What does a man see when he attains the Knowledge of Brahman after reaching the seventh plane?

Vijay : "What does a man see when he attains the Knowledge of Brahman after reaching the seventh plane?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "What happens when the mind reaches the seventh plane cannot not be described.

"Once a boat enters the 'black waters' of the ocean, it does not return. Nobody knows what happens to the boat after that. Therefore the boat cannot give us any information about the ocean.

"Once a salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean. No sooner did it enter the water than it melted. Now who could tell how deep the ocean was? That which could have told about its depth had melted. Reaching the seventh plane, the mind is annihilated; man goes into samadhi. What he feels then cannot be described in words.

"The 'I' that makes one a worldly person and attaches one to 'woman and gold' is the 'wicked I'. The intervention of this ego creates the difference between jiva and Atman. Water appears to be divided into two parts if one puts a stick across it. But in reality there is only one water. It appears as two on account of the stick. This 'I' is the stick. Remove the stick and there remains only one water as before.

"Now, what is this 'wicked I'? It is the ego that says: 'What? Don't they know me? I have so much money! Who is wealthier than I?' If a thief robs such a man of only ten rupees, first of all he wrings the money out of the thief, then he gives him a good beating. But the matter doesn't end there: the thief is handed over to the police and is eventually sent to jail. The 'wicked I' says: 'What? Doesn't the rogue know whom he has robbed? To steal my ten rupees! How dare he?'"

Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishhna

Selected Quotes from Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Some Think that Hatha Yoga is only about Asanas and Pranamayam. Here are some verses form Hatha Yoga Pradipika, which talk about Brahman or Siva

H.Y.P. 4.23: Breathing is lessened when the mind becomes absorbed, & the mind becomes absorbed when the Prâṇa is restrained.

H.Y.P. 4.24: Both the mind and the breath are united together, like milk and water; and both of them are equal in their activities. Mind begins its activities where there is the breath, and the Parana begins its activities where there is the mind.


H.Y.P. 4.24: Laya (moksha) is simply then forgetting of the objects of senses when the Vâsanâs do not rise into existence again.


H.Y.P. 4.36: Aiming at Brahman inwardly, while keeping the sight directed to the external objects, without blinking the eyes, is called the Sâmbhavî Mudrâ, hidden in the Vedas and the Sâstras.


H.Y.P. 4.37: When the Yogî remains inwardly attentive to the Brahman, keeping the mind and the Prâṇa absorbed, and the sight steady, as if seeing everything while in reality seeing nothing outside, below, or above, verily then it is called the Sâmbhavî Mudrâ, which is learnt by the favour of a guru. Whatever, wonderful, Sûnya or Asûnya is perceived, is to be regarded as the manifestation of that great Śambhû (Śiva.)


H.Y.P. 4.38: The two states, the Sâmbhavî and the Khecharî, are different because of their seats (being the heart and the space between the eyebrows respectively); but both cause happiness, for the mind becomes absorbed in the Chita-sukha-Rupa-âtmana which is void.


H.Y.P. 4.39: Fix the gaze on the light (seen on the tip of the nose) and raise the eyebrows a little, with the mind contemplating as before (in the Śambhavî Mudrâ, that is, inwardly thinking of Brahma, but apparently looking outside.) This will create the Unmanî avasthâ at once.


H.Y.P. 4.40: Some are devoted to the Vedas, some to Nigama, while others are enwrapt in Logic, but none knows the value of this mudrâ, which enables one to cross the ocean of existence.


H.Y.P. 4.41: With steady calm mind and half closed eyes, fixed on the tip of the nose, stopping the Idâ and the Pingalâ without blinking, he who can see the light which is the all, the seed, the entire brilliant, great Tatwama, approaches Him, who is the great object. What is the use of more talk?


H.Y.P. 4.42: One should not meditate on the Linga (i.e., Âtman) in the day (i.e., while Sûrya or Pingalâ is working) or at night (when Idâ is working), but should always contemplate after restraining both.


H.Y.P. 4.50: Freeing the mind from all thoughts and thinking of nothing, one should sit firmly like a pot in the space (surrounded and filled with the ether).


H.Y.P. 4.54: Placing the mind into the Kuṇḍalini, and getting the latter into the mind, by looking upon the Buddhi (intellect) with mind (reflexively), the Param Pada (Brahma) should be obtained.


H.Y.P. 4.55: Keep the âtmâ inside the Kha (Brahma) and place Brahma inside your âtmâ. Having made everything pervaded with Kha (Brahma), think of nothing else.


H.Y.P. 4.56: One should become void in and void out, and voice like a pot in the space. Full in and full outside, like a jar in the ocean.


H.Y.P. 4.57: He should be neither of his inside nor of outside world; and, leaving all thoughts, he should think of nothing.


H.Y.P. 4.58: The whole of this world and all the schemes of the mind are but the creations of thought. Discarding these thoughts and taking leave of all conjectures, O Râma! obtain peace.


H.Y.P. 4.59: As camphor disappears in fire, and rock salt in water, so the mind united with the âtmâ loses its identity.


H.Y.P. 4.60: When the knowable, and the knowledge, are both destroyed equally, then there is no second way (i.e., Duality is destroyed)


H.Y.P. 4.61: All this movable & immovable world is mind. When the mind has attained 2 unmanî avasthâ, there is no dwaita (Mind absent)


H.Y.P. 4.62: Mind disappears by removing the knowable, and, on its disappearance, âtmâ only remains behind.

H.Y.P. 4.77: The union of the mind and the sound is called the Râja-Yoga. - Hatha Yoga Pradipika 4.77

*Sound is heard in Susumna when 3 granthis are destroyed


H.Y.P. 4.79: Those who are ignorant of the Râja-Yoga & practise only the Haṭha-Yoga, will, in my opinion, waste their energy fruitlessly.


