Nag Panchami, Nagas and Patanjali

Here's Why Every Yogi Must Know The Link Between Them

-by
Kirti Tarang Pande
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Have you ever noticed that logo of modern medicine has two snakes intertwined, just like the symbolism of yoga (representing Ida, Pingala wrapped around Sushma)?

Anyway, those who know me are aware of how vocal I am about protecting snakes. They think I am drawn towards them. Little they know it's the other way around.

The home I was born in was next to a lake full of blooming lotuses. Snakes were therefore our regular visitors. My family would simply escort them out to grassland nearby. A place where they wouldn't cross path with humans. We never hurt the snakes and they reciprocated the same gesture.

The story continues till this day. I have had various homes in various cities since. They all have one thing in common- serpent visitors. Even the home that I had in concrete jungle called Bombay! In fact, the garden of my previous home in Pune was inhabited by three of them. One was a copper colored cobra, another was a black colored cobra and third was special. It was a gift to me by my dog. 

One night my dog, a golden retriever, retrieved a green color viper! He was standing near stairs with tail of the viper in his mouth. Shockingly, the viper didn't dig his venomous fangs in my dog. Thankfully, my dog had the wisdom to keep its teeth off too. He was holding it in the soft part that's typical of a retriever mouth.

You see snakes respond to our thought processes. If you are scared and make sudden movements, the snake will be scared too. Either its flight or fight that follows fear. If snake has opportunity to flea, it will. If it's cornered then it will fight with the only weapon that it has.

However, if you are calm, the snake will be calm too. A student of mine was so meditative in Vrikasana, that a snake came and coiled at her leg. The student remained calm and after some minutes it left. Haven't you seen, snake cuddle Shiva? They coiled around his neck, weaved in his man bun.

What's the point I am trying to make here? 

Snakes are sensitive to vibrations. Vibrations help them survive. They don't have ears. You must have noticed this. Also, that their entire body is connected with earth, as they crawl. This makes them perceptive of energies. They are drawn to certain energies. 

What is energy that draws snakes? How does it connects with Patanjali?

Thanks to Einstein, we know that  the universe consists of various wormholes. Through these worm holes or channels, subtle currents flow.These currents are termed as Nagas (snakes)  in yogic texts. To understand why yogis chose this particular metaphor, we need to understand worm holes.

The concept of worm holes came as a result of Einstein, Flamm and Rosen's  works on General Theory of Relativity. Don't let the name dropping scare you. It's easy to understand. Worm hole is a passage through space-time continuum. Its USP is that it creates shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. Ah! I caught your attention now. Therefore, this is the time when I must caution you. These wormholes come with dangers of sudden collapse, high radiation and fatal contact with exotic matter.

Much like snake, isn't it. A meters long snake rolls itself into a small coil. The snake venom can kill you but can also be used as a drug against heart attack. Also, in ancient India snakes were found everywhere. So, the yogis thought, 'Why not use snake as metaphor? To make it approachable to a common man, let's  make this simple. Let's use a metaphor that people come across daily." There couldn't have been a better metaphor than Naga (snakes) for Kundalini (the fundamental force).

This is the reason why Patanjali is symbolized as half-snake. His understanding of seen and unseen life processes was mystifying. It was apparent to people that the Kundalini fundamental force is him. At least, partly. As I have discussed in my previous article that one can't have completely awakened Kundalini and hold on to this physical body at the same time. So, they gave him a half-snake body.

 But why Naga Panchami?

Naag Panchami comes in the month of Sravan- monsoon. It's a month dedicated for worshiping Shiva- Naga Bhushan. This also a month when rain water floods the homes of snakes and they seek shelter in ours.

Therefore, in ancient Indian culture this month was set aside to honor snakes. One can't honor and hurt something at the same time?

Why honor the snakes?

Snakes are called farmers' friends. They eat mice and other rodents that hurt the harvest. India was an agricultural economy. It was a simple treaty. You protect our crops, we protect you.

This the talk in materialistic terms, which may not be relevant to all of us today. However, its spiritual significance can't be ignored.

Spiritual significance of honoring snakes:

On Nag Panchami we honour all forms of Nagas (snake). Bowing to an ordinary snake or its image is just a metaphor for surrendering to Kundalini (transformation force within us) and to Lord Shiva (master of all the manifested and unmanifested energies of the universe)

What not to do in Naga Panchami?

