kundalini and chakra

Solar eclipse 21st June 2020

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We are now fast moving towards the Total solar eclipse due on 21st June 2020, Sunday. This eclipse will be visible in Africa, middle East, India, China etc and the surrounding seas as per this map below. Totality will be visible in the areas with the darkest orange color and partial solar eclipse in the lighter shaded areas.

ecipse 21jun

This is the third total eclipse in the same Gemini-Sagittarius axis. The first one was one year ago, on 19th Jul 2019, visible over South America. This led to instability and political upheavals in several nations here. The second one was 6 months ago on 26th Dec 2019. And that eclipse too was over these very same areas/ seas as the one coming up. The turmoil which this Dec eclipse triggered in the world is evident. Now another eclipse of the same proportions in the same sign axis and primarily affecting the same areas of the world. This eclipse occurs after the penumbral lunar eclipse of 5th June (post here) so it will add on to the problems created.

This day, 21st June is the Summer Solstice, technically the power of the Sun is maximum on this day, especially in the northern hemisphere. Most of this eclipse will be visible in this Northern hemisphere. More intense the solar energies, the more intense will be the energy fluctuations.

Lets briefly check out the planet’s positions during this forthcoming solar eclipse

Taurus is an earthy fixed sign connected to resources, money, wealth, treasuries, good times etc. It will have Venus retrograde during the eclipse event. Venus has just come out of his combustion on 10th June his energies are not very normal yet. (This year he has no role in the Nav-nayak scheme of things so keywords ruled by him are anyways not much in focus.) So the economy overall etc is still in trouble etc. Venus has put in some work during his combustion and continued retrogression, but his material effect will be visible only after Sept 2020 and that too on low levels. The only saving grace was that he was doing all this retrograde and combustion in his own sign. A planet cannot harm his own sign so there will be some turbulence but eventually it will all work out. Also Taurus is the ascendant sign for India, so we will recover eventually. During the eclipse event, Venus is in Rohini lunar mansion which is connected to Moon’s energies and ruled by the deity Prajapati.

Gemini is an airy dual-natured sign connected to logic, analytical power, boldness, options, solutions to get out of turmoil, or actions which lead to even more turbulence. Your extended family, neighbourhood, siblings, same-age groups, office teams, etc. Gains from small businesses and trade. Teamwork, coordination, cooperation. This is the main sign where the eclipse is occurring. Naturally Sun and Moon are here together, it is an Amavasya/ no-moon day. Solar eclipses are always on an Amavasya. Rahu is triggering the eclipse. True Rahu is in forward motion and practically stationary in preparation for the eclipse. Mercury will be retrograde and combust here. This is an occultation by Rahu of a Sun who has combusted Mercury. So we must analyse this as a ‘composite Sun+Mercury’ eclipse. It is a Amavasya, so the Sun has already ‘combusted’ the Moon!

Now try to fit the patterns for yourself. The keywords of all these planets and Gemini sign are going to see a release of a very high quantum of astral energies. Whatever these planets/ sign stand for generally and specifically in your own chart are going to get this energy blast right in the face. Whatever in your life is signified by your Sun, Moon and Mercury as per your chart is going to be very heavily influenced by Rahu. What is Rahu? Rahu is simply the ‘energy of the desire to experience’. No energy is good/ bad by itself. It all depends on how you use or direct it. If your horoscope is strong enough to to accept and process this Rahu energy, it is a once in a life-time opportunity. Or if your horoscope is on a sufficiently high maturity level where you can understand and assimilate these energies. But if you cannot use this energy explosion then all these connected aspects of your life, overwhelmed by the Rahu-blast, will give you trouble, .

Sun, Moon and Rahu are in Mruga nakshatra. This nakshatra is connected to Mars’s energies.

Mercury is in Punarvasu nakshatra, in Gemini sign. This lunar mansion is connected to Jupiter. He is retrograde so you can think and analyse but actual actions taken during this period can fail in the long term. Especially avoid financial transactions during his retrogression.

Some astrologers will consider this to be a Kaal-sarpa combination. But on the Nakshatra levels, Mercury has crossed out of the nakshatra occupied by Rahu and is outside the hemming. Thus this is more a partial kaal-sarpa with only Mercury outside the Rahu-Ketu hemming. But he is combust ie the Sun has started ‘evaporating’ him.

Sagittarius a fiery dual-natured sign has Ketu in it. Sagittarius is connected to luck and is the foundation sign of the zodiac. True Ketu is in forward motion and practically stationary. This is the energy of apathy which has caused such havoc in Sagittarius. I had written about this in my old post on Rahu/ Ketu transits. We, as a human race, have been severed from our foundations, our divine back-up, our blessings and our auspicious merits from our past during this Ketu-Sagittarius transit. And now another eclipse, ie burst of Ketu energy, will again occur in this axis. He is in his own Moola nakshatra. Ketu is the ‘energy of non-desire for experience’ ie he is the agent of enlightenment or the Moksh-karak.

