OM! The Divine Mother -Shakti and the awakening of kundalini

The Divine Mother -Shakti  \ The active aspect of Brahman

and the awakening of kundalini

Brahman (Shiva or Atman or God, or Spirit etc.) and Shakti are not two. They are the static and the dynamic aspects of one and the same principle.

"The power or active aspect of the immanent God is Shakti. Shiva (Brahman, God etc.) is the unchanging consciousness. Shakti is His changing Power which appears as mind and matter. She runs this world-show. She maintains the sportive play or Lila of the Lord. She is the supporter of the vast universe. She is the supreme Power by which the world is upheld. She is the Universal Mother (the Divine Mother)."

~ Swami Sivananda

"It is this cosmic energy, this Para Shakti, that manifests as the incredible energy of the sun, the energy of the planets and, the incredible speed at which they whirl in their own orbits. It is this cosmic energy which manifests as the power of gravity, as the power of the sun’s radiance, as the power of all these great planets and heavenly bodies, as the power of the wind and other elements. Shakti controls the entire manifestation, just as electricity allows all appliances to work."

~ Swami Chitananda

"The Divine Mother is everywhere triple. She is endowed with the three Gunas, viz., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. She manifests Herself as Will (Ichha Shakti), Action (Kriya Shakti) and Knowledge (Jnana Sakti). She is Brahma-Shakti (Sarasvati) in conjunction with Brahma, Vishnu-Shakti (Lakshmi) in conjunction with Vishnu and Shhiva-Sakti (Gauri) in conjunction with Shiva. Hence She is called Tripurasundari. The Chaitanya (consciousness) that is associated with the Sattva Guna is Vishnu. The Chaitanya that is associated with Rajoguna is Brahma and the Chaitanya associated with Tamoguna is Siva. 

The one Ishvara (Chaitanya associated with Shakti or Maya; the reflection of Brahman in Maya is Ishvara.) has become three according to the functions of creations, preservation and destruction. The Chaitanya (consciousness) is the same."

~ Swami Sivananda

The Shakti is neither female nor male. She is everything, male, female and neutral and beyond these aspects also. Shakti is considered as female in relation with Brahman which of course is not neither male nor female; Brahman or the absolute Truth is beyond any description.

"Any power that we see in this universe is the power of this great cosmic force and it is this same power that animates all living beings, trees, plants, insects, birds, bees, reptiles, fish and animals. It is the power of the lion, it is the power of the elephant and it is the power of the brilliant intellect or genius of a Faraday, a Raman or an Einstein.

"This self-same power abides in us and animates our entire body mechanism. Our lives depend entirely upon Shakti, which grants us vitality, feeling and consciousness or awareness, through which we operate on all levels and can set in motion both our outer actions and inner sadhana (spiritual practice). 

"The body is Shakti. The mind is Shakti. The needs of the body are the needs of Shakti. The shakti is the power that digests our food, that makes our heart pump blood, that makes our lungs breathe, that makes our muscles and joints work, that makes our tongue talk and ear hear. 

~ Swami Chitananda

"The Shakti rules over the processes of birth and death and the unfoldment karma. She provides our souls with the bodies and minds and the worlds in which to experience life. All that we eat, breathe, perceive, feel or know consists of some portion of her energy and an aspect of Her dynamic processes that surround us on every side. All that we seek to acquire for sustenance, happiness, knowledge or growth is part of Her and comes from Her."

 ~ David Frawley

The sexual aspect of Shakti

The sexual energy is the most fundamental expression of cosmic energy, because through it the entire universe is born and exists.

In our bodies its main functions is the reproduction of the species and the experience of pleasure, but it is even more important in spiritual development.

Sexual energy is the deepest reservoir of our energy. In the sexual fluids (semen and vaginal fluids) are stored the more subtle and fine energies (Tejas and Ojas) which are very important for maintaining good health, mental and emotional balance and harmony and achieve a high level of consiousness .

Sexual energy has also a higher potential which causes the awakening of Shakti-kundalini which in its turn awake the superior capabilities of the seven chakras and mind (clairvoyance, clairaudience, cosmic consciousness etc.).

"It is this very power that is also present as the sex energy in us. Therefore, the sex energy is nothing but the presence of the Divine Mother in all human beings."

"So, the sexual energy is part of the one indivisible great cosmic power present in the human individual. In its gross biological aspect, it is called the sexual energy. In its subtler aspect, it is the energy of discrimination, the power of the intellect to analyze and enquire and ratiocinate. In a still subtler aspect, in its psychic aspect, it is the power of the Shakti Kundalini. And in its supreme aspect, it is nothing but Atma-Shakti. Because Brahman and Shakti are not two. They are the static and the dynamic aspects of one and the same principle."