Offer milk to snakes: I have no clue which Pundit started it, but none of Vedas mention offering milk to snake. Anywhere. Moreover, snakes don't like it. Every time I had put a bowl of milk out for a snake, it has gone in opposite direction. My dog is the one who would polish it off. 

Don't give money to snake charmers. Snakes hate captivity. They don't eat in captivity. By paying to snake charmers, you're bank rolling a business model of torture. Moreover, Kamasutra strictly warns against it. The curse of a tortured snake is bad for sex life- that's what Kamasutra says.

Don't pour milk on an image or sculpture of snake/Shiva. There are children in our country dying of starvation. The milk that you're pouring is also food of cow's child. Please don't waste it. If I take your child's food, make your child starve to rub that food over your body, will you pleased? Then, why do you think that it will peace Shiva. The milk of your love, devotion and dedication is all that Shiva craves for and rewards for.

What to do on Nagar Panchami?

• Let go of your fear of snakes. Please don't imprint your fears on your children. We must understand that fear is root of all our misdoings. Don't believe me? Investigate for yourself. Moreover, fear hails from ignorance. So understand that snake are not interested in hurting you. So many people die in road accidents. Everyone I know has fallen off a vehicle at least once. Yet, I don't see them screaming at the sight of a car. Then why snake? How many snake bite events you have personally witnessed? Most of the Indian snakes are not even poisonous.
• Take time out to meditate on Ajnaya Chkara- eyebrow center. Sit in a comfortable posture with spine erect and surrender your awareness to the Ajnaya Chakra. Don't concentrate or focus, you will have a headache. Just as you offer flower at feet of a deity, pour milk at Shiva, with same emotions offer your awareness to Ajnaya Chakra.
• Understand that Nagas (snakes) represent energy current. This current has potential to transform us and hurt us. It depends how we use it.
  Electronic energy ruling our era of Informational Technology is also an energy. If ancient yogis were alive today, they would have put it in category of Nagas.  We must be careful that we are using it for our transformation and not becoming a slave to it.

Suggested Readings:

The other name of Kundalini

Five Tantric Ways of Success

How can we use the gravitational effects of Guru Poornima & Lunar Eclipse for our benefit?

-by
Kirti Tarang Pande
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Today, on July 27, 2018, we are experiencing the longest eclipse of 21st century. In India, the eclipse will begin at 44 minutes past 10 tonight and will continue till 58 minutes past 4, tomorrow morning. It will be at its peak from 1 am to 2:45 am of July 28, 2018. Tonight is also a night when Mars will be closest to earth in 15 years. It's going to be an astronomical spectacle. Luckily, Pune, where I am today, is has a skyline covered with clouds. I am saying 'luckily' because for a stargazer like me, it would  have been difficult for me  to tear my eyes off the sky and look inwards. However, this is how we reap the benefits of this day, by turning inwards.

Before, I tell you how, I am going to share the significance of the two phenomena to empower you to carve your own path of how max out on spiritual benefits of the day.

Significance of Guru Poornima:

This is the day we celebrate the birth of Veda Vyasa. We all know him as the writer of Mahabharata. Now, contrary to popular belief, Veda Vyasa isn't a person. It's a title given to someone who has gained the wisdom of all the Vedas and the ability to share with masses in a way they can understand, assimilate and imply it in their life and its situations.

So far, there have been eight Veda Vyasa. They all became worthy of the title on this day. My tantra teacher, an unnamed Aghori, told me that the gravitational pull of the planetary movements on this day creates an energy field which is highly conducive to a spiritual practice. So, whatever you results you reap in any other day throw practice, today they will be multiplied. 

So, this day not only multiplies effect of our actions but also has the right settings for unlocking our highest potential. 

How can we benefit from this?

Lets, recap there are two things that Guru Poornima can do:

1. Multiply the effects of our actions

2. Unlock our highest potential

For point no. 1, its simple do the right thing. Don't react but act. Before reacting to any situation, pause, just for a second, contemplate the best response to the situation and then act on it. 

Now, the question arises, how to find the best response. I will share a trick that I follow. I visualize myself in this world as a hamster on a wheel. The wheel is there to exercise the hamster so that it stays healthy. All the situations that arise in my life is just to exercise my mind so that it can be healthy. So,  whenever I encounter a seemingly unpleasant situation, I always ask myself- How can I get maximum exercise from this. When someone is shouting at us it is so easy to shout back. We can do it as reflex, without involving our mind. On the other hand, if we try to practice compassion for someone yelling at us, that's when we are exercising our mind, strengthening it. If we do this today, the strength derived is multiplied.