Capricorn – An earthy moveable sign linked to social structures, society as a whole, governments, jobs, salaries, profession, hard-work etc. Though this sign is not directly in the line of fire it still has the two planetary heavy-weights in very close conjunction. Jupiter retrograde and Saturn retrograde in Uttarashadha nakshatra which is connected to Sun. Those who have Saturn or Jupiter retrograde in their birth charts can see some opportunities coming up but for most of us this is a rather confusing period. Society is in a flux. Health and wealth are being affected as it is. Try to complete the work you undertake and try to be regular and disciplined about things. Do not leave loose ends which can create problems later.

Pisces is watery dual natured sign connected to losses of the material, astral experiences, isolation, moksh, etc. Mars is in Pisces and he aspects Gemini sign and the eclipse event with his 4th aspect. He is like an underwater volcano in Pisces. He is in Poorvabhadrapada nakshatra during the eclipse which is connected to Jupiter.

Just look at the configurations of the planets, signs and the lunar mansion. I think even a beginner in astrology can connect the dots even with just this much data. Astrology is all about learning to use keywords and making patterns. And observing.

The Rahu Ketu axis

The eclipse is releasing its energies in the Mruga-Moola Nakshatra axis, here is a bit about these two lunar mansions.

Mruga is connected to Mars, ruled by the deity Soma and represented by a deer. This eclipse in Mruga can increase mistrust, illusion, problems in relationships, emotional conflicts, stubbornness, irritation, arguments, confusion etc. There will be ‘movements’ which can cause trouble. eg travelling for no reason, or pain in travel, or movements in the earth, air water which will create problems etc. The outside environment will be turbulent, you will not find the things you search for. For some, medical problems connected to water/ liquids in the body or nerves can be triggered. There will be blocks on the creative and intellectual processes. You might find it difficult to stick to a particular path, goal, objective and act impulsively, rashly. These are some of the negative results because such a burst of energy if uncontrolled will lead to problems. Most of us will not attempt in the least to control or direct it so will suffer accordingly.

Now the other half of this axis, Moola nakshatra. Moola is the most mysterious of all the lunar mansions as the the center of our galaxy lies in this nakshatra. It is the ‘root’ energy connected to Ketu and ruled by Niritti. Ketu is occupying this during the eclipse. His power will get enhanced but in a curious way, for most of us the things which he signifies will be even more strongly obscured. A double-Ketu energy. Most of us will not even realise what we are going to lose with this eclipse. A sense of inquiry, rational logic will be lost. Medicines, remedies, healings will be confused. Some of us will be disconnected from the material stuff connected to the position of Ketu in the individual charts.

But for some of us, this is a life time chance. If you do your spiritual practice during this period and channelise this explosion. Then this eclipse will give a tremendous power boost. Auspicious events connected to removal of illusions, internal journey to the self, gain of the one-one relationship with the inner Self, emotional stability, burst of intuition, blessings of the Divine etc are very much possible. For some it can also grant the nectar of enlightenment! You can gain what you are deeply searching for, yourself! Ketu will allow pin-pointed enquiry into things. He will grant the deepest healings. Show the real nature of things. This will translate into the deepest Jnyan.

Eclipses are more suited to spiritual goals because the energy is released by a combination of Rahu/Ketu and Sun/Moon. (As you know Sun is linked to the Sahasrara chakra and Moon to the Ajnya chakra. Rahu/ Ketu are the energies of ‘desire / nondesire for experience’ which push your perfect internal geometry out of shape.)

But if you so desire, this eclipse can also translate into positive material goals connected to the houses of your individual charts where the eclipse is occurring. Murga and Mool both are quite capable of giving very significant material prosperity. But your own horoscope should be powerful enough to absorb this energy release and you should intend it strongly during the eclipse in your puja/ mantra/ Sadhana. Else this eclipse will bring negativity.

air fireAnalysis, Rahu in 5th, Ketu in 11th house

For individuals. On personal levels, there will be mental confusion, emotional upsets, misunderstandings, indecision etc as per the nakshatra affected. Impulse will run high as well as temper. So avoid arguments and avoid risky behaviour. This eclipse can give some positives for Aries, Leo, Capricorn especially as birth Moon signs. Those born in Moon signs of Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Sagittarius might feel more of the negativity. Average results for Libra, Aquarius and Pisces birth Moon signs. Eclipses affect more on the inner levels so the impact on the birth Moon signs is more significant.

For the national-level events. There will be problems in the nations in which the Total Solar eclipse event is seen. To begin with there will be untimely heavy rains, cyclones, floods etc which can cause damage to crops, cities etc. So agriculture and animal husbandry etc type of professions will have to face losses. There can be earthquakes or flooding events, ie disasters which are sudden in nature. The economic slowdowns, public health issues (corona, dengue, malaria etc) will continue. And in several of these nations including India, civil riots and war-like situations will erupt. India should monitor internal situations in Pakistan, Nepal and China also, as instability or breakdowns there will also affect the entire region. All these nations will face deep instability. Soldiers and law enforcement agencies will have to work more. People and leaders who are perceived to be good, kind, honourable etc will face trouble by negative forces. The seas where this eclipse has touched will see irregular events, tides or rains will occur. The local fish etc may be affected leading to problems in livelihood. (In the total solar eclipse Jul 2019, the seas were more affected, thus global weather patterns were affected).