H.Y.P. 4.80: Contemplation on the space between the eyebrows is, in my opinion, best for accomplishing soon the Unmanî state. For people of small intellect, it is a very easy method for obtaining perfection in the Raja-Yoga. The Laya produced by nâda, at once gives experience (of spiritual powers).


H.Y.P. 4.90: Just as bee drinking sweet juice doesNot care 4 flower smell so the mind, absorbed in the nâda, does not desire objects of enjoyment.


H.Y.P. 4.101: So long as the sounds continue, there is the idea of âkâśa. When they disappear, then it is called Para Brahma, Paramâtmana.


H.Y.P. 4.102: Whatever is heard in the form of nâda, is śakti (power). That which is formless, the final state of the Tatwas, is Parameśwara.


Source & Credits: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/hyp/hyp06.htm

Five bodies, chakra-s, nADI-s, kunDalini and brahmaDaNDa in sanAtana dharma

|| Hari OM ||

|| ShrI guru sharaNam ||

Note: This article is an extraction of longer article, 'Hindu Dharma - the most organized, integrated spiritual and practical way of life'. The below title is the 13th title. To maintain similarity, here too we are starting the article with number 13 and not 1. The links of full article are:

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13. Five bodies in sanAtana dharma

According to SD, we not only have physical body, but we have five bodies. In yogic life, they too are nourished along with physical body. Other 4 subtle bodies are of great importance. Bodies are called as kosha-s.

13.1. Subtle bodies

Five bodies (kosha-s are) annamaya kosha, prANamaya kosha, manomaya kosha, viGYAnamaya kosha and Anandamaya kosha.

1. annamaya kosha - Physical gross body
2. prANamaya kosha - Energy body or aura or bioplasmic body. This body is the bridge between annamaya kosha and manomaya kosha.
3. manomaya kosha - mental body. Some modern energy based techniques have split manomaya kosha into astral body and mental body. Astral body is emotional body, handling emotions and mental body handles thoughts.
4. viGYAnamaya kosha - Causal body. viGYAnamaya kosha has all the impressions of past lives. It is said that ego is situated in this body. While other bodies have their own life, this body does not die until the ignorance of duality and sense of individuality is destroyed. In other words until one attains moksha, this body is not destroyed.
5. Anandamaya kosha - buddhi body or body of Bliss. Anandamaya kosha is the body of intuition. A person living in this body i.e conscious of this body lives in intuitions. There is no need to think before doing anything. Mind is so pure that it can tap into cosmic mind or universal consciousness.

Similarly, the five kosha-s are classified into three bodies.

1. sthuLa sharira - physical gross body
2. sukshma sharira - subtle body (energy body and manomaya kosha)
3. kAraNa sharira - causal body (viGYAnamaya kosha and Anandamaya kosha)

‘kAraNa’ means ‘cause’. This body is identified with antakaraNa and it’s four sub-divisions, mana (mind), buddhi (intellect), ahaMkAra (ego, sense of individuality) and chitta (memory or recitation power). This body does not die until moksha.

Each body has it’s own chakra-s. Not much is being said about chakra-s in higher bodies like manomaya kosha, etc. However Our shAstra-s say that we have seven major chakra-s. In gItA BG 5.13 it is said ‘navadvAra’ ‘नवद्वार’ meaning nine doors. bhAgavat purANa (canto 4, chapters 25-29) also describes city of nine gates. There is also description of nine doors in Guru Granth Sahib. There is also the mention of tenth door. A great yogi, a mahAsiddha, guru gorakshanAtha has described that there are nine chakra-s. If we take these doors in physical body then they are - 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth, 1 anus, 1 genital. However, if we take literally take it beyond physical body, then we can count on nine chakra-s.    

13.2. chakra-s

Seven chakra-s are

1. mUlAdhAra chakra - root chakra or base chakra or basic chakra
2. svAdhiSthAna chakra - sacral chakra
3. manipura chakra - navel chakra
4. anAhata chakra - heart chakra
5. vishuddhi chakra - throat chakra
6. AGYA chakra - 3rd eye, chakra of will power (sometimes spelled as ajna chakra)
7. sahasrAra chakra - crown chakra

guru gorakshanAth in siddha siddhAnta paddhati mentions two more chakra-s:

8. tAlu chakra - Palette chakra (from where nectar flows)

9. AkAsha chakra - Inverted crown chakra (one chakra faces upwards and another (sahasrAra downwards)

For detailed explanation about chakra-s please visit here

Since only nine are described does not mean that chakra-s are limited to just nine in number. Some texts mentions number of chakra-s to be 10, 12 or even 13. Traditionally only seven are given importance and are considered as ‘major chakra-s’. Others are considered as minor chakra-s. Each body part like eyes, ears, glands like thymus gland, pancreas, etc have their own energy counterpart and a minor chakra. There are chakra-s in palm, sole (foot) and in fingers, but their size is smaller than major one. Since this science is very complicated and one needs to practice any kind of energy based meditative technique in presence of a master yogi, many things are kept private.

13.3. kuNDAlini, nADI-s and brahmaDanDa

kuNDalini shakti, nADI-s and brahmaDANDa are of great importance to yogi-s. yoga is very practical and meditative approach or control and master the mind and other subtle bodies so as to rise above them and unite with Siva (brahman). Lets discuss them in brief.

For better understanding, a picture will be helpful.

