Amaranath embraces yoga

"One standard work written on the subject of Yoga, over a thousand years ago states: 'It is for children, adults and the aged, for the well and the ill, for the poor and the rich."

There is one condition however - the individual has to do the work himself. Life, after all, rests only in the individual." - Ernest Wood

Film-maker and film-writer director Amaranath Jayatilaka, is a man of many parts. He is not only multi-faceted, he is full of surprises as well. At the recent Sarasaviya Film Awards Festival, he was presented the Ranapala Bodinagoda Award for enriching film literature. And, what will surprise many, is the news that he has authored a pioneering work on Yoga.

Currently, a keen interest in Yoga - bordering upon a fervour - sweeps, in an enormous wave, right across the face of the earth. A multitude of global TV channels presents regular programmes on Yoga, in some of which, those who demonstrate the intricacies of yogasanas are alluring young women.

Classes, courses of instruction and various training arrangements that profess to take people through ramifications of Yogic systems, have become entrenched in most parts of the world, as integral elements in modern culture.

Author Amaranath Jayatilaka, has been a kind of Paul Revere, in raising the alarm against practices that destroy men and women - body and soul. It was about half-a-century ago, that he initiated his effort, to keep Sri Lankan readers informed about the urgent need to heed the perennial wisdom of ancient Yoga Rishis.

Yoga Rishis

Of late, Sri Lanka's interest in the practice of Yoga systems has begun to burgeon, with the proliferation of Yoga schools and teachers of Yoga. Some of these are extensively patronized, especially by the privileged and the affluent. But, author Amaranath Jayatilaka, derived his awareness of the efficacy of Yoga, from the very fons et origo of the Yoga System - India. For ages Hindu India, has lived Yoga. From their birth on, many an Indian receives yogic inspiration, from their store of legends and epics and the celebrated spiritual heroism of Yogis. Amaranath Jayatilaka, has always had a marked affinity for the cultural traditions of India. Given this context, it is nothing but natural that he should have deeply imbibed Yogic Lore.

For most Indians, the revered Yoga discourses of Patanjali, recorded about 300 BC, in his well-known Yoga Suthas, is a form of spiritual vade mecum. Amaranath Jayatilaka, in his cultural sojourns of India, especially in relation to cinematic events, would undoubtedly have been touched by the ways of Yoga that influenced the lives Indians, profoundly. His, book titled 'Yoga', is of 112 pages. The text is divided into 24 segments of authoritative pronouncements relating to the essential issues associated with Yoga. The book starts with an earnest plea to people, to prioritize good health in their lives. He drives this home by quoting Maharishi Charaka, who avers that above all human achievements and glorious good health rises as the pre-dominant asset that ensures life's success. He continues this central theme, stressing the essential requirement to cultivate the well-being both of the body and the mind.

The emphasis on physical and mental well-being is decreed by the fact, that material affluence alone does not guarantee future success.

A highly pragmatic segment in this book in the area in which he sets down guide-lines for some of the activities we indulge in as elements of our daily routine of living. He indicates the proper attitude we should adopt towards such natural habits as eating and sleeping.

Amaranath Jayatilaka

He devotes a whole segment to extol the virtues of sunlight.

Here he unravels the "mystique" of the solar cult, dating from vedic times. His effort at making the people appreciate the eternal force of the universal power-house. The Sun - is quite impressive. In the Yoga system, Breath Control (Pranayama) occupies a central role. According to Yoga treatises, a human being inhales and exhales 21,600 times day and night. This explains the emphasis placed on breath-control in the Yogic System.

Author Amaranath Jayatilaka approaches the segment on the popular Yogic postures, in the end-segment of his book. He describes twenty of those, with appropriate illustrations.

We esteem this work as a praiseworthy attempt at guiding people towards a wholesome way of life, achieving supreme physical and mental health. Awakening the latent body power and mind power Yoga system fulfils life, endowing upon people gifts of exceptional intelectual prowess and supreme physical well-being.

Author Amaranath Jayatilaka opens a new window on the possibilities of Yoga, to the readers of Sri Lanka, who may not be that familiar with the ways of Yoga.

I am quite certain, that this is only a beginning and that the Author will follow this up with an equally impressive series. "Bhagavad Gita", one of the holiest treatises of the Hindus, sets down different kinds or methods of Yoga namely

The author will return to his Yoga theme, I am sure, in sequels as well.

The author believes, in the miraculous efficacy of Yoga. He quotes an episode, that is utterly compelling. He refers to the instance of Swami Dhirendra Saraswathy's walk bare-foot in sab-zero temperature in Moscom.

He was clad only in a thin Muslin shirt. Others who had secured themselves strongly against the indement inclement weather was aghast at the sight of this, almost unclad Yogi braving the continental freeze. He did not need help. His yogic training was sufficient.

"Shanti, Shanti, Shanti," was his blessed formula.