"All
types of energy have one common factor: they vibrate. This vibration is called
nada or nadam, cosmic music. Plato called it the "music of the
spheres", the music of Nature. It is known as OM. It is the voice of
silence. OM is the eternal name of the Absolute consciousness, I-AM. OM is the
home of the entire existence. OM is the seed and essence of all existence. OM
(F) (A-U-M) is a mixture of: "A" - manifestation, "U" -
growth, "M" - perfection, completion." (Shri
Brahmananda Sarasvati)
“We
chant the sound OM at the beginning and end of each class because the aim of
Hatha Yoga practice according to the ancient scriptures is to hear the sound of
OM internally.”
(Sharon Gannon and David Life)
“Yoga
is the natural state, the origin of truth, beauty, eternal happiness, and bliss.
In the practices of Yoga our resistance to this natural state of bliss and our
attachment to the world of forms and senses is made apparent. When we feel
limitation in the body or the mind while practicing yoga we are afforded the
opportunity to concentrate on our true nature, which is love itself, beyond
limitation.
The
goal of all Yoga is to achieve samadhi. Samadhi is a trance state in which the
separation between the yogin, the practice of Yoga, and the focus of
concentration merge into one, a state of bliss.
Just
as you cannot "do" Yoga you cannot "do" meditation, but you
can practice controlling the mind and the thoughts. The steps in meditation
practice are: Selecting a seat, holding still, and concentrating the mind. When
concentration is mastered a meditative state (uninterrupted concentration) may
occur. When meditation is sustained then samadhi or enlightenment may occur.
Yoga
is not a religion. Yoga goes beyond religion and is complimentary to all
religions.
Asana:
literally translated from Sanskrit it means 'seat.' It is a posture, a position,
a connection through which a relationship to the earth is established.
Guru
means teacher, the dispeller of darkness who can help you see who you really
are....Divine. G-U-R-U (Gee! You Are You!).“
(Sharon
Gannon and David Life)
ASHTANGA
YOGA IN THE TRADITION OF SRI K. PATTABHI JOIS
By
Annie Grover Pace
Yoga is a philosophy of life, which also has the potential to create a vibrantly
healthy body and mind.
Ashtanga
Yoga, practiced in its correct sequential order, gradually leads the
practitioner to rediscovering his or her fullest potential on all levels of
human consciousness—physical, psychological, and spiritual. Through this
practice of correct breathing (Ujjayi Pranayama), postures (asanas), and gazing
point (driste), we gain control of the senses and a deep awareness of our
selves. By maintaining this discipline with regularity and devotion, one
acquires steadiness of body and mind.
"Ashtanga"
literally means eight limbs. They are described by Patanjali as: Yama
(abstinences), Niyama (observances), Asana (postures), Pranayama (breath
control), Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana
(meditation), and Samadhi (contemplation). These branches support each other.
Asana practice must be established for proper practice of pranayama and is a key
to the development of the yamas and niyamas. Once these four externally oriented
limbs are firmly rooted, the last four internally oriented limbs will
spontaneously evolve over time.
"Vinyasa"
means breath-synchronized movement. The breath is the heart of this discipline
and links asana to asana in a precise order. By synchronizing movement with
breathing and practicing Mula and Uddiyana Bandhas (locks), an intense internal
heat is produced. This heat purifies muscles and organs, expelling unwanted
toxins as well as releasing beneficial hormones and minerals, which can nourish
the body when the sweat is massaged back into the skin. The breath regulates the
vinyasa and ensures efficient circulation of blood. The result is a light,
strong body.
There
are three groups of sequences in the Ashtanga system. The Primary Series (Yoga
Chikitsa) detoxifies and aligns the body. The Intermediate Series (Nadi
Shodhana) purifies the nervous system by opening and clearing the energy
channels. The Advanced Series A, B, C, and D (Sthira Bhaga) integrate the
strength and grace of the practice, requiring higher levels of flexibility and
humility.
Each
level is to be fully developed before proceeding to the next, and the sequential
order of asanas is to be meticulously followed. Each posture is a preparation
for the next, developing the strength and balance required to move further.
BREATH:
The continuity of deep, even breathing cannot be overemphasized in the Ashtanga
Yoga system. When breath feeds action, and action feeds posture, each movement
becomes gentle, precise, and perfectly steady.
According
to the teachings of Sri T. Krishnamacharya and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois,
"Breath is Life." Breathing is our most fundamental and vital act and
holds a divine essence: exhalation a movement towards God, and inhalation an
inspiration from God. Our last action in life is to exhale, which, in essence,
is the final and total surrender to God.
PRACTICE:
It is said that where there is no effort there is no benefit. Strength, stamina
and sweat are unique aspects of this traditional Yoga, seemingly contrary to
Western perceptions of Yoga. This demanding practice requires considerable
effort and taps into and circulates a vital energy throughout the body,
strengthening and purifying the nervous system. The mind then becomes lucid,
clear and precise; and according to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, "Wherever you
look you will see God." Only through practice will we realize the truth of
what our guru often says:
"Everything
is God."
***********************
Please note the importance of learning the Ashtanga method only from a
traditionally trained teacher. Only a qualified teacher can provide the
necessary guidance to assure safe, steady progress without injury to body or
mind!
Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute
Yogasana Visharada Vedanta Vidwan
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Director
R. Sharat, Assistant Director
876/1, 1st Cross, Lakshmipuram
Mysore - 570004
Karnataka State, South India
JIVAMUKTI
YOGA AS TAUGHT BY SHARON GANNON & DAVID LIFE
By
Sharon Gannon & David Life
The
Jivamukti Yoga method is a style of Yoga created by David
Life
and Sharon
Gannon
in 1984. It is a vigorously physical and intellectually stimulating practice
leading to spiritual awareness. At the Jivamukti Yoga Centers in New York City
they promote the educational aspect of the practice and give students access to
where these ideas have come from. Each class focuses on a theme, which is
supported by Sanskrit chanting, readings, references to scriptural texts, music
(from the Beatles to Moby), spoken word, asana sequencing and yogic breathing
practices.
Jivamukti
means Liberation from seperation. The
word Jivamukti is derived from the Sanskrit term Jivanmukti which means the
state of liberation. A Jivanmukta is a liberated being. Jivan: individual soul;
Mukti: liberation. Jivamukti is a yoga center. In the words of Sharon Gannon,
"The Jivamukti method could be described as that way of teaching and
practicing Yoga where the student is constantly reminded that their true Self is
none other than happiness, Love itself."
Jivamukti
Yoga is a form of Hatha Yoga. Ha: Sun; Tha: moon; Yug: joining; Hath: tied to a
post. The Yoga that is attained by force or effort. Physical practice toward a
spiritual goal. All physical Yoga practices are a form of Hatha Yoga.
In
the practices of yoga, our resistance to the natural state of bliss and our
attachment to the world of forms and senses is made apparent. When we feel
limitation in the body or the mind while practicing yoga, we are afforded the
opportunity to concentrate on our true nature, which is love itself, beyond
limitation.
The
Jivamukti Yoga Centers in New York City are spiritual gathering places that
offer vigorous Hatha Yoga classes with an emphasis on the Source teachings from
such ancient texts as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Upanishads.
Lafayette
Street in lower Manhattan, a promenade long associated with cutting-edge trends
in fashion, music, and fitness, is also the home base of the Jivamukti Yoga
Center, one of the busiest, most popular and innovative yoga centers in the
world. Described as "the wild child of yoga" by Paper magazine,
Jivamukti certainly attracts its share of wild children from a wide mosaic of
backgrounds who are undoubtedly drawn to the vigorous Hatha Yoga classes and the
deeply spiritual sense of community found at the center. The thousands of
students that pass through Jivamukti seven days a week are proof that Westerners
are ready for Jivamukti’s mix of the earthy and the ethereal.
***********************
Please note the importance of learning the Jivamukti method only from a trained
and certified teacher. Only a qualified teacher can provide the necessary
guidance to assure safe, steady progress without injury to body or mind!
Jivamukti
Yoga Center of New York
Sharon Gannon, Director
David Life, Director
404 Lafayette Street, 3rd floor
New York, NY 10003
Tel.
(212) 353-0214
(800) 295-6814
Fax (212) 995-1313
POWER
YOGA AS TAUGHT BY BRYAN KEST
By
Bryan Kest
Power
Yoga is directed at creating the highest level of energy, vitality and freedom.
The only way to do this is to work with yourself, not against yourself. By
working hard sensitively, we create an environment that's healing and that
honors each individual, an environment that respects our boundaries and works
within him or her. In this way, we create an atmosphere conducive to natural
expansion and growth. We're not interested in pushing past our edge to get to a
place where we've been brainwashed into thinking we need to be in order to have
happiness!
The
fact is, we're all different: different faces, shapes, sizes, personalities,
etc.... We all shouldn't have and can't have the same bodies. Our life
experiences and genetic dispositions make us different. Real health and vitality
comes when we stop comparing and competing with each other, and start listening
to the voice within that tells us what we need. We don't need to have the
"best body;" we need to have our own body. By turning off the
controlling mind, we can finally listen to the innate wisdom that waits to be
heard.
Picture
a web, with all its strands interconnected and sharing its burden. What's
happened to us is, all the weight on the web has been placed on a single strand:
the intellect. And we can't survive on intellect alone. The web that holds us
together, as humans and as a planet, is ripping apart! The cause is intellect
ruled by the ego, which creates a very scary level of self-indulgence. This is a
no-holds-barred self-indulgence in which almost everything else is forsaken. And
this is planet earth, Twenty-First century style!
To
heal our planet, we need to heal ourselves…because we are the source of the
imbalance. We need to quiet down, stop thinking, stop controlling, and start
listening. Our bodies are the natural world, even as we live in an unnatural
environment. If we quiet down and listen to what our bodies need (instead of
telling it), we can then feed ourselves naturally and properly, and become more
in harmony with the natural world. All our activities and endeavors will
resonate with this harmony and we, as well as our planet, can begin to heal. No
longer will our actions be governed by ego or intellect; they'll be guided by
the deeper wisdom within. We can then use the intellect as it was meant to be
used: to help us shape the wisdom coming through.
This
brings us full circle back to yoga. Originally, yoga was created to facilitate
the stillness in order to emancipate the wisdom. Some still use it for this
purpose. Beyond this, yoga is a tool or system created to facilitate balance. In
order to facilitate balance, the imbalances need to be exposed and eradicated.
This can be a totally possible yet challenging endeavor, and this is where we
start losing people.
From
the first step in yoga, you start feeling better simply because your house has
just begun to become cleaner or less cluttered. The move toward harmony begins
immediately. You don't need some blind faith that someday down the road yoga
will enlighten you. The first class helps us quiet our minds and experience the
peace beyond. This same first class helps us release some tension, which gives
us a feeling of lightness, balance and connectedness. We've begun to restore the
web.
As
long as we approach our yoga practice by listening carefully to what the body
needs and by moving away from any existing ideas of where our ego wants this
body to be, our initial experience can be wholly satisfying.
The
hardest part of the practice of yoga can be honoring our bodies and what they
need in this moment. Too often we find ourselves slipping back into our old
habits of goal orientation, self-criticism and re-activeness, which are the root
of so much imbalance, disharmony, misery, and so forth.
Re-activeness
creates tension. Discomfort is a part of life. Unwanted things happen, and
wanted things don't happen. Our comfort zones get trampled. No one, no matter
how wealthy or powerful, can escape discomfort. Yet within our discomfort, we
actually have a choice: Shall I accept it or not? Accepting discomfort is
intentional passivity. Non-acceptance is resistance.
Fortunately,
our yoga class helps to create optimal physical health by enlivening and
invigorating our whole body, ending dormancy, strengthening the weak links, and
releasing the knots. It also energizes the mind and provides a safe, controlled
environment for working on all the negative issues that are exposed. This is the
real key!