Source and Credits

13.3.1. kuNDalini shakti

yogi-s texts and yoga upanishads talks of kuNDalini shakti. It is located near the base of spine. Some say it is in the form of inverted triangle. yogi-s, specially those following tantra-s (energy based techniques) activate kuNDalini shakti and rise her until she touches sahasrahAra chakra (crown chakra).  Of course, prior to activating and raising kunDalini prANamaya kosha and chakra-s are needed to be cleansed. Hence this process must be practised under the guidance of a master yogi.

kuNDalini shakti is highly revered. She is not just a shakti, but a devi. Yogi-s reverse her as mother, Adi shakti. She is associated with uMA, or pArvatI devI, the spiritual consort of bhagavAn Siva. Siva is situated at the crown. Hence a yogis process is to merge or unite shakti with Siva. Merging of Siva and shakti results in enlightenment.

13.3.2. nADI-s

According to uttara gItA and Siva gItA, we have 72000 nADI-s. jIvAtmA or soul which resides in heart (chakra) spreads the consciousness through 72000 nADI-s. Since prANamaya kosha (energy body) is connected with annamaya kosha (energy body), jIva becomes aware of physical body through them.

Out of 72000, 3 are considered as most important. They are iDA, pingalA and suShumNA nADI. iDA and pigalA are located in the center of energy body in the spine and start from kuNDAlini shakti, they touch sahasrahAra chakra and end in two nostrils. They end in center of each side of nose. suShumNA goes straight to sahasrahAra chakra. iDA and pingalA either spiral suShumNA or go parallel with suShumNA or are in the form of a bow i.e. curved bulging in center and converging at the two ends. Three different shapes of iDA and pingalA are found in yoga upanishad-s. They are related to the mental make-up of a person. It does not matter which form you see, seeing, feeling and experiencing them indicates a certain level of spiritual development. Such visions are taken as signs of spiritual progress.

iDA is related to moon, it cold in nature i.e. energy passing through iDA feels cool, while pingalA is related to sun and is warm in nature i.e. energy passing has warm feeling. These nADI-s are also connected with left and right side of brain and eyes.

As we are aware, only one nostril and hence only one nADI is open at a time. In order to activate kunDAlini, one must activate both IDA and pingalA so that kunDAlini may pass through both of them. Hence before starting meditation or any yogic kriyA (process), yogI-s make sure that they are breathing both nostrils. They do so by doing prANAyama and repeating some breathing patterns along with postures. When kunDAlini flows through suShumNA, the life force, which flows through all the 72000 nADI-s is pulled back and flows through suShumNA. The result is that a yogI does not feel his physical body. As the prANa is gradually pulled out of these nADI-s, a yogI feels the his / her body parts are getting paralyzed or become dysfunct and lifeless. You have no power to move them. Later even their existence cease to exist. As kuNDalini rises through each chakra through suShumNA and touches sahasrAra, mind is completely absorbed in this blissful state of enlightenment. kuNDalini has seven layers and it is said that each layer has 7 sub-layers (sources needed to confirm).

As a result of kuNDalini touching sahasrAra, consciousness rises high and merges into cosmic consciousness and yogI is completely unaware of his / her body. Since AtmA (Atman) is the source of all and it empowers the body to function, when AtmA, the consciousness, leaves the body, breathing and so heartbeat stops. This breathless, pulseless state is the ultimate state of enlightenment.

During this process of ascension of kuNDalini and consciousness, a yogI undergoes divine experiences that indicate his spiritual development. These divine experiences are better kept within the circles of advanced yogI-s.

13.3.3. brahmaDaNDa / meruDaNDa

When kuNDAlini is fully activated and reaches sahasrahAra, most yogi-s see the whole spine as a tube of bright light. This passage is called as brahmaDaNDa or meruDaNDa. Though physical spine is not straight, it is curved, yogi-s see only energy counterpart of spine. Generally energy counterpart found in energy body (prANamaya kosha) has similar shape as that of physical organ. However in case of passage of kuNDalini, which is said to rise through spine, I have not heard of any yogi having the vision of spine as having curved shape. It looks like a tube light filled with brilliant white light. As said earlier, these visions are taken as signs of spiritual progress. Hence difference in shape, form, colour, shade, type of energy are not taken too seriously.

13.4. Gauging spiritual progress

As a yogi or any spiritual aspirant progresses in spirituality, his / her prANamaya kosha it’s chakra-s and other subtle bodies also expand in size.  The spiritual progress of a person is gauged by the activation of chakra-s, their size and the type of energy one has. As sattva guNa increases, the energies become very subtle and soft. Advanced meditator has a constant feeling of bliss and peace. Since bodies develop, subsequent change in nature is seen in yogi which a yogi himself may not be aware of as the change is so natural and smooth than one hardly recognizes when and how one has changed. One can only notice the ‘change’ but not the way in which he has changed. sAttvika (divine, spiritual) qualities like calmness, peace, feeling of bliss (happiness), humility are reflected on a yogi-s face, his actions, his deeds and form his body language. Similarly, not being aware of body conscious is also reflected in eyes as seen in case of Sri Ramana Maharshi.

14. Why are there different mantra-s for different people?

One gets fruits (of actions) in proportion to the strength of bhakti (devotion) and samarpaNa (surrender). What matters is the intention behind chanting God's name.

Each mantra is a vibration (as sound has vibrations). Our subtle bodies, chakras and our mind, chitta, etc also has vibrations. We have a definite personality.

When one's basic nature tunes with the character of any form of Lord, one finds it easy to surrender to him and chant his name. The mantra is so formulated that it’s vibrations will also tune into the vibrations of subtle bodies and chakras and cleanse them.

Just like we have a liking for some food and dislike of other food does not mean that what you like is the best food and rest is not. We can say that certain type of food is suitable to us. In the same way certain vibrations attract you. Have you noticed that when you are standing near a stranger, at times you feel that you are not comfortable in his/ her presence. Sometimes, we become friends in the very first meeting. It’s all due to vibrations. If the vibrations are not of similar frequency, then you might not feel comfortable with him / her. Your thoughts might not align with him / her.