So this eclipse, the third and last one in the Gemini-Sagittarius axis will have far reaching effects on everyone. On a global scale the eclipse begins at 3:45 UTC and ends at 9:34 UTC. So it’s a global 5hr 45 min phenomenon on the global levels. Thus its effects will extend to about 5-6yrs for the entire Earth. It is advisable that everyone does some sort of puja/ mantra jaap/ spiritual practice during the duration of the eclipse so that the negative effects are reduced and at least some positivity remains in life.

 

The Rahu Ketu axis

(I have written on eclipses, their general effects and the mantra/ practices to be followed during eclipses. These eclipse predictions are also in the predictions for the current year posts. I have written a lot on Rahu/Ketu. Do use the index page to read these posts as I have not repeated these same things in this post.)

Length and Rate of your breathing

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We are breath, or more more correctly we are linked to this manifested creation primarily by the movement of air through our nostrils. To go beyond the limits imposed by the manifested, the first step is control of the breath. If you control your breath, you naturally control the pran moving within you. If you can control your pran, you automatically control your mind. Your mind is like a ball in your hand, it jumps up and down with the movement of pran. If you still the movement of pran, you also still your mind. The pran’s movement stills when you still your breathing, ie achieve Keval Kumbhak state, where there is no breathing in nor breathing out. If your Mind goes still, you achieve the ‘unmani-state’, beyond-Mind. After you reach this Unmani state, you hear the continuous ‘Nada’, the sound of the unmanifested. If you can dissolve your limited consciousness in the sound of the Nada, you achieve the Eternal.

Length and Rate of your breath

Our regular breathing is very turbulent. It depends on the physical movement of the body but it also depends significantly on your emotions and your thoughts. Check your breathing pattern when you are happy, sad, angry, upset, relaxed, focussed, etc and observe for yourself how it varies.

All texts on breathing and Dhyan will talk about the length of the breath and the rate of breathing.

  • This is how you determine the length of your breathing in comparison to your own finger-widths, a measure called angula. Switch off the fan in your room first, it should not be windy inside. Place some cotton fibres or a very thin thread on the back of your hand and keep it at some distance from your nose. Be at rest, relax and breathe normally. As you exhale on the cotton fibres they will move with the force of the exhaled air. Try to find out till what distance from your nose, the cotton fibres visibly move with your exhaled breath. Measure this distance from your nostrils to the fibres with a piece of thread. Now count how many finger-widths long is your breath when you are at rest.
  • Now to measure your breathing rate. Sit in a relaxed position. Set a timer for 5 mins. Count your breathing, ie one inhale and one exhale is one breath. eg If you count 52 breaths in 5 mins, then it is average at about 10 breaths per minute. eg If it is 68 breaths in 5 mins it is approximately 14 breaths per minute. As per science, the average human breathing rate at rest is 12 per minute.

Your life span is measured in breaths, not years. If you breathe slowly, you will live longer, look younger and be more healthy. But you should not force yourself to stop/slow breathe, if you do so, you will damage your body and your nadi-s. This should happen spontaneously and it will happen gradually as you do your spiritual practice.

(This photograph of my Sat-guru was taken in 1990, he was physically 85yrs old then.)

IMG_5568

If your breathing is fast, forced, laboured, intense etc the air will be displaced for a longer distance from your nose. ie the length of the breath will increase. As per the texts, this is how the activities affect your breath, eg eating increases the length to 18 angula, walking increases it to 20 angula, run­ning to 24 angula, sexual activity to 60 angula etc. If the length of the exhaled breath is longer, it reduces your life-span. The reason is that with every exhaled breath, you are also exhaling pran from your system. Generally you lose more pran than you pull in from the universe as your exhaled breath is always longer than your inhaled breath. And if the exhaled breath is made longer by engaging in strenuous activities or mental turbulence, even more pran goes out. (So over-indulgence in sexual activity is not advisable for spiritual aspirants, 60 angula long-breath!)

When you breathe slowly, without any jerks, the exhaled air moves out with less force, ie it’s length in angula becomes shorter. As the breathing becomes slow, it also becomes less turbulent, the flow of the pran in the nadi-s becomes smoother, more subtle, thinner? It actually becomes a fine needle of pure gold/ silver shimmer. In Dhyan, you are supposed to actively open your central Sushumna and close the Ida and Pingala. When such smooth subtle flow of pran moves through the Sushumna it effectively ‘cleans’ it out. Once the Sushumna is ‘clean’, all karmic impurities/ blockages are removed, it becomes very easy for the kundalini to rise up through it in one continuous smooth flow. It is always better for the spiritual aspirant if the Kundalini moves only after the Sushumna is clean from the Mooladhar to the Brahmarandhra.

So the point is that if you reduce the breathing rate and reduce the length of breath which actually happens simultaneously, you will increase the length and quality of your life and also gain control over your pran, Mind and also on the people around you and the environment you live in. Here is what the texts say,

  • If it is 10 angula, you gain peace of mind which lasts for a long time.
  • If it is 9 angula, you can spontaneously write, prose, music etc which have deep impacts on others.
  • If it is 8 angula, you will be able to speak spontaneously without hesitation. Your words will cause deep impact on those who hear you.
  • If it is 7angula, your vision will change, seeing into the past, present, future, parallel is possible now.
  • If it is 6 angula, you can move your body through air.
  • If it has gone to 5 angula, now onwards, your progress in your spiritual practice becomes very fast.
  • If it goes to 4 angula, you will attain the eight major siddhis (anima, mahima, garima, laghima, prakamya, ishitva, vashitva, kamavashayitva) and the several minor siddhis.
  • If it goes down to 3 angula, you gain the nava nidhi vidya the 9 types of consciousnesses. These are said to be under the control of Yaksharaj Kuber.
  • If it goes upto 2 angu­la, then the body is not longer a binding, you can change the shape of your 5-layered body.
  • If it reduces to 1 angula, you can become invisible and exist in just the subtle or causal body. Time, space and other dimensions lose their dominion on you.
  • Finally when the breathing stops, ie there is no exhalation or inhalation, Keval Kumbhak is attained, now the further process of Self realization starts in real earnest.