Because
the body is a direct manifestation of the mind, as we heal our mind, our bodies
naturally follow. Also, our bodies are subject to the laws of nature. Eventually
they will dry up and blow away, because all matter is in a state of flux. Yet it
seems our minds are subject to no laws. As far as we know, our minds are
limitless. So it makes sense that through yoga poses we start to hone and
strengthen the unlimited aspect of ourselves, our minds! This leads us into a
whole new place of connectedness, balance and satisfaction.
This
information didn't come from a book. It came from a yoga practice. We all have
deep wells of insight and creativity that are waiting to be tapped by the long,
strong roots of yoga.
***********************
Please note the importance of learning the Power yoga method only from a trained
and certified teacher. Only a qualified teacher can provide the necessary
guidance to assure safe, steady progress without injury to body or mind!
Santa
Monica Power Yoga Studios
Bryan
Kest, Director
522 Santa
Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA, USA
Hotline: (310) 281-1170
Interpreting
The Ashtanga Mantra:
John Berlinksy
VANDE
GURUNAM CARANARAVINDE
SANDRASITA
SVATMA SUKHAVA BODHE
NIH
SREYASE JANGALIKAYAMANE
SAMSARA
HALAHALA MOHASANTYAI
ABAHU
PURUSAKARAM
SANKHACAKRASI
DHARINAM
SAHASRA
SIRASAM SVETAM
PRANAMAMI
PATANJALIM
Om.
I bow to the two lotus feet of the (plurality of) Gurus which awaken
insight
into the happiness of pure Being, which are the refuge, the jungle physician,
which eliminate the delusion caused by the poisonous herb of Samsara.
I
prostrate before the sage Patanjali who has thousands of radiant white
heads,
and who has, as far as his arms, assumed the form of a man holding a conch
shell, a wheel, and a sword. Om
yoga:
Ashtanga
practice is traditionally begun with the recitation of the mantra. What we call
the Ashtanga Mantra is really two shlokas from different sources. The first is a
verse from the "Yoga Taravalli" by Sri Shankaracharya and the second
verse is from a longer prayer to Patanjali.
The
Ashtanga mantra has been translated a number of times with various
interpretations of the individual words. Instead of looking at the mantra as a
literal translation of the Sanskrit, I see the mantra as an invocation and
living part of our yoga practice.
Many
times we routinely recite the mantra before practice without really feeling a
connection to it. Regarding the mantra as an invocation sets the tone and the
intention of our practice. This provides a guide to experience our asana
practice in a larger philosophical context — a context directly related to the
Patanjali Yoga Sutras and the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga.
I
see the mantra as metaphorical in the way it guides us in our own practice. The
first line, "I pray to the lotus feet of the supreme guru" is not
necessarily a command to pray to the feet of an individual that we think of as
our guru, but is a metaphor for the practice itself. By thinking of the practice
as the guru, we offer ourselves to it and look to it for guidance. The first
line is an invocation to surrender to our practice. The word surrender, however,
can be interpreted it two very different ways. Taken in the western context,
surrender is a term of weakness and giving up. In the context of hatha yoga
philosophy, surrender is a quality that comes from fearlessness, trust and
confidence — a quality of strength. These qualities are made clear in the
Bhagavad Gita. In surrendering to our yoga practice, we offer ourselves to the
practice itself, trusting that it will lead us in a beneficial direction.
The
remainder of the first verse of the mantra defines what the practice itself can
do when we think of the practice as the "supreme guru." The second
line contains two words that, to me, capture the essence of yoga practice —
sukha bodhe. Sukha is usually translated as happiness. Bodhe comes from the
Sanskrit root "bd" pronounced bood, as in "to know". Buddha
is probably the most widely known word from this root which means "one who
knows or has knowledge." Together, the words Sukhava bodhe describe a true
goal of yoga practice: the knowledge of happiness. In the context of the mantra,
the supreme guru reveals the sukhava bodhe of our own self, or svatma.
The
third line of the mantra uses a metaphor for ashtanga practice. The
jangalikayamane is one who is able to cure or heal. The words "nih
sreyase" mean "without comparison" or "beyond better."
In other words, the curative possibility of practice itself is without equal. It
is beyond comparison with any other thing.
The
last line of this first verse, like the second line, tells what the supreme guru
may do. This line also includes two words that capture the essence of yoga
practice. Moha means delusion and S(h)antyai means pacification. This last word
is related to the word shanti, or peace. Mohasantyai can be thought of as the
pacification, or peaceful resolution of delusion. This relates to the two
previous words Samsara Halahala the poison of samsara or conditioned existence.
Our samaras hold us in conditioned patterns of limitation. These are limitations
that we experience in our practice, in our emotional and spiritual lives and in
our egos. Often we are unconscious of these patterns which create negative, or
poisonous, delusion. To think of yoga practice as a vehicle for the pacification
of this delusion is a powerful idea that calls for devotion, willingness and
surrender within ourselves.
This
first verse of the mantra guides us toward the potential offerings of our
practice. The mantra doesn't encourage regarding practice or the
"perfection" of asanas themselves as goals. Practice is not about
achievement or acquisition. Thinking back to the idea of surrender, the mantra
offers a possibility of what practice may bring us if we approach it with
reverence, trust and humility.
The
second shloka of the mantra is an homage to Patanjali. The Patanjali Yoga
Sutras, a root text of hatha yoga philosophy, are a guide to yoga as a spiritual
practice and an examination of our own true self and nature. The Patanjali
Sutras can be seen as the "supreme guru" of the first verse of the
mantra. The sutras clearly define the ideas embodied in the first verse and
greatly expand upon them. By bowing, or offering pranamans to Patanjali, we
symbolically acknowledge yoga practice as a spiritual practice which offers
"sukhava bodhe" or, the true knowledge of happiness.
Richard
freeman´s „the
yoga work“
Fundamentalism
and the Middle Path
Two
Wings of Confusion/(Freedom) by
Richard Freeman
“The
ego flies on one wing, the spirit on two.” Anonymous
There
exists today a kind of Yoga Fundamentalism which has two wings, that we will
call Literalism and Relativism. They masquerade in many forms with many
doctrines and techniques. They stain the work of both traditional and concocted
methods of practice and they produce more in the way of politics,
self-righteousness and avoidance than they do happiness. There also exists a
resolution to this Fundamentalism. It is a Middle Path that moves between
Fundamentalism’s Two Wings. However, it is not a system, a doctrine or a
technique. It is more practically a magic ingredient that refines a system or
technique, so that we are able to perform its methods skillfully (even
artistically) and then step out of them, free and unbiased.
Before
diving into defining and redefining the two wings, let's look at
Fundamentalism’s potential effects on yoga. Rather than a direct experience of
reality, an unconditional love and freedom, Fundamentalism often causes us to
mistake the processes and symbols of yoga for the actual thing. This separates
us from immediate experience of the openness of being and our yoga ironically
becomes an escape from life, an avoidance of the present moment. Many have even
adopted yoga as an obligatory set of self punishments, dutifully done in order
to achieve a picture of virtue laid out in our or somebody else’s mind. Other
have made it a self indulgence used to conceal a lack of love and relationship,
a badge of difference, for an isolated, insecure ego. Sometimes yoga creates
competition, envy, loneliness and self righteous feelings. Many of us have found
in yoga an exotic religion, a Shangri-la in which to escape unaware. Others
still have used hard practice in an attempt to create the physiology of ecstatic
trance, to bypass the heart of insight and love where the real ecstacy is. In
the social realm differences of technique between schools can bring out anger,
fear and competition between yogins. Even within the same school, slight
differences in technique and interpretation between practitioners brings on
painful jealousy and conflict. This not to say that all our yoga world is so
bleak. But when we find suffering, clinging, closing of the mind and heart, we
must ask, “why”?
The
contention here is that yoga fundamentalism is alive and well, and though it is
an unavoidable part of our mental structure, there is a beautiful solution to
it. Fundamentalism though capable of much mischief, has our freedom locked in
its mysterious roots. We must examine those roots face on. Facing the roots of
the fear that underlies many of our belief systems, gives insight into how the
mind structures our viewpoints, and how we end up trapped by identifying with
and clinging to them. Freedom in yoga is not a single experience or a belief, or
even the giving up of a belief: it is the ability to enter and to release
theories and experiences to find direct experience of the living process. This
freedom of the awareness appears as a Middle Path between our mental processes
of mapping out reality and then leaving those maps. This Middle Path is hard to
define, subtly serpentine, and it is where yoga systems meet their perfection.
It frees us from politics without making us apolitical. It frees us from
religion without making us irreligious. It frees us from thought without making
us thoughtless. It has been called love, but it’s not what you think. For the
present moment, we should keep on looking, avoiding jumping to conclusions.
The
Middle Path is easiest to define by defining the two wings or extremes between
which it oscillates: Literalism and Relativism. The wings don’t like each
other at all, yet they depend on each other, like the front and back sides of a
coin. Literalism sets up a an idol. Relativism sees the mistake and topples the
idol. When the interdependence of these wings is understood, a new path, a
middle way between the extremes, manifests. That path is always being defined
and redefined in a living, ceaseless movement into its source and its goal. If
we call it love, or grace, what images come to mind? Do those images embody the
whole process of love? Not quite. So those images are released, like offerings
and later others images come to meet the same fate. Metaphorically the middle
path is like a stream between the banks of idol-making and idol-breaking. If the
(our) stream is temporarily blocked, a little more clarity of definition and
then release is called for.
Literalism,
the finger for the moon
Literalism
is easy to understand even in ourselves. All minds function symbolically:
assigning a symbol to the particulars of experience and then interrelating those
symbols to form patterns of thought. In itself, this is wonderful! Thoughts
allow incredible freedoms and powers. They are the tools of knowledge and
action. They are the categories, the universals that can be manipulated at light
speed into patterns of connection, division, desire, anger and inspiration. If
given a little space to unfold, thought patterns are truly awesome. Thought
works through assigning symbols (signs, universals) to particulars (actual
unique things, events, phenomena). Symbols are easily manipulated, transported,
communicated and stored (as in data communication, blueprints, etc.) They do
wonders. They reveal casual relationships in the world. They allow for knowledge
and therefore for efficient action. They are the sacred power of language,
called Logos in the west and Vac in the east.
A
story from Indian mythology illustrates this principle:
Once
upon a time, Ganesh (the elephant headed god) and his elder brother Karttikeya
(the god of war) were sitting at the feet of Shiva and Parvati, their parents.
Shiva suggested a contest between the two brothers. Whoever could go around the
world first would get certain delectable sweets which were right at hand.
Karttikeya, who was physically powerful as well as fast, jumped up and took off
for the great circumambulation, which in those once-upon-a- days was an enormous
distance, if not the same as the thirty thousands miles it is today. Ganesh, who
was more rotund and less inclined for trouble than his brother, stood up,
circumambulated his parents, and then sat down in front of them. He of course
got the sweets days before his brother even returned.
Yes,
Ganesh knew the efficiency of hierarchical representation! Especially
considering who Shiva and Parvati are! So, if mind is so amazing, what has
happened to make our own minds such miserable if not slightly less than joyous
abodes? A slight twist, a literalism about who we really are, has given birth to
a conceptual self. What is deeply true, the essential core of Being, has been
superimposed onto symbols or representations. Though this misidentification
produces suffering, it is not evil. The infamous conceptual self or ego is a
product of the symbolic way that the mind works. It should be examined as it is.
One of its two faces is called literalism: the taking of the name for the thing
named, the symbol for the symbolized, and then being afraid or unable to
de-name, to decode, the symbol.
The
world of description and thought can never embody that which it is attempting to
describe. The map is not the territory. I’ve often mused at what a complete
map might look like. It would have all details, angles, viewpoints, functions,
potentials and even textures of the original. Such a fine map would be either a
complete reproduction of the territory or the territory itself, not easily
folded to fit into your glove box. Literalism is when the map is held to be the
territory, when the image in the mirror is held to be us. Remember poor
Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection. We so easily reduce
ourselves and others to our theories. We fight for the flag, rather than the
(less conceivable) whole of our nation. We cling to an alignment principles out
of its context, resting on our beliefs and codes, rather than looking for
ourselves with fresh unbiased eyes. We even reduce our yoga postures, our bodies
to theories and techniques, and are then afraid to expose those theories to a
natural process of refinement. Real yoga, real relationship, consciousness are
lost in this idolatry. Images, mirrors, theories and methods are essential
(occasionally precise) tools of the yoga art. But none of them can embody fully
the thing-in-itself. Every technique, every spiral is an incomplete description,
calling out for a context and a complementary counter-description.