As for point no. 2, it's easy. Sit back, close to your eyes. Calm your mind by turning the focus on breathe. Once the ripples of mind are gone embark on a journey of 'Atmashakshatkar'- who am I?

Lunar Eclipse

Simplest way to understand its effect on us is by looking at the moon. The Lunar Cycle, for which a moon takes 28 days, its journey from full moon to no moon and back to full moon, on an eclipse it happens in a matter of couple of hours. 

In chemistry lab, to fasten an experiment we would add a catalyst. Lunar eclipse it that catalyst. It fasten and accelerate things. That's why your grand ma asks you not to eat during the eclipse. The process of decomposition of food fastens. It rots before our body can throw it out. Eating food during eclipse won't kill you, or bring bad luck, it will just have the same effects on your body mind and emotions as eating rotten food will have.

I am not a fan of treating my body like a dustbin, so I usually stop eating four hours before an eclipse. Fortunately, today the eclipse starts at 22:44, so if I close my plate at 6pm, I am good.

How can we benefit from this?

By slowing down. Since, the eclipse accelerates , heightens everything, it includes the loss of our physical and pranic energy. The best way to counter is to sit down, turn the awareness inwards because where ever the awareness goes, the pran follows.

 Caution:

Emotions is one the many things that both Guru Poornima and Lunar Eclipse heighten and cause to overflow. So whatever you have been feeling yesterday, joy or anger will be more intense today. I recommend, take a break. Whatever emotion you feel today, tell yourself- "Very well, this is not real. I will revisit it tomorrow. If I feel the same way about it, I will then take an action on it."

All the best :)

Do you know this Tantra Yoga Janamashtami ritual can bring you closer to your true love?

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Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

Janamashtmi’s relevance in Tantra Yoga:

My Tantra Yoga mentor, the Aghori Naga, was a fire-worshipper. He would spend his days in Homa (offering oblations to fire) and nights in Dhuni (transformation by being consumed by fire).

While he dedicated his entire sadhana to Homa & Dhuni, he would tell me that there are four nights in a year when the practices Homa and Dhuni are particularly worthwhile.

One of these four nights is- Moha Ratri, the eighth tithi (day) of the krishna paksha (days of receding moon) in the month of Shravana. In Dwapar Yuga, Krishna was on born Moha Ratri and since then this day is celebrated as Janamastami in popular culture. (It’s not a coincidence that Krishna was a Param Yogi. He was born in the planetary alignment to be one).

Moha Ratri, the night of love in Tantra Yoga:

There’s a story in Tantra Yoga lore-

Once upon a time, there was a star. The star was in love with a blue lotus, which grew in the Mansarovar pond of Kailash Parvat. Every night, the star would touch this lotus with its celestial light. The touch of love would make the blue-lotus bloom and they would spend the night in the luminous embrace of love.

One night, the star fell sick; the gravitational forces at its core became stronger than the momentum of fire burning inside it, thus restricting the flow of its light.

When the blue lotus heard of it from the moon, it offered itself as oblation to the internal fire of the star. That night, the star finally shone, it shone like a blue lotus. That night was Moha Ratri and since that day, on every Moha Ratri the star shines like a blue lotus.

This is the reason why in tantra yoga tradition, Moha Ratri is considered as phase of love. My tantra mentor would say that on this night, through simple rituals and oblations, a human body can be converted into a receptor of celestial light, which in turns transforms our being into living embodiment of love.

Therefore, born on this night Krishna is such an irresistible lover. Whether it was milkmaids or Vrindavan or Radha or Meera or the timeless poets and artistes they have fallen inexorably in love with Krishna.

So, on Moha Ratri tantrics observe homas and dhuni to become Krishnamaya, in order to become the irresistible lover like him.

However, before we can discuss the DIY Homa and Dhuni, it is essential to understand what it means to be a lover like Krishna.

Krishna’s love:

Krishna embodies love for all- Gopis or Gopalas, Devas or Asurs. He accepts all.

When hunched-back and hated by all Kubja came to him with a wish of turning into a beautiful maiden, Krishna didn’t give a lecture on body-image issues, but he granted that wish. When he rescued 16,100 maidens from Narakasur and married them to restore their honor, he made each of them feel like chosen one, like he loved them more than anyone else. When he stole the clothes of Gopis, he robbed them of their egos, enabling them to meet Krishna in their purest form. When he loved Radha, it was beyond social bonds, time and space.

Krishna’s love incorporates all the 12 Rasas (spiritual tastes) - passion, wonder, conjugal love, fun, chivalry, kindness, servitude, friendship, horror, shock, saintly and parent like.

