Monday, October 21, 2019
About Ecstasy
About Ecstasy
I just watched a video on one of Nithyananda's public presentations and realized with a shock that "ecstasy" apparently has a different meaning for him and his followers than It does for me. I think of ecstasy as a sweet feeling within, and even when it is intense, it does not require extreme jerking and writhing about in a state quite devoid of rational control (although sometimes in the early stages of Kundalini, the aspirant may indeed experience some involuntary spasming of the body). In the film I saw folks who had seemingly lost all control, and were bouncing and bending and jumping about wildly and even rolling on the floor. For me, this behavior is not the goal of yoga, nor the intended result of spiritual practice.
No, this is not the behavior I associate with "ecstasy." When I speak of ecstasy, it is reminiscent of the rapture of St. Teresa of Avila or the mystical state of St. John of the Cross. It does not require any movement whatever, though the inner guide may direct a certain gentle bodily response. Such movement may be so subtle that an observe could not even detect it. Yet the feeling may be one of utter delight, as if one were suddenly given access to a level of experience that lies hidden within for most of us most of the time. It can be triggered in countless ways, from music or poetry or nature or perfume or whatever speaks to the practitioner. And this state is, for me, the ecstasy that is the goal of yoga and union with the unseen lover who resides inside us all.
I just watched a video on one of Nithyananda's public presentations and realized with a shock that "ecstasy" apparently has a different meaning for him and his followers than It does for me. I think of ecstasy as a sweet feeling within, and even when it is intense, it does not require extreme jerking and writhing about in a state quite devoid of rational control (although sometimes in the early stages of Kundalini, the aspirant may indeed experience some involuntary spasming of the body). In the film I saw folks who had seemingly lost all control, and were bouncing and bending and jumping about wildly and even rolling on the floor. For me, this behavior is not the goal of yoga, nor the intended result of spiritual practice.
No, this is not the behavior I associate with "ecstasy." When I speak of ecstasy, it is reminiscent of the rapture of St. Teresa of Avila or the mystical state of St. John of the Cross. It does not require any movement whatever, though the inner guide may direct a certain gentle bodily response. Such movement may be so subtle that an observe could not even detect it. Yet the feeling may be one of utter delight, as if one were suddenly given access to a level of experience that lies hidden within for most of us most of the time. It can be triggered in countless ways, from music or poetry or nature or perfume or whatever speaks to the practitioner. And this state is, for me, the ecstasy that is the goal of yoga and union with the unseen lover who resides inside us all.