We
align ourselves with a doctrine or a school or a myth, because it is efficient
to do so, and because it is difficult to bear in mind what the whole school or
myth is supposedly teaching. Yet, in yoga the whole teaching is vitally
important: the de-coding of the signs and symbols back into the present moment,
into our original inspiration. The flag, the name of the school, becomes
essential for us. After all, it is only the sign that can be pinned on our ego
like a badge, while the whole of the teaching exposes the ego function. A Yoga
school stained with literalism naturally dislikes both the critical, secular
world and other yoga schools. To avoid their own internal transformation such a
school or individual creates stereotyped images of the others. When we are about
to grow in insight we have to sacrifice both our present self image and the
images to which we have reduced others.
Back
in the myth of Ganesh, we find there is a problematic side to hierarchical
representation, when it is taken too literally.
Long
before the race around the world, when Ganesh was a young man and even before he
got his elephant head, Shiva was about to go on a journey. He asked Ganesh not
to allow anyone to come into the house in his absence. This was because
Ganesh’s mother, the beautiful Parvati was there and needed protection. Shiva
left and through many devices tested Ganesh’s ability to follow instructions.
Ganesh did beautifully and barred entrance to many characters during his fathers
absence. When Shiva returned, happy to be home after a long journey and happy to
see his wife and child, Ganesh jumped into the doorway of the house and blocked
his fathers entry. He shouted, “My father told me that no one is to enter this
house, that would include you!” This was a mistake. Shiva, famed for his short
temper and his skill at destroying entire universes, got mad and instantly cut
off Ganesh’s head. Shiva, who is even kinder than he is short tempered, and
Parvati, who had just appeared at this tragic scene, were both distraught. Shiva
procured the head of a young nearby elephant and fit it onto his son. That is
how Ganesh got an elephant head and how he also became the Lord of the Buddhi
(intelligence). He never took things as literally from then on. He could
understand the meaning and the intention behind instructions, teachings,
metaphors and myths.
Relativism
the flip side of the coin Seeing through literalism doesn’t solve the problem
of fundamentalism. Literalism is of course seen more easily in the absurdities
of others’ myths and idols, than in our own. Stepping back from personal
investment in them, we see that forms are relative. They depend on assumptions
and rules that are often arbitrary or cultural. Exposure to a variety of images,
beliefs and myths, brings us to the point of seeing through religious symbols.
Form is then understood as a temporary, relative construction. With a sense of a
profound insight being close at hand, the mind chooses to reject form. It is
still the same deep mental frame, the same idolater, that erected the idols that
now sees religious practice as an attempt to achieve an ideal, and that this
process makes us ignore the present situation. By rejecting form, the mind
capitulates into the flip side of literalism, and wraps itself in the religious
robes of a naive and self righteous idealism, called relativism. Its doctrine is
“Everything is relative, thinking gets you nowhere and nothing really needs to
be done.”. The ego has undergone a rapid inflation into an iconoclast stance,
choosing a formula of formlessness, as ineffective in the world as the zealot is
destructive. While literalism is based on a fear that if reality cannot be
reduced to a single formula and remains mysterious and free then I am in grave
danger - relativism is the pessimistic doctrine that all meaning is based
entirely on relative contexts and that there is nothing universal or common.
An
example of the relativist is Dhritarashtra, the blind king, who allowed enormous
evil to infect his kingdom, because he was unable to distinguish between the
wisdom and good intentions of the rightful ruler of the kingdom, Yudhishthira,
and the self serving cruelty of his own sons. This story becomes the background
of the Bhagavad Gita, which deals with Arjuna’s dilemma between the path of
literalism and the path of relativism, neither of which could help Arjuna with
the complex situation he was in.
The
relativist is like the anarchist, who out of fear of the problems of having a
social order does not allow any order at all, and ironically makes such
injustice and suffering that a tyrannical form of government is issued forth
from the chaos.
Relativism
refuses all formula, endeavor and exploration to any depth. It reflects a kind
of pseudo enlightenment, which crosses a sour-grapes attitude and an anti-form
monism to produce an ineffectual, sucrose spirituality. The unity that exists in
the unfathomable depths of the spirit is brought up and superimposed on the
realm of diversity in such slogans as: “All is one. We need not try. All yoga
is good. All teachers are good. All paths are the same!” As sweet and open
minded as this may sound, it is actually insidious and dangerous. Consider
relativism in other fields: “All music is beautiful. All political leaders are
good. All medicines are the same. There is no need to try to communicate with
your loved ones.” Goethe’s Mephistopheles tempted Faust with two forms of
corruption: to do evil or to do nothing at all. This relativism - taken to
its’ extreme - denies translation and understanding between traditions,
between world views (Eastern and Western), between men and women, between
individuals even of the same persuasion. Internally it prevents self-reflection
and self criticism. In fact, any shared, objective reality is ultimately denied
by “create your own reality” relativism. It becomes the ultimate rationale,
the trump card of cop-outs, allowing us to conveniently forget relationships,
responsibilities, communication and any need to work or inquire into deep or
difficult subjects.
Relativism
leaves us practically unable to practice yoga, unable to do anything resembling
deep thought or work. It has placed us in a pseudo enlightenment. In our yoga,
relativism can be a detachment hiding under the cloak of non-attachment. It
creates a lack of vitality, a lack of eager, radiant inquiry . Looking like an
open mind, it is really an apathetic mind. Hidden beneath its almost calm
surface are some deep disappointments (broken hearts and broken idols). Deep
love, real devotion, skillful use of form, deep relationship, work and sacrifice
are laid away in the cupboard of a dull sweet oneness.
A
Middle Path, That’s Hard to Name
Literalism
and Relativism have sprouted from the same principle of avoidance in the mind,
the same confusion of a separate self, which needs to accept or reject form as
either all or nothing. This mental mechanism is how the mind works. It happens
many times a day for everyone usually when thinking about less consequential
things. The symbol gets taken for the thing. When ego gets involved, awareness
gets mistaken for some passing form. Rather than seeing that natural and simple
mistake, the mind eventually capitulates into a relativistic stance. Our minds
oscillate like this all of the time. We define a boundary: we erase a boundary.
When the ego gets caught up in the process, be aware! Accepting or rejecting the
mind-generated idols can take us out of the stream of the present moment.
When
defining a middle path we need to be alert to the temptation to literalize the
process. Could the middle path be a path at all? How do we describe that process
of being fully awake? How do we describe the process of understanding that
reality is a freedom beyond description? If we say it is love, do we define love
with some rosy image in the mind, or with a particular formula of sacrifice? As
long as we think, we are going to be making propositions about truth and
hopefully seeing with loving eyes through them. Our path is a path between
paths. It needs no conclusion, no certainty beyond its own intrinsic radiance.
It creates an image as an offering and then lets it go into the fire of
relationship, revealing a snake like movement between literalism and relativism.
In
the present moment, between past and future is Bhakti, love, the winding,
oscillating path between the extremes, between exclusive form and formlessness,
between the paradoxes of our thoughts. It is the heart of yoga, the stream of
true relationship, of honest natural human relationship. In the Bhagavad Gita
Krishna proposed the path of Bhakti or love as the resolution of the dilemma of
Arjuna. Rather than labeling ourselves with it, we must actually keep returning
to the source of that path, moment by moment, or we fall off into either a
formula for that path or a rejection of its process. The returning is freedom.
The
word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yug, which means ``to yoke or
harness," as in the yoking and uniting of mind and body, and of individual
and universal consciousness. Hatha yoga (``forceful yoga") refers to a vast
area of doctrines and practices concerned with harnessing the current of life
force (prana) circulating throughout the human body. Focusing this innate
life force and preventing its dissipation are said to awaken the body's dormant
psychospiritual energy. This body-oriented approach to transcendence involves
cleansing practices, postures, and breath control.
Ashtanga
Yoga is the name given to the system of hatha yoga currently taught by Sri K.
Pattabhi Jois, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and yogi in Mysore, India. However,
the historical definition of ashtanga yoga is ``eight-limbed yoga," as
originally outlined by the sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. Written between
400 and 200 B.C., the Yoga Sutras is the primary text of the science of
classical yoga in which Patanjali collated and systemized existing techniques
and knowledge of yoga.
The
path of yogic maturation consists of the following eight limbs or practices:
Yama
(moral observance)
Niyama (inner integrity)
Asana
(postures)
Pranayama
(breath control)
Pratyahara
(sensory withdrawal)
Dharana
(concentration)
Dhyana
(meditation)
Samadhi
(contemplation)
Ashtanga
Yoga as taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois began with the rediscovery, early in this
century, of the Yoga Korunta, an ancient manuscript describing a unique system
of hatha yoga practiced and created by the ancient sage Vamana Rishi.
Under the direction of his guru Sri T. Krishnamacharya, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
helped decipher and collate this system of practicing asana (postures).
Entrusted with preserving, refining, and teaching the system of yoga described
in the Yoga Korunta, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois named this system ``Ashtanga
Yoga," believing it to be the original asana practice as intended by
Patanjali.
The
Yoga Korunta emphasizes vinyasa, (meaning ``breath-synchronized movement"),
a method of synchronizing progressive series of postures with a specific
breathing technique (ujjayi pranayama)—a process producing intense internal
heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. The
result is improved circulation, a light and strong body, and a calm mind.
On
a practical level, the vinyasa concept of continuous flow aids the practitioner
in integrating the eight limbs of yoga described by Patanjali. Movement through
postures (asana) purifies the physical body, while mastery and refinement of the
breath (pranayama) through concentration (dharana) quiets the senses
(pratyahara), preparing the practitioner for meditation (dhyana) and eventually,
samadhi, the union of the soul with the divine. A balanced asana practice rests
on ethical behavior (yama) and self-discipline (niyama). Under the guidance of a
qualified ashtanga instructor, the practitioner properly can begin to cultivate
the eight limbs.
In Ashtanga Yoga, the first of six sequences of postures, or ``series," is commonly called the Primary Series, or yoga chikitsa (yoga therapy). Practice of the Primary Series is designed to cleanse and purify the internal organs of the body through prevention of the accumulation of waste products. Each asana has specific benefits. For example, forward-bending asanas are helpful in toning the internal organs of the abdomen and relieving constipation. The Second Series focuses on back-bending postures, and the remaining four series are very advanced.
A
Definition from Indian Spirituality
Aum:
Often spelled Om. The mystic syllable of Hinduism, placed at the beginning of
most sacred writings. As a mantra, it is pronounced aw (as in law), oo (as in
zoo), mm. Aum
represents the Divine, and is associated with Lord Ganesha, for its initial
sound "aa," vibrates within the muladhara, the chakra at the base of
the spine upon which this God sits. The
second sound of this mantra, "oo," vibrates within the throat and
chest chakras, the realm of Lord Murugan, or Kumara, known by the Hawaiian
people as the God Ku. The third sound, "mm," vibrates within the
cranial chakras, ajna and sahasrara, where the Supreme God reigns. The dot
above, called anusv=ra, represents the Soundless Sound, Paranada. Aum is
explained in the Upanishads as standing for the whole world and its parts,
including past, present and future. It is from this primal vibration that all
manifestation issues forth. Aum is the primary, or mila mantra, and often
precedes other mantras. It may be safely used for chanting and japa by anyone of
any religion. Its three letters represent the three worlds and the powers of
creation, preservation and destruction. In common usage in several Indian
languages, aum means "yes, verily" or "hail."
Om
is the symbol of the Supreme. It stands for God. It refers to your eternal
abode, your lasting state of Satchidananda. Om signifies the Light of lights
beyond darkness. It stands for all concepts of God, and for the Cosmic Spirit.
