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Questions answered by Andre

 

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1- Eveline: is it possible to teach Nidra to pregnant women ? If yes, only sithilikarana or also dharana ?

 

In a woman life, pregnancy is probably the most intense period where the mystery of life shows up. It's a time where she feels Life is growing. LIFE ! not a child, not a boy or a girl, but Life itself  is growing. And this is a very deep mystery, because life has no reason, not any intellectual reason. Later on, today, doctors tell the parents that the child is a boy or a girl and shows them echography... From that moment, the mystery starts having an image, a projection, and ideas in the mother'mind develop...
But in that state where there is only the mystery, it is probably the strongest and easiest moment for perceiving the sacredness of life. And nidrâ is a perfect practice for deepening this perception of sacredness.

 

Now, if we talk about the practice itself, both sithilikarana and dharana are OK.
The most important thing for the nidra teacher is to remember that he/she is also teaching to the baby in the mother's womb. Nidrâ is transmitted to the child also. This is a very important part to keep in mind. You are teaching to a little child in the mother's womb.
At that period, the sensitivity and the openness of the child are extremely wide. The mother is often not so sensitive, but more emotive.
The meditative state is the real guide, and the little child is very often into this meditative state.
The role of the nidrâ teacher is then to listen very attentively to this meditative state and guide the mother into the same state, so that the 3 of them are into a deep togetherness. This togetherness is the doorway for stepping into infinity.

 

2- annatunbra: I understood you said that inner practice is not useful before outer practice?

 

Doesn’t inner practice makes outer practice « easier »?

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What was meant by outer practice is to develop a discipline. And to understand that through this kind of discipline, the main point is not to be succesfull. The main point is to discover the state of discipleship. Which means this state that listens, that questions also, but most of all listens. A state of very high sensitivity and perception. When sensitivity and perceptions increase, then the inner practices bring extraordinary changes. Because the perception is wide.
We rarely realise how strong and powerful yoga practices are. They are coming from a source that is highly sacred. Inner practice cannot give all its treasure if the practitionner doesn't go up to the origin, to the source of yoga. Yoga as a state. Not as an exercice.
When sensitivity is much less reduced by psychological troubles, its freshness can, might, perceive the source of yoga. Reducing psychological troubles requires 2 things. One is to lead a neat and clean daily life. This is only possible through discipline. The 2nd is precisely the inner practice that should clean the content of the mind conditionnings from the past.

So yes, in one way, both inner and outer practices support each other. Still when you start a spiritual path, you have to start from what you know of your ordinary daily life, and we all know what needs to be changed, even little things, little habits, some behaviors or reactive patterns. Whatever can be cleansed is always a huge victory, because  each of us has an extraordinary ability to know clearly and to discover our true nature.

It is also true that in reality outer and inner do not exist. They are the sides of the same unity.
Unless this is authentically felt, perceived and lived, it's a theoretical point of view. We should be careful not to blur ourself, and distinguish what we intellectually understand from what we actually live. The path leading from the first to the second is yoga as a practicve, which includes outer and inner trainings.

We could say there are 3 phases:
- Duality where outer and inner are felt completely different, conflictual. This is called mundane existence, samsara.
- Communication between inner and outer, where each one supports the other. This is called the practice of yoga, sadhana.
- Unity where the separation or difference between outer and inner has vanished. This is called the state of Yoga, samadhi

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What is the purpose of Chidakasha? To clean the mind or to experience unity at that moment or ... ?

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The word chidakasha (from chit, spirit and akasha, sky) defines the whole activities of consciousness, gross and subtle ones. It is sometimes called " The Sky of Consciousness" where everything vanishes including the intellect, the ego, the mind...
Vashista, in his commentaries explained as a pure consciousness where duality completely ceases to exist.
Chidakasha also means a place into the prana maya kosha, the energetical "body" situated behind the forehead where an insight of the relationship in between personal and impersonal mind can be lived. It's a space nidrâ yoga works in the highest level of the practice.
This word Chidakasha is just a word. It has no purpose.

Now, some schools of yoga have invented the term " Chidakasha Dharana" for an exercice consisting of concentration behind the forehead. Another school has developped practices having the same appelation where you built an image in a systematice way, often a square room, building the different walls and a well... And then you deconstruct it again systematically.
The name of this exercice is only coming from this school
But in sanskrit, the word chidakash doesn't have any purpose. It just describes either a state of consciousness or a place in the subtle body

 

Actually recently I feel pages in mind one by one many. Also those things I think I forgot actually not. is it normal ?
Ps: I have daily practice. also attended your nidra class in year 2007 in Shanghai@TC. was life changing, I cried in your class.

I'm not sure to understand everything you wrote, but will try to answer from what I understand.
Yes, we have many and many pages in our mind, thousands and thousands. Scientists say that we have around 40 000 thoughts (pages ?) per day. Among all these, we forget 99 %. So YES it is absolutely normal not remembering. In fact forgetting is a blessing. Because if we had to remember everything that passes through our mind, there will be no time left for living our life !!!
I congratulate you for having a daily practice. This is absolutely wonderful and I deeply thank you for this.
YES, it happened to some students to see their life deeply changed after a nidrâ seminar, and I feel very gratefull to know this. Thank you for telling me. Crying is a very deep purification in nidrâ yoga and tears are called " God messengers". it's most probably because you cried a lot that changes could occur in your life.
I will be again in Shanghai in April invited by TC, and you have some free time, I would be happy to meet you during my stay.

 

How do you think life could become more enjoyable these days ? Through what endeavours ?

The moment we create an idea that there must be something "more", there is almost no chance at all to feel joy !
Joy only comes when there is no desire for more this or that. Joy is the outcome of ending any wanting to become... It doesn't come out of effort, but through surrendering only.
We should be carefull of not looking for any kind of pleasures depending on something or somebody. Bercaise things, situations, people do change all the time, and if our pleasure depends on something that is unstable, then we will loose it. And we will experience sadness because of loosing it.
The nidrâ astate is a state that does not depend on anyone. ikt is the discvovery of an inner quality of ours that is totally free from anything. This discovery, when it is fully lived with awareness is the only state I know where joy expresses itself like a sudden spring. Drinking at that spring facilitates perceiving this joy more often. Forgetting it brings sensation of isolation and sadness.