In the same way, a certain mantra is more effective on one person and lesser effect on another.

OM mamo bhagavate vAsudevAya is considered as bIja (beej) mantra (corrections welcome) and so it is powerful than a purANika mantra like ShrI kRuShNa sharaNam mama. But some get more joy in chanting krishna's mantra than vasudeva's. It is because the vibrations of these mantra tune with our vibrations of our subtle bodies and chakra-s

In the same way, some experience great joy in chanting 'ShrI rAma, jaya rAma jaya jaya rAma' while 'OM ShrI rAma chandrAya namaH' is considered as more potent as it corrects one with heart. It is bija mantra.

OM increases potency of any mantra and hence most mantra-s have OM in the beginning. Some also prefer to close or end any mantra by chanting OM, but kRShNa’s mantra (ShrI kRuShNa sharaNam mama) does not have OM in it (atleast not the present version, which is chanted by most).

So it all depends what suits you.

But bIja mantras are technically more potent than other mantras or puranic mantras.

|| Hari OM ||

|| ShrI guru sharaNam ||

yoga, haTha yoga, nAtha yoga, aghora, tantra and kriyA yoga

 || Hari OM ||

|| ShrI guru sharaNam ||

Note: This article is an extraction of longer article, 'Hindu Dharma - the most organized, integrated spiritual and practical way of life'. The below title is the 12th title. To maintain similarity, here too we are starting the article with number 12 and not 1. The links of full article are:

PDF | Editable Doc | HTML | Blog Entry

12. yoga, haTha yoga, nAtha yoga, aghora, tantra and kriyA yoga

Let’s understand the basic difference between different types of yoga-s

12.1. yoga

The basic or classical text of yoga is ‘patanjali yoga sUtra’. There are other books like Siva sUtra-s, dattatraya sUtra-s. yoga is an ancient meditative technique however, wise say, it was maharShi patanjali who had complied basic principles of yoga into a systematic structure.

Many are of the opinion that the word ‘yoga’ means as some sort of physical exercise. However this definition is not true.

maharShi patanjali in his sUtra-s has defined yoga as ‘chitta-vritti-nirodha’. vritti means tendencies, behavior, or thoughts and desires. vritti is mental agitation that is caused while meditating.

The sUtra (aphorism) ‘chitta-vritti-nirodha’ means - yoga is to negate or remove tendencies of mind.

yoga also means ‘union’. Empirically it means meeting of two or more people or objects. Spiritually yoga means union of jIvAtmA (incarnated soul) and paramAtmA (The supreme consciousness, brahman). Merging of jIva in to paramAtmA results into enlightenment.

12.1.1. The path

Unlike popular belief that yoga includes practice of Asana-s (body postures), maharShi patanjali has not mentioned any Asana-s. Asana-s are found in manuals of haTha yoga. maharShi has just mentioned, ‘Sit in a posture that is comfortable’. yoga is control of mind and body via prANa (breathing) as, mind and breathing are connected. Later, mind is directly controlled. Any yogic process is not fully explained by books. They are to be learned only through an adept in yoga, a guru who has achieved mastery over mind. Still further, a yogi becomes aware of various subtle bodies and tatva-s. By tuning with them achieves mastery over them and then transcends them to rise above mAyA and merges in brahman resulting in enlightenment.

In this process, a yogi, according to the mental make-up and impressions of past lives achieves siddhi-s (super natural powers), maharShi patanjali cautions yogi-s against getting overwhelmed by siddhi-s as they cause hindrance to the spiritual progress.

Surrender to ISvara and having firm faith in him is also mentioned in yoga sUtra-s, though no particular form of Isvara is mentioned.

To a sAdhaka (meditator) this world is real, but for the siddha (Self Realised / God Realised), this world is unreal says patanjali in his sUtra P.Y.S. 2.22

Note: Here siddha means Atma siddha meaning God realised.

12.2. haTha yoga

haTha generally means ‘stubbornness’, here it means strict discipline. The most popular manual for haTha yoga is ‘haTha yoga pradipikA’. It is in haTha yoga that various Asana-s (body postures), bandha-s (blocking of subtle energy channels) and breathing patterns are mentioned. Though not compulsory, haTha yoga is generally taught to all neophyte yogi-s.

Asana-s and prANAyam-s help one’s body to become strong, healthy and disease free. It also helps cleanse nADI-s, activates chakra-s, cleanse subtle  bodies, mostly it is prANamaya kosha (energy body / aura). It makes body ‘ready’ for meditation.

But before practising meditation, certain kriyA-s are practised. These are breathing techniques to cleanse subtle bodies and cleansing of chakra-s by directing energies. After the body becomes sufficiently pure, and mind calms down and turns introvert, meditation on supreme brahman is practised. The ways might be bhakti marga, GYAna marga (philosophical enquiry or meditation on OM) or kuNDalini yoga i.e. activating kuNDalini shakti from mulAdhAra chakra and raising her to sahasrAra chakra via three main nADI-s, initially through iDa &  pingalA and later on through suShumNa. Subtle bodies, chakra-s, nADI-s and kuNDalini are explained later.

12.3. nAtha yoga, aghora yoga and tantra (Sakta, shakta)

nAtha yoga is an ancient yoga which was popularized by the great mahA siddha-s Guru maChChinder nAtha (also spelled as maChChindra nAtha, matsyendra nAtha) and his great disciple Guru gorakhanAtha (also known as gorakshanAtha). They are worshippers of Adi guru bhagavAn Siva. There are 9 mahA-siddha-s called as navanAtha-s (navnaths) and 84 siddha-s.