It is the symbol of That which is behind and beyond all religions. It is the
symbol of That which is adored in all places of worship. It is the perfect
symbol revealed to the ancient seers of all that is glorified in all the
scriptures of the world. It is not a letter of the alphabet, nor is it derived
from any root. All Sanskrit words are derived from specific roots and are
structured in a certain scientific manner, but Om transcends all words and
letters because it is the origin of all sound, of all articulated letters and
words. It is the original sound symbol of the Unmanifest. It is a combined sound
symbol, out of a combination of "ah," "oo" and
"hama." Aum.
The
articulation of Om immediately elevates you into the higher plane of your true
consciousness. Om is a symbol or sound of power. It banishes all darkness and
drives away ignorance. It burns away all impurities and brings in power light,
peace and joy, which are your real, eternal, unchanging nature: Satchidananda.
Peace and joy. Be rooted in this truth and triumph over all adversity in this
world. It is the secret of peace amidst turmoil, of perfect peace and joy in the
midst of tribulation. It is the secret key to triumph over life.
There
is no question that om is the oldest mantra, or sound of numinous power, known
to the sages of India. Its origin, however, is somewhat obscure. A century ago,
the German scholar Max Müller, editor and translator of the Rig-Veda, had the
idea that om might be a contraction of the word avam, “a prehistoric
pronominal stem, pointing to distant objects, while ayam pointed to nearer
objects.” He continued, “Avam may have become the affirmative particle om,
just as the French oui arose from hoc illud.” This obscure comment refers to
the fact that om, in addition to its sacred significance, came to be used in the
prosaic sense of “Yes, I agree.” Müller’s interesting philological
speculation remains unsubstantiated, however.
More
recently, a different approach was taken by Swami Sankarananda, who proposed
that om derives from the Vedic word soma. Through the influence of the Persians,
who did not pronounce the letter s, the word soma was changed to homa and
subsequently was shortened to om. Like Müller’s derivation, this is pure
conjecture, but is nonetheless intriguing, as it brings out the traditionally
accepted relationship between soma and om.
Soma
is the sacred substance used in the principal Vedic sacrifice. It has been
characterized as an intoxicant, and various scholars have, in my opinion,
wrongly identified it as a concoction prepared from the fly agaric mushroom. In
the Vedic literature, soma is always described as a creeper, which cannot be
said to apply to a mushroom. Be that as it may, the real soma was not a plant or
plant extract but a spiritual “elixir,” or illuminating experience, as is
evident from certain hymns of the Rig-Veda (e.g. 10.85.3). In this sense, we
also encounter it in later Tantra, where soma stands for an inner process or
esoteric phenomenon: the nectar of immortality said to ooze from the “Moon”
at the tâlu-cakra (“palate wheel”) in the head, dripping into the “Sun”
stationed at the nâbhi-cakra (“navel wheel”). On the physical level, it
corresponds to the saliva, which is known to have antiseptic, healing
properties.
Swami
Sankarananda believed that, like soma, the sacred syllable om represents the
Sun. This seems to be confirmed by the Aitareya-Brâhmana (5.32): om ity asau
yo’sau [sûryah] tapati, “That which glows [i.e., the Sun] is om.” The Sun
was indeed central to the Vedic spirituality, and the Vedic sages looked upon
the Sun not merely as a star that supplies our planet with the necessary light
and warmth but as a multidimensional entity of which the visible stellar body is
merely its outermost material shell.
The
esteemed Swami’s conjecture is worthy of deeper consideration. However, most
spiritual authorities regard om as the vocalization of an actual “sound,” or
vibration, which pervades the entire universe and is audible to yogins in higher
states of consciousness. In the Western hermetic tradition, this is known as
“the music of the spheres.” The Indian sages also speak of it as the
shabda-brahman or “sonic Absolute,” which, in the words of the Chândogya-Upanishad
(2.23.3), is “all this (idam sarvam).” What this means is that om is the
universe as a totality, not a conglomerate of individual parts, as we experience
it in our ordinary state of consciousness. Thus om is the primordial sound that
reveals itself to the inner ear of that the adept who has controlled the mind
and the senses.
Vihari-Lala
Mitra, in the introduction to his translation of the Yoga-Vâsishtha, equated
the Greek word on (“being”) with om. While this is linguistically
unsustainable, philosophically the connection is valid, as om is the symbol of
That Which Is, or brahman. He also made the link between om and Amen to which
the same strictures apply.
The
Early History of the Sacred Syllable
Significantly,
the syllable om is not mentioned in the ancient Rig-Veda, which has recently
been dated back to the third millennium B.C.E. and earlier still. However, a
veiled reference to it may be present in one of the hymns (1.164.39), which
speaks of the syllable (akshara) that exists in the supreme space in which all
the deities reside. “What,” asks the composer of this hymn, “can one who
does not know this do with the chant?” He adds, “Only those who know it sit
together here.” That is, only initiates gather to delight in the mystery of
the sacred syllable and the company of the deities.
The
word akshara means literally “immutable” or “imperishable.” This
designation is most appropriate, since grammatically syllables are stable parts
that make up words. In the case of the mantric om, this monosyllable came to
represent the ultimate One, which is eternally unchanging (akshara, acala). The
term akshara is used as a synonym for om in many scriptures, including the
Bhagavad-Gîtâ (10.25), which has Krishna say, “Of utterances I am the single
syllable.”
In
light of the early prominence given to om as the primordial seed sound, there is
no good reason for assuming that the sagely composers of the Vedic hymns were
ignorant of the sacred syllable om. Indeed, they were great masters of
mantra-yoga, and the Vedic hymnodies are the astounding creation of their
mantric competence. Possibly om was considered so sacred that it could not be
mentioned outside the actual context of the Vedic sacrifices. In that case, it
would have been passed on from teacher to student by word of mouth in strictest
confidence. There would therefore have been no need to mention om in the sacred
hymns. All initiates would have known it and also understood its sublime
meaning. In any case, for countless generations, any recitation of the Vedic
hymns has begun with the syllable om. The Atharva-Veda (10.8.10) seems to hint
at this with the following riddle:
What
is joined to the front and to the back and is joined all around and everywhere,
and by which the sacrifice proceeds? That praise (ric) I ask of you.
The
syllable om is often appended to longer mantric utterances, both introducing and
concluding them, and this practice is very old indeed.
As
time went by, the ban on uttering the sacred syllable or even writing it down
outside the sacrificial rituals was relaxed. Thus the sacred syllable is first
mentioned by name in the opening hymn of the Shukla-Yajur-Veda (1.1), the
“white” recension of the Vedic hymnody dealing strictly with the performance
of the sacrifices (yajus). This could be a later addition, however. For the
Taittirîya-Samhitâ (5.2.8), which is appended to the Yajur-Veda, still
cryptically speaks of the “divine sign” (deva-lakshana) that is written
threefold (try-alikhita). Some scholars have seen this as a reference to the
three constituent parts of the syllable om, as written in Sanskrit: a + u + m.
The three constituents of om are referred to, for instance, in the
Prashna-Upanishad (V.5). The symbolic elaboration of this is found in the Mândûkya-Upanishad,
as we will see later.
That
the sacred syllable was written down early on is clear from the fact that it had
to be traced in sand or water during certain of the ancient rituals. This is
also a significant piece of evidence in favor of writing at least in the late
Vedic era, which is generally denied by historians. However, today we appreciate
that ancient Indian history needs to be completely rewritten. The long-held
belief that the Vedic people invaded India between 1200 and 1500 B.C.E. has been
shown to be unfounded. In fact, all the evidence points to the identity between
the Vedic people and the builders of the great cities along the banks of the
Indus river. Since inscribed artifacts have been found in the Indus cities, the
question of whether or not the Vedic people knew writing can be conclusively
answered in the affirmative.
It
is true, though, that the Vedic hymnodies were in all probability never written
down until comparatively recently. Yet, the brahmins had devised an ingenious
system of memorization to guarantee that the Vedas were preserved with utmost
fidelity. It appears that they have been successful in this, thanks to the
prodigious memories of the Vedic specialists. Other cultures, which held their
sacred tradition in a similar high regard, sought to preserve it by memorization
rather than writing it down on impermanent materials that, moreover, might fall
into the wrong hands. However, nowhere has the art of memorization reached the
sophistication that it did in India.
Over
many generations, om was not uttered outside the sacred context of ritual
worship. It was a secret sound communicated by word of mouth from teacher to
disciple, that is, originally from father to son. Even the early Upanishads
(which have recently been dated back to the second millennium B.C.E.) often
still refer to it only indirectly as the udgîtha (“up sound”) and the
pranava (“pronouncing”). The former word hints at the nasalized way in which
om is sounded out, with the sound vibrating at the psychoenergetic center
located between and behind the eyebrows (i.e., the âjnâ-cakra). The term
pranava is derived from the prefix pra (etymologically related to the Latin
“pro”) and the stem nava (derived from the verbal root nu meaning “to call
out” and “to exult”). It is used, for instance, in the Yoga-Sûtra (1.27),
where it is called the symbol (vâcaka) of the Lord (îshvara). Patanjali
further states (in 1.28) that in order to realize the mystery of the Lord, the
om sound should be recited and contemplated.
Another,
later term for om is târa, which is derived from the verbal root trî, meaning
“to cross, traverse.” This is a reference to the liberating function of the
om sound, which safely transports the yogin across the ocean of existence
(bhava-sâra) to the “other shore.” Through recitation, which is mindful
repetition of the om sound, the yogin can transcend the mind itself and thus is
freed from the illusion of being an insular being separate from everything else.
The om sound is truly liberating because it expands the reciter beyond the
physical boundary of the skin and beyond the metaphorical boundary of
preconceptions, thus restoring the recognition of the universal Self as his or
her true identity.
In
the earliest Upanishads, such as the Brihad-Âranyaka, Chândogya, and Taittirîya,
the sacred syllable om is mentioned many times by name, both as om (or aum) and
om-kâra (“om making,” meaning the “letter om”). However, udgîtha is
more common. It is the Chândogya that first clearly spells out the equation
between the words udgîtha and pranava (a term not found in the Brihad-Âranyaka).
Perhaps these two terms came in vogue because for unknown reasons om had, by
that time, spread beyond the sacred domain and begun to be used in the sense of
“Yes, I agree.” The first record of this usage is in the Brihad-Âranyaka-Upanishad
(3.9.1) itself, where om is employed seven times in this manner. Indeed, the Chândogya-Upanishad
(1.1.8) clearly states: “That syllable is a syllable of assent, for whenever
we assent to anything we say aum [= om].” Max Müller commented on this as
follows:
If,
then, om meant originally that and yes, we can understand that, like Amen, it
may have assumed a more general meaning, something like tat sat, and that it may
have been used as representing all that human language can express.
The
Chândogya-Upanishad (1.1.9) also has this relevant passage:
By
this the threefold knowledge proceeds. To honor this syllable, aum is recited,
aum is exclaimed, aum is chanted, with its greatness and essence.
Interestingly,
in his commentary on this Upanishad, Shankara takes this passage to refer to the
soma sacrifice, which again affirms the connection between om and soma mentioned
above. He states that the soma ritual is performed to celebrate, or honor, the
sacred syllable, which is the symbol of the Divine. This sacrifice, he further
explains, maintains the Sun from which proceeds all life and nourishment by
means of warmth and rain.
The
Chândogya-Upanishad (1.9.4) also quotes Atidhanvan Shaunaka, the teacher of
Udara Shândilya, as saying, “So long as your descendants will know this udgîtha,
their life in this world will be the highest and best.” This expresses the
idea that the sacred syllable is a blessing for those who utter it. For this
reason it is worthy of being held in the highest esteem, as this and other
scriptures emphasize.
According
to the concluding verses of the Brihat-Samnyâsa-Upanishad—a text of the
medieval period—12,000 recitations of om remove all sins, while 12,000
recitations daily for a period of one year bring realization of the Absolute
(brahman). What greater blessing can there be than this?