~ Swami Chitananda

Shakti and spirituality

"Even to seek Brahman, to seek what is beyond Shakti (Shiva, Brahman etc.), we must work with Shakti. Shakti provides us the power of meditation and the discriminating insight through which we can transcend time and space. This means that the best means for both spiritual realization and for gaining all the other goals of life is to worship Shakti, to work with and for the Goddess (Divine Mother). There is no other way as effective, if there is any other way at all. If the Brahman is the goal, the Shakti is both the path and the power to traverse it. We can awaken and follow her current to Brahman, or remain asleep and get caught in her outside streams that move in different directions."

 ~ David Frawley

The worship and devotion of Divine Mother can be included in all spiritual paths and can be a part of the sadhana of everyone who wants to realize the Truth.  But there are paths like Shaktaism that are dedicated in the worship of the Divine Mother and have spesific practices for the awakening of Shakti-kundalini.  

Worship and devotion can be done by rituals, prayers, singing praises and kirtan, reading sacred texts about the Divine mother, repetion of mantras, by the sexual Maithuna and finally by recognising every person and action as a manifestation of the Shakti, by seeing  the Divine Mother in everything.

Shakti-Kundalini yoga sadhana

Shaktaism is an ancient path of India in which the devotees adore the Divine Mother and with specific practices aim to the unfolding and awakening of Shakti-Kundalini. 

"Shaktaism helps the aspirant to arouse the Kundalini and unite Her with Lord Shiva (pure Consciousness) and to enjoy the supreme bliss or Nirvikalpa Samadhi. A Shakta (devotee of Shakti) does Sadhana which helps the union of Shiva and Shakti through the awakening of the forces within the body. He becomes a Siddha (perfect) in the Sadhana when he is able to awaken Kundalini and pierce the six Chakras. The mode of Sadhana depends upon the tendencies and capacities of the Sadhaka. One should become perfectly desireless and should be full of Vairagya before he attempts to awaken Kundalini.

"In this path the aspirant adores the Shakti and practices, Dhyana, Bhava, Japa, pranayamas and Shakti-Mantra in order to awaken the Shakti-kundalini. Devotion, celibacy, renunciation, dispassion and purity of mind are necessary for the awakening of kundalini."

~ Swami Sivananda

There are other paths like the Tao and the Gnosis movement of Samael Aun Weor which although they give practices for celibates  for the transformation of sexual energy they suggest the sexual Maithuna as the main practice for the awakening of kundalini. However, in these paths are also essential the purity of mind, the dispassion, concentration and meditation for the awakening of kundalini. 

Sexual Maithuna is the adoration of Shakti through the sexual union of male and female without orgasm in order to transform the sexual energy and awaken the Kundalini. Shakti kundalini is the serpent power, that has 3 coils with face downwards, in the Muladhara Chakra, at the base of the spine.  By concentration, imagination, pranayama, bandhas and mantras the aspirants lead the sexual energy through the spine (the subtle nadis of ida, pigala and susumna). When kundalini awakens, awaken also the latent superior powers of the six chakras and the yogi aquires siddhis (clairvoyance, clairaudience, cosmic consciousness etc.).

However  Maithuna is not easy to practice in this age and paths like Advaita suggest celibacy. 

Swami Sivananda used to say: “Brahmacharya is the basis of immortality.”

Sri Swami Sivananda

Sri Swami Sivananda who himself followed celibacy, suggests celibacy, and considers as more important requisites or qualifications for the awakening of Kundalini, as well as for self-realization, the purity of mind (a mind free from desire, anger, greed, fear, jealousy and rajas and tamas gunas), the devotion, the discrimination, the dispassion, the absence of Iness and mineness, the faith and concentration. He claims that Kundalini can be awakened by various ways :

 "Kundalini can be awakened by various methods such as Japa, devotion, Vichara (enquiry of “Who am I”), Asana, Kumbhaka, Bandhas, Mudras, and above all by the Grace of the Guru."

Sivananda, Paramahansa Ramakrishna and Amritanadamayi (Amma) are great sages that demostrate that Kundalini can be awakened by celibacy despite the fact that devotees of Tantra and Samael Aun Weor (the founder of Gnosis) insist that the sexual Maithuna is necessary for the awakening of kundalini.

