The Artistic Yoga Podcast
The Artistic Yoga Podcast
The Mountain Logs Day 10B - Nar Narayan, The Ancient Archetype Of The Student
The Char Dham means “The Four Stations”. Why “The Four Stations” is because it is not just a reference to the four places in Geography. It is also a reference to the four stations of artha, kama, dharma and moksha. The four stations of a well lived life namely acquiring of prosperity or means, fulfillment of desires and passions, living a life of coherence with Nature, Nature out there and one’s own nature, and finally the station of transcendence where you get established in your own sense of being.
On this pilgrimage, the four geographical stations of Gangotrti, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, the pilgrimage seeks to get insight into the truth of these four stations of life through a combination of physical and mental effort, emotional aliveness, openness to the spirit and surrender to Nature.
It’s quite beautiful, profound, intense and transforming. It’s unique as a pilgrimage, as an experience and breathtaking in its conception.
In the following Episodes, Dr. Bharat Thakur takes you along this pilgrimage over 10 days, sharing the daily logs and some insightful blogs that will have you want to experience the Yatra for yourself.
Episodes
- Day 0 .. Rishikesh … A Little About Yatra
- Day 1 .. Breaking The Trance ..
- Day 2 .. Night at Barkot .. A Lovely Day, An Uncertain Night … Initiation Into The Yatra
- Day 2 blog: Legends of Yamunotri
- Day 3 … Trek to Yamunotri .. Night at Barkot .. Living The Mountain Life ..
- Day 4 .. Travel to Uttarkashi .. Prayer .. An Intimate Of Happiness ..
- Day 4 blog: River of life ..
- Day 4 blog: We go to Gangotri next
- Day 5 .. Gangotri Darshan and back to Uttarkashi .. Immersion At The Source
- Day 6 .. Travel to Guptkashi .. The Critical Period ..
- Day 6 blog: Yamunotri to Kedarnath
- Day 7 .. Trek to Kedarnath .. Crossing The Threshold ..
- Day 8 .. Kedarnath Darshan .. The Thawing Of The Glacier .. trek back and travel to Gupt Kashi ..
- Day 8 blog: Kedar .. The Field
- Day 9 .. Travel to Gurudwara .. The Pause ..
- Day 9 Blog: Road to Badrinath
- Day 10 .. Darshan of Badrinath .. Arriving At The horizon ..
- Day 10 Blog: Nar Narayan … The Ancient Archetype Of The Student
Day 10 Blog: Nar Narayan at the Badrinath Dham, the ancient archetype of the student
As we come towards closure of the Char Dham Yatra, many journeys within the journey have been done. That is how a Yatra is.
It is a story of evolution. Yamunotri defined the journey for us like when you enter a forest, there is a point from where the path begins, you get an inkling of the nature of the path, you prepare for it and you also clarify to yourself the goals.
Gangotri is about a deep and long awaited cleansing which marks a release from the effects of an animal past that holds you back from evolving to a higher form, from accessing a greater intelligence after the dip in the celestial river which is a symbol of the uninterrupted stream of wisdom that flows in all. We are now freed up for a serious engagement.
Kedarnath, it is therefore an intense process and yet, it is a very deep healing that makes one completely empty.
Now without any distractions and empty open, we come to the climactic event at the Badrinath dham. Here we experience the whole journey because there is no more struggle. Here the traveler is ready to accept the entire journey as a seed so that in essence, our daily lives can also go along the same path of initiation, cleansing, healing and clarity.
There are two tall peaks at the Badrinath Dham; they are called Nar and Narayan. One is behind the dham and one in front. So we walk into the ground that is between the two. Nar symbolizes man and Narayan symbolizes the Lord or the archetype of the fully actualised man; one who has reached his potential. Through this War Narayan duo, it is also clearly established that both the qualities are in man, the animal and that which has traditionally been termed as divine. So this is the ultimate evolutionary archetype that captures the progression of man to his ultimate flowering.
In the legend of Yamunotri, we saw Yamuna and Yama as the first mortals.
In the Katha of Gangotri, Bhagirath showed what it is to be a human being as apart from an animal.
On the scorching field of Kedar, the evolving human being had to deal with his own power. The use of it and the abuse of it. He had to cleanse and heal himself to evolve. We saw that this evolution is actually a journey of healing because there is a clash internally between the animal tendencies and the qualities of man. We saw the painful aspects of the animal qualities in Bhagirat’s ancestors. But in the five righteous princes in the legend of Kedarnath, we saw man grapple with the pain that unresolved divine qualities bring in creating guilt that unresolved powers bring in creating guilt. When we take ownership of our actions, it brings forth consequences but we can do a job without a sense of attachment. When we use our powers not by abusing them but by using them only as part of a job, we can be free of consequences.
Nar and Narayan are two aspects of our beings that symbolize man and his goal. Man and the teacher both inseparable, who are in a constant state of meditation. They wouldn’t be disturbed for anything and it is this union that is stable. Among the different dimensions of the Union that Yoga is, the union of the student and teacher is shown here to be the teaching. It is the natural relationship between the flower and the fragrance not the give and take between the flower and the bee. We see that both are in the state of their meditation in a state of union and yet, as bodies, they are different but they are in fact one.
