Sudarshan Kriya – A complete body-mind purification exercise

Man is a highly creative being. He continuously likes to create and explore something or the other, all the time. We are reaching the farthest corner of the moon and the planets and have dug into the deepest trenches in the oceans. But still we, as human beings, are never satisfied. Our hunger for more and more of something is practically insatiable. ‘Dil Maange More’ is our maxim! We live up to it, always, 24 hours a day. This human tendency has its own benefits. But at the same time, it comes with a price tag. We all have become a bundle of explosive nerves, ready to blast any time. ‘Stress’, which is actually a dreaded disease, has actually become a way of life of the 21st century society.

We, all the time, take a lot of care to appear clean and healthy. We bathe everyday, sometimes twice a day. We brush our teeth, rinse our mouth, and wash our hands. We apply perfumes and cosmetics to look as much spic and span as we can. (Women are masters of this art!!). Everything that be done to cleanse ourselves is done. But we forget that we are not only our bodies. We also have an inner world, our inner body and most importantly, our mind. Outer Body has been cleaned. Alright. But what about the internal body? What about our minds? There has to be so much dirt there too! Who is going to clean it? After all, they also belong to us!

As we move about into this world, the first thing that attacks us is the pollution. Air, water, soil and even the food that we eat, are all polluted. Constant contact with polluted elements creates a lot of toxins in our bodies, which constantly get accumulated inside us. Not only these, but even our thoughts and emotions have become polluted! Our minds get continuously stimulated with thoughts of anger, greed, fear, jealousies, hurry, comparison, pride, excitement etc. A constant war is happening inside us. On top of it, we try to suppress most of these as if nothing as such exists. All this creates tremendous stress and strain on our body and mind. The result is …. The society we are seeing around us today. Mediocre, tired, lifeless, confused and trying to seek relief through stupid sources of entertainment……

With this perspective in mind, I was on a look out for a technique which could help us to undergo a complete body/mind cleansing and detoxification process. I had begun to realize that our body has not only to be cleaned from outside but also from the inside. At the same time, cleansing also needs to be undertaken in the mental dimension. I wanted an easy technique without any technical hotchpotch and hi-fi practices. I wanted it to be ‘feasible’ considering the time constraints of active modern day people so that I could myself practice it and recommend it to my near and dear ones.

Luckily, while surfing through the web, I came across a webpage which described a technique called the ‘Sudarshan Kriya’. I went through the brief description and just had a feeling that perhaps this could be the technique I was looking for. Later on, I came to know that this technique was developed by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and is now been taught through the ‘Art of Living’ Classes. Without any delay, I signed up for the course.

The word ‘Sudarshan’ comprises of the two words ‘Su’ and ‘Darshan’, meaning which looks very pleasing and beautiful for the eyes. This technique is a beautiful harmonization of our breath. We typically use only 30% of our lung capacity. The practice of Sudarshan Kriya enhances this lung capacity and flushes our body-mind system with oxygen. Almost 90% of the impurities which we hold inside us are eliminated through our breaths.

Why do negative thoughts come into our minds? It happens because there are lots of stresses inside. Sudarshan Kriya also includes techniques which de-stresses our minds and make us feel light and cheerful all the time. In the words of Sri Sri Ravishankar, Sudarshan means the right vision of who ‘I’ am. And ‘Kriya’ mean purifying action. This technique runs for one hour time. Within the very first time that we are doing this technique, we can see how the energy, the mind and the oxygen penetrates deep into every cell of our body and deeply cleanses it. We get cleaned, energized and more oxidized.

Its been only two months that I am practicing this technique. But, it is showing its results. My digestive system has improved tremendously and. I have stopped craving for foods that are not healthy for me. My appetite has improved. I feel this technique to be beautiful way to start your day. You begin to feel light, fresh and energetic for the whole day. The quality of concentration improves exponentially. We stop reacting to petty things which previously used to suck away our valuable energy. All this also reflects positively on your work, profession and relationships. Overall, the physical, psychological and the social benefits are quite evident.

I take this opportunity to thank Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji (lovingly called ‘guruji’) for creating such a wonderful technique which, I feel, can go a long way to create a stress-free and harmonious society.