There are three main disciplines in it; “divyachar” for practitioners of satva-guna, “virachar” for practitioners of rajo-guna and “pashvachar” for practitioners of tamo-guna. The activities of unqualified practitioners of “Virachar” and specially “pashvachar” have badly damaged the image of tantra and have earned bad name for it.
Besides the tantric scriptures it has also been described in the Vedic Upanishads as the “science of Brahma” and there are several methods prescribed for its awakening. All the sciences described as “vidya sambhuti” in Ishavasya Upanishad, as “hemvati” in Ken, as “Aditi” in Katha, as “prana-vidya, para-vidya” in Prashna, as “OM-kara” in Mandukya, as “yoga-vidya” in Aitreya, as “bhargavi varuni” in Taittariya, as “udgeeth, prana, antaraditya, gayatri, shandilya, antaryami, dahar, madhu, samvarga, panchagni, vaishvanar sciences” in Chandogya and Brahadaranyaka, as “devatma shakti, savita” in Shvetashvatara and as “balaki vidya” in Kaushitaki Upanishad are different social and customary names and forms of the same divine energy.
There was a picture of Param Pujya Vishnutirthji Maharaj. One of my favorite holy Guru He still is very active in bestowing diksha / awakening. Although his body is not there his love and surrender to the divine is very active and very eagerly helps ALL those who are on the divine path
Swar : means flow of breath through the nostril. Odaya means arise. Swarodaya is the knowledge of the breath.
This knowledge of the breath is absolutely necessary for everyone – whether one is walking on the path of Yoga or not. If you are a Yogi, you must have a detailed knowledge of the breath.
I will share some basics here but a more detailed account is related in Mukta shastra and I would direct anyone who is interested in it to that book.
Why is Swarodaya so important? This is because our breath is constantly telling us things and hints different events about to unfold in our life. It tells about death, it tells us when we are about to have a horrendous day and it tells us when we will fall sick. All this is an interplay of Surya nadi (breath through the right nostril), Chandra nadi (breath through the left nostril), Sushumna (breath through both nostrils equally), Amrita yoga and Visha yoga. ALL astrology for the immediate future is from this science.
Just remember, if you have Sushumna nadi. “breath through both nostrils simultaneously” STOP all activity. There will be NO SUCCESS and can easily lead to death. I repeat STOP all activity and DO NOT start any activity on that day if that is the nadi that is there when you wake up. EVERYONE should wake up and the first thing to do is check your nadi, (left nostril, right nostril or both). If it is in both nostrils, DO NOT get up from the bed till you change the nostrils. In general, activites done when there is flow of breath through the left nostril is good for most purposes in wordly matters. Gurudev, Yogananda, Vivekananda and all great saints had a detail knowledge about this.
A few more things on the subject
1) The breath comes out of the body with varying degree of force. The more the force it comes out with, the less spirituality. A true Yogi, knows how to decrease the force or flow outside. This force with which the breath comes out is measured in finger breaths. While sitting this flow is 12 finger breaths and while having sex it can be as high as 64 finger breaths.
2) When the chandra nadi is in force, the basic elements that are active are Earth or Prithvi and Water or Jala. These forces are helpful. REMEMBER, these basic elements were created before the creation of the universe. YOU CANNOT see them till you are close to perfection and having ALL the wonderful powers of a Yogi (see previous blog where Yukteshwar was able to double his weight by a thought)
3) The durations of the different elements (tattvas) are as follows : Akasha or ether is 4 min, Vayu or Wind is 8 min, Agni or fire is 12 min. Any activity done in those elements are detrimental. One has Surya nadi or flow through the right nostril at that time. The duration for Water or Jala is 16 min and Earth or Prithvi is 20 min. This adds up to an hour and these numbers are applicable for a Yogi. When one has Jala or Prithvi tattva, flow is through the left nostril.
4) Gurudev taught me a trick which some Yogis used to identify the Tattva. Again, this method is to be used by those who cannot see the tattvas (and that includes 99.99999% of the population). The yogi, after getting the blessings of his Guru, carries in his pocket 5 different marbles of different colors. Black, green, red, white and yellow corresponding to the five elements – Akasha, Vayu, Agni, jala and Prithvi. They pick a marble from their pocket randomly and depending on the color proceed with the task or abandon it, knowing the results will not be auspicious.
