I love a great story and in yoga each pose comes with its own story and life lesson, over the next few months I will give be giving you the story of some of my favourite poses with the help of the book Myths of the Asanas by Alanna Kaivalya and Arjuna van der Kooij an excellent and insightful read and present for anyone interested in learning more.
Five brothers were banished from their kingdom and exiled to the forest for twelve years. One day they were thirsty and went to search for water. They spotted a lake, and one after another went to fetch water. Each time a brother went to the lake a loud voice boomed “If you drink from the lake, you will die”
The brothers were so thirsty, they could not resist the water. One after another they died. The last brother to arrive at the lake was the eldest. When he saw his brother’s dead he was very sad with grief.
Suddenly the booming voice sounded again and the brother saw it was Bakasana. Bakasana said “I am the one who killed your brothers. If you touch the water you shall also die. But if you can answer my questions correctly, I shall bring your brothers back to life”.
Question 1 “What is the news of the world?”
The brother replied “All living beings have forgotten their inner divine nature and find themselves in ignorance”
Question 2 “What is the greatest wonder?”
The brother replied “Although we see around us death. We think that somehow we will escape death”
Question 3 “What is the true path?”
The brother replied “The truth lies hidden in the caves of their hearts, and they will share their knowledge and grace with anyone who cares to receive it.
The last question was “who is happy in this world?”
The brother answered “The person who has cleared all debts by resolving all of his her karma is truly happy.
Bakasana was very pleased with the brother’s answers and revived all his brothers.
The eldest brother did not lose his balance when confronted with the demise of his brothers and the challenge of answering the questions. We, too are invited to keep our balance and strength while focusing in crow.