By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

You came from God. Before you were born, you inhabited a subtle realm suffused with Divine Essence. In that space between lifetimes, you merged into Beingness as much as you were able and stayed for as long as possible.

Your desires and karmas propelled you out, like a propeller on a boat pushes it forward. The spin of that Divine energy began the process of you coalescing into form again.

Chitireva chetana-padad-avaru.dha chetya sa.mkocini chittam.

— Pratyabhij~nah.rdayam 5

Within Herself, Consciousness descends from the plane of pure Consciousness to become individualized, contracting in conformity with the objects perceived.

Consciousness contracts to become you. Also known as Shiva, Consciousness manifests the universe and everyone in it by contracting – energy becomes mass, even the mass of your own body. Consciousness loops in on herself, swirling energy taking on density in multiple dimensions simultaneously. Yoga’s ancient sages mapped out the tattvas, the stages and levels of this process.

Cosmic energy coalesces itself into substance beginning with empty space, then progressively denser elements: air, fire, water and earth. We love nature scenes that include all of these primal elements, like the moon shining on the beach. The sand is earth, with ocean waves made of water. The moon reflects the fire of the sun. The breeze is moving air and between the stars you see space.

Your own body is made of these same elements. On a physical level, your bones are earth, made of minerals. Your blood and other bodily fluids are water, with your digestive fluids being fire. Air is constantly moving through your lungs, with oxygen molecules carried to every cell by your blood. Every internal organ is hollow, which is the empty space. Even your skull is 40% empty space, the hollows of your mouth and sinuses. Your body is made of the primal elements, manifesting in the wonderful complexity of a human body…