"When Kundalini is awakened, reaches the top of the head after piercing one Chakra after another and finally unites with Lord Shiva and enjoys the Highest Bliss. Now the Yogi attains super conscious state and becomes a full-blown Jnani. He drinks the Nectar of Immortality. Illustration shows the ascent of the Kundalini to the top of the head and its union with Lord Siva.

"When Kundalini sleeps, man is awake to the world. He has objective consciousness. When She awakes, he sleeps. He loses all consciousness of the world and becomes one with the Lord. In Samadhi, the body is maintained by the nectar which flows from the union of Shiva and Shakti in the Sahasrara. 

"Mother Kundalini-Shakti unites with Lord Shiva in the Sahasrara during Nirvikalpa Samadhi. This is real Maithuna or blissful union. This is due to Divya-Bhava (divine disposition).ª

"No one can free himself from the thralldom of mind and matter without Mother’s grace. The fetters of Maya are too hard to break. If you worship Her as the great Mother, you can very easily go beyond Prakriti through Her benign grace and blessings. She will remove all obstacles in the path, lead you safely into the illimitable domain of eternal bliss, and make you absolutely free."
~ Swami Sivananda

CHIDAKASHA, THE SPACE OF CONSCIOUSNESS. ~ David Frawley

 

CHIDAKASHA, THE SPACE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

     In Vedanta the Self or Atman is commonly defined as space (kham, akasha). That space (akasha) is further defined as bliss (Ananda). What is the nature of this space that is the Self? 

     Our inner Self holds the entire universe in the small space within the spiritual heart (Hridaya). This is a space of Consciousness (Chidakasha) behind all manifestation in the time-space world.

Levels of Space and Consciousness

     Vedanta recognizes the existence of several types and levels of space. First is the material space of our physical world that is the matrix of the other elements of earth, water, fire and air. It is the external measurable space in which we determine location and distance. Yet space itself has no form or location of its own. Objects are located in space but space surrounds and permeates all objects. We locate objects in space relative to space as distance.

     Yet all objects consist of various stages of densification or crystallization of the energies of space. Such material space is not empty but is composed of particles or atoms, out of which the other denser elements are formed. Beyond this is an additional Pranic space, the space of energy and the life-force, more subtle than the material space, which makes the entire universe alive, including our physical bodies.

     Beyond this pranic space is the space of the mind both at individual and cosmic levels. The individual mind like space is formless and holds thoughts like various objects or energies in space. We all need space in the mind to comprehend things and to observe things properly. We can observe the space between our thoughts.

     Beyond this mind space is the space of pure consciousness (Chidakasha) that unlike the mind space has no thoughts. The space of the Atman is pure, immutable, empty as it were, sometimes called the Void, Shunya. It holds the entire universe but is not changed by the names and forms that appear within it. This Atmic space has a vibration from which OM as the creative cosmic vibration arises. This Atmic space is of the nature of light (Jyoti). It is self-illuminating and reveals all, with the mind reflecting a portion of its light.

Our True Nature as Space

     We do not ordinarily experience ourselves as space but as form, starting with our physical body that has a precise location and function in time and space. We also experience ourselves as mind or as a set of ideas, concepts, beliefs, opinions, emotions and memories. These are also form based and connected to the body. We then have a social identity framed by our physical and mental activities and identity.

     Yet we do have an inner sense of our Self as space. We want to be free. We don’t want to be limited or confined, controlled or dominated by another, or constricted in a barrier. Our inner sense of Self persists behind and beyond the ongoing changes in body and mind between birth and death, waking, dream and deep sleep.

     If our true nature is like space in this higher sense, then truly we are neither body or mind. Then we are everything and nothing, sizeless and all-pervasive. We are the space of Being (Sat), the ground existence itself, which is Brahman as the Transcendent reality. Space is indivisible, indestructible and formless, beyond all limitations. This is the Self of Yoga and Vedanta whose nature is the space of Consciousness.

     Once we can detach ourselves from our bodies and minds, we can experience ourselves as boundless Space, which is also the space of Seeing and Being. This takes us beyond all dualities and identifications to our connection with all beings and with the universe as a whole which is the space of our own inner being.

     How do we discover our inner Space as consciousness and bliss? This is the essence of Self-inquiry and meditation, observing our bodies and mind from a place of inner awareness. Moving into the small space within the heart, hridaya akasha, is the key. At the core of our being we hold the entire universe as our own Self-manifestation, in which all sorrow is released.

     Our true Self that is the space of consciousness is beyond birth and death, location and history, quantity, measurement or any type of category. That is the space of Ananda in which there is peace, happiness, contentment and delight without end and without any division. Once we are willing to let go of our outer identifications we can return to our true nature as Infinite Space and experience all that we observe as a reflection of our own inner light and presence.

