation is establishing that connection.
— Amit Ray
Karma is action. This means the past will influence the now, and the now will influence the future. Just like the goal of Ayurveda is to prevent disease, the goal of Jyotish is to prevent potential suffering because “whatever we do today, we have ordered for tomorrow, and we will get that thing” (Edwards, 2024). This is crucial then, to practice charity and Sattvic behavior to both heal the heart and increase ojas.
I have had firsthand experience in this when I was going through a sorrow-filled time in life and chose to volunteer in my free time, attempting to better my path by helping others. I found my life was happier, even if not joyous. I also found similar effects after starting TM, practicing yoga, and also wearing Jyotish recommended gemstones as yagyas. Though I still have some hard days, my life in general is much improved, and I cannot imagine where my life would be had I not performed yagyas or charity work. Though my goal in charity was not to heal, I could feel my heart healing, and at the same time, I’m sure my karmic past wasn’t as heavy. After all, we are all connected and truly all one and the same. What heals others heals me and vice versa.
I love the analogy of the mountain range being the heart, providing water and thus life to the entire world/body via the rivers that are our channels (Misra, 2024). As this was being explained in class the other day, I also envisioned a sole person being a mountain range that provides water or life to those around him via networks, both physically and digitally. If we heal our own hearts and increase right action by following Natural Law, I can only begin to imagine not just the karma of one but of an entire network.
This knowledge is important for healthcare because people are dying every day from heart disease, and doctors are tainting the channels and rivers with medicine, rather than focusing on nourishing the mountain range or heart. Our actions today do catch up to us, so healing the heart will in turn heal the entire body, and not just for one person but for an entire network. This provides more life, happiness, health, and true enlightenment.
TM is one form of yagya, as it prepares a person for what is yet to come with a sound mind and able body. Research proves that TM reverses atherosclerosis and shows “improved capacity in patients with congestive heart failure, which claims 300,000 lives annually — a number that has risen steadily over the past decade despite medical advances” (Pearson, 206, p. 455). This emphasizes the need to purify the heart with right action, good karma, and higher states of consciousness so the whole body is in total health, thanks to its own inner intelligence.
References
Edwards, M. & Morehead, P. (2024, November 12). PH 503 Week 4 MD Webinar. [Webinar]. Maharishi International University. https://echo360.org/media/6fbec461-2022-4aa2-a74f-78b92dede196/public
Misra, A. (2024, November 2). Week 4a ph503 Single Herbs and formulations. [Webinar]. Maharishi International University. https://echo360.org/media/f80d7f7b-8c7b-4c29-a989-003a8a64d0ef/public
Pearson, C. (2016). The Supreme Awakening: Experiences of Enlightenment Throughout Time — And How You Can Cultivate Them (2nd ed.). Fairfield: Maharishi University of Management Press.
