“Brahma Muhurta” … Importance in Daily Life cycle of Aspirants
“Brahma Muhurta” has special significance as described in Indian mythology and also as practiced across each religion in India and Asian part of the world. As per scriptures in Indian tradition and in mythology, a day is divided into 30 slots of 48 minutes each, making it 24 hours of a day. Two slots prior to sunrise time of day is attributed to best part of day with Nature spreading positive energy which are supporting all religious practices and also creativity amongst artists, poets and authors.
This practice has been evident in all places of worship, ashrams and several homes alike for past many years making it the first ritual performed in early hours of the day prior to sunrise .. it is believed that Nature gets prepared to receive positive energy of the sun which is eternally present following a day cycle of continuous movement with no rest period. In our younger days, our elders used to inculcate these values to be practiced to develop habits for good mind body balance. Behaviour of animals is calmer in early mornings as observed by me during morning walks.
“Early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy, wealthy and wise” is a very common phrase adopted from European world and it also supports the eastern thought – making this a universally acknowledged concept / practice.
Ironically, this practice is getting diminished in younger generation due to change in lifestyles having late working hours and sleeping late which invariably leads to waking up late in the morning and thus not able to take advantage of early morning delight and positive energy. Becoming a slave of technological apps is an issue which needs be addressed on priority through counselling sessions, emphasising need-based use of these apps.
Active connect with places of spiritual awakening is a good option and emphasis of Psychic education in schools could be a good step which shall require collective efforts by parents and teachers. The Mother used to get up early in the morning and the assembly of Ashram inmates early morning at 6 AM every day was an essential part of the day and each one had to be present in these sessions of Meditations and Physical exercise. This is true for spiritual leaders and saints and needs to be cascaded by making use of social media and also virtual means with mix of onsite and offsite programs for school children and also college going students.
- Pranav Srivastava (India)
Thank you. We strive to do this in our school. Many participate willingly. We have had some medical opposition from paediatric doctors on how children need to sleep in!!
ReplyDeleteOur age old, time tested wisdom is now being put down by medical ‘experts’
I had a meditation teacher from India from 1974 to 1984. We established 5-6 AM as our standard meditation period, which was considered a sufficiently limited time after Brahma Muhurta to use as our morning meditation.
ReplyDeleteRemember one of the translations of Brahma Muhurta is "the Hour of God" (yes, also the title of an essay by Sri Aurobindo).
I remember a well dressed student from India, quite modernized, heard about this and said to my teacher, "What!? You want me to get up at that "unGodly" hour??"
How far he had come from the wisdom of his ancestors:>))
On the issue of sleep, it's quite interesting. Over 1 billion people on the planet now complain of poor sleep. Jan (my wife) and i are starting our first test run of our "effortless sleep" course ("Wake Up to the Best Sleep Ever") on May 1.
While we've presented it in the form of what are considered the best, most scientific practices available, we are 'covertly" putting in as many yogic practices as possible.
What have they discovered? It is quite interesting from a spiritual/yogic perspective. The initial practices in the 1990s were all simple behavioral ones designed to shift the physiology (central and autonomic nervous system, along with various hormones and neurotransmitters) associated with sleep.
Around 2010, it was discovered people (around the world, not just in the US) did fairly well with this, but often "tried" too hard and ended up sabotaging themselves. So they 'discovered" that mindfulness was an enormous help in calmly accepting aspects of insomnia, worry, etc.
However, the way mindfulness is taught is often in a very modern, technocratic way, which makes it merely a means to an end rather than a sacred activity. Fortunately, a newer form of effortless mindfulness has been developed that, while secular in presentation, lends itself to the evocation of wonder and joy (qualities of the psychic being).
Furthermore, in just the past 5 years, the idea that yoga and meditation are useless in themselves to help with sleep is being refuted. It turns out that yoga nidra (yogic sleep) - when taught properly - can by itself lessen and sometimes even cure insomnia.
To honor the Hour of God - not only literally in the early morning hours, but to recognize every eternal moment as the "Hour" of God - may be the best way to sleep, the best way to eat, and ultimately, the best way to live!!
Brahma Muhurta is the time that helps open one's being to higher experience and knowledge of God. Though every moment is suitable for that if a person has sincere aspirations to obey the Divine Will. But it is not always so for all because we lack in aspirations.
ReplyDeleteWhen we meditate upon the Divine, the morning and evening hours when night meets day and day meets night, they usually help to concentrate and focus mind upon the Divine and rise to higher consciousness.