The real power behind this manifest universe is Shakti ~ Dr. David Frawley

The real power behind this manifest universe is Shakti (Divine creative energy)

Our lives depend entirely upon Shakti, which grants us vitality, feeling and awareness

The real power behind this manifest universe is Shakti or the energy of the Goddess, which is Brahman´s force of expression and manifestation. Shakti or the power of creation controls everything that occurs within her field. The formless Brahman beyond creation has no concern about this realm or anything that we do within it. It can neither help us nor hinder us in any way. From its point of view, there never has been any birth or death, individual or cosmos, bondage or liberation. Even our seeking of liberation has no meaning for it.

Our lives depend entirely upon Shakti, which grants us vitality, feeling and awareness, through which we operate on all levels and can set in motion both our outer actions and inner sadhana or spiritual practice. Shakti controls the entire manifestation, just as electricity allows all appliances to work. She rules over the processes of birth and death and the unfoldment karma. She provides our souls with the bodies and minds and the worlds in which to experience life. All that we eat, breathe, perceive, feel or know consists of some portion of her energy and an aspect of Her dynamic processes that surround us on every side. All that we seek to acquire for sustenance, happiness, knowledge or growth is part of Her and comes from Her.

Yet Shakti also controls the way beyond manifestation, the return to Brahman. Even to seek Brahman, to seek what is beyond Shakti, we must work with Shakti. Shakti provides us the power of meditation and the discriminating insight through which we can transcend time and space. This means that the best means for both spiritual realization and for gaining all the other goals of life is to worship Shakti, to work with and for the Goddess. There is no other way as effective, if there is any other way at all. If the Brahman is the goal, the Shakti is both the path and the power to traverse it. We can awaken and follow her current to Brahman, or remain asleep and get caught in her outside streams that move in different directions.

Therefore, the issue is not Brahman, which is beyond everything, but Shakti that manifests everywhere. Shakti is all around us, flashing forth in everything, whether we recognize Her play or not. The issue is how to gain the grace of that Shakti - How to ally ourselves with the right Shaktis to facilitate our development as a soul.

extract from essay The Primacy of Shakti by Dr. David Frawley

Sattvic Living ~ David frawley

Sattvic Living

All human beings should follow a sattvic or pure life‑style that gives peace and clarity of mind. The remedial measures in Ayurveda are generally of a sattvic (harmonious) nature.

Physical purity includes pure diet, with raw or freshly cooked vegetarian food, pure air and water, proper exercise of a calming nature, as well as physical cleanliness.

Purity of mind includes truthfulness, honesty, humility, equanimity, non‑violence, friendliness and compassion to all beings. Emotional impurities like anger, hatred, pride, lust and fear are given up; gossip and worry are to be set aside. These are the main bad mental habits that destroy the natural clarity and equipoise of mind.

Purity of life‑style includes right livelihood (an occupation that does not bring harm to others), pleasant speech, harmonious or pleasant environment, and avoidance of distraction, noise and all violent or degrading forms of entertainment.

Sattvic life‑style includes devotion to the Divine or to truth, compassion, service to humanity, study of spiritual teachings, reverence for spiritual teachers, and the practice of yoga and meditation.

Purity itself, however, should not become a fault through self‑righteousness, hypersensitivity or fanaticism. Good humor and moderation should always be maintained. Natural harmony and adaptability are what is necessary, not the imposition of an artificial standard.......

Read the whole article here:

https://vedanet.com/2016/10/11/ayurvedic-life-regimens-your-key-to-complete-well-being/

PRANA,TEJAS AND OJAS by David Frawley

  PRANA,TEJAS AND OJAS 

These three subtle energies which are related with the sexual energy and fluids are of great importance for our spiritual transformation.

Basic expressions of  Prana,Tejas and Ojas

OJAS, or Primal Vigor expressed as physical and mental endurance, strength, insulation, immunity, fertility, patience, and equilibrium. 

TEJAS, or Inner Radiance expressed as conviction, courage, intellect, creative vision, and a melting tenderness that draws all hearts. It is an internal fire fueled by Ojas.

PRANA, or Intuitive Energy expressed as spontaneous right action, presence, lightness of body, enthusiam, creative action, and ascension.

Prana,Tejas and Ojas 

by David Frawley 

extract from his book Yoga and Ayurveda

Yoga is an alchemical process of balancing and transforming the energies of the psyche. To approach it we must understand how to work with these energies in a practical way. In this chapter we will introduce a deeper level of the doshas that is important relative to yogic practice. Vata, pitta and kapha have subtle counterparts called prana, tejas and ojas, which could be called "the three vital essences." These are the root or master forms of vata, pitta and kapha that control ordinary psychophysical functioning and, if reoriented properly, energize higher spiritual potentials as well. They are not simply forces of the physical body but of the subtle and causal bodies as well.