Guru gorakshanAtha had given to the world laya yoga, which is merging in brahman by tuning with the divine sound often heard in right ear like sound of damaru or flute. In general, it can be any mantra too. Mind merges (laya) into brahman by tracing the origin of these divine sounds. Sounds themselves establish yogi into samAdhi and thereby one realizes brahman (paramAtmA).

There are many works attributed to Guru goraksha nAtha / gorakh nAtha like gorakh bodh, gorakh shaTak but one of the most important work is siddha siddhAnta paddhati.

12.3.1. sAbara mantra-s - simplification of sanskrit mantra-s, grace of mahAdeva

The Legend, according to ShrI goraksha mahApurANa, a revered scripture of the order of nAth yogi-s which describes lives of 9 great nAtha-s of the tradition, says once Siva and Sakti were roaming and found one tAntrika chanting mantra-s that were formulated by Siva himself in a wrong way. Siva concluded that this tAntrika will be doomed. Adi Sakti, the compassionate mother blamed Siva for formulating such hard mantra-s and she said that Siva should give mantra-s in simpler form. Agreeing to Adi Sakti, Siva took form of aghori and went into the cave where tAntrika was chanting mantra-s in wrong way. He corrected him and gave him mantra-s in a simplified way. By chanting these mantra-s the tAntrika become a siddha and the first nAtha of the navanAtha sampradAya (‘nav’ means nine). These mantra-s came to be known a shAbara mantra-s. shAbara mantra-s are not in sanskrit. Many are in Hindi or it’s dialects.

Unfortunately, by the passage of time, due to selfish nature of human beings, these mantra-s were corrupted. Indians must have seen a fakir or a beggar who roams door-to-door with a dhoop (incense releasing lots of smoke) and waves peacock feathered broom chanting weird mantra-s. These are corrupted form of shAbara mantra-s. Originally, these mantra-s were used as an act of compassion by the siddha-s and nAtha yogi-s for the good of all. There are mantra-s to ward off evil effects, mantra-s for protection and well being of all, mantra-s for removing poison injected by scorpion bite (also found in atharva veda), and so on. gosvAmI tulsidAsa has also glorified sAbara mantra-s in one of his chaupai (four line verses in avadhi, a dialect of Hindi)

अनमिल आखर अरथ न जापू ।

प्रगट प्रताप महेस प्रतापू ।।

कलि बिलोकि जगहितहर गिरिजा ।

साबर मंत्र जाल जिन सिरिजा ।।

chaupai says, that for the good of mankind, maheSa (Siva), gave Sabara mantra-s.

An example of correct SAbara mantra is

Mantra for healing the wound

सार-सार बिजैसार बांधूं सात बार, फुटे अन्न उपजे घाव, सार राखे श्री गोरखनाथ ।

This mantra is to be chanted 31 times and then one has to blow air on the wound. It is expected that the pain should vanish and wound begins to heal.

Credits: The above mantra-s are listed by Tantrik Bahal, Page 370 in Goraksha Mahapurana. TAntrik Bahal worked hard for years to find correct SAbara mantra-s.

(Note: Many may not agree with such practices and may discard them as primitive, nevertheless, we thought tthese mantra-s should be displayed not with the aim of practising, but just to get an idea of the nature of SAbara mantra-s)

It is to be noted that one may not find any effect of these mantra-s if one tries it. We are not nAtha yogI-s nor were we initiated into nAtha sampradAya. The mantra-s are displayed only for educational purposes for getting a feel of nature of SAbara mantra-s.

SAbara mantra-s were meant to ward off evil influence, evil spirits and bad fortune. In addition to these, there are mantra-s to relieve pain in tooth, eyes or in general body pain, to cure diseases, heal wounds, removing of poison, protecting the womb, vashikaraNa (controlling the mind of another person), etc.

Fortunately, there are some yogi-s who have protected the real mantra-s and are engaged in the spiritual quest for Self Realization. They rarely use these mantra-s, as they are not central part of yogic kriyA-s. Rightly, these true  nAtha yogi-s stay away from society and live in isolated places life jungles.

SAbara mantra-s cannot be practised by anybody. The basic principle is - Energy Follows Thoughts. Energy forms a particular shape in manomaya kosha (mental body). More concrete and clear the thought, better is the shape of thoughts. As the person raises his / her consciousness and progresses in spirituality, s/he can generate more powerful thoughts. These thoughts are then directed towards the target which they reach and then make our wish to manifest.

So the process of chanting mantra can be divided into two parts

1. Creating a thought or an idea or a wish
2. Directing it to it’s target

The in between part can be energizing the thought. This can be done by repeating the thoughts or chanting certain mantra-s or simply passing the energy in them. This is a complex science and a yogI is cautioned not to practice without getting initiated, as a guru is necessary to cover your mistakes and imperfections while chanting the mantra or directing them. Hence it is strongly recommended NOT to practice them even though they look simple.

These mantra-s are first to be mastered. A nAtha yogI must be initiated by another nAtha yogI, who is an adept in such practises and also is an enlightened master.

