Yoga breathing

The scene of the revelation of this Tantra is laid in Himalaya, the “Abode of Snow,” a holy land weighted with the traditions of the Aryan race. Here in these lofty uplands, encircled with everlasting snows, rose the great mountain of the north, the Sapta Kula Parvata. Read more »

aryan race, daughter of the mountain, kailasa, pilgrims, sapta, shiva, song of birds

Shakti is both maya, that by which the Brahman creating the universe is able to make Itself appear to be different from what It really is, and mula-prakriti, or the unmanifested (avyakta) state of that which, when manifest, is the universe of name and form. It is the primary so called “material cause,” consisting of the equipoise of the triad of guna or “qualities” which are sattva (that which manifests) rajas (that which acts), tamas (that which veils and produces inertia). The three gunas represent Nature as the revelation of spirit, Nature as the passage of descent from spirit to matter, or of ascent from matter to spirit, and Nature as the dense veil of spirit. The Devi is thus guna-nidhi (”treasure-house of guna” ). Read more »

brahman, coiled serpent, guna, kundalini, material cause, maya, mula, prana, shakti, spirit and nature, three and a half, triad, universe, womb

The worlds are inhabited by countless grades of beings, ranging from the highest Devas (of whom there are many classes and degrees) to the lowest animal life. The scale of beings runs from the shining manifestations of Spirit to those in which it is so veiled that it would seem almost to have disappeared in its material covering. There is but one Light, one Spirit, whose manifestations are many. Read more »

brahman, gayatri, lakshmi, manifestations, maya, one spirit, purusha, rays of light, rudra, sandhya, sarasvati, supreme mother

THERE are four different forms of worship corresponding with four states (bhava);(1) The realization that the jivatma and paramatma are one, that everything is Brahman, and that nothing but the Brahman exists, is the highest state or brahma-bhava. Constant meditation by the yoga process upon the Devata in the heart is the lower and middlemost (dhyana-bhava), japa and stava (hymns and prayer) is still lower, and the lowest of all mere external worship (puja). Read more »

advaita, brahman, brahmanas, caitanya, consciousness, daily puja, dhyana, japa, karma, nitya, panca, prana, pratima, sandhya, sudras, tantrik, worshipper, yoga

There are seven, or, as some say, nine, divisions of worshippers. The extra divisions are bracketed in the following quotation. The Kularnava-Tantra mentions seven, which are given in their order of superiority, the first being the lowest: Vedacara, Vaisnavacara, Saivacara, Daksinacara, Vamacara, Siddhantacara, (Aghoracara,(1) Yogacara), and Kaulacara, the highest of all.(2) Read more »

acara, bhakti, devotion, dharma, dhyana, gross body, jnana, kalika, kaula, kularnava tantra, subtle bodies, worshipper

By mantra the sought-for (sadhya) Devata is attained and compelled. By siddhi in mantra is opened the vision of the three worlds. Though the purpose of worship (puja), reading (patha), hymn (stava), sacrifice (homa), dhyana, dharana, and samadhi, and that of the diksa-mantra are the same, yet the latter is far more powerful, and this for the reason that, in the first, the sadhaka’s sadhana-sakti works, in conjunction with mantra-sakti which has the revelation and force of fire, and than which nothing is more powerful. Read more »

bija, hymns of praise, mantra, mantras, monosyllabic, nitya, nyasa, puja, quintessence, saumya, tantrik

The Gayatri is the most sacred of all Vaidik mantras. In it the Veda lies embodied as in its seed. It runs: Om bhur-bhuvah-svah: tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat, Om. “Let us contemplate the wondrous spirit of the Divine Creator (Savitr) of the earthly, atmospheric, and celestial spheres. May He direct our minds, that is ‘towards’ the attainment of dharma, artha, kama, and moksa, Om.” Read more »

aditya, artha, atma, celestial spheres, eye of the world, gayatri, heart, om, purana, solar circle, surya, vayu

This word in its most general sense means an instrument, or that by which anything is accomplished. In worship it is that by which the mind is fixed on its object. The Yogini-Tantra says that the Devi should be worshipped either in pratima (image), mandala, (1) or yantra.(2) At a certain stage of spiritual progress the sadhaka is qualified to worship yantra. The siddha-yogi In inward worship (antar-puja) commences with the worship of yantra which is the sign (samketa) of brahma-vijnana as the mantra is the samketa of the Devata, It is also said that yantra is so called because it subdues (niyantrana) lust, anger, and the other sins of jiva and the sufferings caused thereby.(3) Read more »

akara, bija, gayatri yantra, hrim, jiva, letters of the alphabet, lotus petals, mantra, prasada, pratima, siddha, spiritual progress, vidya, yantras, yogini

The Vaidiki samdhya is the rite performed by the twice-born castes thrice a day, at morning, midday, and evening. The morning samdhya is preceded by the following acts. On awakening, a mantra is said in invocation of the Tri-murti and the sun, moon, and planets, and salutation is made to the Guru. The Hindu dvi-ja then recites the mantra: “I am a Deva - I am indeed the sorrowless Brahman. By nature I am eternally free, and in the form of existence, intelligence, and bliss. Read more »

deva, gayatri devi, gayatri mantra, guru, invocation, japa, kusa, mantras, om, prana, pranayama, salutation, tantrika, twice born

The bodies of the Devata are composed of the fifty matrkas. The sadhaka, therefore, first sets mentally (antar matrka-nyasa) in their several places in the six cakras, and then externally by physical action (Bahyamatrkanyasa) the letters of the alphabet which form the different parts of the body of the Devata, which is thus built up in the sadhaka himself. He places his hand on different parts of his body, uttering distinctly at the same time the appropriate matrka for that part. Read more »

ajna, anahata, bindu, ksam, letters of the alphabet, lotus, mental disposition, nyasa, om, vam, vowels

From pranayama (q.v.) arises laghava (lightness).
All beings say the ajapa-Gayatri, which is the expulsion of the breath by Hamkara, and its inspiration by Sahkara, 21,600 times a day. Ordinarily, the breath goes forth a distance of 12 fingers’ breadth, but in singing, eating, walking, sleeping, coition, the distances are 16, 20, 24, 30, and 36 breadths respectively. Read more »

bija, coition, exhalation, gayatri, guru, inspiration, japa, nadi, nyasa, pranayama, vital airs