योग-साधना LifeSkills/जीवन कौशल ☆ Remembering My Gurus On Guru Purnima ☆ Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

Today is Guru Purnima.

Guru is the one who shows you the path and takes you from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge and wisdom. Purnima is full moon.

Today is a special day to remember and revere our Gurus.

I pay my regards to five thinkers and influencers who have been revolutionaries in their fields.

They are my Gurus and have shown me the path to authentic happiness, well-being and fulfilment in life:

MARTIN SELIGMAN is known as the father of the new science of Positive Psychology. He has applied his wisdom and experience to the task of increasing wellness, resilience, and happiness for everyone. No psychologist in history has done more than him to discover the keys to flourishing and then give them away to the world.

 “I have been part of a tectonic upheaval in psychology called positive psychology, a scientific and professional movement. In 1998, as president of the American Psychological Association, I urged psychology to supplement its venerable goal with a new goal: exploring what makes life worth living and building the enabling conditions of a life worth living.”

Flourish, MARTIN SELIGMAN

MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI is the leading researcher into ‘flow states’. He has explored a happy state of mind called flow, the feeling of complete engagement in a creative or playful activity. The manner in which Csikszentmihalyi integrates research on consciousness, personal psychology, and spirituality is illuminating.

 “The wisdom of the mystics, of the Sufi, of the great yogis, or of the Zen masters might have been excellent in their own time – and might still be the best, if we lived in those times and in those cultures. But when transplanted to contemporary California those systems lose quite a bit of their original power.”

Flow, MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

SWAMI SATYANANDA SARASWATI gave us the gift of Yoga Nidra – a simple yet profound technique adapted from the traditional tantric practice of nyasa. Realizing the need of the times as scientific rendition of the ancient system of yoga, he founded the International Yoga Fellowship in 1956 and the Bihar School of Yoga in 1963 and authored over 80 major texts on yoga, tantra and spirituality.

 “Yoga is not an ancient myth buried in oblivion. It is the most valuable inheritance of the present. It is the essential need of today and the culture of tomorrow.”

Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha, SWAMI SATYANANDA SARASWATI

MATTHIEU RICARD is a Buddhist monk who had a promising career in cellular genetics before leaving France to study Buddhism in the Himalayas over forty years ago. He is an active participant in current scientific research on the effects of meditation on the brain. Through his experience as a monk, his close reading of sacred texts and his deep knowledge of the Buddhist masters, he demonstrates the significant benefits that meditation, based on selfless love and compassion, can bring to each one of us.

“Meditation is a process of training and transformation. It is important to devote time to meditation. Especially if you practise in the morning, meditation can give your day an entirely new ‘fragrance’.”

The Art of Meditation, MATTHIEU RICARD

MADAN KATARIA, a medical doctor, founded the first Laughter Club with just five members in Mumbai in the year 1995. Today there are thousands of laughter clubs all over the world where laughter is initiated as an exercise in a group but with eye contact and childlike playfulness, it soon turns into real and contagious laughter. It’s called Laughter Yoga because it combines laughter exercises with yoga breathing. This brings more oxygen to the body and the brain which makes one feel more energetic and healthy.

 “Laughter Yoga is a unique concept where anyone can laugh for no reason without relying on humour, jokes or comedy. The concept is based on a scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between real and fake laughter if done with willingness. One gets the same physiological and psychological benefits.”

Dr Madan Kataria, Founder, Laughter Yoga