12.4. The philosophy of nAtha yoga

SAbara mantra-s do not form the core of nAtha philosophy. The path of a nAtha yogI is an inner journey, a kind of inner engineering, the end of practicing results in controls of 5 elements (air, water, etc) and transformation of body into light body, creation of indestructible spiritual body. This achievement is called as pinDa siddhi

The philosophy of nAtha yoga is similar to Kashmir Saivism. Though a dualist school, it ends in non-duality. Brahman of the upanishads is referred to as Siva or para sAmbit, or para bhairava. Siva and Sakti are inseparable. Siva cannot do anything without Sakti. Sakti is the dynamic potency of Siva. The world is considered as real and as an extension of Siva himself via his potency, Sakti. Siva who is unchanging and formless and Sakti, the dynamic power interpenetrate each other. This ultimate state is called as sAmrasya. This is something different than sAnkhya and vedAnta which says that the reality is untouched by prakriti and one has to transcend or sublate prakriti (mAyA) to experience it. The path of nAtha yoga is not only to experience this non-dual state, but to permanently stay in it without ever coming down to the dual plane. The process involves strengthening of physical body and the subtle bodies, activating chakra-s and raising kunDAlini to sahasrAra. Intense yogic practises are taught to selected few which result into transformation of our body into indestructible spiritual body. In the process, a nAtha yogI comes across many siddhi-s, masters them and proceeds further. nAtha yogI, may also experience and, in his subtle body, even enter into subtle higher worlds like Indra-s heaven or even go to nether world by his own wish and return back to earthly plane and return to his physical body. After achieving perfection, a nAtha yogI roams the world for the good of mankind spreading peace and Siva’s grace on all, enjoying the play of Siva-Sakti. nAth yogI also experiences and explores the relation between microcosm and macrocosm and the effect on each other. Every microcosmic event has it’s reflection in macrocosm and vice versa. A nAtha yogI is in constant communion with Siva, the supreme reality.

There are differences between the yogic schools of patanjalI, kriyA yoga and tantrika buddhism.

After understanding nAtha yoga, lets understand who are aghori-s.

12.5. aghori-s

aghori-s are branch of nAtha yogi-s. They are worshippers of Siva. During course of time, many nAtha yogi-s began teaching yoga in their own way and in process they ended up creating their own sects. gorakhnAtha in order to distinguish themselves from other nAtha yogi-s made piercing ears compulsory as a distinguishing mark. nAtha yogi-s generally wear ear rings. Since their ears are pierced, they are called as ‘kan-phaTA yogi-s’ (Kanphata Yogis). ‘kan’ or ‘kAna’ means ear and phADanA means to tear or pierce. phaTA means torn or pierced. Hence kan-phaTA yogi-s would translate as ‘Yogis with pierced ears’.

Aghori-s do not pierce their ears. Every nAtha yogI is an aghori before piercing his ears. matsyendranAtha and gorakhanAtha pierced their ears and hence they were known as kanphaTA yogI-s while jAlandharanAtha remained aghori for the life time (as he didnt pierced his ears and wore earrings).

Among sub-sects of aghori-s, aughaDa (औघड), sarvaMgI (सर्वंगी) and dhurai (धुरै) (pronounced dhurei) are known. Most of the information that is written about aghori-s is that of aughaDa-s. aughaDa-s by nature are angry. Due to this reason, common people stay away from them as the common perception is that if they are displeased and get angry, they are capable of destroying their futures and bring in bad fortunes. Hence whenever they beg for alms, they re not allowed to leave empty handed. However, the reason of their anger is to keep away people for mainly two reasons - (1) to stay in solitude and (2) to keep secret meditative procedures secret so as to avoid the danger of them falling in wrong hands. They do not intend to harm people. Anger is constructive used, as it is like fire which can give life (cook food and give warmth) or give death (burn to ashes). It all depends upon how the fire of anger is used.

aghori-s are like kapAlikA-s. They achieve siddhi-s and are believed to use them for the good of all. aghori-s live in cremation grounds, as they can get all their requirements from cremation grounds. They are not allowed to have any connection with their family or with society. They do not have their homes. They eat anything fresh or rotten, animal and human flesh, as they believe that, ‘nothing exists which is not Siva’. Hence there is nothing like ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ‘permissible’ and ‘forbidden’. aghori-s take this philosophy to extreme. For them, veg or non-veg is just a matter. A dead animal body and a dead human body are one and the same Whatever we eat, finally becomes blood. A person requires very strong mind to follow the path of aghori-s. They do not represent mainstream Hinduism and are not interested much in veda-s.  

aghora means that which is not ghora i.e. that which, lacks fear or that which is not terrific.  aghori-s are taught to detach themselves to the processes they do, especially those which are considered as taboo and by the grace of guru and Siva, they are themselves not affected by them. they are masters of energy and kuNDalini. A famous aghori kenArama was believed to have powers to control 5 principle elements like air, water, fire, etc. They use their powers for good of humanity. However these sects are the most feared one by society and no one wishes to mess with them.

True aghori-s never does evil on others and are always immersed in meditation on Siva. True aghori-s are ‘inner scientists’.

12.5.1. nAgA sAdhu-s are not aghori-s

nAgA sAdhu-s are different than aghori-s. The difference is in their spiritual practice. nAgA sAdhu-s follow traditional vedAnta. They are ardent practitioners of haTha yoga. nAgA-s do not eat rotten flesh or human flesh. nAgA-s follow their own rules which were set up by great sankarAcArya-s like madhusudan sarasvatI. aghorI-s roam anywhere and live in cremation ground, whereas nAgA-s live collectively in their akhADA-s. Few roam in the outside world. While living outside their akhADA-s, they are forbidden to roam completely naked. They have to wear 3.5 meter cloth as SishTAcAra (good moral conduct as expected by the society) is necessary when they are roaming in society.

Birth of nAgA-s was to provide military assistance to kings. They are Hindu martial monks trained in combat skills, Guerrilla warfare, fighting in open, conducting surprise raids on enemies and fighting in extreme conditions like desert or in cold weather himAlaya-s. aghorI-s are not martial monks, though nAtha yogI-s also practice martial arts, the very purpose of creation of nAgA sAdhU-s was to defend the attacks on sanAtana dharma in 14-15 century. There may be martial monks prior to madhusudan sarasvatI, but may be they were scattered, it was madhusudan sarasvatI who is credited to bring them under one roof and give a definite structure to their way of life.