This is what makes Krishna the Supreme Lover and this is wish of tantrics on the night of Moha Ratri, for which they practice Homa and Dhuni

.

Easy DIY Tantra Yoga ritual for Moharati:

If you want to experience love in its purest form- an immersion in spiritual, mental and physical union. Here’s a  simple ritual to follow. You don’t have to be a Yogi or a tantric follow this, it just requires pure heart. If you have a partner, you can practice with the partner or you can practice alone, either way, it potent enough to sort out your love life-

Step 1:

On Moharatri/Janamashtami sit in any meditative posture, close your eyes and visual Krishna as Supreme lover- a physical manifestation of the 12 Rasas- dearest friend, kind father, and passionate consort. Visualize him as an embodiment of all accepting physical, mental and spiritual love. Meditate upon this visualization.

If you find this visualization difficult, you can focus on a picture or idol of Krishna.

Step 2:

Light a ghee lamp. Place it at eye level. Stare at its flame, no blinking. If tears roll down your cheeks, it’s okay. They are soul cleansers. As you stare at the flame, perform a mental Homa. Offer all your mental afflictions to the flame- anger, rage, jealousy, hatred, ego, greed, desires. One by one disrobe yourself of all the afflictions you have accumulated. Finally, oblate all your karmas to the flame- negative and positive and transcend beyond all the karmas.

Step 3:

Close your eyes and rest in this state of purity, with your eyes closed, visualize the scared fire touching you with cosmic love, transforming you into an irresistible cosmic lover.

Step 4:

Gently open your eyes, come out of meditation, cup your palms, fill them with cold water, blink your eyes in the water.  

    

 Suggested Reading:

1. This Diwali Woo Laxmi Through Sound Yoga
2. This Navratri channelize the inter 'Shakti' in three breaths
3. Meeting Durga through path of Rumi

General Guidelines For Practicing Yog Nidra

1 - Kirti Tarang Pande

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Mandala Courtesy: Bhavana Agarawal, Instructor, Home Yogis' Home

1. Yog Nidra is usually practiced for 1 or 2 ghatika, i.e. 20 or 40 minutes.
2. Light and loose clothes should be worn for the practice.
3. There are separate Yog Nidra practices for – therapy, learning and for spiritual progress.
4. The practice rooms should be quiet, well ventilated, the temperature should be neither hot nor cold, and semi dark.
5. Television, music, mobile and other forms of distractions should be turned off before starting this practice.
6. Shavasana is the recommended posture for Yog Nidra. This minimizes touch sensations by eliminating contact between the limbs of the body. Fingertips are extremely sensitive organs of tactile sensations, therefore palms are turned upwards. In order to, eliminate the sight stimuli, eyes are kept shut.
7. During the meditation, the instructions should be followed with gentle awareness. Please do not concentrate or hold your breathe.
8. Staying awake is the most important aspect of Yog Nidra.
9. While focusing of sound, no sensory impressions are to be forcibly excluded. Thoughts should not be forcibly excluded. On application of force, just like a wild horse, mind too gets disturbed and restless. The best way out is- not to accept or reject any sensory impression or thought. If sensory impressions are coming, allow them to come, if thoughts are coming let them come, just don’t pay any attention to them. After sometime, mind loses interests in external world and automatically becomes quiet. This methid of calming the mind is called Antar Mouna. It prepares the consciousness to practice Yog Nidra.


Want to know more? Read...

1. Nyasa Tantra and Yog Nidra
2. What is Yog Nidra
3. How to stay awake during Yog Nidra?

On unrelated note, suggested reading:

1. Orgasm and Yoga



2. Yoga Kit for Surviving Heartbreak

Nyasa Tantra and Yog Nidra

- Kirti Tarang Pande
Official Website, Instagram, Twitter

Mandala Courtesy: Bhavana Agarawal, Home Yogis' Home

What is Nyasa Tantra?

Nyasa means to place and Tantra means technique, this makes Nyasa Tantra a technique of physically and/or mentally placing matrikas on the body parts of the sadhak.

Some tantrics view Nyasa Tantra as a practice of ‘divinizing the body’.

Yog Nidra and Nyasa Tantra

Until Swami Satyananada Saraswati popularized it, Yog Nidra remained as a lesser known practice of this tantric sect.

It used the powerful technique of Yog Nidra to rotate the consciousness in the body. Through this rotation, physical body is consecrated by higher awareness/divine consciousness. In short, this technique is used by tantrics to dissolve negative karmas and hence become ‘devata-maya’.