Prana, tejas and ojas are the essential or beneficial forms of  vata, pitta and kapha that sustain positive vitality. Unlike the doshas, which are factors of disease, they promote health, creativity and well-being and provide the support for deeper yogic and meditational practices.

Prana — primal life-force: the subtle energy of air as the master force and guiding intelligence behind all psychophysical functions, responsible for coordination of breath, senses and mind. On an inner level, it governs the unfoldment and harmonization of all higher states of consciousness.
Tejas — inner radiance: the subtle energy of fire as the radiance of vitality through which we digest air, impressions and thoughts. On an inner level, it governs the unfoldment of all higher perceptual capacities.
Ojas — primal vigor:, the subtle energy of water as the stored up vital reserve, the basis for physical and mental endurance; the internalized essence of digested food, water, air, impressions and thought. On an inner level, it is responsible for nourishing and grounding the development of all higher faculties. 

These three forces are interrelated. Prana and tejas are rooted  in ojas and can be regarded as aspects of ojas. Tejas is the heat and light energy of ojas that has an oily quality and, like ghee, can sustain a flame. Prana is the energy and strength that comes from ojas after it has been kindled into tejas. Ojas proper is the potential, the stamina of the mind and nervous system for holding tejas and prana. Ojas has the capacity to turn into tejas (heat), which has the capacity to turn into prana (electricity).

Prana, tejas and ojas resemble the concepts of chi, the Yang and Yin of Chinese medicine. Prana, as the life-force and cosmic breath, is like the primordial chi, which also relates to wind and spirit. Tejas as the power of will and vigor resembles original Yang, which is the primal fire. Ojas, as endurance and stamina, resembles primordial Yin, which is the essence of water. 

The main rule of ayurvedic treatment is to prevent any of the doshas from becoming too high because in excess they cause disease. The dosha predominant in our constitution tends toward excess and must be restrained through the appropriate lifestyle regimen. This is achieved through following the right diet, herbs, exercise, and meditation that counter doshic proclivities.

In the practice of yoga a new rule comes into play. The yogi seeks to increase all three forces of prana, tejas and ojas. As these are the purified forms of the doshas, they do not have the same disease-causing power. These three vital essences only cause problems if one is increased at the expense of the others. They are basically wholesome energies that aid in renewal and transformation. The question is how to keep them growing at a similar rate so that their imbalance does not cause problems.

Increased prana is necessary to provide the enthusiasm, creativity and adaptability necessary for the spiritual path, without which we lack the energy and motivation to do our practices. 

Increased tejas provides the courage, fearlessness, and insight to take us along the path, without which we make wrong choices and judgments or fail to be decisive in what we do. 

Increased ojas is necessary for the peace, confidence and patience to keep our development consistent, without which we lack steadiness and calm.

 Should any of these factors be insufficient, our spiritual growth will be limited. These same factors increase positive health in both body and mind, and are helpful in treating all diseases, particularly of a chronic nature, including promoting rejuvenation.

FUNCTIONS OF PRANA, TEJAS AND OJAS 

     To understand these three forces let us examine how they function in the different aspects of our nature.

REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

Prana, tejas and ojas are nourished by the reproductive fluid which functions as their support in the physical body. They are three aspects of the transformed reproductive fluid (shukra). Ojas is the latent state of the reproductive fluid that provides not only reproductive power but strength in general and nourishes all the bodily tissues from within, particularly the nerve tissue. Ojas is our power of endurance and ability to sustain us, not only sexually but through all forms of exertion, physical and mental.

Tejas is the activated state of the reproductive fluid when it is transformed into heat, passion and will power. This occurs not only in sexual activity but whenever we are challenged or need to exert ourselves. Tejas gives us valor, courage and daring. In yoga this force is necessary to enable us to perform tapas or transformative spiritual practices.

Prana is the life-creating capacity inherent in the reproductive fluid. This aids in longevity and rejuvenation and stimulates the flow of prana through the nadis, giving a deeper energy to the mind. Without the proper reserve of reproductive fluid, we will become deficient in prana, tejas and ojas. Wrong or excessive sexual activity depletes all three forces.