Life of nAgA sAdhu-s is discussed later.

12.6. tAntrika-s (Sakta-s)

While aghori-s and nAtha-s are worshippers of Siva, tAntrika-s are the worshippers of SAkti. They consider Adi Sakti as Brahman and all Gods and avatAra-s comes under her sway.

The most popular and also the most difficult tAntrika sAdhanA is ‘SrI vidyA upAsanA’. It is said that only a handful of people (around 12-14) in entire world, all living in India, have full knowledge of SrI vidyA and SrI yantra. SvAmI brahmAnanda of jyotir maTha (also known as joShI maTha) was considered as an authority on SrI vidyA upAsanA.

A yantra is used as it is difficult for new practioners to directly meditate on chakra-s, kunDalini, and perform intense tAntrika practice.

12.7. Saivism - vedic and yogic (tAntrika, Agamic)

Saiva-s are the devotees who worship Siva as the Supreme Brahman.. There were many prominent Saiva (shaiva) saints from bhakta-s (nAyanAra-s, Nayanars) to vedic (SrikAntAcArya) to Agamic / tAntrika (Abhinavagupta of Kashmir Shaivism). AcArya-s of Saiva order are called as either ‘SaivAcArya’ or ‘SivAcArya’. Those having mastery over Saiva Agama-s and engaged in either teaching Saiva Agama-s or practising procedures of temple worship, according to Saiva Agama-s are called as AgamAcArya or Siva yogI. Siva yogi-s are the temple priests of Siva temple.  

Though Saivism has its support in veda-s, most of the Saiva-s adhere to 28 Agama shAstra-s. There are independent works like thirumandiram and Kural. siddhAnta Saiva-s have extensively dependent upon thirumandiram written by a great siddha, thirumulAra (Thirumoolar, Thirumular). The legend says he wrote one verse every 1 year when he descend from samAdhi only for one day during the whole year. Thirumandiram contains more than 3000 sUtra-s of yogic-devotional genre. Unlike patanjali’s yoga sUtra-s asks yogi to believe in ISvara, but does not specify the form of ISvara, Thirumandiram contains verses devoted to glorifying Siva.

Kashmir Shaivism of SrI Abhinavgupta (AG) is also called as kaula or trikA or spandan kArikA. AG has written a masterly treatise on tantra by the name tantraloka, a mystical, cryptic texts containing more than 55000 verses suited for practising advanced tAntrika-s. AG has also written a commentary on it. This unique Acharya has given 3 different interpretations of same verse which are experienced by tAntrika-s and yogi-s who has raised their consciousness to that particular level. Only a practising tAnrika can actually understand tantraloka.

It was AB who had given the now popular symbolic interpretation of the battle of kurukshetra, mahAbhArata, in his gItA commentary ‘gItArtha samgrah’. Acharya has defined kurukshetra as ‘mind’, pANDava-s (Pandavs) as positive divine qualities and kaurava-s as negative qualities. It is the war inside every one of us.

Agama-s are called as tantra-s. There are Agama-s for Saiva-s, Sakta-s and vaiShNava-s. Though vaiShNava-s have adopted pure bhakti to reach the supreme Godhead, there are vaiShNava Agama-s which talk about chakra-s. Saiva-s and Sakta-s.

Conventionally,  Saiva-s though they adhere to Agama-s (tantra-s) are simply called as Saiva-s, Sakta-s ar called tAntrika and nAtha yogi-s are called as ‘nATha-s’.

It must be mentioned that there are vaiShNava-s who also practice tantra. Not much is known about them. They prefer to practice in secret.

12.8. kriyA yoga

kriyA yoga is an ancient yoga, revived by a deathless saint Mahavatar Babaji, an immortal yoga, who initiated some great yogi-s like Lahiri Mahashay, considered as ‘fountainhead of Kriya Yoga’. There are great yogi-s like Yukteshwar Giri Paramhansa Yogananda, Sanyal Mahashay,  Paramhansa Hariharananda and his disciple Paramhansa Prajnanananda (paramahansa praGYAnanda, परमंहन्स प्रज्ञानन्द).

Mahavatar Babaji - An immortal Saint

It will not be off topic to describe about a shining example of kriyA yoga, the survivor and revivalist of kriyA yoga Mahavatar Babaji. Babaji denotes respect in Indian language. Mahavatar means the great avatar. Marshall Govindan in his book, ‘Babaji and the 8 Siddha Kriya Yoga Tradition’ writes that Mahavatar Babaji controls and directs the activities of avatars of siddha-s.

Mahavatar Babaji is said to have transformed his physical body into light body and achieve immortality. He is believed to be more than 1800 years old. Mahavatar Babaji or Nagaraj (his childhood name) practised intense meditations and did a penance for many months so as to have the great rishi agastya as his guru. Finally agastya rishi appeared in front of him and taught him advanced kriyA-s and yogic practices which he was told to practice in himalayas as the energy generated due to these processes would be too much to handle by the people living in vicinity. At the age of 16, Mahavatar Babaji says that Siva mae his physical body immortal i.e. Siva freezed the life of his physical body. Babaji says, ‘Siva never made me 17’. His physical body stopped aged any further making Babaji to remain eternally youth. He then continued his spiritual practice to successfully transform his physical body into light body. Babaji wished to leave his spiritual body, but upon intervention of his sister, who herself is a great kriyA yogI, he decided to stay till earth exists and help souls ready to progress on spiritual path.

Mahavatar Babaji was introduced to this world by Paramhansa Yogananda, an exponent to Kriya Yoga and founder of Divine Life Society in his autobiography, ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’.

Let’s understand the meaning of the word ‘kriyA yoga’ as said by masters themselves.

