Yoga breathing

If you want a mirror, Look at this moment - respectfully. When you have learned to experience, not to try to hold on to events, thoughts and emotions, but to let them come and go with their own force. . . . Read more »

consciousness, contradictory attitudes, durga, emotions, fruitfulness, inner silence, karma yoga, meditation, tantra, two ways

Though it is generally held that the Upanishads are usually attached as appendices to the Aranyakas which are again attached to the Brahmanas, yet it cannot be said that their distinction as separate treatises is always observed. Read more »

ancient philosophers, aranyakas, brahmanas, hindu view, jnana, meditation, upanishads, vedas, vedic literature

It is indeed true that the magical element involved in the discharge of sacrificial duties lingered for a while in the symbolic worship of Brahman in which He was conceived almost as a deity. The minds of the Vedic poets so long accustomed to worship deities of visible manifestation could not easily dispense with the idea of seeking after a positive and definite content of Brahman. Read more »

atman, brahman, deities, mahat, neti, universe, visible manifestation

It is very probable that the earliest beginnings of Nyaya are to be found in the disputations and debates amongst scholars trying to find out the right meanings of the Vedic texts for use in sacrifices and also in those disputations which took place between the adherents of different schools of thought trying to defeat one another. Read more »

buehler, compound words, kautilya, logic, scriptural knowledge, upanishads, vatsyayana, vedic accents, vedic texts, vidya

It is difficult to ascertain definitely the date of the Vaisheshika sutras by Kanada, also called Aulukya the son of Uluka, though there is every reason to suppose it to be pre-Buddhistic. It appears from the Vayu purana that he was born in Prabhasa near Dvaraka, and was the disciple of Somasharma. The time of Prashastapada who wrote a bhashya (commentary) of the Vaisheshika sutras cannot also unfortunately be ascertained. Read more »

commentaries, disciple, dissertation, exposition, gautama, kanada, purana, radha, ravana, shaka, shankara, sutras, udayana, vatsyayana

That eternal immutable existence which transcends the turiya and all other states is the unconditioned Absolute, the supreme Brahman or Para-brahman, without Prakriti (nishkala) or Her attributes (nir-guna), which, as being the inner self and knowing subject, can never be the object of cognition, and is to be apprehended only through yoga by the realization of the Self (atmajñana), which It is. For as it is said, “Spirit can alone know Spirit.” Being beyond mind, speech, and without name, the Brahman was called “Tat,” “That,” and then “Tat Sat,” “That which is.” For the sun, moon, and stars, and all visible things, what are they but a glimpse of light caught from “That” (Tat)? Read more »

ananda, brahma, chaitanya, glimpse of light, guna, human speech, kala, rupa, sarada, shakti, shiva, spirit, sun moon, supreme brahman

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

The four stages, conditions, or periods in the life of a Brahman are: First, that of the chaste student, or brahmachari; second, the period of secular life as a married householder, or grihastha; third, that of the recluse, or vanaprastha, when there is retirement from the world; and lastly, that of the beggar, or bhikshu, who begs his single daily meal, and meditates upon the Supreme Spirit to which he is about to return. Read more »

ascetic, brahma, brahman, castes, householder, japa, kali age, places of pilgrimage, puja, sadhana, secular life, shakti, supreme spirit, vaishya

The passage of time within a maha-yoga influences for the worse man and the world in which he lives. This passage is marked by the four ages (yuga), called Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali-yuga, the last being that in which it is generally supposed the world now is. The yuga is a fraction of a kalpa, or day of Brahma of 4,320,000 human years. Read more »

avatara, brahma, garden of eden, kali yuga, kalpa, maha yoga, passage of time, righteous path, satya

Each of these Ages has its appropriate Shastra or Scripture, designed to meet the characteristics and needs of the men who live in them The Hindu Shastra are classed into: (1) Shruti, which commonly includes the four Veda. (Rik, Yajuh, Sama, Atharva, and the Upanishads), the doctrine of which is philosophically exposed in the Vedanta-Darshana. (2) Smriti, such as the Dharma-Shastra of Manu and other works on family and social duty prescribing for pavritti-dharma, as the Upanishads had revealed the nivritti-dharma. (3) The Puranas, of which, according to the Brahma-vaivartta Purana, there were originally four lakhs, and of which eighteen are now regarded as the principal. (4) The Tantra. Read more »

darshana, dharma, hindu, kali yuga, kularnava tantra, nirvana, puranas, sadhana, shastra, shruti, tantras, upanishads, veda

Those who are suffering, and who see no cause for their pain, are apt to complain and rebel when they see others of no apparent merit enjoying the good things of life which have been denied their apparently more worthy brethren. The churches have no answer except “It is God’s will,” and that “the Divine motive must not be questioned.” These answers seem like mockery, particularly when the idea of Divine Justice is associated with the teaching. Read more »

divine justice, future lives, karma, manifestation, manifestations, merit, misery, motive, spiritual relationships, worthy