So as you do your spiritual practice, with time, your breathing will slow down and stop intermittently and then fully. It is nothing to be scared of. You don’t need air to remain alive in this created world. You need only pran, and it can be pulled in not just through the nostrils but also via the skin and majorly through the top of the head. This ability to consciously pull in pran increases, as you do your spiritual practice. So as an aspirant, your only job is to breathe with Soham, the rest of it will happen spontaneously and naturally.

 

Length and Rate of your breath

Nara Narayan and the Bhagwat Gita

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The word ‘Narayan’ is a Sanskrit (Devbhasha Samskrutam) compound word composed of two words, ‘Nara’ and ‘Ayan’.

  • नर Nara is the eternal primeval spirit which pervades all creation you see around you. Nara does not just mean a human or a man or a male animal as it is commonly represented. It is a Sanskrit word and so has depths and layers of meanings depending on the context and the ability of the reader to understand. Nara is basically aware consciousness or intelligent energy. It is the same as the Kundalini.
  • आयन  Ayan is a Sanskrit word which means, movement, equilibrium, natural state, stable configuration, arrival, travel on a route, approach, the end of the journey etc.

Narayan is technically split as, ‘Narasya ayanh iti Narayanh’. So ‘Narayan’ can be broadly understood as the ‘equilibrium achieved by the Nara’, or ‘the end of the journey of Nara’, or ‘natural state of the Nara’ or ‘the goal of the Nara’, or the ‘Nara when he reaches his journey’s end’. Narayan has another meaning, ‘first offspring of the origin’.

Venus and Mars placed in the 8th house

(Ramayan means the ‘journey of Shri Ram’. This story/ allegory ends with the coronation of Ram, Ram-Rajya-abhishek. Most Indians are unaware that the Ramayan authored by Rishi Valmiki ends when Ram completes his 14 yrs of travel, comes back to Ayodhya and is crowned King.
All that stuff about banishing his wife, Sita and birth of his children Luv/Kush is not a part of the actual Ramayan.
Another astrological fact, Ravan was killed on Falgun Amavasya, the last day of the Hindu year. Ram returns to Ayodhya on Chaitra Shukla pratipada, the first day of the bright half of the Chaitra month. And he is immediately crowned King on that day. It was the tradition to start a new era with the coronation of powerful Kings so our new year begins on the same day as Ram-Rajya began so many thousands of years ago.
In your spiritual journey, Ravan is your internal self-ego. You destroy this self-ego as you merge into the central Bindu of the Sahasrara chakra. Ravan is the knowledge of the manifested creation, you will experience this completely and transcend this too. If you follow the Ramayan as your primary guide, the sense of self will take on the form of Ravan. Ravan is discordant terrifying vibrations of sound/energy. You destroy this discordance and bring your internal vibrations to resonate with the sound of perfection OM. Thus you achieve Sadyo-mukti.
The Ramayan describes the Dvaita form of philosophy and the Mahabharat the Advaita so Krishna is considered the Purna-avatar, one step more evolved than Ram.)

Now lets see what the Bhagwat Gita of Shri Krishna says about Nara and Narayan.

Nara is the potential energy of the framework on which these universes manifest. ie it is the Kundalini shakti of Shri-Vidya. Nara is aware intelligence. Normally in an average human, this awareness resides at the lowest levels of creation, ie it resides at the Muladhar chakra and pervades along the 5 lower chakras from Muladhar to Vishuddhi. These 5 chakras are linked to our 5 senses, hearing, touch etc. The function of this awareness here is, to surround pure intelligence/soul by ignorance. This ignorance is created by the 5 senses who bring in ‘subjects’. Eg taste, sound etc are called ‘subjects’. As this conscious intelligence called ‘nara’ is surrounded by subjective ignorance, it is blind to its Reality. As long as the Nara energy sustains this subjective ignorance, you are fascinated by the manifested creation and the subjects that your sense organs show you. In tantric terminology while your Kundalini is still below the Vishuddhi chakra you are called a ‘pashu पशु ’. You are separate from your own Reality.

Once you start your spiritual practice and continue it regularly, your kundalini will eventually cross these chakras one after the other. (The key is ‘regular spiritual practice’. One of my grand-Guru’s disciples, a Guru himself, Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj, wrote in his books that if one does Dhyan for even 2 years regularly the effects will be obvious. And it is true.)

A spiritual aspirant who has crossed the Vishuddhi chakra and reached the Ajnya chakra is now onwards referred to as a ‘Nara’, he is no longer a ‘pashu’. His consciousness has gone beyond the 5 senses of the lower 5 chakras and he has reached the seat of the individual soul at the Ajnya chakra. Now onwards, he will cross the distance of ’10 fingers’ dasha-angula and from the centre of the eyebrows, reach the top of the head.