12.8.1. ‘kri’ and ‘yA’

Generally kriyA is understood as ‘action’, but kriyA yogi-s explain the word kriyA as kri+yA as kri = action and yA = (indwelling) soul. yoga means ‘to unite’.

We, incarnated soul / jIva / jIvAtmA are separated from the Supreme Self (Cosmic Self / God / Brahman / paramAtmA) and trapped in the cycle of birth and death. Our journey, a jIvAtmA is to return back to the original source of our creation, paramAtmA.

Hence kriyA yoga could mean the journey of incarnated soul back to it’s source and merge in it.

Initially, mind is not prepared to meditate on the Supreme Self. Hence it must be purified. Breath, mind and body and interconnected. Breathing and physical heart are also connected. Calmer the breath, slower and rythmic is the pulse, faster and shorter the breath, faster is the pulse. Both heartbeat (and so pulse) and breath are with us from birth till death. But getting hold of heartbeat and controlling it is not very easy. Breathing is easy to feel and control. Hence in yoga, breathing exercises called as prANAyam and later on energy based kriyA-s are taught. They help yogi to calm mind and purity mind, gross and subtle bodies. Mind cannot stay without work. Hence kriyA-s help one to achieve concentration and purity. They directly do not lead a yogi to ultimate state. Until one gets sufficient purity to hear inner sound, or the cosmic divine sound OM and find the source or one can be aware of the entire yogic process like being aware of kuNDalini, chakra-s and subtle bodies and observing the whole working of this cluster of mind-body as a witness, one has to do kriyA-s. Later through the grace of God and Guru and through the power of discrimination, dispassion and ability to be a witness of everything that is going around, one can merge into paramAtmA. kriyA-s help cleanse and integrate bodies, synchronize them, remove blockages in subtle energy channels (nADI-s)  and chakra-s. Being witness and trying to find the source of breath, thoughts and the mantra OM, one can unite with paramAtmA. This is the common approach of yoga schools.

Here is the definition of the word kriya yoga given on website of Kriya Yoga

Kri and Ya

The word Yoga comes from the root yuj. It has 32 meanings in Sanskrit, but the most appropriate here is to unite. The union of the individual Self with the Cosmic Self, the child of God with God, the Father. Therefore, the body with the Soul is Yoga.

Kriya Yoga is a supreme science of Self-realisation. It is a scientific technique of action with constant God-consciousness, which ultimately leads to realisation - going beyond the body, mind, intellect, thought, and even the world, to Soul-consciousness.

To perceive the Soul in every breath, in every moment, in every action, in everything and every being is Kriya Yoga. By the practice of Kriya Yoga meditation, one aspires to lead a life of divine consciousness, which ultimately brings love, purity and joy.

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“You are to reach God in two steps, kri and ya.

Remain concentrated at the top and observe your own work from morning till you go to bed”

• Paramahamsa Hariharananda

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"Meditation is the silent art of withdrawing yourself into the source of life. It is as if your body is completely burnt to ashes. Meditation is going beyond mind, thoughts, ego and body sense; it is going to the supreme state, the formless state.”

        - Paramahamsa Hariharananda

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12.9. Difference between nAtha yoga and kriyA yoga

The difference between nAtha yoga and kriyA yoga is that kriyA yoga is not a mantra sAdhanA. As per our knowledge, there are no various mantra-s taught to achieve various siddhi-s. siddhi-s come unexpected. In nAtha yoga, SAbara mantra-s are specifically aimed at achieving siddhi-s like ability to protect oneself from negative or malice effect of others thoughts or from Planetary Gods, ability to destroy enemies, protect against ghosts and ways to control them, mantra-s to help people prosper, mantra-s to spread peace and harmony to all, power to mesmerize, etc. These type of siddhi-s often obstruct spiritual path. Hence there is greater risk of falling. Learning these mantra-s may not be compulsory and only highly purified nAtha yogi-s use them for good of mankind, still the risk of being diverted from spiritual path remains.

While nAtha yogI-s surrender to Siva, kriyA yoga does not adhere to any particular form of God. The choice is left to the individual.

kriyA yogI-s as per our knowledge do not practice SrI yantra upAsanA, nor do they roam naked or smear ash on their body. kriyA yoga is not known to have any off shoots that practice vAmmArga, the left hand paths.

Mahavatar Babaji knew that there are many souls who are ready for spiritual upliftment but do not have guidance. Hence one of his mission was to send kriyA yogI-s to the west. A notable work in this respect is a book written by Sri Yukteshwar Giri, ‘The Holy Science’ In which the great Yogi has written similarities between bhagavad gItA and Bible.  There are attempts made to bridge the gap between the two philosophies and bring in the harmony of east and west through the principles of yoga.

In yoga and tantra, there are secret ways to enter into other worlds different types of heaven and hell and other higher spiritual worlds like meher loka, tapa loka, siddha loka, rishi loka, etc in their subtle bodies.

Great yogi-s achieve great siddhi-s and they can choose to use them for the benefit of mankind. In order to stay oneself focused on spiritual path, we have vedAnta and gItA (bhagavad gItA) which warns us against dangers of acquiring siddhi-s. vedAnta re-establishes a yogi-s focus on paramAtmA as the only goal of life.  patanjalI also warns against getting obsessed with such siddhi-s and asks us to move forward in our spiritual progress in his yoga sUtra-s. However, itis vedAnta that gives us the clear description of Brahman and shows us the straight path towards the supreme in a pure way.

Note: rAja yoga is often understood to be another name of patanjali’s yoga. patanjali’s yoga is simply termed as yoga or ashTAnga yoga as it has eight limbs. rAja yoga, as mentioned by svAmI vivekAnanda is different than traditional patanjali yoga. 

|| Hari OM ||

|| ShrI guru sharaNam ||