Mani-pura-cakra (1) is a ten-petalled golden lotus, situated above the last in the region of the navel. “Fire” evolved from “air” is the Tattva of the cakra. The ten petals are of the colours of a cloud, and on them are the blue varnas - “dam”, “dham”, “nam”, “tam”, “tham”, “dam”, “dham”, “nam”, “pam”, “pham” - and the ten vrttis (vide ante), namely, lajja (shame), pisunata (fickleness), irsa (jealousy), trsna (desire), susupti (laziness), (2) visada (sadness), kasaya (dullness), moha (ignorance), ghrna (aversion, disgust), bhaya (fear). Read more »

agni, auspicious signs, bhaskara, cakra, golden lotus, lord of fire, moha, molten gold, rudra, samaya, solar region

Ajna-cakra is also called parama-kula and mukta, tri-veni, since it is from here that the three nadis - Ida, Pingala and Susumna - go their separate ways. It is a two petalled lotus, situated between the two eyebrows. In this cakra there is no gross Tattva, but the subtle Tattva mind is here. Hakarardha, or half the letter Ha, is also there. On its petals are the red varnas “ham” and “ksam” Read more »

ajna, cakra, gunas, hamsa, jnana, ksam, linga, mukta, nadis, om, parama, petals, rajas, sattva, siddha, visnu

According to the temperament of the sadhaka, so is the form of worship and sadhana. In fact, the specific worship and sadhana of the other classes is strictly prohibited by the Tantra to the pasu. Read more »

acara, animal creation, asrama, divya, kali age, kali yuga, observances, pasu, rajas, sadhana, vedas

INITIATION is the giving of mantra by the guru.(1) At the time of initiation the guru must first establish the life of the Guru in his own body; that is the vital force (prana-sakti) of the Supreme Guru whose abode is in the thousand-petalled lotus. Read more »

cakra, feet of the guru, initiation, japa, kula, kusa, mantra, nada, prana sakti, sexual continence, spiritual knowledge, supreme guru, thousand petalled lotus

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

This word, which comes from the root” to place,” means placing the tips of the fingers and palm of the right hand on various parts of the body, accompanied by particular mantras. Read more »

celestial body, hamsah, jiva, kalika, kriya, mahanirvana tantra, mantras, nyasa, peace and happiness, prana, sanskrit alphabet, soham, sound logos, vital airs

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

The elements in their literal sense are not available in sadhana for all. The nature of the Pasu requires strict adherence to Vaidik rule in the matter of these physical functions even in worship. This rule prohibits the drinking of wine, a substance subject to the three curses of Brahma, Kaca, and Krsna, in the following terms; Madyam apeyam adeyam agrahyam (”Wine (1) must not be drunk, given, or taken”). Read more »

fish, householder, kaca, krsna, maithuna, pasu, ritual purposes, sadhana, sexual act, sexual intercourse, strict adherence, visnu, wine

Owing, however, to abuses, particularly as regards the tattva of madya and maithuna, this Tantra, according to the current version, prescribes in certain cases, limitations as regards their use. It prescribes (1) that when the Kaliyuga is in full strength, and in the case of householders (grhastha) whose minds are engrossed with worldly affairs, the “three sweets” (madhuratraya) are to be substituted for wine. Those who are of virtuous temperament, and whose minds are turned towards the Brahman, are permitted to take five cups of wine. Read more »

brahman, japa, kali age, lotus feet, maithuna, mother of the universe, passions, sadhana, siddha, tantra, wine, worshipper

The piercing of the six chakras is one of the most important subjects dealt with in the Tantra, and is part of the practical yoga process of which they treat. Details of practice (1) can only be learnt from a Guru, but generally it may be said that the particular is raised to the universal life, which as cit is realizable only in the sahasrara in the following manner: The jivatma in the subtle body, the receptacle of the five vital airs (panca-prana), mind in its three aspects of manas, ahamkara, and buddhi, and the five organs of perception (pancajnanendriyas) is united with the Kulakundalini. The Kandarpa or Kama Vayu in the muladhara, a form of the Apana-Vayu, is given a leftward revolution and the fire wich is around Kundalini is kindled. By the bija “Hum,” and the heat of the fire thus kindled, the coiled and sleeping Kundalini is awakened. She who lay asleep around svayambhu-linga, with her coils three circles and a half closing the entrance of the brahmadvara, will, on being roused, enter that door and move upwards, united with the jivatma. Read more »

apas, bija, chakras, dakini, deva, kundalini, lam, lotus, prana, sarasvati, savitri, vam, vayu

Dharma means that which is to be held fast or kept-law, usage, custom, religion, piety, right, equity duty, good works, and morality. It is, in short, the eternal and immutable (sanatana) principles which hold together the universe in its parts and in its whole whether organic or inorganic matter. Read more »

dharma, family position, kama, meritorious action, possession, purana, soul desire, wealth success