The seat of the Parabrahma in your human body is located at the top of your head. Within the Sahasrara chakra there is the central Bindu, the location of the Nirvishesh Brahma, Advaita. This is the goal. The ultimate cannot be sensed by the 5 senses, there is no duality, there are no subjects and there is pure awareness or complete knowledge of the Self. This is non-subjective intelligence. The Nara awareness will cross the Ajnya chakra, through the Dash-angula-sthan and traverse upward till it reaches the Sahasrara and its central Bindu. This is where the ‘Nara’ evolves into the ‘Narayan’. The function of the Narayan awareness is to merge itself into the Ultimate Reality located at the Bindu. This is Moksh or attainment of the Nirvishesh brahma.

Dhanvantari, the God of medicine

In Hinduism/Sanatan dharm, there are lots of deities, demi-gods, forces of nature etc which are worshipped. Eg suppose you are a devotee of Ganapati. He resides at the Muladhar chakra. To get your Kundalini into the Brahmanadi of the Sushumna you need the blessings of Ganapati. So you meet him first on your spiritual journey. But if you read the Ganapati atharvashirsha, it clearly states that Ganapati resides at the Muladhar chakra but is also several other energies and also the source ‘Om’ ! This is a paradox then? Not so. We worship an intelligent consciousness. In Sanatan Dharm the keyword is ‘evolution’. Everything is a yadnya यज्ञ an evolution. As your consciousness evolves from the Muladhar to the Bindu, do not expect your adored deity to remain constant! There is no constant, it is all in motion. You will see your deity, Ganapati also evolving. As your consciousness becomes more capable of experiencing more subtle things, you will be shown them, you will also evolve. Ganapati will show you more subtle and subtler aspects of himself simultaneously, till he shows you his ultimate reality, and this will be your ultimate reality too. Thus the aspirant, the deity and the process of spiritual development all merge into the Non-dual.

So as per the Bhagwat Gita, the Nara at the base of the Muladhar chakra, evolves and finally realises himself as the Narayan at the top of the chakra geometry, at the Bindu. Nara is thus equated with Maya-shakti, the power which maintains creation. And Narayan is also called the Brahma-shakti the power which merges the soul into the Ultimate.

In Bhagwat Gita the primary dialogue is between Arjun and Krishna. (Secondary dialogue is between Sanjay and Dhrutarashtra, wrote about it here).

Here Arjun represents Nara and Krishna is Narayan or the Guru. Pure consciousness delivers the Gita to the consciousness bound by the subjective senses. But remember that this duality is only on the surface, actually both are the same. This realisation of non-duality is the gist of the Gita. The perceptions of desires, ie the ‘subjects’ are gradually removed by the influence of the Brahma-shakti or Narayan. The doubts of the sense-bound consciousness are removed by the pure knowledge delivered by Narayan. This dialogue, Gita, between Krishna and Arjuna is the solution of all the doubts of the Nara, so that he can evolve.

Here I will introduce one more word, ‘bhav’ भाव. It is a way of thinking, assumption, supposition, a supposed state. Arjun is ‘Jiv-bhav’, ie the assumption of the individual soul with its karmic baggage under Maya and is the assumption of a supposed duality. Krishna is the Atma-bhav, the assumption of higher intelligence or the Guru.  These are the two states of the Non-dual, the apparent duality. The atma-bhav guides the disciple or the jiv-bhav towards itself via the Gita. The Jiv-bhav evolves with the power of knowledge of the Self, until it reaches the the topmost Bindu where it merges with the Atma-bhav and realises Non-duality.

4f29c4dbbe3846d70e9ebe52f0caf582.jpg

Narayan is a mantra too. ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ is a very potent simple mantra which you can practice if you feel like it.

If you are able to do this one tiny thing you will achieve Sadyo mukti of the Videha type. ie you will realise non-duality, Nirvishesh brahma at the instant of your body’s physical death. If you are able to recite this one word mantra ‘Narayan’ as your consciousness leaves your body, you will achieve perfect Moksh. However at the moment of exit, things get so confused that I am sure none of us will remember this.

If you think deeply, our entire life is in preparation for the exit from this physical body. We do our work, do our karma, follow our conscience, act as per our personal Dharma, do our spiritual practices etc, why? Just so that when we leave this shell, we gain access to the highest possible energy route out. Most of us are scared of physical death and thus we fail to capitalise on the energies of the most important moment that we have. (I can write so much more on this but it would be too much for the average householders who read this blog.) 

This post has again become a bit heavy, but we are discussing the Gita, the ultimate Yog-shastra. So do read the earlier posts hyper-linked within to understand it better. If you follow the Bhagwat Gita as your primary source of inspiration, do not just read it, also practice it. Read it in Sanskrit even if you do not understand. Sanskrit is linked to the energy of the chakras, it will do its job on your internal energy. Nara to Narayan is evolution, experience it.

Tripur, Tripurari, Tripursundari

(The sequence of studying the Bhagwat Gita is this – first read just the Sanskrit shloks, then read the Pranav Gita. Then start your study of the Vedant/Upanishads and then come to the Shankarbhashya. This is written by Adi Shankaracharya, he expounds on the true essence of the Gita as the pure distillation of the Vedant is explained.)