5) A yogi when he or she is established in himself, automatically slows the force of the exhalation. There is a very detailed description of this in Mukta shastra. This is a must read for anyone who wants to be sure of his or her progress. If you try to slow the force of exhalation that DOES NOT WORK. The slowing of the exhalation should be automatic because, the yogi has his attention (the great Dictator as Yogananda called it in The science of religion) within.
6) When sitting in meditation, slowing the breath from 12 to 11, makes one feel hot within. In this situation one has the prana in Muladhar. Slowing it to 9, the prana is at Manipur and at 7 finger breath the prana is at Anahata. Gurudev, always had his breath at this level. This gives one the feeling of Videhi or without a body and one is established in pure consciousness. This is the breath at which Kriya Yoga starts spontaneously. At 5 finger breath, Samadhi begins to emerge and the prana is at the Vishuddha chakra.
Some of the older yoga books talk about abstinence in both thought and action. Without the abstinence, any progress in Yoga is difficult Often the word virya – ( sperm ) is used Some other books describe a method called vajroli where they talk about pulling up sperm back into spinal cord , converting it into light and reaching perfection Of course there is little merit in some of the ridiculous methods as described above So did the gurus lie? Mislead us ? Were they stupid? Or are we stupid and just did not grasp the abcd of spirituality? Personally I believe we are in general stupid. What they said and what we understood has a vast chasm. In my previous blogs I have talked about the story of Vasistha and durwasa. Similarly told stories exist about Krishna as told by yogananda These stories talk about a different method of chastity Finally in saundarya Lahiri by Vishnu tirthji there is a more clear explanation and reconciliation between the two opposite view points. Another book has explained it more perfectly in another dimension But reading this and understanding this is of little benefit unless you have a Guru who can open these yoga gateways
We meditate. We do kriya yoga. We go to mediation camps. Retreats.
Some do mantra. Some do asana. Others chant the name of God. Others dance to the name of God. Others go to places of pilgrimage.
They are all Good
But what is the fastest way? The other ways have a certain charm – an inner appeal – we like it. And Enjoy it
All our activities should be directed to reach God. Pure consciousness. However our past karma and sanskar ( impressions) prevents us from reaching there ! Plus every activity that we do creates more sanskar and karma.
What is to be done?
Yoga. In Yoga , following all steps , a critical step , is awakening of shakti, and essential to that is kevali. Those advanced in mahayoga or siddha yoga or kriya yoga know it well. Do it well.
What is kevali? Well the secret of how it is done has remained a secret. But it is the end result of all paths.
One essential feature of any yoga( kriya, maha or siddha yoga ) is destruction of karma. So with one kriya – when done properly , one future birth karma is destroyed.This is unique to proper practice of yoga. A very specific technique. And some unique experiences. The advanced practitioner, it is said , can see his past and future. And eliminate those seeds before it bears fruit
Yogananda has said this in a few places. One kriya destroys one future birth. So everyone extols it. But do it correctly. However your ego will prevent you from learning it properly. Everyone wants to gather information, imagine they are doing it properly, but they do not want to learn it properly
So everyone to praise the wonderful method. But no one wants to do it ! How sad !
Vivekananda said , when your on the right path, happiness and unhappy situations will occur in rapid sequence. Why ? Many future birth are absorbed
Thus one kevali, is like a new birth with past karma destroyed. And that is a true birthday. True new year
All the promises of mindfulness resonate with what the University of Chicago cultural theorist Lauren Berlant calls “cruel optimism”, a defining neoliberal characteristic. It is cruel in that one makes affective investments in what amount to fantasies. We are told that if we practice
mindfulness, and get our individual lives in order, we can be happy and secure. It is therefore implied that stable employment, home ownership, social mobility, career success and equality will naturally follow. We are also promised that we can gain self-mastery, controlling our minds and emotions so we can thrive and flourish amid the vagaries of capitalism.As Joshua Eisen, the author of Mindful Calculations, puts it: “Like kale, acai berries, gym memberships, vitamin water, and other new year’s resolutions, mindfulness indexes a profound desire to change, but one premised on a fundamental reassertion of neoliberal fantasies of self-control and unfettered agency.” We just have to sit in silence, watching our breath, and wait. It is doubly cruel because these normative fantasies of the “good life” are already crumbling under neoliberalism, and we make it worse if we focus individually on our feelings. Neglecting shared vulnerabilities and interdependence, we disimagine the collective ways we might protect ourselves. And despite the emptiness of nurturing fantasies, we continue to cling to them.
