In a havan, we make an offering of samagri to agni deva, this samagri contains within it exotic ingredients like guggul and also common ingredients like rice and sugar, representing in totality the different aspects of creation.

Just like the havan samagri, our body which is what we identify ourself to be since we are tied to the physical world, holds within it all the aspects of creation and they belong to no specific individual. They keep on changing and exist to aid the forces that run creation. Every moment in the life of a sadhak is a havan, an ahuti made to the devas in his every thought and action – be it the act of eating food, sexual gratification, travel and leisure or even sadhna… even a sadhna has to be sacrificed after a stage. All these aspects are aspects of the physical, that which is temporary and unreal, it does not exist. The moment a sadhak associates himself with a physical aspect and tries to hold on to it, it is called a dilution in yog. On the other hand, if the sadhak makes an offering to devas with every physical aspect, it paves way to evolution.

The devs and the danavs all exist within a being. The aspect that one relates to or is able to access is indicative of his state of evolution or desire. Gayatri, the ultimate force of creation, too resides in this body and can be accessed by an individual. There are two aspects of Gayatri sadhna – Gayatri, which is internal (antarang) and Savitri, which is external (bahrang). Together, they represent completeness (poornata). The sadhna of Gayatri is the ultimate sadhna, it is done to achieve poornata or completeness. However to access this aspect, one also has to have the matching desire. A mismatch between desire and what one tries to access, results in a mess – within and outside. A gayatri sadhak stands the greatest risk to lose his/her path (become pathbhrasht) because the sadhna calls for purities of the highest order. It requires the sadhak to be centered on his sadhna every moment. The slightest waver of focus or even a momentary thought/desire for something else is enough to make one spiral down.

These sadhnas are not a joke, all the shaktis exist and can be accessed through this body under the sanidhya of Guru. The reason why people falter is because they do not have a Guru. A guru is the one who gives you the experiences of the spiritual world. As one walks the path shown by his Guru, he intercepts many a flowers that are planted on the sides of the track. A shishya is one who keeps walking the path keeping his eyes fixed on the Guru. If he pauses even momentarily to pluck a flower or even admire its beauty, it is considered Guru-droh, a dilution. No matter how beautiful the flower is, how high its attraction is, it is still physical (sthool), unreal. Then the person will surely get the flower but in the process he will lose the path of Guru and Guru-droh or moving against your guru is considered a greater paap than brahm hatya.

A clear indication of whether you are moving deeper into the science or into dilutions is your experience. The level of sadhna and your experiences go hand-in-hand. If your experiences are growing and your interactions with the energy-world are increasing, then no matter what you are doing in the physical, it means you are on the path.

- The Writer Yogi Ashwini Ji is the head of Dhyan Foundation, Delhi.
For details contact: ashwiniyogi@yahoo.co.in.