Soul in Sushupti the deep sleep

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I have written about the Soul in Dream states/Swapna awastha in this post here.

There are four states of existence, Awake – Jagruti, Swapna -Dream, Deep sleep – Sushupti and Turiya – the fourth state (you get an inkling of this in the deep Dhyan stages).

The deep sleep is a very mysterious state. Modern science has accepted that the deep sleep phase is essential for the body to rest and rejuvenate. Your body repairs itself when you are in the Sushupti state. The mind and the soul also refresh themselves. And when you wake up you feel that you are reborn. But modern science is unable to explain why and how this happens. Modern medicine generally studies physical bodies and dead bodies, so the secrets of the living body are beyond its practitioners. What is Life? If you want to know how your body, mind and soul function, you have to study the living body composed of the Panch-kosh in which the Pran flow and the Jivatma/soul resides in it.

Soul in Sushupti the deep sleep

A quick recap of the body’s energy structure. The thinnest naadi /energy channel is called the Sushumna. It has 6 energy vertices/chakras from the coccyx to the third eye roughly along the vertebral column. There are 6 more chakras in the head. The Third eye chakra is called the Ajnya chakra and is the seat of the individual soul.

‘Behind’ the Ajnya chakra is the Kutasth कूटस्थ. It is a Sanskrit word शब्द which means, unchangeable, supreme, immoveable, uniform, at the top, located within a multitude, etc. This is the Krishna of the Bhagwat Gita, Vaikunth the abode of Vishnu, Kailas the abode of Shiv, the Bhairav of the Vidnyan Bhairav Tantra resides here. The unknowable ‘dark’ yet ‘self-illuminated’, Parabrahma /Eternal Reality is located at the Kutasth.

There is an oft-repeated story of two similar looking birds, the only difference is in the behaviour. One eats the fruits from the tree and the other just sits and observes the first bird.

  • The bird who eats the fruits is the Jivatma/individual soul with its baggage of karma which resides at the Ajnya chakra.
  • The bird who just observes is Parabrahma residing the Kutasth.

But the interesting thing is that खग does not just mean ‘bird’, it also means wind/ energy of the wind/ vital energy/ pran. And to ‘eat’ is also means to ‘experience‘. The Parabrahma is also called the Mahapran, Great vital energy. (This allegory defines the Jivatma and the Paramatma in several deep ways, so think on what else this simple story tells you.)

The manifested soul/ Jivatma exists outside the Kutasth, at the center of the Ajnya chakra. It cannot consciously enter the Kutasth. The entire purpose of spiritual practice is to get the Jivatma to enter into the Kutasth! You can imagine how difficult this is, you have to rebalance all karma, control your vital energy/pran then set the kundalini free from its sleeping place under the lowermost Mooladhar chakra. Take it up the thinnest inner layer of Sushumna (i.e. the Brahmanaadi within the Sushumna) then navigate the energy whirlpools of all the chakras carefully, open the three locks (granthi) on the way etc. Only then can your soul, Jivatma consciously enter the Kutasth and experience the Ultimate Reality. This is Moksh.

ajnya chakra yantra

This is the Yantra of the Ajnya chakra. The two petals are the Ida and the Pingala naadi in cross-section. The circle is the Sushumna. The downward pointing equilateral triangle is a cross-section of the Brahmanadi. The central dot/Bindu is the Jivatama/individual soul. In some yantra diagrams, Om ॐ is written in place of the dot/Bindu. It means almost the same thing. (The sequence of creation is – Parabrahma – (Purush with) Devi – Naada (of two types Naad-anth and Nirodhini) – Om – Bindu.)

So when you are awake, the individual soul/Jivatma is located in the Ajnya Chakra. It coordinates the movement of pran from the Universe into the body and allocates it to the Ida, Pingala or Sushumna. It orders (ajnya) the inward movement of the vital energy/ pran.

The next state of existence is the Dream. When you are dreaming, Swapna, the Jivatma uses the Sookshma sharir (do read the post on Panch kosh) to travel within the astral dimensions and its own sub-subconscious layers. (Astral travel is a variant of this where the Jivatma moves out of the boundaries of its bodies for brief periods.)

Soul in Sushupti the deep sleep

But what happens during deep sleep, Sushupti is very interesting. The Jivatma moves from the center of the Anjya Chakra to the ‘door’ of the Kuthastha and is actually allowed entry. It rests with the Parabrahma! The objective of your entire spiritual practice is achieved in Sushupti! But there is a difference between the two, else everyone would get Moksh in deep sleep.

Deep sleep is defined when you are sleeping, perfectly relaxed, regularly breathing, calm, peaceful and seeing no dreams. In this phase you/Jivatma, become one with the Mahapran/Parabrahma. During this period you are unaware of everything. You are surrounded by nothing of this manifested Universe and are in the embrace of the Eternal. However there exists a thin ‘veil of ignorance’ between you and the Supreme. Thus you have no awareness of your identity with the Supreme.