At
least two millennia after the sacred syllable om was discovered by the Vedic
seers (rishis), the anonymous sage who composed the brief Mândûkya-Upanishad
utilized this age-old mantra to expound the metaphysics of Advaita Vedânta.
Thus he explained the three constituent parts (mâtrâ) of the syllable—namely
a + u + m—as symbolizing past, present, and future, as well as waking,
dreaming, and deep sleep. He also spoke of a fourth part that transcends the
other three and concluded his esoteric observations with the statement that om
is the Self (âtman), saying, “He who knows this enters the Self with the
self—indeed, he who knows this!”
The
importance of the Mândûkya-Upanishad can be gauged from the fact that the
venerable sage Gaudapâda wrote his celebrated commentary entitled Mândûkya-Kârikâ
on it, which was subsequently commented on at length by Shankara, the great
preceptor of the school of nondualism (advaita). Gaudapâda was the teacher of
Govindapâda, Shankara’s guru.
Another
scripture, given exclusively to explaining the sacred syllable om is the
Atharva-Shikhâ-Upanishad. This scripture begins with the question: What should
one meditate on? The answer is: the syllable om, which symbolizes the supreme
Absolute (brahman). The text speaks of four constituent parts of this mantra,
each having its own symbolic correlations as follows:
1.
the sound a — earth - ric (hymn of praise) — Rig-Veda — Brahman — Vasus
(a class of eight deities) — gâyatrî meter — gârhapatya fire — red —
dedicated to Brahman;
2.
the sound u — atmosphere — yajus (sacrificial formula) — Yajur-Veda —
Vishnu — Rudras (deities governing the region between earth and heaven) —
trishtubh meter — dakshina fire — bright — dedicated to Rudra;
3.
the sound m — heaven — sâman (sacred chants) — Sâma-Veda — Vishnu —
Âdityas (deities connected with the Goddess Aditi, symbolizing primordial
infinity) — jagatî meter — âhavanîya fire — black — dedicated to
Vishnu;
4.
“half-part” (ardha-mâtra) — Atharvan songs — Atharva-Veda — fire of
universal destruction — Maruts (deities of the mid-region who are especially
associated with the wind) — Virât — lightning-like and multicolored —
dedicated to Purusha.
The
most important part is the nasalized “half-part” sound m, which brings its
own illumination and causes the life force (prâna) in the body to rush upward
into the head. This Upanishad further states that the om sound is called om-kâra
because it sends the currents of the life force upward (ûrdhvam utkrâmayati)
and that it is called pranava because it makes all the life currents bow down
(pranâmayati) before it. The text concludes by stating that the om sound is
Shiva.
Interestingly,
in Tantra-Yoga, the serpent power (kundalinî-shakti) resting in the
psychoenergetic center at the base of the spine, is said to be coiled up three
and a half times. Very likely, this captures the same idea as in the notion of
the three and a half units of the om sound. The Tantras would presumably modify
the Upanishad’s final claim to replace Shiva with Shakti, which in the form of
the kundalinî rises upward and while doing so assimilates the life currents. In
fact, the ascent of the serpent power is accompanied by manifestations of ever
more subtle sound.
According
to the Amrita-Bindu-Upanishad (4), only the silent part of the sound m leads to
the soundless, invisible Abode, the ultimate Reality. This scripture explains
breath control (prânâyâma), a very important aspect of yogic discipline, as
the recitation of the gâyatrî-mantra: tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhîmahi
dhiyo yo nah pracodayât). This mantra is to be recited together with the
pranava and the vyâhritis (“formulaic utterances,” notably the words bhûh
bhuvah svah, standing for “earth,” “mid-region,” and “heaven”
respectively). This sacred mantra should be recited three times in a single
breath.
The
Amrita-Nâda-Upanishad (2ff.) recommends that one should mount the “chariot of
the om sound,” make Vishnu one’s charioteer, and steer steadily toward the
ultimate Reality. As one approaches the supreme Self, one should abandon the
chariot and enter the splendor of the Self by means of the unsounded letter m.
This is the silent, subtle part of om.
This
Upanishad prescribes breath control, especially retention of the breath, as a
means of controlling the senses and focusing the mind upon the inner world. It
defines Yoga as the state of restraint over a period of twelve units or measures
(mâtrâ), that is, twelve recitations of om. It promises the dawning of wisdom
within three months of diligent and continuous practice, an inner vision of the
deities within four months, and final liberation within a mere six months. Of
course, one must be able to sustain unwavering concentration for that span of
time in order to succeed. For most people, this is an impossibility. For, as one
Vedic seer-bard (rishi) complained in the Rig-Veda (10.33.2), “My mind
flutters here and there like a bird.”
According
to the Dhyâna-Bindu-Upanishad (15), the pranava is the bow, oneself is the
arrow, and the Absolute is the target. This metaphor is first found in the
Mundaka-Upanishad (2.2.3-4). It also calls the pranava imperishable and states
that its “fine end” cannot be expressed. Another favorite metaphor, also
recapitulated in the Dhyâna-Bindu-Upanishad (22), is that of oneself as the
lower churning stick (arani) and the om sound as the upper churning stick. By
practicing it, one can restrain one’s breath and dissolve the subtle sound (nâda).
Through
constant cultivation of the subtle inner sound, declares the Nâda-Bindu-Upanishad
(49), the karmic imprints (vâsanâ) left by our past volitional activity are
eradicated. This leads to the merging of mind and life force. When the mind and
the life force are motionless, the person abides as the subtle sound known as
brahma-târa-antara-nâda, which can be translated as the “innermost sound
that is the brahmic liberator (târa).”
A
fascinating account of the sacred syllable is given in the Nârada-Parivrâjaka-Upanishad
(8.1ff.), a medieval scripture. Here om is said to be threefold: the destructive
om, the creative om, and the internal-and-external om (comprising the two former
types). Another threefold division is: the brahmic om, the internal om, and the
practical om. Then the text mentions two more sets: the external om, the om of
the seers (rishi), and the virât om (consisting of the former two), as well as
the destructive om, the Brahma om, and the om of the half-measure (ardha-mâtrâ).
This
Upanishad goes on to explain these various forms of om as follows: The internal
om is the single syllable om, which has eight parts—a, u, m, ardha-mâtrâ, nâda,
bindu, kalâ, and shakti. The phoneme a is said to consist of 10,000 parts, the
phoneme u of 1,000 parts, the phoneme m of 100 parts, and the ardha-mâtrâ of
an infinite number of parts. The creative om is described as having qualities
and the destructive om as having none. The virât om is said to consist of
sixteen units (morae). In addition to the above-mentioned eight parts (which are
explained below), the sacred syllable also has kalâ-atîta, shânti, shânti-atita
(written shântyatîta), unmanî, mana-unmanî (written manomanî), purî,
madhyamâ, pashyantî, and parâ. This text also refers to 64 and 128 parts of
the sacred syllable, but it makes the point that ultimately its designated
object—the Absolute—is singular.
The
Sacred Syllab
The
above Upanishadic ideas lead to the speculations about om in the Tantric
literature where concepts like nâda, bindu, kalâ, shakti, etc. abound. The Shâradâ-Tilaka-Tantra
(1.108) describes the cosmogonic process in terms of the production of sound as
follows: From the supreme Shakti—pure Consciousness combined with the factor
of lucidity (sattva)—comes the most subtle sound (dhvani), which is marked by
a preeminence of the factors of lucidity and dynamism (rajas). Out of the dhvani
develops the subtle sound (nâda), characterized by a mixture of the factors of
lucidity, dynamism, and inertia (tamas). This subtle sound, in turn, gives rise
to the energy of restriction (nirodhikâ), which has an excess of the factor of
inertia. This ontic principle emanates the “half-moon” (ardha-indu, written
ardhendu), which at this lower level again shows a predominance of the factor of
lucidity. Out of it comes the vibratory source point (bindu), the immediate
source of all letters and words. These form mantras, which are thus
manifestations or vehicles of Shakti.
This
scripture (1.8) further explains that the bindu is itself composed of three
parts, viz. nâda, bindu, and bîja (“seed”). The first part has a
predominance of Consciousness (i.e., Shiva), the second a preponderance of
Energy (i.e., Shakti), and the third an equal presence of Consciousness and
Energy. Such esoteric accounts of the evolution of sound remain relatively
unintelligible outside of Tantric practice; however, they become increasingly
meaningful as the practitioner makes progress on the path of mantra-vidyâ or
“mantric science.”
The
primordial sound is uncaused. In the language of Kashmiri Tantrism, it is pure
vibration (spanda). According to the Kirana-Tantra (copied in 924 C.E.), om
resides in the throat of Shiva and is the Divine itself. This scripture also
describes it as the root of all mantras, stating that upon articulation it
becomes vâc (“speech”), corresponding to the Greek concept of logos.
As
we get higher up the ladder of ontic unfoldment, we encounter ever more subtle
energies. Thus the mâtrikâs are the subtle alphabetic counterpart to their
corresponding audible sounds; the bindu is subtler than the mâtrikâs, and the
nâda is still more subtle. As the Yoga-Shikhâ-Upanishad (2.21) states,
“There is no mantra higher than the nâda.” In old graphic representations
of the om-kâra, the nâda symbol is drawn or painted as an inverted crescent
above the bindu, which suggests that the nâda is prior to the bindu. Later the
crescent placed below the bindu emphasized that the nâda contains the bindu.
Both graphic representations make the same point, however.
The
nâda itself has various levels of subtle manifestation. According to the
Hamsa-Upanishad (16) it manifests in ten different ways. First there is the
sound cini, then cini-cini. The third sounds like a bell, the fourth like the
blast of a conch, whereas the fifth has the quality of a harp sound. The sixth
through the ninth respectively resemble the sounds of cymbals, flute, kettle
drum, and tabor. Only the tenth type, which is like a thunder clap, should be
cultivated. Various physiological symptoms are said to accompany these sounds.
Thus when the fourth sound is heard (in the right ear), one’s head begins to
shake, while the fifth sound causes the subtle center at the root of the palate
to stream with the lunar ambrosia, and so on. The final sound alone is
accompanied by identification with the supreme Absolute (para-brahman).
Some
Tantras differentiate between mahâ-nâda (also called nâda-anta) and nirodhinî,
which is transmuted into bindu. This is also called tri-bindu because it is
subdivided into nâda, bindu, and bîja. In this case, the nâda is correlated
with shiva, the bindu with shakti, and the bîja with both Shiva and Shakti. The
ultimate Reality itself can be viewed as a point origin, and as such is
sometimes referred to as para-bindu or transcendental germinal point.
Om
is the ultimate bîja-mantra. The idea of om being the root of other mantras may
actually have given rise to whole idea of bîja-mantras, which are root sounds
associated with particular deities. They are special high-potency sounds or
vibrations giving direct access to the spiritual realities for which they stand.
The Mantra-Yoga-Samhitâ (71) calls om the “best of all mantras,” adding
that all other mantras receive their power from it. Thus om is prefixed or
suffixed to numerous mantras:
Om
namah shivâya. “Om. Obeisance to Shiva.”
Om
namo bhagavate. “Om. Obeisance to the Lord [Krishna or Vishnu].”
Om
namo ganeshâya. “Om. Obeisance to [the elephant-headed] Ganesha.”
Om
namo nârâyanâya. “Om. Obeisance to Nârâyana [Vishnu].”
Om
shânte prashânte sarva-krodha-upashamani svâhâ. “Om. At peace! Pacifying!
All anger be subdued! Hail!” (Note pronunciation: sarva-krodhopashamani)
Om
sac-cid-ekam brahma. “Om. The singular Being-Consciousness, the Absolute.”
The
Mahânirvâna-Tantra (3.13) calls the last-mentioned brahma-mantra the most
excellent of all mantras, which promptly bestows not only liberation but also
virtue, wealth, and pleasure.