Swami Satyananda was the first yogi of modern times to pull Yog Nidra out of tantric rituals which were difficult to incorporate in the daily practice of a common man. Thus, making it relevant to our times.

The practice of Yog Nidra in Nyasa Tantra

In Nyasa Tantra a session of yoga sadhana is closed with Yog Nidra.

Yog Nidra is practiced in sitting posture. First the name of a body part is recited and then corresponding matrika is placed/touched/experienced upon that part.

Angushtadi-Shadanga-nyasa and Hridayi-Shadanga-nyasa is two common Yog Nidra practices amongst modern tantrics of Nyasa sect.

Want to know more? Read...1. General guidelines for practicing Yog Nidra
2. What is Yog Nidra
3. How to stay awake during Yog Nidra?

On unrelated note, suggested reading:

1. Orgasm and Yoga


2. Yoga Kit for Surviving Heartbreak

The other name of Kundalini

-Kirti Tarang Pande

Official Website, Instagram, Twitter

Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

In my last article, I shared my personal Tantra practices. (http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/JM-SUC-infog-safe-tantra-for-success-5605966-PHO.html?ref=fbo) After, this story went live; I got many queries about ‘Awakening Kundalini’, so here’s what Tantra tells us on the subject:

Most important thing to know about Kundalini?

Kundalini as a practice originated in certain, Tantric sects. As discussed in my first article on Tantra Series (http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/JM-RIT-tantra-what-is-it-actually-5561341-PHO.html), Tantra is an esoteric yogic technique of achieving desired ends. Please pay attention here, the ‘desired end’ we talk about here is different from the ‘desirable ends’ of a common worldly person.

A tantric, is an ascetic, and only those tantrics whose sole interest is in merging with the Supreme Reality work on awakening of the Kundalini. That’s the purpose, the awakening of Kundalini serve in our terrestrial existence- ‘catalyzing the process of our merger with Supreme Reality’.

This means that an awakened kundalini is only a catalyst in this process. The process can and does still happen without it also.

Why is Awakening Kudalini such a buzz?

However, awakening kundalini is very popular, perhaps because it is marketed as an amazing, exciting and wish fulfilling thing happening in our physical existence. We all somewhere desire to be a super hero, don’t we? Is this branding of kundalini in alignment with truth though?

I leave this question for you to answer. I will simply show you the complete picture of kundalini, so that your views stand on solid foundation of facts.

The most important fact here to know is, the other name of kundalini.

The other name of Kundalini

This is where the dilemma about awakening and the key to awakening both reside. This other side of Kundalini is referred to as ‘Ahamkara’ in Tantric, palm leaf manuals.

Whether your physical being is aligned with the Kundalini or towards ‘Ahamkara’ is determined by the direction of your awareness and attention.

Aham, in Sanskrit means ‘I’, Kara means ‘create’. Therefore, Ahamkara means energy of identification. Meaning that faculty in organism that creates identification with its small limited terrestrial self- This is my name, this is my sex, this is my body, I belong to this place, I do this, I want this, and the list goes on.

This self identification is a result of focusing the Supreme Energy that resides amidst us in a narrow, self-cherishing individualized manner. This is what we call Ahamkara in Samkhya Philosophy.

However, when instead of focusing on self, we take this energy and direct it towards cherishing the macrocosm this multiverse and the Supreme Energy manifesting it all, it becomes Kundalini.

How this helps in Awakening of the Kundalini

According to Samkhya Philosophy, this organism that we label ‘I’ is engineered to move in the direction of our awareness. If our awareness is directed towards the union with the Supreme Reality, the organism will follow that path. If awakening kundalini is a requisite of the process it will happen, whether or not we are practicing the fancy ‘Kundalini Yoga’.

It is that simple!

But beware

Rewind a bit- Kundalini awakens when our energy is aligned with merger with Supreme Reality, and not with our terrestrial existence (and all the materialistic comforts that it brings). Therefore, the flow of logic implies that person with completely awakened kundalini has obtained a union with the Supreme Reality & the terrestrial existence of that individual is finished. The being, by the mere definition of kundalini, can’t be in this plane of terrestrial plane after it has awakened.

This is the reason, why tantrics (the authentic ones) have kept the technique of kundalini awakening a secret; because most of us want an awakened kundalini for materialistic comforts- good health, success, better sex, intellectual superiority, the list is long. This process is an oxymoron. If we are lucky, we will fail. If we meddle too much, we will damage our ‘Self’. Remember, this ‘self’ not only includes our body & psyche, but also everything we identify with- what we do, whom we love, etc.