Mindfulness isn’t cruel in and of itself. It’s only cruel when fetishised and attached to inflated promises. It is then, as Berlant points out, that “the object that draws your attachment actively impedes the aim that brought you to it initially”. The cruelty lies in supporting the status quo while using the language of transformation. This is how neoliberal mindfulness promotes an individualistic vision of human flourishing, enticing us to accept things as they are, mindfully enduring the ravages of capitalism.
Adapted from McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality by Ronald Purser, published by Repeater Books on 9 July and available at guardianbookshop.com
There have been studies showing mindfulness causing depression and suicidal tendency This is the problem with implementing partly understood spirituality. Mindfulness is a 60 billion dollar industry. Witness attitude is now a buzz word. Used to impress people. True witness attitude is being a witness to not just the body but being within all material creation. Literally true consciousness permeates through all creation. That consciousness is God
The saints have found that happiness lies in a constant mental state of unruffled peace during all the experiences of earthly dualities.
A changeable mind perceives a changeable creation, and is easily disturbed; the unchangeable soul and the unruffled mind, on the other hand, behold, behind the masks of change, the Eternal Spirit.
The man whose mind is like an oscillating mirror beholds all creation as distorted into waves of change; but the man who holds his mental mirror steady beholds there naught but the reflections of the Sole Unity—God.
Through realization, not mere imagination, he sees that his body and all things are the condensed consciousness of Spirit.
The mind, free of artificial excitation, remains centered in its native state of inner peace and soul joy.
~Paramahansa Yogananda
“God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita” p.205
People want to imagine this ! Why not enjoy the bliss by experience ?
But…..
Your ego says you know it
Your ego says I can do it on my own
Your body does not cooperate
Your ego does not want to surrender to a Guru
This is from Vivekchudamani. Written by Shankaracharya
Vivekchudamani means the jewel crown of discrimination
What is discrimination? For the ignorant discrimination it is knowing a true Guru from a fake, knowing that the world can’t give you Joy but experience of self can.
While the rest of the world was watching the news channel, drinking or at Times square waiting for the ball to fall, I was lying in bed. Right around midnight, Gurudev started talking and telling me things. I do not remember a lot. However, one of the few things that struck out was something he always told everyone that inorder to make spiritual progress “Granthi nu bhedan thavu joiye. Trana Granthi che. Brahma granthi, Vishnu Granthi ane Rudra Granthi. Brahma granthi Swadhisthana chakra ma che, Vishnu granthi manipur ane Rudra granthi anahata chakra”. Translation “To make spiritual progress one has to penetrate three knots called Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. They are located at Swadhisthana, Mannipur and Anahata chakra” The three knots or granthi represent Rajas, Satwa and Tamas gunas. They are the A, U and M of Om.
So what does it mean to penetrate or untie the knots of the three granthis? Normally, when anything happens there is a reaction in one or two or three of the gunas immediately. This occurs in a fraction of a second. Most of the world gets entangled thereafter, a very few persistent sadhakas try to fight and contain the reaction and the sadhakas of the higher orders even prevent that initial fraction of a second reaction. Those who can prevent the initial, even fraction of a second reaction have penetrated or gone through the knots and are called Hansas.
This is called granthi bhedan. Without doing it successfully we cannot experience or enjoy going to the Agna chakra.
Not only does want make us beggars, but when we want and don’t get it, we get depressed, anxious and frustrated. Like Yukteshwarji said “ thwarted desires causes anger”
Why live like a slave to desire? Wake up. Give up your desire. If there is anyone who has enslaved you it is your mind full of desire
So sad. So unfortunate. I don’t like people with so many desires and wants. Where can I find a pure person?
I play my act
and act in the play
but I live in divine rays
Where is darkness
There is always light
The word is right
Go deep within
Break the chains
Which are your thought trains
What fuels the trains?
Your desires – your life in vain
I revealed the enemy
Fight it
That fight is yours
The desire is yours
Lament not
Just be pure
There are phases in your life where you will get bored. There is nothing much going on in life. You are off from work. No events coming up. Your home responsibilities fulfilled. No good show. No sports
And your mind will wonder what can I do?