IMMUNE SYSTEM

Prana, tejas and ojas give energy to the immune system. Ojas is the basic capacity of the immune system, our potential to defend ourselves against external pathogens. It provides endurance, resistance and strength to ward off diseases. Tejas is the immune system which is able to burn and destroy toxins when activated. It generates the fever that the body produces to destroy the pathogens which attack it. Tejas is our ability to overcome acute diseases, which are generally infectious in nature. Tejas is ojas converted into heat, warmth and vitality. It is our ability to mobilize our immune systems forces.
Prana is the long-term activation of the immune function to project and develop life-energy which manifests when we are dealing with a chronic disease. It is the adaptability of the immune system and sustains all long-term healing processes. With sufficient prana, tejas and ojas, no disease can approach us. Increasing prana, tejas and ojas helps all low immune conditions.

NERVOUS SYSTEM AND NADIS

The nervous system is the master system governing all bodily systems. The three vital essences are responsible for its proper function. Prana governs the discharge and coordination of nerve impulses, which are pranic and vata forces. When deranged, it
causes hypersensitivity, tremors and imbalances in the nervous system. Tejas provides acuity of perception and feeling. Deranged tejas burns out the nervous system, causing inflammation and scarring of the nerve tissue. Ojas gives endurance and stability through the nervous system. It is responsible for the lubrication of the nerve channels. Nervous breakdown or nervous exhaustion occurs through low ojas. Prana, tejas and ojas govern the movement of impulses through the nadis as well. Ojas is the fluid that lines the nadis,
cushioning the flow of energy through them. Tejas is the heat moving through them. Prana is the energy moving produced by the heat of tejas. To safeguard the nadis we must protect prana, tejas and ojas.

BREATH

The three vital essences are present in the power of the breath. Prana is the basic energy and movement of the breath. Tejas is the heat produced by the breath. Ojas is the deeper energy that we absorb through the breath and keep as an energy reserve.

When Prana is deranged, the breath is shallow or disturbed. When Tejas is deranged, the heat content of the breath is abnormal. When Ojas is deranged, the absorbed energy of the breath is lοw or we are unable to hold and consolidate it.

SENSES

Prana allows for the equilibrium and coordination of sensory impulses and is predominant in the ears (including the inner ear) and the skin, the Vata-predominant (ether and air) senses. Tejas is responsible for acuity of sensory function and our ability to digest sensory impressions. It dominates in the eyes, the Pitta or fire-predominant sense. Ojas is responsible for stability of the senses, as well as for their lubrication. It dominates in the tongue and the nose, the Kapha-predominant (water and earth) senses.

CREATlVITY

Prana, Tejas and Ojas are measures of creativity. Ojas is latent creative capacity, our storehouse of creative energy. Tejas is creative vision, the ability to see new things and break with the past. Prana is creative action to bring new things into being and remain in the creative state. Proper Ojas is necessary to give us the proper reserve of creative energy. Proper Tejas serves to direct our creative energy toward specific goals. Proper Prana functions to keep our creativity mobile and transformative.

MΙND ΑΝD CONSCIOUSNESS

Prana, Tejas and Ojas exist on deeper leνeΙs as well. 

There is a Pranic force behind the mind that allows it to move and respond and which keeps it in balance. There is a Tejas force behind the mind that allows it to perceive and to determine, to digest impressions, ideas and emotions.

There is an Ojas force behind the mind that gives it patience and endurance, allowing it to resist disturbances.  

Similarly, there is a Prana in our deeper consciousness that sustains us through the entire process of rebirth, imparting life to all the different bodies that we incarnate in.  

There is a Tejas, the accumulated insight and vitality of our spiritual aspiration. There is an Ojas that is the power through which the SOUL produces all its various bodies. On the level of the Soul, Prana, Tejas and Ojas are the original life, Iight and love.

  THE PRACTICE OF YOGA ΑΝD PRANA, TEJAS ΑΝD OJAS  

The inner practice of Yoga is an alchemy of the three vital essences. For this, it is important that we are able to monitor the conditions of Prana, Tejas and Ojas within us. There are signs and symptoms of their excess, deficient or sufficient conditions. These can be understood by their functions relative to the different systems of the body.  

Insufficient Ojas is revealed by weak immune function, lοw sexual vitality, lack of stamina, lack of patience, difficulty sleeping, ungroundedness and anxiety.  

Insufficient Tejas is indicated by cold extremities, weak digestion, cloudy perception, indecisiveness and poor judgment.  

Insufficient Prana shows us lack of energy and motivation, attachment and unwillingness to change.  