Does it mean one can’t have an awakened Kundalini and stay alive?

According to Mahabharata, Vasuki, the serpent king, was able to awaken the kundalini to a certain degree and yet managed to stay alive. In fact, Vasuki lived to see all the four yugas- from Sata Yuga (mention in Samudra Manthan), to Treta Yuga (mention in Ramayan), Dvapara Yuga (mention in Mahabharata) to Kaliyuga (mention in legends of Buddha).

The key word Vasuki’s Kundalini Awakening is ‘certain degree’. Vasuki while aligning himself with Supreme Reality, managed to preserve enough ‘Ahamkara’ for his terrestrial well-being.

Since Vasuki was a Shiva devotee (according to Vishnu Puran, he is the snake on Shiva’s neck), the tantrics follow the cult of Shiva. They do so with the hope of figuring out the Vasuki’s technique to preserving the right amount of Ahamkara.

What can we do?

Salute Kundalini! She’s the Supreme Goddess of our inert and inner energy. This inner and inert energy makes you become something more than you are right now; something out of this plane of your existence. However, you need to ask yourself a question first- do I really want this? If you have any attachment with your body, with people whom you love, with materialistic comfort; awakening kundalini isn’t the path for you.

Perhaps, you can follow the lead of Vasuki and awaken it to a certain degree. Using the limbs of Yoga is the easiest way to do it:

Step 1: Create a universal, macrocosmic consciousness by practicing the Yams & Niyams (Dos and Donts) Yoga.

Step 2: Prepare your gross body for the uncoiling of Supreme Energy through Asanas.

Step 3: Practice the art of controlling & directing the flow of energy through Pranayams.

Step 4: Steady your mind through Dharna. Just like you can’t plug in an energy source with shaky hands, you can’t pulg-in the flow of Kundalini through a shaky point.

Step 5: Follow a plug-point system. Not every electric point can handle a high voltage of current, similarly not every body can handle the strength of Kundalini. So find a teacher who can help you in uncoiling it in small, measured doses. Allow you to take a step back. Observe the effects & then repeat the process if it’s safe for your terrestrial being.

The DIY Kundalini

If you’re not a big fan of doing the hard-work and finding the guru; you would rather do it in the comfort of your home, here’s what to do:

Simply start putting needs of others before yourself. Every action that you take, ask yourself- how is it going to bring universal well-being. As your terrestrial self will gradually move towards the macrocosmic, universal self; your Kundalini will gently uncoil.

This will be slow, like the process of a monkey evolving into a human. The plus point is- just like that monkey’s evolution; it will be organic, in alignment with the nature and hence painless.

What not to do?

Don’t force your Kundalini to awaken. Kundalini is a Goddess. Goddess is nurturing Shakti as well as devastating Kali. Never forget that love and respect evokes Shakti, while force brings out Kali. Not all of us has the spiritual, mental & physical bandwidth to download Kali in our system.

Five Tantric Ways of Success

-Kirti Tarang Pande

Official Website, Instagram, Twitter

Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

In my last Tantra article, I promised that I will be sharing practices of Safe Tantra- ones that don’t require a Guru’s supervision.

How it works:

To understand & be able to use the power of Tantra in our day-to-day world, it is essential that we first know what this day-to-day world is and who we are.

Sankhya Darshan says that this seen world is created with Panchamahabhoota (Five basic elements)-

1. Kshiti (Earth)

2. Jal (Water)

3. Pavak (Fire)

4. Akaash (Space)

5. Sameera (Air)

According to Taittiriya Upnishad, our Annamayakosa (our gross physical body) is an amalgamation of these Panchmahabhoota.

At initiation level, we use Tantra as a technique of shuddhi (purification) of these Panchmahabhoota. This prepares not only our physical body to receive, accept & assimilate the explosion of our Shakti but in the realm of realism, it imparts success to us.

Now the question is-

How to purify Panchamahabhoota through Tantra:

Simply follow these five easy steps, one for each mahabhoota in your daily life;

1. Kshiti (Earth)

Earth gives us stability. The stability is essential to us but it comes with Tamas (inertia). This inertia prevents us from taking necessary actions in the direction of success. Therefore, in order to bring any kind of desirable change in our lives it’s crucial that we minimize (if not eliminate) the Tamas within us.