The
para-bindu mentioned above is said to have a masculine and a feminine side,
which are respectively called ham and sa, thus yielding the sound or word hamsa,
meaning “swan,” but signifying the sound of the breath and indeed the breath
itself as it enters and leaves the body. This natural motion of breathing, which
is calculated to occur 21,600 times every day, is called spontaneous recitation
(sahaja-japa) or unrecited recitation (ajapa-japa).
The
hamsa also stands for the psyche (jîva), which lives through the breath. This
spontaneous mantra is understood as so’ham or “I am he,” that is, “I am
Shiva, the ultimate Reality.” But ignorance prevents us from realizing this;
hence the need for spiritual practice. The Yoga-Bîja (156), a comparatively
late Hatha-Yoga text, states that when the prâna enters the central channel,
the natural mantra reverses itself from hamsa to so’ham. Experientially,
however, this is not different from the primordial om, the root mantra that
reverberates through the entire cosmos.
The
Mantra-Yoga-Samhitâ (73) has this stanza:
When
people hear the pranava they hear the Absolute itself.
When
they utter the pranava they go to the abode of the Absolute.
He
who perceives the pranava sees the state of the Absolute.
He
who always has the pranava in his mind has the form of the Absolute.
Conclusion
This
brief discourse on the history and nature of the sacred syllable om is meant to
give the reader a better appreciation of the metaphysical complexities
surrounding this age-old mantra and of some of the profound spiritual practices
associated with it. It would be possible to write several volumes on this
subject, just as it would be possible to provide an overview of India’s
spiritual traditions based solely on the theory and practice of the om sound.
What has been presented here is but a minute fraction of the teachings about om
developed over a span of five millennia.
The
Yoga tradition is very rich and immensely sophisticated; yet its various schools
and their respective paths are at core very simple, and in their simplicity they
have many features in common. Above all, they lead to the same goal, which is
the transcendence of the ego-personality, however this may be conceived and
expressed in words. As the Rig-Veda (1.164.46) declared five millennia or more
ago, “There is a single Truth but the wise call it by different names.”
AUM TAT SAT
200
Key Sanskrit Terms of Yoga
A
Abhyasa
— practice; cf. vairagya
Acarya
(sometimes spelled Acharya in English) — a preceptor, instructor; cf. guru
Advaita
(“nonduality”) — the truth and teaching that there is only One Reality
(atman, brahman), especially as found in the Upanishads; see also Vedanta
Ahamkara
(“I-maker”) — the individuation principle, or ego, which must be
transcended; cf. asmita; see also buddhi, manas
Ahimsa
(“nonharming”) — the single most important moral discipline (yama)
Akasha
(“ether/space”) — the first of the five material elements of which the
physical universe is composed; also used to designate “inner” space, that
is, the space of consciousness (called cid-akasha)
Amrita
(“immortal/immortality”) — a designation of the deathless Spirit (atman,
purusha); also the nectar of immortality that oozes from the psychoenergetic
center at the crown of the head (see sahasrara-cakra) when it is activated and
transforms the body into a “divine body” (divya-deha)
Ananda
(“bliss”) — the condition of utter joy, which is an essential quality of
the ultimate Reality (tattva)
Anga
(“limb”) — a fundamental category of the yogic path, such as asana,
dharana, dhyana, niyama, pranayama, pratyahara, samadhi, yama; also the body
(deha, sharira)
Aranyaka
(“that which pertains to the forest”) — an early type of ritual text used
by forest-dwelling renouncers; cf. Brahmana, Upanishad, Veda
Arjuna
(“White”) — one of the five Pandava princes who fought in the great war
depicted in the Mahabharata, disciple of the God-man Krishna whose teachings can
be found in the Bhagavad-Gita
Asana
(“seat”) — a physical posture (see also anga, mudra); the third limb
(anga) of Patanjali’s eightfold path (astha-anga-yoga); originally this meant
only meditation posture, but subsequently, in Hatha-Yoga, this aspect of the
yogic path was greatly developed
Ashrama
(“that where effort is made”) — a hermitage; also a stage of life, such as
brahmacarya, householder, forest dweller, and complete renouncer (samnyasin)
Ashta-anga-yoga,
ashtanga-yoga (“eight-limbed union”)—the eightfold Yoga of Patanjali,
consisting of moral discipline (yama), self-restraint (niyama), posture (asana),
breath control (pranayama), sensory inhibition (pratyahara), concentration
(dharana), meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi), leading to liberation
(kaivalya)
Asmita
(“I-am-ness”) — a concept of Patanjali’s eight-limbed Yoga, roughly
synonymous with ahamkara
Atman
(“self”) — the transcendental Self, or Spirit, which is eternal and
superconscious; our true nature or identity; sometimes a distinction is made
between the atman as the individual self and the parama-atman as the
transcendental Self; see also purusha; cf. brahman
Avadhuta
(“he who has shed [everything]”) — a radical type of renouncer (samnyasin)
who often engages in unconventional behavior
Avidya
(“ignorance”) — the root cause of suffering (duhkha); also called ajnana;
cf. vidya
Ayurveda, Ayur-veda (“life science”) — one of India’s traditional systems of medicine, the other being South India’s Siddha medicine
B
Bandha
(“bond/bondage”) — the fact that human beings are typically bound by
ignorance (avidya), which causes them to lead a life governed by karmic habit
rather than inner freedom generated through wisdom (vidya, jnana)
Bhagavad-Gita
(“Lord’s Song”) — the oldest full-fledged Yoga book found embedded in
the Mahabharata and containing the teachings on Karma-Yoga (the path of
self-transcending action), Samkhya-Yoga (the path of discerning the principles
of existence correctly), and Bhakti-Yoga (the path of devotion), as given by the
God-man Krishna to Prince Arjuna on the battlefield 3,500 years or more ago
Bhagavata-Purana
(“Ancient [Tradition] of the Bhagavatas”) — a voluminous tenth-century
scripture held sacred by the devotees of the Divine in the form of Vishnu,
especially in his incarnate form as Krishna; also called Shrimad-Bhagavata
Bhakta
(“devotee”) — a disciple practicing Bhakti-Yoga
Bhakti
(“devotion/love”) — the love of the bhakta toward the Divine or the guru
as a manifestation of the Divine; also the love of the Divine toward the devotee
Bhakti-Sutra
(“Aphorisms on Devotion”) — an aphoristic work on devotional Yoga authored
by Sage Narada; another text by the same title is ascribed to Sage Shandilya
Bhakti-Yoga
(“Yoga of devotion”) — a major branch of the Yoga tradition, utilizing the
feeling capacity to connect with the ultimate Reality conceived as a supreme
Person (uttama-purusha)
Bindu
(“seed/point”) — the creative potency of anything where all energies are
focused; the dot (also called tilaka) worn on the forehead as indicative of the
third eye
Bodhi
(“enlightenment”) — the state of the awakened master, or buddha
Bodhisattva
(“enlightenment being”) — in Mahayana Buddhist Yoga, the individual who,
motivated by compassion (karuna), is committed to achieving enlightenment for
the sake of all other beings
Brahma
(“he who has grown expansive”) — the Creator of the universe, the first
principle (tattva) to emerge out of the ultimate Reality (brahman)
Brahmacarya
(from brahma and acarya “brahmic conduct”) — the discipline of chastity,
which produces ojas
Brahman
(“that which has grown expansive”) — the ultimate Reality (cf. atman,
purusha)
Brahmana
— a brahmin, a member of the highest social class of traditional Indian
society; also an early type of ritual text explicating the rituals and mythology
of the four Vedas; cf. Aranyaka, Upanishad, Veda
Buddha
(“awakened”) — a designation of the person who has attained enlightenment
(bodhi) and therefore inner freedom; honorific title of Gautama, the founder of
Buddhism, who lived in the sixth century B.C.E.
Buddhi (“she who is conscious, awake”) — the higher mind, which is the seat of wisdom (vidya, jnana); cf. manas
C
Cakra
(“wheel”) — literally, the wheel of a wagon; metaphorically, one of the
psycho-energetic centers of the subtle body (sukshma-sharira); in Buddhist Yoga,
five such centers are known, while in Hindu Yoga often seven or more such
centers are mentioned: mula-adhara-cakra (muladhara-cakra) at the base of the
spine, svadhishthana-cakra at the genitals, manipura-cakra at the navel,
anahata-cakra at the heart, vishuddha- or vishuddhi-cakra at the throat,
ajna-cakra in the middle of the head, and sahasrara-cakra at the top of the head
Cin-mudra
(“consciousness seal”) — a common hand gesture (mudra) in meditation
(dhyana), which is formed by bringing the tips of the index finger and the thumb
together, while the remaining fingers are kept straight
Cit
(“consciousness”) — the superconscious ultimate Reality (see atman,
brahman)
Citta (“that which is conscious”) — ordinary consciousness, the mind, as opposed to cit
D
Darshana
(“seeing”) — vision in the literal and metaphorical sense; a system of
philosophy, such as the yoga-darshana of Patanjali; cf. drishti
Deva
(“he who is shining”) — a male deity, such as Shiva, Vishnu, or Krishna,
either in the sense of the ultimate Reality or a high angelic being
Devi
(“she who is shining”) — a female deity such as Parvati, Lakshmi, or
Radha, either in the sense of the ultimate Reality (in its feminine pole) or a
high angelic being
Dharana
(“holding”) — concentration, the sixth limb (anga) of Patanjali’s
eight-limbed Yoga
Dharma
(“bearer”) — a term of numerous meanings; often used in the sense of
“law,” “lawfulness,” “virtue,” “righteousness,” “norm”
Dhyana
(“ideating”) — meditation, the seventh limb (anga) of Patanjali’s
eight-limbed Yoga
Diksha
(“initiation”) — the act and condition of induction into the hidden
aspects of Yoga or a particular lineage of teachers; all traditional Yoga is
initiatory
Drishti
(“view/sight”) — yogic gazing, such as at the tip of the nose or the spot
between the eyebrows; cf. darshana
Duhkha (“bad axle space”) — suffering, a fundamental fact of life, caused by ignorance (avidya) of our true nature (i.e., the Self or atman)
G
Gayatri-mantra
— a famous Vedic mantra recited particularly at sunrise: tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat, “….
Gheranda-Samhita
(“[Sage] Gheranda’s Compendium”) — one of three major manuals of
classical Hatha-Yoga, composed in the seventeenth century; cf.
Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, Shiva-Samhita
Goraksha
(“Cow Protector”) — traditionally said to be the founding adept of
Hatha-Yoga, a disciple of Matsyendra
Granthi
(“knot”) — any one of three common blockages in the central pathway
(sushumna-nadi) preventing the full ascent of the serpent power
(kundalini-shakti); the three knots are known as brahma-granthi (at the lowest
psychoenergetic center of the subtle body), the vishnu-granthi (at the heart),
and the rudra-granthi (at the eyebrow center)
Guna
(“quality”) — a term that has numerous meanings, including “virtue”;
often refers to any of the three primary “qualities” or constituents of
Nature (prakriti): tamas (the principle of inertia), rajas (the dynamic
principle), and sattva (the principle of lucidity)
Guru
(“he who is heavy, weighty”) — a spiritual teacher; cf. acarya
Guru-bhakti
(“teacher devotion”) — a disciple’s self-transcending devotion to the
guru; see also bhakti
Guru-Gita
(“Guru’s Song”) — a text in praise of the guru, often chanted in
ashramas
Guru-Yoga (“Yoga [relating to] the teacher”) — a yogic approach that makes the guru the fulcrum of a disciple’s practice; all traditional forms of Yoga contain a strong element of guru-yoga
H
Hamsa
(“swan/gander”) — apart from the literal meaning, this term also refers to
the breath (prana) as it moves within the body; the individuated consciousness
(jiva) propelled by the breath; see jiva-atman; see also parama-hamsa
Hatha-Yoga
(“Forceful Yoga”) — a major branch of Yoga, developed by Goraksha and
other adepts c. 1000 C.E., and emphasizing the physical aspects of the
transformative path, notably postures (asana) and cleansing techniques
(shodhana), but also breath control (pranayama)
Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika
(“Light on Hatha-Yoga”) — one of three classical manuals on Hatha-Yoga,
authored by Svatmarama Yogendra in the fourteenth century
Hiranyagarbha (“Golden Germ”) — the mythical founder of Yoga; the first cosmological principle (tattva) to emerge out of the infinite Reality; also called Brahma
I
Ida-nadi
(“pale conduit”) — the prana current or arc ascending on the left side of
the central channel (sushumna nadi) associated with the parasympathetic nervous
system and having a cooling or calming effect on the mind when activated; cf.
pingala-nadi
Ishvara
(“ruler”) — the Lord; referring either to the Creator (see Brahma) or, in
Patanjali’s yoga-darshana, to a special transcendental Self (purusha)
Ishvara-pranidhana (“dedication to the Lord”) — in Patanjali’s eight-limbed Yoga one of the practices of self-restraint (niyama); see also Bhakti-Yoga
J
Jaina
(sometimes Jain) — pertaining to the jinas (“conquerors”), the liberated
adepts of Jainism; a member of Jainism, the spiritual tradition founded by
Vardhamana Mahavira, a contemporary of Gautama the Buddha
Japa
(“muttering”) — the recitation of mantras
Jiva-atman,
jivatman (“individual self”) — the individuated consciousness, as opposed
to the ultimate Self (parama-atman)
Jivan-mukta
(“he who is liberated while alive”) — an adept who, while still embodied,
has attained liberation (moksha)
Jivan-mukti
(“living liberation”) — the state of liberation while being embodied; cf.
videha-mukti
Jnana
(“knowledge/wisdom”) — both worldly knowledge or world-transcending
wisdom, depending on the context; see also prajna; cf. avidya
Jnana-Yoga (“Yoga of wisdom”) — the path to liberation based on wisdom, or the direct intuition of the transcendental Self (atman) through the steady application of discernment between the Real and the unreal and renunciation of what has been identified as unreal (or inconsequential to the achievement of liberation)
K
Kaivalya
(“isolation”) — the state of absolute freedom from conditioned existence,
as explained in ashta-anga-yoga; in the nondualistic (advaita) traditions of
India, this is usually called moksha or mukti (meaning “release” from the
fetters of ignorance, or avidya)
Kali
— a Goddess embodying the fierce (dissolving) aspect of the Divine
Kali-yuga
— the dark age of spiritual and moral decline, said to be current now; kali
does not refer to the Goddess Kali but to the losing throw of a die
Kama
(“desire”) — the appetite for sensual pleasure blocking the path to true
bliss (ananda); the only desire conducive to freedom is the impulse toward
liberation, called mumukshutva
Kapila
(“He who is red”) — a great sage, the quasi-mythical founder of the
Samkhya tradition, who is said to have composed the Samkhya-Sutra (which,
however, appears to be of a much later date)
Karman,
karma (“action”) — activity of any kind, including ritual acts; said to be
binding only so long as engaged in a self-centered way; the “karmic”
consequence of one’s actions; destiny
Karma-Yoga
(“Yoga of action”) — the liberating path of self-transcending action
Karuna
(“compassion”) — universal sympathy; in Buddhist Yoga the complement of
wisdom (prajna)
Khecari-mudra
(“space-walking seal”) — the Tantric practice of curling the tongue back
against the upper palate in order to seal the life energy (prana); see also
mudra
Kosha
(“casing”) — any one of five “envelopes” surrounding the
transcendental Self (atman) and thus blocking its light: anna-maya-kosha
(“envelope made of food,” the physical body), prana-maya-kosha (“envelope
made of life force”), mano-maya-kosha (“envelope made of mind”),
vijnana-maya-kosha (“envelope made of consciousness”), and ananda-maya-kosha
(“envelope made of bliss”); some older traditions regard the last kosha as
identical with the Self (atman)
Krishna
(“Puller”) — an incarnation of God Vishnu, the God-man whose teachings can
be found in the Bhagavad-Gita and the Bhagavata-Purana
Kumbhaka
(“potlike”) — breath retention; cf. puraka, recaka
Kundalini-shakti
(“coiled power”) — according to Tantra and Hatha-Yoga, the serpent power
or spiritual energy, which exists in potential form at the lowest
psycho-energetic center of the body (i.e., the mula-adhara-cakra) and which must
be awakened and guided to the center at the crown (i.e., the sahasrara-cakra)
for full enlightenment to occur
Kundalini-Yoga — the yogic path focusing on the kundalini process as a means of liberation
L
Laya-Yoga
(“Yoga of dissolution”) — an advanced form or process of Tantric Yoga by
which the energies associated with the various psycho-energetic centers (cakra)
of the subtle body are gradually dissolved through the ascent of the serpent
power (kundalini-shakti)
Linga (“mark”) — the phallus as a principle of creativity; a symbol of God Shiva; cf. yoni
M
Mahabharata
(“Great Bharata”) — one of India’s two great ancient epics telling of
the great war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas and serving as a repository
for many spiritual and moral teachings
Mahatma
(from maha-atman, “great self”) — an honorific title (meaning something
like “a great soul”) bestowed on particularly meritorious individuals, such
as Gandhi
Maithuna
(“twinning”) — the Tantric sexual ritual in which the participants view
each other as Shiva and Shakti respectively
Manas
(“mind”) — the lower mind, which is bound to the senses and yields
information (vijnana) rather than wisdom (jnana, vidya); cf. buddhi
Mandala
(“circle”) — a circular design symbolizing the cosmos and specific to a
deity
Mantra
(from the verbal root man “to think”) — a sacred sound or phrase, such as
om, hum, or om namah shivaya, that has a transformative effect on the mind of
the individual reciting it; to be ultimately effective, a mantra needs to be
given in an initiatory context (diksha)
Mantra-Yoga
— the yogic path utilizing mantras as the primary means of liberation
Marman
(“lethal [spot]”) — in Ayur-Veda and Yoga, a vital spot on the physical
body where energy is concentrated or blocked; cf. granthi
Matsyendra
(“Lord of Fish”) — an early Tantric master who founded the Yogini-Kaula
school and is remembered as a teacher of Goraksha
Maya
(“she who measures”) — the deluding or illusive power of the world;
illusion by which the world is seen as separate from the ultimate singular
Reality (atman)
Moksha
(“release”) — the condition of freedom from ignorance (avidya) and the
binding effect of karma; also called mukti, kaivalya
Mudra
(“seal”) — a hand gesture (such as cin-mudra) or whole-body gesture (such
as viparita-karani-mudra); also a designation of the feminine partner in the
Tantric sexual ritual
Muni (“he who is silent”) — a sage
N
Nada
(“sound”) — the inner sound, as it can be heard through the practice of
Nada-Yoga or Kundalini-Yoga
Nada-Yoga
(“Yoga of the [inner] sound”) — the Yoga or process of producing and
intently listening to the inner sound as a means of concentration and ecstatic
self-transcendence
Nadi
(“conduit”) — one of 72,000 or more subtle channels along or through which
the life force (prana) circulates of which the three most important ones are the
ida-nadi, pingala-nadi, and sushumna-nadi
Nadi-shodhana
(“channel cleansing”) — the practice of purifying the conduits, especially
by means of breath control (pranayama)
Narada
— a great sage associated with music, who taught Bhakti-Yoga and is attributed
with the authorship of one of two Bhakti-Sutras
Natha
(“lord”) — appellation of many North Indian masters of Yoga, in particular
adepts of the Kanphata (“Split-ear”) school allegedly founded by Goraksha
Neti-neti
(“not thus, not thus”) — an Upanishadic expression meant to convey that
the ultimate Reality is neither this nor that, that is, is beyond all
description
Nirodha
(“restriction”) — in Patanjali’s eight-limbed Yoga, the very basis of
the process of concentration, meditation, and ecstasy; in the first instance,
the restriction of the “whirls of the mind” (citta-vritti)
Niyama
(“[self-]restraint”) — the second limb of Patanjali’s eightfold path,
which consists of purity (shauca), contentment (samtosha), austerity (tapas),
study (svadhyaya), and dedication to the Lord (ishvara-pranidhana)
Nyasa (“placing”) — the Tantric practice of infusing various body parts with life force (prana) by touching or thinking of the respective physical area
O
Ojas
(“vitality”) — the subtle energy produced through practice, especially the
discipline of chastity (brahmacarya)
Om — the original mantra symbolizing the ultimate Reality, which is prefixed to many mantric utterances
P
Parama-atman
or paramatman (“supreme self”) — the transcendental Self, which is
singular, as opposed to the individuated self (jiva-atman) that exists in
countless numbers in the form of living beings
Parama-hamsa,
paramahansa (“supreme swan”) — an honorific title given to great adepts,
such as Ramakrishna and Yogananda
Patanjali
— compiler of the Yoga-Sutra, who lived c. 150 C.E.
Pingala-nadi
(“reddish conduit”) — the prana current or arc ascending on the right side
of the central channel (sushumna-nadi) and associated with the sympathetic
nervous system and having an energizing effect on the mind when activated; cf.
ida-nadi
Prajna
(“wisdom”) — the opposite of spiritual ignorance (ajnana, avidya); one of
two means of liberation in Buddhist Yoga, the other being skillful means
(upaya), i.e., compassion (karuna)
Prakriti
(“creatrix”) — Nature, which is multilevel and, according to Patanjali’s
yoga-darshana, consists of an eternal dimension (called pradhana or
“foundation”), levels of subtle existence (called sukshma-parvan), and the
physical or coarse realm (called sthula-parvan); all of Nature is deemed
unconscious (acit), and therefore it is viewed as being in opposition to the
transcendental Self or Spirit (purusha)
Prakriti-laya
(“merging into Nature”) — a high-level state of existence that falls short
of actual liberation (kaivalya); the being who has attained that state
Prana
(“life/breath”) — life in general; the life force sustaining the body; the
breath as an external manifestation of the subtle life force
Pranayama
(from prana and ayama, “life/breath extension”) — breath control, the
fourth limb (anga) of Patanjali’s eigthfold path, consisting of conscious
inhalation (puraka), retention (kumbhaka), and exhalation (recaka); at an
advanced state, breath retention occurs spontaneously for longer periods of time
Prasada
(“grace/clarity”) — divine grace; mental clarity
Pratyahara
(“withdrawal”) — sensory inhibition, the fifth limb (anga) of
Patanjali’s eightfold path
Puja
(“worship”) — ritual worship, which is an important aspect of many forms
of Yoga, notably Bhakti-Yoga and Tantra
Puraka
(“filling in”) — inhalation, an aspect of breath control (pranayama)
Purana
(“Ancient [History]”) — a type of popular encyclopedia dealing with royal
genealogy, cosmology, philosophy, and ritual; there are eighteen major and many
more minor works of this nature
Purusha (“male”) — the transcendental Self (atman) or Spirit, a designation that is mostly used in Samkhya and Patanjali’s yoga-darshana
R
Radha
— the God-man Krishna’s spouse; a name of the divine Mother
Raja-Yoga
(“Royal Yoga”) — a late medieval designation of Patanjali’s eightfold
yoga-darshana, also known as Classical Yoga
Rama
— an incarnation of God Vishnu preceding Krishna; the principal hero of the
Ramayana
Ramayana
(“Rama’s life”) — one of India’s two great national epics telling the
story of Rama; cf. Mahabharata
Recaka
(“expulsion”) — exhalation, an aspect of breath control (pranayama)
Rig-Veda;
see Veda
Rishi (“seer”) — a category of Vedic sage; an honorific title of certain venerated masters, such as the South Indian sage Ramana, who is known as maharshi (from maha meaning “great” and rishi); cf. muni
S
Sadhana
(“accomplishing”) — spiritual discipline leading to siddhi
(“perfection” or “accomplishment”); the term is specifically used in
Tantra
Sahaja
(“together born”) — a medieval term denoting the fact that the
transcendental Reality and the empirical reality are not truly separate but
coexist, or with the latter being an aspect or misperception of the former;
often rendered as “spontaneous” or “spontaneity”; the sahaja state is
the natural condition, that is, enlightenment or realization
Samadhi
(“putting together”) — the ecstatic or unitive state in which the
meditator becomes one with the object of meditation, the eighth and final limb
(anga) of Patanjali’s eightfold path; there are many types of samadhi, the
most significant distinction being between samprajnata (conscious) and
asamprajnata (supraconscious) ecstasy; only the latter leads to the dissolution
of the karmic factors deep within the mind; beyond both types of ecstasy is
enlightenment, which is also sometimes called sahaja-samadhi or the condition of
“natural” or “spontaneous” ecstasy, where there is perfect continuity of
superconscious throughout waking, dreaming, and sleeping
Samatva
or samata (“evenness”) — the mental condition of harmony, balance
Samkhya
(“Number”) — one of the main traditions of Hinduism, which is concerned
with the classification of the principles (tattva) of existence and their proper
discernment in order to distinguish between Spirit (purusha) and the various
aspects of Nature (prakriti); this influential system grew out of the ancient
(pre-Buddhist) Samkhya-Yoga tradition and was codified in the Samkhya-Karika of
Ishvara Krishna (c. 350 C.E.)