KUNDALINI -SHAKTI ENERGY  

Kundalini is the heightened energy of Tejas, which requires the proper Ojas to sustain it and the proper Prana to move it. Kundalini is the core internal fire that brings about all inner transformations. While much has been said of it in recent years, its related forces of Ojas and Prana have seldom been explained properly.  

Kundalini or Tejas is the higher feminine energy within us that aspires to divinity. It is the Yoga Shakti, the power of Yoga, necessary to catalyze all higher evolutionary potentials within us. While it is the key to yogic alchemy, it must be understood in the context of its related forces.

AMRIT/SOMA -SHIVA ENERGY  

Opposite to Kundalini is the Amrit or nectar that descends from the crown chakra and feeds the Kundalini in her upward ascent. This is the purified Ojas energy in the subtle body, which has been extracted and distilled through spiritual practices. Ojas is the higher masculine energy which, through surrender, care and protection, brings about the descent of grace.  

HIGHEST PRANA  

The union of Tejas (Kundalini) and Ojas (Amrit) creates the highest Prana, which is the immortal life energy. This alone has the power to create the higher samadhis (spiritual absorptions) necessary to dissolve the deep-seated conditionings (samskaras) in our consciousness (Chitta) that cause ουr attachment to the cycle of birth and death. This immortal Prana is the Divine child who is the child of immortality.

FROM DOWNWARDS AND OUTWARDS, INWARDS AND UPWARDS ~ Atman NItyananda

 

FROM DOWNWARDS AND OUTWARDS, INWARDS AND UPWARDS

The ego by its nature directs the mind and attention downwards and outwards. Thus we experience more the sensory objects and the bodily and vital-emotional sensations.

Because of this extroversion of mind we fail to realize what happens in our psyche and mind and we cannot become aware of our divine essence and realize that we are not a body-mind entity but a soul that is embodied in a physical body.

Therefore in order to to realize what we really Are, we have to direct the mind and attention inwards and upwards. We are inside when we gather the attention from the senses and focus it in the mind itself and up when we overcome the mind and focus the attention on what is more subtle and beyond the mind, the eternal soul!

The greatest obstacle in this process is the ego itself which does not want to leave the objects and the sensory experiences. So far it resists with various ways our effort to direct the mind and attention within, in our center of existence where there is only silence and total lack of objects and sensorial experiences.

He who achieves to conquer his mind and senses and eliminate the egoic tendencies and desires by systematic, sincere and incessant practice and by constant meditation realizes his divine nature is a true hero and attains freedom, peace and bliss absolute!

The dance of Maya ~ Atman Niyananda

The dance of Maya

The most powerful weapon of Maya is lust which create havoc to men by identification, imagination and projection.

How powerful is this lust indeed. Lust makes the impossible happen; makes people seek happiness there where there is only a little imaginary pleasure and innumerable pain and suffering.

Lust makes men feel uneasy, discontent, incomplete and unfulfilled and by the power of imagination compel them seek compulsively pleasure of any kind.

Lust by the power of imagination creates in the mind abstract images of the objects and projects on them pleasure and happiness.

But both are not existent in the objects. Only sexual pleasure exists and even in this case a great part of the sexual pleasure is imaginary. Sexual dreams prove that sexual pleasure can be reproduced by the power imagination.

How powerful is this Maya indeed!

The pleasure that we experience when we enjoy other objects (ie. food) is created by lust and has nothing to do with objects.

Happiness also has nothing to do with the objects.  Happiness always derives from our Soul when our mind becomes calm and introverted; this happens either when our desire is fulfilled (when desire is fulfilled the mind becomes serene and introverted for a while) or when we consciously we calm and introvert the mind by meditation.

If  you want to be free from fear, anger, depression, discontentment and any kind of suffering and experience the peace and bliss infinite there is only way; the dissolution of the desires and the establishment of the mind in our heart where always shines inexhaustible peace and bliss!

The Advaitic Guru VS the neo-advaita gurus by David Frawley

The Advaitic Guru  VS the neo-advaita gurus

by David Frawley

Of course, the greatest possible distortions are relative to the Advaitic Guru. Since Advaita relies less on outer marks than other traditions, almost anyone can claim to be an Advaitic Guru, particularly once we have removed Advaita from any tradition of Vedanta or Yoga. In much of neo-Advaita, there is a rush to become gurus and give satsangs, even without much real study or practice.

While certainly even a beginning student can teach the basics of Advaita for the benefit of others, to quickly set oneself up as a Self-realized guru raises a lot of questions. One can have an experience of the Self, while the full realization may yet be far away. Full Self-realization is neither easy nor common, under any circumstances.