We have some beautiful stories that illustrate the relationship between the student and the teacher, the meditator and the goal.
- The Archer Prince And His Master. The power of devotion.
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, the greatest archer was actually not the best. There were many on the opposing side who were better than him but he completely surrendered to his teacher and it was that surrender that proved to be the crucial difference between him and the superior warriors that he vanquished, his surrender made him victorious.
This archer-charioteer duo of the Mahabharata are said to be a manifestation of Nar Narayan and this is an archetype that has remained as an example of what ‘Shraddha’, surrender can achieve.
During the battle, the charioteer never fought, though as the Lord of the Universe, he was all powerful. He instead remained the charioteer. The warrior Prince’s surrender was so complete that the Lord revealed his Universal form to him and taught him Yoga on the battlefield and as charioteer and warrior, they were united. A union that was only possible because of all the noble princes, it was only this one, who had handed the reins of his whole being to his master and it was because of their particular union that the righteous princes won the epic war.
2. The Lord meditating in the Badri Groove. The power of meditation.
The story goes, The Lord who is responsible for the maintenance of the world, the CEO so to speak, who sit right on top of the hierarchy of creatures, he runs the affairs of the world, resting in a state of alertness called Yoga Nidra.
Once, one of the his disciples visited him and in jest said that the lord has been on an extended period of rest; does all his work get done this way. Isn’t there anything he needed to do that would have him step out of his cocoon. This was just a leg pulling by an intimate disciple, which the Lord quiet enjoyed.
But in this instance, the lord responded swiftly. He rushed to the Himalayas to meditate, “it could be a good example if Narayan, the one who heads the show himself meditates” he thought. So he left his wife behind and came here on work. So intense was his meditation that his body had gone cold and was freezing.
His wife came to check on him and on seeing him so exposed, she created a groove of Badri trees to keep him protected from the elements.
In this story we see the mindset of the meditator, who is not meditating for any gain and he is not thinking of a time period, in fact time has no meaning once you breach the limitations of the body as we experience time only through identification with the body.
The Lord is entering meditation without any calculation and we see that once he stops caring for his own well being, complete is his commitment that no matter that he didn’t really need to prove himself to his subjects, yet, he did it and how life takes care of his needs without his asking suggesting that meditation is not an isolated event occurring somewhere in a cave, the solitude of the meditator is even more connected to the entire Universe.
3. An exhausted Lord, sleeps in the middle of a battle he lost. Here we get to see the incredible power of sincere and whole hearted action.
Once the gods beg the Lord to help them defeat a demon who was tormenting them, the Lord who liked to rest on his couch, graciously agreed to take up this challenging task because when all his subjects had failed, it was time for him to enter the field, he could relax only till things rolled along without his intervention.
After a long drawn out battle that lasted many eons, the Lord himself is unable to vanquish the demon, he is extremely exhausted and feels very sleepy.
Near Badrinath dham, he finds a cave goes deep into it, lies down and falls off to a deep sleep. The demon follows him to the cave and on finding him asleep, plans to kill him which was against the rules of combat.
Just then, a powerful female deity emerges from the navel of the Lord and kills the demon, quiet effortlessly.
When the Lord wakes up, he is fully rested and is pleasantly surprised to find the dead body of his foe and this divine looking female form waiting patiently on him.
She bows to him.
He asks her who she is, she says that she is the ‘shakti’, the power of the Lord’s spirit that protected him while he rested and killed the demon.
Here we see that even the Lord who runs the show is also vulnerable, he too is subject to the same laws that he helps maintain but his work ethic is so good and sense of duty is so strong that they are his protection and his weapon, even as he rests, all the efforts that he has put in, manifest as his energy and does the job for him. This symbolizes the experience we often have when we stop trying too hard after having tried hard for long, we succeed. This is what the Yoga Sutra mean when they define asana as “prayatna shaithilya” or “effortless effort”.
4. Meditator as creator
Finally we come to a fascinating story of how the Chief of the deities, he was defeated by a meditator.
The chief of the deities is also the symbol of the commander of the sense organs, he once got perturbed by the uninterrupted meditation of the seers Nar Narayan that they might challenge his reign.
He decided to distract Nar Narayan with some pleasing experiences. This is symbolic of the sensory distractions, habits, likes and dislikes, attacking the meditator when his meditation begins to catch steam.
The lord of the senses sends his most seductive maidens to distract Nar Narayan from their powerful penance but it fails, as the seers are steadfast but they don’t merely rebuff the advances of the maidens. Narayan creates a beautiful maiden himself who springs forth from his thigh, she is called Urvashi. She is way more beautiful and attractive than the celestial nymphs, the sages send Urvashi as a gift to the Lord.
In this katha we can see that the meditators have not lost their life force. It is in fact more virile and forceful in them than even the deities. They have become powerful creators themselves such is the power of meditation and along with this they also seem to have a good sense of humor and the grace to send a gem of a gift. One of their creations, which even the gods lack, such is their creative power and their generative power.
The legends of the Badrinath Dham show us how rich the life of the meditator is how powerful and clean the life of a student is. It is a great note to close the journey on. Let's remember that this is about the planting of seeds, we have a whole life in which to do the real Char Dham.
Lots of Love
Bharat Thakur