Day 3 - "Inner Engineering" Course by Isha Foundation

February 12, 2010 - Day 3 (7:00 - 10:00 PM)

Started off very well with a video lecture by Sadhguru. He explained simple actions that our body performed with such ease and made it practical for the audience. Great lecture. All of us should see this if possible. He provided simple tips to unblock congested nostrils, balance ida and pingala just by focussed and monitored breathing techniques (even I could do it !!!). The next 1/2 hour or so went in learning about positive, negative and neutral "pranic" foods. The main point being - We should not abuse our body by ingesting food that is not necessarily made for bodily functions. He likened usage of appropriate fuel to a vehicle (Gasoline-87/91, Diesel, Kerosene etc). All in all, a great presentation, simple to understand - It achieved what it was supposed to...

Then we got onto the face-to-face lecturing session. As we have become used to by now, there is high belaboring of certain points. The audience seems to get it first time, without a need for "indoctrination". Today's point was - "This moment is inevitable". The instantaneous moment that is current, is already underway and there is nothing we can do to change the state of this moment. We can, ofcourse, change the course of future moments by understanding the current situation and using our past experience as a guideline. Once we agree/understand this (which I am sure most logical folks will do) we can realize for ourselves that our reactions to these moments (Anger, sadness especially) are basically that - "reactions" - and cannot change what has transpired. That will condition us to adjust our temperament (over course of time) to avoid getting into extreme states of emotion.

There was another interesting chunk of time wasted in "play of words". Somehow "acceptance of what is available" (in other words, "compromise") got translated to "Wants". Clearly, there was an illogical play of words that most of us did not agree with.

We were given another homework this time and hopefully, we have a better idea of what is expected. [Did I tell you that my last night's homework was way off - Grade F]...

At the half way level, I grade this course at 70% (First Class) for content and simplicity. I give 30% for Instructional Presentations and clarity.

Next session is 12:00PM to 3:00PM... Happy reading !!!