As I study the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth in his own Aramaic language, I begin
to realize how much the early Semitic languages of Aramaic, Hebrew, and Arabic
come from such a different worldview than our current Indo-European languages
and the Western worldview of English. Yet, I am also struck at how similar the
Indo-European language and world view of Sanskrit are to the these ancient
Semitic languages.
It’s as though the understanding of life and reality dramatically changed in the
last 2000 to 3000 years. We have gone from a world of connection with
everything that existed in nature to a current Western world of separation and
alienation from us humans. Even the aboriginal peoples of the earth, who made
up the native peoples of the land, are more similar to early Aramaic than most of
the modern, industrial world of the United States and Europe.
Our modern culture and world view has greatly separated ourselves from our own
bodies and our own breaths. We have lost touch with our own breathing until we
begin to experience it being threatened by pollutants, or illness, or some other
irritant or injury to it.
In Jesus of Nazareth’s time and in the traditional understanding of yoga, breath is
the most important part of life. In Aramaic, breath was given to the physical
human from a Cosmic Breath, called “ruha.” “Ruha” was the powerful creative
force that “hovered over the waters,” in the story of creation.” (Gen. 1:1) God
made order and life out of the chaos of the universe at the beginning of time and
joined that breath to our clay bodies to produce a human, “a living person.” (Gen
2:7)
In the Samkhya Yoga philosophy, the life force of the divine, called “prana,” was
directed by the Source of Life (God) to flow through the human, activating our
physical body and our subtle, energetic body and all of our mental
faculties—cognition, emotions, intuition, memory, discrimination, etc. We
became alive with divine life through our breath. Intellectually, to me, that
sounds very similar to the ancient (900 BCE) Hebrew creation of Genesis 2:7.
Today, most of us are not even aware of our breathing at any given time. In
Jesus’ time their breath was directly connected with the flow of their words.
When Jesus said, “I will” in response to a request to be healed, his Aramaic
words actually meant “I am in the presence of my Higher Breath and it is done.”
The power of connecting with the Breath of Life in himself sent infused energy to
wherever he intended. This is how he did so many miracles.
Today, the practice of effortless, seamless breathing bringing one into the
dynamism of the pranic forces in us can do the same. According to the Vishoka
Meditation teaching, we have that ability even today, but it takes much skillful
practice in order to experience that wisdom and power within.
The joy for me is that like the ancient Aramaic and Sanskrit cultures, we can
again learn and practice the wonderful healing power of the source of life through
conscious breathing. As Christians might say “We can be healed by the Holy
Spirit, the Holy Breath.”
I bow to the divinity within you!
Comments