This can be done by understanding how Tamas functions. In my personal practice, I follow a simple thumb rule- anything that gives pleasure now but pain later is Tamasic & should be minimized if not eliminated.

However, the thing with Tamas is, it’s addictive. So, here’s a cheat trick to overcome Tamas addiction:

Cheat Trick:

Shitali, Shitkari & Sadanta are three pranayams that help in getting rid of any kind of cravings. Practicing each one of these three pranayams 9 times daily help in quenching the Tamasic yearnings.

2. Jal (Water)

Majority of tantrics concentrate mostly upon water element, because when it comes to physical body it’s the most important element. In fact, there’s an entire field of Tantric Alchemy dedicated to it, it’s called- Rasa Vidya- the knowledge of Rasa. It’s such an esoteric practice that there’s a test that one needs to pass before getting initiation into it. The test is called-

Gagan gamana, swarna karna (One should be able to levitate & turn base metal into gold).

This external alchemy is taken as a proof of internal alchemy that comes after an internal transformation. This transformation is a product of purification of water element inside our body.

This purification, according to Taittriya Upnishad, must begin at mental level. Water is Rasa in Sanskrit, so are our emotions. In order to purify water element at physical level, it is essential that we purify our emotions first.

In my daily practice, I find Mindfulness & a Tibetan meditation technique called Tong Len the most effective way of purifying emotions.

3. Pavak (Fire)

Placed in the middle of the five elements, fire acts as a bridge between the dense elements (earth & water) and subtle elements (air & ether). Therefore, to create balance in physical body purification of fire is indispensable. As a result, we find fire as a foundation of both the paths of Yoga- the known Vedic path & the secret Tantric path. In fact, the first word, of the first shloka, of the first mandala, of the first Veda is Agni- fire.

Since the fire exists in physical body in the form of acids, enzymes & melanin, the simplest way to purify it is through food.

This means, fixing number of meals, fixing meal time & eating only that food which doesn’t aggravate our dosha (Vata, Pitta, Kapha).

4. Sameera (Air)

The job of air is to move. If it’s not in continuously moving at right time & right rate, then it produces undesirable effects, especially in tubular organs.

The easiest way to purify air is to purify the channels through which it moves. In Patanjali Yogsutram, rishi suggested working on purification of three major channels called sushmna, ida and pingala; before dawn and right after dusk. He suggests so because while Ida & Pingala function the whole day but these are the time when it is easiest to get Sushumna to work.

The best way to do this is by practicing nadi shodhan pranayam for beginners & anulom-vilom (in the authentic way as mentioned in Patanjali yogsutram) by advanced practitioners. In my personal practice, I do so every morning at 5am, before stepping down from bed.

I can’t control how my day is going to be, but I can control how it begins- by balancing my body, speech & mind through Pranayams.

5. Akaash (Gagan)

If we go by the definitions used in Riga Veda, Akaash in its most complex sense is what we today call the quantum mechanical field, the vacuum energy. In its simplest form, Akaash’s that from which the particles that make this multiverse spontaneously emerge, some of them manifest themselves and create the seen reality. 

Therefore, the Riga Veda says that this multiverse is in a continuing process of externally manifested space & time.

This makes Akaash the trickiest of all the five elements- it’s not only the subtlest one but has the most complex function! So, the purification it has to be difficult.

No! Akaash maybe the most subtle thing around, it’s still a matter. (According to me, this is the fundamental difference between modern physics & Sankhya philosophy).    

The easiest way to purify any element is to figure out what creates the element & then removing the external particles. In Sankhya Darshan, it is believed that the Tanmatras create Akaash.

What are Tanmatras? Let’s leave that for another day, for now, let’s stick to the purification of Aakash. Patanjali Yogsutram talks of Pratyahara for this.

Pratyahara is simply cutting the food of the five senses. It is only when we withdraw from our sense, we get the window to experience the reality beyond the external manifestation of it.

At Home Yogis’ Home, we get a taste of that experience through ‘Naad’ meditation, in which through ‘Shanmukhi mudra’, we connect with the impulse that create the sound of our breath.  

By doing so, we don’t simply see things but we become a person of ‘vision’. To be a successful leader in modern economy it’s essential to be a visionary. We are going to discuss this in details next week. 

THIS NAVRATRI CHANNELIZE THE INNER ‘SHAKTI’ IN THREE BREATHES

-Kirti Tarang Pande

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Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

Yesterday, we discussed Tantra, what it is and what it is not. Today, let’s kick-in Navratri by preparing our bodies for Tantra. Just to refresh, yesterday we talked about how Tantra is a technique of goal achievement by harnessing & focusing our inner power.