At that point the mind is still looking for something fun. Something to do. This is where you realize why it is called ananadatva – the pleasure principle. It constantly seeks pleasure. Physical, mental and even makes fun of God by taking religion and spiritual talks as fun
The outside world cannot give either fun or pleasure. It is mere darkness until you are within. However by habit you will only think of the world – not the joy within
What is to be done?
Go within! Once you go within – go in a state where the mind is not active, the ego sublimated then suddenly you will find true joy. A joy that was always there in this world and within – even in all the pain in life and it was always there within you. It was there when you tried to meditate and found it boring! That’s why yoga is the art of meditation. Learning the skill to find the joy. Forget about God. Just find this joy
Meditate with closed physical eyes and open eyes within! Be vigilant. Search within but not with thoughts! Search by intensely looking within. If you think then meditation is over. You wont find it. In this intense vigilant meditative search – first you will see where thoughts and emotions arise, then see karma, your past habits and the true reason of desire!
Then suddenly, suddenly you are within! The mystery is over! There is intense joy, immense joy. The search is over. In time, you will learn to find that joy even when going in crises! You can actively help others! They won’t know it ! I say these things based on what I have read
Now the path of Yoga finally starts. Miracles become the norm rather than exception. You crave being in that state. Alas that is not to be yet! There is much more to be done! The world will seem different! You see people differently. Spirtual help is what is needed! Spirit means breath! Only a Guru can give that. That power is not ordinary. It gives you the ability to be in that state. If not always, a glimpse is enough to be a traveler on this divine road – Raj yoga
Boredom – the day where you can change your life forever. Go within. Destroy boredom forever by the joy within
His answer – I don’t hide. I am everywhere. Within you and outside you. The pure in heart will see me (Bible). That is the one thing people don’t do – want purity. They know not what purity is (everyone has a concept and definition of what purity is but that is not true. To be pure you must first discover yourself, disengage from the false belief you are the body) Not do they want to become pure.
It is easier to say I am the soul, identify as body and waste an entire life only seeking body pleasures.
My second question is tougher. In the past I wrote a blog about God’s answer to the way paths to God. Oh there are so many different concepts! Everyone thinks their concept is correct! The concept could be self devised or learnt from reading, hearing things on internet or the million odd self assumed Guru title. God answer to it is – they all lead to him. He has permitted the indirect paths to stay. That is his divine will
And that is where I have a problem. Why allow indirect paths to continue??
Thus over time many other methods came into play. People believe in so many things – mantra, Maha mantra, worshiping idol / stone, going to temple, churches etc, jumping up and down reciting a variety of God name, Bhajan / recital / Kiran,, meditation, the inquiry method, just focus on good deeds, yoga, many sects, cults etc
So when you see so much, you will be impressed by one method, maybe difficulties in life make you desperate and you settle for one !
However all those methods promise you God sometimes after you leave the body, or a sell you an excited state of mind as joy of God ( which is not true), prayer ( is sold as talking to God when it is just monologue, and imagination of the mind is thought of as an answer)
This is what the world does For some reason it just does not settle well with me – I am childish and foolish. I am more of a here and now person. Hence my method is Yoga with Shakti awakening. It gives direct and instant contact with God ( not in the fullest form but in a minor way ). It is said that if the full form of God / full awakening is given the body would not sustain it. Only the pure in heart can sustain the full manifestation of God. For this you need a Guru who has realized God
Such Guru behave very differently They do not announce or display. I do not think there is any Guru like this right now I see motivational speakers, money hoarders, charlatans, etc
God does not cost money He is free, up for grabs However, he is exacting in demand for inner purity, a tasking Master when looking at our karma ( actions) and greedy for our pure love. Do not follow any path that does not demand inner purity. Love for all regardless of religion or sect. First find your inner self. When you hear the inner sound of Aum, you will be amazed! All your doubts go away. Your search for a teacher goes away. The Guru who gave you aum is enough ! You no longer need books or scriptures You will laugh at your own past stupidity You will find peace and joy within You will have finally started your journey!
There was a thief. He had taken an interest in stealing Gold. That’s all he wanted
Bhavin
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