Communication and wisdom

 I like that the goddess for communication has this story behind her. Also, the Vishuddhi chakra -- the chakra of self-expression -- straddles the others that are divine and human ... and seems we need to clear it up before moving upwards,to the spiritual stratosphere of the intellectual chakra/ ajna of spiritual intuition. Often, in a cloud of ego we say or project stuff that hurt others. I am as guilty of this stupidity and often suffer from a foot-in-the-mouth outbreak which simply overwhelms. Luckily I can laugh it off. But what if the other party does not laugh, as often happens!:)



It is intriguing that the wisdom goddess Uccishtha-Matangi is placed at the throat. She is said to be a version of Parvati which sanctifies what is otherwise considered polluted. Another story has it that she was created from the left-overs of a meal enjoyed by Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu and Lakshmi. This beautiful maiden born from scraps acts as a low-caste woman who also asks to partake of the left-overs from the divine meal. Granting her wish, Shiva says that her worshippers will divinize themselves with her support and gain control over enemies within. In yoga, spoken words and thoughts are considered part of vrittis, waves. These ebb and flow relentlessly, creating a storm that keeps us away from experiencing divinity. Gaining control over speech and thoughts is thus considered a critical step in the ladder of spiritual evolution. Doing poses like sarvangasana therefore helps us control over the unclean parts of ourselves which, if not modulated and managed properly (like the rampant hormones) can greatly mar our individual growth.