Advaita does emphasize the advantage of instruction from a living Self-realized guru. Many people therefore think that they must have a living Self-realized guru or they can’t practice Self-inquiry. This is not the case either. 

If one has access to genuine teachings, like those of Ramana, and follows them with humility and self-discipline, one can progress far on the path, which will lead them to further teachers and teachings as needed. 

On the other hand, in the rush to get a living Self-realized guru, students may get misled by those who claim Self-realization but may not really have it. Such false gurus cannot lead students very far and may take them in a wrong direction altogether.

A related misconception is that Advaitic realization can only be gained as a direct transmission from a living teacher, as if Self-realization depended upon a physical proximity to one who has it.

Practice may get reduced to hanging out around the so-called guru and waiting for his glance! The presence of a real sadhak does indeed aid one’s practice, but physical proximity to gurus is no substitute for one’s own inner practice. And physical proximity to those who don’t have true realization may not bring much of benefit at all.

If Self-realization were as easy as coming into physical proximity with the teacher, most of the thousands who visited Ramana would have already become Self-realized.

If the teaching had to come from a living guru only, then no teachings would be preserved after the guru died as these would no longer be relevant. So the realization behind the guru and the depth of his teaching is more important than whether he is in a physical body or not. A great guru leaves teachings for many generations and his influence is not limited by the lifetime of his physical body. A lesser guru, on the other hand, does not have much real transformative influence even if we spend a lifetime around him.

In addition, true Advaitic gurus are not always easy to find, nor do they always make themselves prominent in the external world. Like Ramana, many great gurus are quiet, silent and withdrawn. We can best find them by karmic affinity from our own practice, not by external searching or running after personalities.

Extract from : Misconceptions about Advaita by David Frawley

Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? by David Frawley

Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?

Who can practice Advaita? What are the prerequisites for Self-inquiry?

One of the main areas of difference of opinion is relative to who can practice Advaita and to what degree? What are the prerequisites for Self-inquiry?

Some people believe that Advaita has no prerequisites, but can be taken up by anyone, under any circumstances, regardless of their background or life-style. After all, Advaita is just teaching us to rest in our true nature, which is always there for everyone. Why should that rest on any outer aids or requirements? This is a particularly appealing idea in the age of democracy, when all people are supposed to be equal.

In much of neo-Advaita, the idea of prerequisites on the part of the student or the teacher is not discussed. Speaking to general audiences in the West, some neo-Advaitic teachers give the impression that one can practice Advaita along with an affluent life-style and little modification of one’s personal behavior. This is part of the trend of modern yogic teachings in the West that avoid any reference to asceticism or tapas as part of practice, which are not popular ideas in this materialistic age.

However, if we read traditional Advaitic texts, we get quite a different impression. The question of the aptitude or adhikara of the student (read the sadhana-chatushtya) is an important topic dealt with at the beginning of the teaching. The requirements can be quite stringent and daunting, if not downright discouraging. One should first renounce the world, practice brahmacharya, and gain proficiency in other yogas like Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga and so on. One can examine texts like the Vedanta Sara I.6-26 for a detailed description. While probably no one ever had all of these requirements before starting the practice of Self-inquiry, these at least do encourage humility, not only on the part of the student, but also on the part of the teacher who himself may not have all these requirements!

Ramana keeps the requirement for Advaita simple yet clear – a ripe mind, which is the essence of the whole thing, and encourages practice of the teaching without overestimating one’s readiness for it. Yet a ripe mind is not as easy as it sounds either.

Ramana defines this ripe mind as profound detachment and deep discrimination, above all a powerful aspiration for liberation from the body and the cycle of rebirth – not a mere mental interest but an unshakeable conviction going to the very root of our thoughts and feelings (note Ramana Gita VII. 8-11).

A ripe, pure or sattvic mind implies that rajas and tamas, the qualities of passion and ignorance, have been cleared not only from the mind but also from the body, to which the mind is connected in Vedic thought.
Such a pure or ripe mind was rare even in classical India. In the modern world, in which our life-style and culture is dominated by rajas and tamas, it is indeed quite rare and certainly not to be expected.

To arrive at it, a dharmic life-style is necessary. This is similar to the Yoga Sutra prescription of the yamas and niyamas as prerequisites for Yoga practice. In this regard, Ramana particularly emphasized a sattvic vegetarian diet as a great aid to practice.

The problem is that many people take Ramana’s idea of a ripe mind superficially. It is not a prescription that anyone can approach or practice Advaita in any manner they like.

Advaita does require considerable inner purity and self-discipline, developing which is an important aim of practice which should not be lightly set aside.

Extract from : Misconceptions about Advaita by David Frawley