This is where Navratri comes in. Tenth Mandal of Riga Veda considers Navratris to be the auspicious time to invoke, channelize and harness the Shakti within.

Yogic concept of ‘Shakti’

This Shakti is ‘Mooladhar Nivasini’, that is, she resides in Mooladhar Chakra- the root chakra. Mooladhar Chakra is responsible for grounding us with this material plane- Khshiti, meaning the earth element.

Kshiti is considered to Tamasic in nature in the practice of Tantra. Tamas brings inertia. Therefore, Shakti by virtue of residing here becomes inert in nature.

In other words, we have an innate power but it is sleep mode. The only time we unconsciously turn it on, is during sex. That’s why it’s common mistake to equate Tantric practice with sex.

We are not aware that we doing it or how we are doing it, so we can’t harness it at our own will. However, the worst part here is that we dispel & just disintegrating the ‘Shakti’ outside our body. This implies that we are not even using it!

How to awaken this ‘Shakti’

Yogataravali Sutra in its 5,6 and 8 sholkas  mentions Bandha as the method to do this. It says:

By the practice of the bandha the dormant Shakti awakens and enters into sushumna nadi. The breath becomes kumbhaka (still), the rechaka (exhalation) and pooraka (inhalation) cease to function. Senses are purified and kevala (enlightenment) takes place.

In fact, Acaranga Sutra of Jainisim cites Mahavir Jain attaining enlightenment through Mula Bandha.

How to practice Mool Bandha?

Basic underlying principle of bandhas is that by locking certain physical muscles, we initiate an unlocking at mental & pranic levels.

Following this principle, we lock the physical muscles around Mooldhar Chakra, to unlock our Mooladhar Nivasini, our Shakti. There are two techniques to do this:

1. Antar & Bahir Kumbhak

2. Maha Mudra Khumbhak

At beginners’ level, one should practice Antar & Bahir Kumbhak.

Step 1 Finding the right muscles:

Now, to find these muscles, in my personal practice it follow a simple method. I imagine that I am stuck in crazy Mumbai traffic & my bladder is bursting. I really have to pee; instinctively my body contracts certain muscles. That’s it; those are the muscles (perineal muscles) we are working upon here.

There’s another way to understand this, where I put out pictures of our anatomy & mention different sets of muscles for men & women. As an instructor, I’ve learnt it the harder way that it just confuses the students.

Step 2 Preparing for the locking

Before locking, we must check if we are in sync with the first Niyam (Dos) of Yoga- Sauch (Inner & outer cleanliness). Our bladder must be empty for this practice.

You can start with sitting in Padmasana. Take a Pooraka (inhale), observe Kumbhak (hold the breathe in), let out Rechaka (exhale) observe Kumbhak. Do this three times to ease your body into Kumbhak.

Step 3 The lock

·         Sit comfortably in Padmasana and bring all your awareness to mooladhar chakra.

·         Breathe in deeply & hold your breathe.

·         Mentally contract the mooladhar chakra by contracting your perineal muscles. Visualize that mooladar chakra is being massaged with your thumb.

·         Chant the beej mantra- lam mentally & visualize the Shakti awakening at the Mooldhar Chakra

·         When it’s no longer comfortable to hold the breathe. Exhale.

·         Before you inhale again, hold the breathe.

·         Mentally contract the mooladhar chakra by contracting your perineal muscles. Visualize that mooladar chakra is being massaged with your thumb.

·         Chant the beej mantra- lam mentally & visualize the Shakti awakening at the Mooldhar Chakra

This is one round. You can start with three rounds & as your practice improves, you can take it up to 12 rounds.

Bonus: A cheat trick

To increase the time of breathe retention you can hold your fingers in Shakti Dharana Mundra- press the breathe base of the thumb with index finger. By doing so you will observe that your capacity of comfortably retaining breathe has doubled.

Caution:

1. It’s not advisable to practice this if one is suffering from irregular periods.

2. Shiv Samhita in Chapter 4 insists that this bandha should only be practiced in isolation.

3. In Vedic Yoga, bandhas are esoteric practices and should only be practiced under the guidance of a Guru. You can use this write up increase to discuss your initiation into Bandhas with your Yoga teacher; but don’t use this write up for practice (especially as a beginner).

In case, you’re a beginner and don’t have a good teacher, keep watching this space; soon I will be sharing how to prepare our bodies for Tantra without a Guru.