The poster incorporates so
many archetypal symbols that each person will no doubt find their own
meanings hidden within it. Here we can merely offer a review of the text
with some thoughts about what the symbology means to us.
In choosing the words to go on the Yoga Mandala we sought a balance between
inspiration and instructions. Keeping in mind that many readers would
be unfamiliar with Sanskrit terminology and perhaps with yoga practice
itself, we have tried to cater for all levels of interest.
The second half of the text which deals more specifically
with yoga practice can be found on the page about yoga and the five elements.
Quotes
from the Poster
are in white ~
"The
word 'Yoga' is from the same root as the
word 'union',
and means any path that leads beyond the illusion of separation from
the whole."
"'Mandala' is a name for a symmetrical
design used as a focus for contemplation of the divine.
They are found in most cultures, often as symbolic maps of the universe"
Commentary
in green
The
text within the circle of the mandala is a table of correspondences for the five elements.
Each element is portrayed as a petal of the flower, which is also the
sphere of material existence.
This can be used as a reference chart for integrating awareness of the
elements into yoga practice, daily life, and meditation.
Other
Material
in cyan
Carl
Jung, who gave us such concepts as 'synchronicity' and the 'collective
unconscious' had this to say about Mandalas -
"The goal of contemplating the processes depicted in the mandala
is that the yogi shall become inwardly aware of the deity. Through contemplation,
he recognizes himself as God again, and thus returns from the illusion
of individual existence into the universal totality of the divine state."
from
Concerning Mandala Symbolism. C. G. Jung.
trans. from "Uber Mandalasymbolik,"
Gestaltungen des Unbewussten (Zurich, 1950)
The top central section of the
artwork represents a realm beyond time and space, a realm of pure living
geometries and aspects of divine intelligence and meaning. At the centre
of the vibratory field of the Sri Yantra a star-flower of Light is born
from which the nectar of existance falls down to be caught in the burning
grail of conscious relationship. There it is spun into a toroidal vortex,
(the form of a magnetic field or smoke ring), which overflows the chalice
as a white whole at the centre of the Universe (which is everywhere and
nowhere).
Sri Krsna
The Whirling Heart of the Galactic Dervish
"Beloved
Essence of All That Is...
We give thanks for the bodies of living beings
that are the most exquisite and sacred forms in the universe.
By means of your evolutionary process the essence of pure existence
is organized into an infinity of patterns of energy.
This work of Art only exists because the times we live in require
an evolutionary shift in human consciousness.
This Mandala is a gift of Spirit, which supports access to knowledge
of: physical health, vitality, the nature of mind and emotions, and
the fundamental structures of the Universe.
All that can be perceived in this magic mirror is the creation of
your own indefinable presence.
Space and Time, Mind and Matter, Man and Woman, can only be said to
exist when there is Consciousness able to perceive them.
Therefore it is you who lend them your 'Reality' and give them Meaning."
Gold Tara
Mother of Mystery - Giver of Time and Measure
From the white whole at the
centre of the Universe the Light flows out to its opposite pole, the black
hole at the centre of the galaxy. This is represented by the form of the
Goddess and God as the Infinite Mystery and the All Atractive Source of
Beauty. The Light is then focussed through the fractal lense of a Mandelbrot
and tumbles down from the Sun to the Earth and into the Eye of the Yogi
seated in meditation upon the true nature of existance.
"The
analysis of the fundamental unity of all phenomena into 5 interdependent
Elements or qualities is a time honored alchemical practice. Here they
are presented as the 5 petals of the flower of the Mandala, and metaphorically
named: Space, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. All phenomena can be classified
into these 5 categories.
Yoga philosophy calls them the 'Pan-cha-maha-bhutas' which means the
five great states of material existence. The innermost circle of the
Mandala names the element, its associated sense and body or 'sheath'.
The senses are hearing, touching, seeing, tasting & smelling. The
5 sheaths are the causal, intellectual, psychological, physiological
& anatomical bodies. The 5 pointed star, or pentacle, incorporates
the 'Golden Mean' proportions and is intimately connected to the structure
of the DNA, the blueprint of life on Earth. "
The five types of poses (Asanas)
will develop the qualities of their associated element.
Likewise, the five disciplines of Yama or Niyama will help one with
the types of asana of the element.
The affirmations can also be used to work on developing a particular
element's qualities.
For instance, practising backbends (Fire) will energise
you and develop qualities such as creativity and courage,
and the practice of openness (asteya) or austerity (tapas)
will help to develop your flexibility and srtength in these poses.
The affirmation "enthusiastically love burns within me, combusting
all pride and self-condemnation"
will also develop your psychological body (manomayakosha).
See the poster or the correspondence table for
more detail.
The more than two millenia old
'Yoga Sutras of Patanjali', one of the most venerable and influencial
texts on Yoga, begins...
1. atha yoga nusasan
Now Yoga Transmission.
2. yoga citta vritti nirodaha
Yoga happens with the stilling of the Flames of the Heart.
3. tada drasthuh svarupe vasthanam
Then the Solar Angel abides within the Light of its own Being
in all circumstances.
4. vritti sarupyam itaratra
Otherwise, there is identification with every
movement as though it were the Centre, the True Self.
5. vrttayah pancatayyah klista klistah
The apparent play of phenomena is Fivefold,
both pleasant and unpleasant.
"To know that what is impenatrable for us really
exists and manifests itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant
beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties
- this knowledge, this feeling ... that is the core of the true religious
sentiment." Albert Einstein
There is much play of implied
'dimensions' within the artwork. The whole is contained within itself
as the 'game board' that the Yogi ponders, (or perhaps its the yoga mat
that he hovers above). All things contain each other and arise from the
same fundamental patterns. Macrocosm is reflected within microcosm, future
within past, self within other ~ and meaning arises spontaneously from
the harmonics of their relationship.
"The
primary energetic geometry of this Mandala is a star hidden in an apple.
There is a story where it is told that humans ate the consciousness-altering
fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and were banished from the Garden before
they might eat of the Tree of Life and become one with the Gods.
Perhaps we are still eating the original apple, and only when we have
consumed its five-seeded core may we realize that all trees are part of
the one tree, and open our eyes to find ourselves back in the Garden that
we never truly left."
"Mandalas
are all based on the squaring of a circle. Their basic motif is the premonition
of a centre of personality, a kind of central point within the psyche,
to which everything is related, by which everything is arranged, and which
is itself a source of energy. The energy of the central point is manifested
in the almost irresistible compulsion and urge to become what one is,
just as every organism is driven to assume the form that is characteristic
of its nature, no matter what the circumstances. This centre is not felt
or thought of as the ego but, if one may so express it, as the self. Although
the centre is represented by an innermost point, it is surrounded by a
periphery containing everything that belongs to the self -- the paired
opposites that make up the total personality." C.G. Jung
"Where
attention goes, energy flows. The mind effects every part of the human
anatomy. Use the power of affirmations consciously to ensure that cells
not only survive but thrive. Be discerning about what you ingest as it
must be either assimilated or eliminated by the bodymind. Take some time
for yourself every day. Dawn is the strongest hour for expressing affirmations.
As you wake from the night, place into your consciousness thoughts and
feelings that will shape your day to support your highest evolution."
This
Thy body Love, These Thy hands
These Thy thoughts Love
This Thy dance.
There
is only one Tree, There is only One Garden,
There is only One Man, There is only One Woman,
There is only One Apple, The One you are eating.
There is only One Life, The One you're Living.
There is only You.
