and yet......
it's something, it's oh quite something,
this practice of ours.
Perhaps it did come about by chance, an accident of time and circumstance....
but oh what a thing it is,
this practice....
.... again, ever again
even as I question it, especially as I question it.
Hot , sweaty, intense,
....full on (sometimes it's captured best in the colloquial).
'all steam ahead'.
Steam-heat-tapas
steam-heat-fire....offering?
Is it an act of devotion, surrender?
Or a statement.
Devotion, surrender.... that's for the rishi's
When the Ashura king, Vrittasura stood on one toe in the snow for years, countless Promethean years, was it out of devotion, a surrendering to the gods or a challenge?
No, not a challenge, a statement then. of
here I am!
"The Asura king was Vrittasura....He decided to approach the Lord. The
procedure to get the vision of the Lord and get a boon granted was to
do Tapas or severe penance. He was adamant and obstinate and was game
for that arduous penance. He would do anything to get what he wanted.
So he went to a lonely spot and did intense Tapas. After a long time,
the Lord appeared before him, praised his Tapasya and asked him what
he wanted". See Ramaswami's telling of the Vajrasana story here
Recognise ME,
don't ignore me,
I wont allow you to ignore me
I'll stand on one toe, here in the Himalayan snows until you see me, acknowledge me as yours too
....and offer me my boon.
Is there something of that, in the sweat and the Ujjayi?
I will sweat and breath until you recognise me as yours
and this is the only boon I'll request
see me,
embrace me,
take me back into you
annihilate me.....
di-solve me.