This rest with the Parabrahma is the reason why the body, mind and soul are completely refreshed after the Sushupti phase of sleep. But then why would you come back from the Kutasth? If Moksh means entry into the Kutasth, you are doing it every night! So why come back to the Ajnya and take over the body-robot again? There are three reasons,

  1.  You are the Jivatma the individual soul, you have a load of karma to work through. When you went into deep sleep, this job was only partly complete, you still have to finish it. You finish in the morning what you had left incomplete the night before.
  2. The veil does not allow complete merger of your individual consciousness with the Eternal.
  3. Moksh is possible only when you are aware and conscious of what is happening. In deep sleep, you are not aware. In the samadhi states/ deepest spiritual practice, you are aware/ conscious of your merger with the Eternal.

When the individual soul enters the Kutasth and rests with the Parabrahma in deep sleep, it is like a a pot full of salt water with a tightly sealed mouth plunged into the Ganga. When it awakens from the deep sleep, the same pot is taken out of the river with the same salt-water in it. Similarly the individual soul is enveloped by its desires. It goes to rest and recover with the Eternal in the Kutasth. During this period it temporarily suspends all senses/ activities/ego etc. It comes out of the Kutasth again to get more experiences. It does not become identical with Eternal Reality. However the soul experiences deep happiness during Sushupti and rejuvenates.

(If you force someone to remain awake or not allow him to enter the deep sleep stage for a few days he will die as soul will not be able to rejuvenate  within the Kutasth.)

Another connected thing. Indians have a habit of having a bath first thing in the morning. If the kids delay having a bath, the elders will scold. Now observe your energy dynamics before, while and after bathing to know why bathing after waking up is essential. (I hope you can see your own aura by this time?) Well, when you are in deep sleep, the individual soul has sort of left the body and gone to the Kutasth. The movement of vital energy/pran is restricted to the upper chakras of the head. The rest of the body gets the bare minimum stand-by levels of pran. This Sushupti phase is like a ‘mini-death’. The Jivatma restarts the body as you wake up, but the naadis are still under the last night’s deep sleep effect so pran does not flow so smoothly in them. When you take a bath, i.e. put water on your body, your aura stops projecting out. Only when you dry your body, it flares around your body again. You feel a ‘warmth’ as you dry yourself, this is your aura enveloping you again. All this resets the energy of the body and ‘fixes’ the rejuvenation that your soul has experienced in last night’s deep sleep, so the entire body benefits.

The human soul is a very strange thing. It knows its Reality (continuously recites Soham) and rejuvenates itself within the Eternal every single night in deep sleep/ Sushupti. But it allows the desire to experience to pull it back to the body/Universe it has manifested. And yet tries to again go back to Itself during its waking state!

(For more reading, the Brahma Sutra.)

Soul in Sushupti the deep sleep

Meaning of So and Ham Sah and Aham

astrologerbydefault

There are two types of sounds, Ahat आहत and Anahat अनाहत. All vibrations of this manifested Universe are the Ahat sounds while Om is the only eternal all-pervading Anahat sound. Soham or Hamsa are the link between the two.

Ahat sounds – These are sounds which are created by two things striking together. e.g. when two stones strike together it creates a ‘struck sound’.  In spiritual context, these things which strike together are the ‘Shabda’ the sound of the words of the manifested Universe. These are created by interactions between the three tendencies, Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic. These are also linked to the conscious energies of the chakras located within your Sushumna naadi. These Ahat sounds are generated by some sort of vibrations which you can sense. These are sounds multiplied from the energy of Shabda शब्द.

Every type of sound you hear with your sense organs in this world is an Ahat sound. Even the silent, mental jaap, recitation of Mantras are Ahat sounds. Even if you are reciting the Mantra in your mind, your internal energies are ‘striking’ to produce its vibrations. These mantras are of the Manifested Universe and not of the Eternal Consciousness.

Anahat Nada  – अनाहत नाद is a sound which cannot be heard or sensed with your physical sense organs. This is a single sound, the sound of OM. It can be experienced only when the Ahat sounds are silenced. OM is the origin of everything. It is self-sustained, self-generated, all-pervading and Conscious. Nada is the eternal sound which then differentiates into Creation. This is a step-wise process and creates your internal energy chakras and the kundalini etc structure. On the macro-levels the Nada creates the Universes.

The Ajapa mantra Soham and Hamsa are not fully Anahat (as they do have a component of Sa-kaar and Ha-kaar). But as you progress in your Dhyan, the Sa and Ha sounds get nullified and only OM remains. Soham and Hamsa can then be considered to be a link between the Ahat and the Ananhat. These two are the eternal flow of the Anahat OM. They create, sustain and destroy the manifested.

So and Ham Sah and Aham

When you breathe in and breath out, every breath cycle, on the energy levels, you are first created (Purak), then sustained (Antah Kumbhak), annihilated (Rechak), then enter the Shunya/’Conscious nothingness’ state (Bahya Kumbhak) then created (Purak), endlessly. Breathing is not just a physical act!

There are broadly two types of karma. Those karma which are linked to your current horoscope/life have to be experienced thus rebalanced. These are already activated for your current life. You can only reduce the intensity of these karma by practicing some spiritual practices or remedies. Then there is the second type of karma which you have chosen to not resolve in this lifetime. This is the stored karma to be rebalanced in some future life. This second type of Karma can be ‘burnt’ in Dhyan. I hope you have guessed how this can happen. When you do your spiritual practice sitting on your Asan, focus on the Mantra and the third eye chakra, you literally complete one life-time with every breath! With every inhale and exhale, you live out one life-time and the focussed blast of energy you are invoking ‘burns’ your stored karma. As you practice regularly, you will look younger, fresh and vital! (My Dad is in his 70s and he looks like a 40yr old!)

