Balance:
A necessary virtue of life
By
Kamini
Bobde
Scott McCredie in his book, “Balance: In Search
of the Lost Sense”, declares that “balance” is the sixth sense.
Expostulating on its importance he expresses concern over “an
epidemic of falls” in the USA. His worry is understandable if one were to
go by the figures cited by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention which
says that by 2040, 25 million people will fall in the USA resulting
in 8 million injuries and 25,000 deaths.
Balance may have suddenly become a fashionable
term. But its importance has been recognized way back by yogis in
ancient India and Aristotle in Greece. Aristotle in his
exposition on what is virtue or excellence said that it was the middle path or
balance between two extremes. Will Durant in The Story of Philosophy, expounds
on Aristotle’s “Golden mean” and writes,
“The qualities of character can be arranged in triads, in each of which the
first and last qualities will be extremes and vices, and the middle quality a
virtue or an excellence. So between cowardice and rashness is courage; between
stinginess and extravagance is liberality; between sloth and greed is ambition;
between humility and pride is modesty; between secrecy and loquacity, honesty;
between moroseness and buffoonery, good humour; between quarrelsomeness and
flattery, friendship; between Hamlet's decisiveness and Quixote's impulsiveness
is self-control. "Right " then in ethics or conduct, is not different
from "right" in mathematics or engineering; it means correct, fit,
what works best to the best result.
Hatha Yoga, too lays great emphasis on
balance. It not only reveals the benefits of physical, mental and emotional
balance but also outlines how to detect imbalance, correct it and explains the
physiological aspect of balance. How it can be done through the various
practices of yoga we will see as we progress in this column.
But, before we go into the practices, it is
necessary to understand and internalize the principles of balance in our body,
mind and consciousness. If yoga was merely physical exercise then one could do
it mechanically with our mind elsewhere. Therefore it is required that one
understands the principle and practice of any yogic exercise.
In yogic scriptures, Hatha Yoga is described as
attainment of physical and mental purification. The word Hatha is a union of
two bija mantras, Ham and tha. The syllable ha means the
sun and tha means the moon. Therefore, Hatha yoga is about balance between the
sun and moon aspects of our body. These mantras are significant as
they are correlated with the two important nadis of our body within which
energy flows.
The aim of Hatha yoga is to see that the flow of
energy between the two nadis is in harmony or in a balanced state. Ha is
identified with the right nostril and represents the pingala nadi and is
associated with the solar force. The characteristics of which are dynamism, extrovert,
hyperactive, masculine and is called the physical force.
That is identified with the Ida nadi, that is,
the lunar force. It is passive, introvert, quiet, tranquil, female and artistic
in character.
At any given time of day or night you will find
that one nostril is clearer than the other. Before asana, pranayama, or
meditation it is desirable to have a balance between the two nadis.
In today’s world, external action, enjoyment and
understanding the outside world occupies a greater part of our lives. When one
experience exhaustion from pursuing ambition, wealth and material accumulation
then one turns inward to fill the emptiness of the spirit. Then one
begins to balance outer activities with inner awareness.
But, let me clarify here that yoga does not give
emphasis to inward awareness or internalization importance over the external.
It maintains that extreme of either is unhealthy and right balance is what is
desirable.
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