Samnyasa
(“casting off”) — the state of renunciation, which is the fourth and final
stage of life (see ashrama) and consisting primarily in an inner turning away
from what is understood to be finite and secondarily in an external letting go
of finite things; cf. vairagya
Samnyasin
(“he who has cast off”) — a renouncer
Samprajnata-samadhi;
see samadhi
Samsara
(“confluence”) — the finite world of change, as opposed to the ultimate
Reality (brahman or nirvana)
Samskara
(“activator”) — the subconscious impression left behind by each act of
volition, which, in turn, leads to renewed psychomental activity; the countless
samskaras hidden in the depth of the mind are ultimately eliminated only in
asamprajnata-samadhi (see samadhi)
Samyama
(“constraint”) — the combined practice of concentration (dharana),
meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi) in regard to the same object
Sat
(“being/reality/truth”) — the ultimate Reality (atman or brahman)
Sat-sanga
(“true company/company of Truth”) — the practice of frequenting the good
company of saints, sages, Self-realized adepts, and their disciples, in whose
company the ultimate Reality can be felt more palpably
Satya
(“truth/truthfulness”) — truth, a designation of the ultimate Reality;
also the practice of truthfulness, which is an aspect of moral discipline (yama)
Shakti
(“power”) — the ultimate Reality in its feminine aspect, or the power pole
of the Divine; see also kundalini-shakti
Shakti-pata
(“descent of power”) — the process of initiation, or spiritual baptism, by
means of the benign transmission of an advanced or even enlightened adept
(siddha), which awakens the shakti within a disciple, thereby initiating or
enhancing the process of liberation
Shankara
(“He who is benevolent”) — the eighth-century adept who was the greatest
proponent of nondualism (Advaita Vedanta) and whose philosophical school was
probably responsible for the decline of Buddhism in India
Shishya
(“student/disciple”) — the initiated disciple of a guru
Shiva
(“He who is benign”) — the Divine; a deity that has served yogins as an
archetypal model throughout the ages
Shiva-Sutra
(“Shiva’s Aphorisms”) — like the Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali, a classical
work on Yoga, as taught in the Shaivism of Kashmir; authored by Vasugupta (ninth
century C.E.)
Shodhana
(“cleansing/purification”) — a fundamental aspect of all yogic paths; a
category of purification practices in Hatha-Yoga
Shraddha
(“faith”) — an essential disposition on the yogic path, which must be
distinguished from mere belief
Shuddhi
(“purification/purity”) — the state of purity; a synonym of shodhana
Siddha
(“accomplished”) — an adept, often of Tantra; if fully Self-realized, the
designation maha-siddha or “great adept” is often used
Siddha-Yoga
(“Yoga of the adepts”) — a designation applied especially to the Yoga of
Kashmiri Shaivism, as taught by Swami Muktananda (twentieth century)
Siddhi
(“accomplishment/perfection”) — spiritual perfection, the attainment of
flawless identity with the ultimate Reality (atman or brahman); paranormal
ability, of which the Yoga tradition knows many kinds
Spanda
(“vibration”) — a key concept of Kashmir’s Shaivism according to which
the ultimate Reality itself “quivers,” that is, is inherently creative
rather than static (as conceived in Advaita Vedanta)
Sushumna-nadi
(“very gracious channel”) — the central prana current or arc in or along
which the serpent power (kundalini-shakti) must ascend toward the
psychoenergetic center (cakra) at the crown of the head in order to attain
liberation (moksha)
Sutra
(“thread”) — an aphoristic statement; a work consisting of aphoristic
statements, such as Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutra or Vasugupta’s Shiva-Sutra
Svadhyaya (“one’s own going into”) — study, an important aspect of the yogic path, listed among the practices of self-restraint (niyama) in Patanjali’s eightfold Yoga; the recitation of mantras (see also japa)
T
Tantra
(“Loom”) — a type of Sanskrit work containing Tantric teachings; the
tradition of Tantrism, which focuses on the shakti side of spiritual life and
which originated in the early post-Christian era and achieved its classical
features around 1000 C.E.; Tantrism has a “right-hand” (dakshina) or
conservative and a “left-hand” (vama) or unconventional/antinomian branch,
with the latter utilizing, among other things, sexual rituals
Tapas
(“glow/heat”) — austerity, penance, which is an ingredient of all yogic
approaches, since they all involve self-transcendence
Tattva
(“thatness”) — a fact or reality; a particular category of existence such
as the ahamkara, buddhi, manas; the ultimate Reality (see also atman, brahman)
Turiya (“fourth”), also called cathurtha — the transcendental Reality, which exceeds the three conventional states of consciousness, namely waking, sleeping, and dreaming
U
Upanishad
(“sitting near”) — a type of scripture representing the concluding portion
of the revealed literature of Hinduism, hence the designation Vedanta for the
teachings of these sacred works; cf. Aranyaka, Brahmana, Veda
Upaya (“means”) — in Buddhist Yoga, the practice of compassion (karuna); cf. prajna
V
Vairagya
(“dispassion”) — the attitude of inner renunciation, the counterpole to
abhyasa; cf. samnyasa
Vasana
(“trait”) — the concatenation of subliminal activators (samskara)
deposited in the depth of the mind where they exert a binding effect
Veda
(“Knowledge”) — the body of sacred wisdom found in the four Vedic
hymnodies that form the source of Hinduism: Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, and
Atharva-Veda; also the collective name for these hymnodies; cf. Vedanta
Vedanta
(“Veda’s end”) — the teachings forming the doctrinal conclusion of the
revealed literature (shruti) of Hinduism; see also Upanishad; cf. Aranyaka,
Brahmana, Veda
Videha-mukti
(“disembodied liberation”) — the state of liberation without a physical or
subtle body; cf. jivan-mukti
Vidya
(“knowledge/wisdom”) — a synonym of prajna
Vijnana
Bhikshu — a sixteenth-century Yoga master who authored several works on Yoga,
including the Yoga-Varttika (a comprehensive commentary on the Yoga-Sutra) and
Yoga-Sara-Samgraha (a summary of Raja-Yoga as taught by Patanjali)
Vishnu
(“Worker”) — the deity who is worshiped by the Vaishnavas and who has had
nine incarnations, including Rama and Krishna, with the tenth incarnation
(avatara)—Kalki—coming at the close of the kali-yuga
Viveka
(“discernment) — a most important aspect of the yogic path
Vratya
(from vrata “vow”) — a member of the sacred brotherhood in Vedic times in
whose circles early yogic practices were developed
Vritti
(“whirl”) — in Patanjali’s yoga-darshana, specifically the five types of
mental activity: valid cognition (pramana), misconception (viparyaya),
imagination (vikalpa), sleep (nidra), and memory (smriti)
Vyasa (“Arranger”) — name of several great sages, but specifically referring to Veda Vyasa, who arranged the Vedic hymnodies in their current form and who also is attributed with the compilation of the Puranas, the Mahabharata, and other works, including the Yoga-Bhashya commentary on the Yoga-Sutra
Y
Yajna
(“sacrifice”) — ritual sacrifice is fundamental to Hinduism; Yoga also
knows of an inner sacrifice (as accomplished through meditation and
self-surrender)
Yajnavalkya
— the most renowned sage of the early Upanishadic era
Yama
(“discipline”) — the first “limb” (anga) of Patanjali’s eightfold
path, comprising moral precepts that have universal validity (such as nonharming
and truthfulness); also the name of the Hindu deity of death
Yantra
(“device”) — a geometric design representing the body of one’s
meditation deity, used for external and internal worship
Yoga
(“union/discipline”) — the unitive discipline by which inner freedom is
sought; spiritual practice, as practiced in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism; the
spiritual tradition specific to India; the specific school of Patanjali (see
ashta-anga-yoga)
Yoga-darshana
(“Yoga view/system”) — Patanjali’s Raja-Yoga
Yoga-Sutra
(“Aphorisms of Yoga”) — Patanjali’s aphoristic compilation forming the
source of Raja-Yoga, also called “Classical Yoga”
Yogin
— a male practitioner of Yoga
Yogini
— a female practitioner of Yoga
Yoni
(“womb”) — the perineum or female genitals, but also the source of the
universe; cf. linga
Yuga
(“age/era”) — a division of time; see kali-yuga
©
1999 by Georg Feuerstein
By
synchronizing movement with breath, this ancient system of yoga arouse the inner
fire to cleanse and strengthen the body. " O Yogi, don't do asanas without
vinyasa," wrote the sage Vamana Rishi in the Yoga Korunta, an ancient text
rediscovered, translated, and put into practice in this century by T.
Krishnamacharya and his disciple Pattabhi Jois. Jois now teaches the system of
vinyasa - a method of purifying body and mind by awakening "inner fire
" just as he learned it 60 years ago. The idea of purification through heat
has been central in Indian thought for millennia. The second chapter of
Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, for example, begins by describing the preliminaries of
yoga practice, the first of which is tapas, meaning literally " to burn
."
Essentially,
tapas in yoga refers to any practice that purifies and strengthern the body and
mind. The metaphor of purification by fire can also be seen in the popular
Indian image of Shiva Nataraja, the cosmic dancer, who dances in a ring of
flames upon the prostrate body of a demon. Symbolically, the intense movement of
Nataraja's dance creates the fire of purification that subdues his demon foe,
ignorance. The vinyasa system is based on the same idea of purification through
movement and heat.
In
vinyasa the synchronization of movement with breath creates heat, or
"internal fire," in the body, causing profuse perspiration and
increasing circulation and flexibility. Increased circulation and flexibility
calm the nervous system, allowing the muscles and mind to relax, while
perspiration removes toxins through the body's largest eliminative organ, the
skin. The cleansing and detoxification that result can be likened to the
purification of gold: impurieties are removed through a heathing and refining
process. Breath is the integrating link between mind and body.
Yogis have known for centuries that by regulating the breath one can calm the mind, but Ashtanga Yoga goes one step further by synchronizing breath with movements, the practisioner brings body and mind into alignment, creating a context in which it is easier to move beyond physical and psychological barriers. Full, directed breathing coupled with movement also oxygenates and cleanses the blood, which in turn nourishes all the organs and glands of the body, thus beginning a powerful cleansing process that greatly strengthens the body and mind. Long-held stress and toxins are released, and the glow of health returns. By practising the vinyasa system, it is possible to balance the alignment of the body and refresh any area of the body that have been pressed or had blood circulation cut off during performing an asana. As the practice progresses, the body heats up, causing the blood to become thinner and better able to circulate and filter efficently through the body eliminative organs. Toxin can build up, leaving the body rigid whit inflexible tissues and poor nerve activity. For this reason it is important not to interrupt the practice in a way that allows the body to cool or disturbs the rhythm of the breath. A fluid warm, uninterrupted practice allows the mind to become calm and focused, which is then reflected in an alert, steady gaze. When the gaze is clearly one-pointed, the mind is one-pointed and the breath comes perfecly.