Even if you use the Sanskrit language principles to open up this word Soham = Sah + Aham, सोहम् = स: + अहम् | you will get Sah/ That and Aham /I. With every breath you are affirming ‘That I’.

But what is स:, Sah, ‘that’? ‘That’ cannot be defined using the words and relative meanings of the manifested physical. The complete knowledge of the eternal constant. It is the Ultimate which is described in negation words, ie. has no attributes निर्गुण, no shapes निराकार etc. It just Is.

And what exactly would be ‘I’, Aham, अहम् then? It is not your body, mind, emotions, social standing etc. It is your individual soul. This is how it is created. (I have written about it briefly earlier)

  • The Bindu first divides into the three attributes, Satva, Raja and Tama represented by the Vama Jeyshtha and Raudri chakra in your head, the top triangle of the Shri-yantra.
  • Raja and Satva first combine to produce Mahat-Buddhi (light, intelligence, cognition, self-awareness, great). There are two ways this energy works.
    • When Creation is on, the higher level will lower itself and differentiate further. The Mahat-Buddhi now creates certainty and thus leads to definitive action. This is the point where individual Self is created. Now every individual Self is certain about its existence and will perform actions which will lead to creation of karma. The binding begins in earnest.
    • And when dissolution is on and Kundalini has reached this point and is ascending, this Mahat-Buddhi is converted into the Universal Self.
  • Next Mahat-Buddhi lowers itself down one step and creates Aham. Aham also called Aham-kaar and can take two directions,
    • When creation is on, Aham is the energy of individualisation, personal identity, ‘I am, ‘Mine’, ‘I do’ etc. It is self-referential, perhaps conceit/ Abhiman? And more importantly it is the place where the root of desires/Vasana reside. These Vasana are the tendencies of desire and will be modified into grosser levels and acted upon, Karma creation. Thus Vasana bind you at very deep levels.
    • When dissolution is on and you have reached with the Kundalini at this point, individual Aham dissolves into the Cosmic Aham. You get to experience the Ultimate Self.

The real and complete meaning of Soham would be quite impossible to describe but this much is a mere glimpse of its incalculable power.

If you are aware of the eternal Soham Mantra linked to your breathing, you will be aware  of the oneness of individual soul and the Ultimate. Unless you realise this link, you will continue to think of your personal ego as your identity. You will remain limited, constricted and restricted. Soham is a reminder that you are the Ultimate yourself. When you do your Dhyan with Soham you are breathing in the स:  ‘That’, the One-ness. You are breathing out the ‘I’, अहम्, the limited sense of self, you are expelling it. Thus with time when both equalise and stabilise you will experience the Kumbhak state of pure OM. All of us accept that we are created from the Ultimate or ‘God’ has created us. But this mere acceptance is not enough. If you believe that the Divine has created you, then try to experience the Divinity that you are. So practice and do your Dhyan.

So and Ham Sah and Aham

Hamsa is the second Ajapa mantra which brings the deepest knowledge of your own Self to you. It brings enlightenment. Soham and Hamsa are the same, one cannot exist without the other. The eventually merge and cancel each other out and a pure OM remains.

‘Hamsa’ is said to be the carrier /transport /Vahan वाहन of the Devi Sarasvati/ Gayatri. Hamsa means the bird ‘swan’ in Sanskrit. In popular images the Devi Gayatri is shown to be sitting on a swan. This means, Hamsa/Soham is the support on which the Gayatri is realised. Thus these two mantras are also called the ‘Ajapa Gayatri’. This is important for the aspirant as Gayatri/Sarasvati essentially is Moksh. The Devi Gayatri is the Light of the Internal Source/ Self/ Sun. To experience Her is to experience the Self

There is a popular story that Shiv and his wife Shakti stand at the shores of the Manas-Sarovar lake to observe the Swan swimming on it. This really means that the Eternal energies, Shiv/ passive principle and Shakti/ active principle, are united in the Swan/ Hamsa/ Soham. This union happens at the Manas (illlusion, imagination, mind, existance) Sarovar (body of water, summation of experience, flow). The Hamsa swims ON this illusory lake of experience. The Shiv-Shaki stand outside it and witness (साक्षिन्) to this. In other words, Shakti/Kundalini and Shiv/Parameshwar witness the Creation and the Hamsa. The Hamsa is linked to the Creation but is also quite apart from this. There is a wealth of esoteric meaning in this story.

Whichever story/allegory you like, the fact is that there can be no Enlightenment without these 2 Ajapa mantra. Soham is intention सङ्कल्प, practice साधना and mantra all-in-one!

And for people like us, who are always engaged in the business of living, office, home, house-work, husband/wife, children etc this is the easiest Spiritual practice. If you cannot do regular Dhyan, at least be aware of your breathing and the Ajapa Mantra, Soham /Hamsa which subtly power it. At least start somewhere.

 

So and Ham, Sah and Aham