Upvasa
‘UPVASA is the act of immersion into one’s higher self, worship its divinity and to awaken pure virtues therein….’
Spirituality provides for various practices to purify our body and bring calmness to mind, both of which are so essential for spiritual upliftment. One of the fundamental practices integrate Anshan, Vrata and Upvasa for progressing on the inward journey.
In our embodied form, our Mind is attached to our body and senses, and subject to various worldly temptations. Our animal instincts take control over our behaviour and we tend to ignore our inner wisdom and discipline. In order to awaken our spiritual potentials, we need to align ourself to our inner self thru the practice of Vrata, Anshan and Upvasa.
Vrata is a self-commitment to abstain to do certain acts or make vows for spiritual practice. It is basically sacrificing our animal instincts and attachments thru mental discipline. Vrata is a binding force, binding the external mind to the soul and the soul to the Divine. Taking a vow is a sacred trust between your outer self and your inner self.
Anshan is the renunciation of dependence on food & drinks. It is not a mere renunciation of our nourishment but an awakening of our inner potentials to survive on subtle energy nutrients in the universe that we have forgotten to use. During Anshana, one can calmly focus on observances like forgiveness, truthfulness, charity, compassion, purity, control over sense organs, contentment and non-stealing. During the renunciation of food, one must avoid greed, anger, idleness, worldly distractions and preserve ones pranic energy.
Upvasa has a spiritual connotation. The purpose of Upvasa is to travel inwards and awaken our pure virtues of knowing and understanding. These are part of our innate intelligence which are polluted by our impure thoughts and actions. It’s detoxification is the subtle intention of performing Upvasa. During Upvasa, the person, observes chastity, solitude, silence, and do self-introspection. The practitioners choose to control on all the sensual attractions, withdraw from regular activities and connect to their divine self.
The ultimate mission is to attain Moksha. Upvasa is the process to attain chittashuddhi, a state where the mind hankers after nothing, and our soul is focused inwards towards its very own essence. That is the true meaning of Upvasa….
