third eye

Answering questions on doing Dhyan

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I wrote this post on doing Dhyan using the Ajapa mantras Soham or Hamsa or OM. I have in fact written several posts on spiritual practice and the mantra you use when you do these (do use the index page to locate them). There were some questions so will write a bit more in this post.

‘Look’ at your third eye chakra while doing Dhyan.

The mind has to be trained to stay still, to stop its continuous whirring. So you have to focus at one single point, ie the point where the Sushumna, Ida, Pingala Nadi merge, ie the third eye chakra. The Ajnya chakra आज्ञा चक्र is the only point where you have to focus on always and ever. This will grant stability to the mind/ Manas with time. Ajnya आज्ञा is a Sanskrit word which means authority, unlimited power, command, to order, rule, to grant permission, to perceive, principal, assurance etc. Your lower 5 chakras are controlled by the Ajnya chakra in ever way possible. So when you focus on your Ajnya chakra and do your Dhyan, you power it here. Then the Ajnya chakra automatically distributes the power generated to the lower chakras as per requirement in the gentlest and safest manner. The lower chakras then distribute it in their associated nadis. So the entire energy body benefits.

Some people have this misconception that while doing Dhyan, the focus should shift, ie they focus on each one of the lower chakras in sequence, up and down the back! This is not how it works. Such a practice creates instability in the mind and causes jerks in the flow of pran in the nadi/ chakras which ultimately damages them. If you do this up and down thing or focus on specific lower chakras while doing your 108 breath/mantra combo, there is a clear danger of overloading the lower chakra and causing its associated nadis to fry. Always focus on the Ajnya chakra for your Dhyan and not on the lower chakras.

(You can do focussed chakra healing. This is different from Dhyan. I have written on doing the chakra healing in this post here.)

Then there is a particular Dhyan method given in the Vidnyan Bhairav tantra where you focus only on the Brahmarandhra for the 108 breaths. But do not do this unless your Sat-Guru sits before you physically and guides you while you are doing it. Else you can mess up your nadi/chakra system so badly that you might not only kill yourself, but also spend the next few lives insane recovering from the damage. This is a very intense method taken up by Sanyasis who have formally left the material world. It is not for householders like us.

Temples in India where I have been to

Dhyan is not ‘mediation’, you do not relax when you do Dhyan. You do not float up in dreamy clouds as shown in popular culture. What you are doing is very actively and intentionally manipulating the Pran in your Nadi/Chakra system. Pushing more and more pure Pran into your energy body, the pran-mai-kosh. Doing Dhyan is the same as fighting the War of Kurukshetra within, it is called Karma-yog and the entire Bhagwat Gita talks about this internal war.

So do not experiment, be very alert, focus your attention at your third eye, do your 108 mantra/breath combo. And do your practice regularly.

Next is how to ‘look’ at the Ajnya chakra. If you have noted, I always use apostrophes around the word ‘look’ like ‘look’ at your Ajnya chakra. This means that you are supposed to inwardly focus your attention at your third eye. You are not supposed to roll your eyeballs up and try to physically look at the middle of your forehead! If you do this, you will get eye-strain and create problems for yourself. So imagine that you are sitting on a mountain and looking straight at the far horizon. Your physical eyes have to remain straight, relaxed and unfocussed. Do not force your eyes to go cross eyed or roll them up or squint, scrunch your eyes or anything. If you think your eyeballs are rolling up, bring them back down gently. Do not strain your eye muscles. Dhyan is an internal thing, your physical eyes are nowhere in the picture. People who are blind or do not have physical eyes also do Dhyan as it has nothing to do with the physical eyes.

Soham, Sushumna Yog and the Sat-guru

And its a two step process.

I have stressed in all my posts that you should do your 108 breaths with your mantra as a first step. Then sit for some more time in the same pose, ideally for 30mins at least. This second part is an important part, do not skip this. You have trained your mind with your 108 breaths and now you have to immediately test it. Has your mind learnt to focus? Has it absorbed the efforts of your 108 breaths? In this second phase think of nothing. The mind has to be blank. You are enjoying the energy of your 108 Mantra-breaths, the mind cannot be allowed to interfere in this. The mind cannot think anything, not even your Dhyan-mantra. It is a truly delightful phase as the constant whirring of your mind slows/ stills and you are refreshed from the inside. You are brought to the possible state of internal health and happiness. You absorb pure pran while you do Dhyan, and this refreshes you more than the sleep, Swapna and Sushupti states.

Also you will see visions from your past lives, future events, your deity may give you a Darshan, bursts of color, white lights, geometric stuff, sounds, anything. You might see things which might make you emotional, secret stuff might be told to you etc. Just observe and let it go. Do not let the mind start working while you are enjoying this part two. This part two will test how well you did in your part one of the Dhyan process.

Advaita 18-66 Bhagvat Gita Part-1

Now which mantra to use.

I stress on the Ajapa mantras, Soham/ Hamsa or the pure OM, as these are naturally embedded within every breath you take. These are the easiest, most natural, the most powerful yet the gentlest mantra which you can do while a living householders life. If you can do a proper Dhyan twice a day it would be great. But even if you cannot find the time you can mentally recite these with your breath at any time, eg while travelling etc. as even this helps. Convert every breath you take into Soham/ Hamsa/ Om and you will realise the Eternal.

But if you wish, you can do Dhyan on the following mantras. (I do not use them as I feel it unnecessarily complicates the process. I prefer the pure energy of the two Ajapa mantras Soham/Hamsa or OM.)

  • Om Brahmane namah
  • Om namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
  • Om namah Shivaya
  • Or you can choose the Gayatri mantra as your Dhyan-mantra.

If you want to use any other mantra, then its your wish. But be very careful, choose a Vedic mantra linked to the Saumya gentle form of your adored deity. Do not choose mantras of the Ugra terrifying forms. Best stick to the well-known mantras. If you focus with something incorrect, you will damage your Nadi/ Chakra system. Damage here not only affects the immediate present but also the future lives. (I had written somewhere about a woman who was doing Dhyan using some ‘brzeee’ mantra and causing harm to herself and the people around her.)

If you choose a longer mantra, then you should recite the complete mantra once with every inhalation and once with every exhalation. Example, if you choose the mantra ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ you have to recite it once completely as you inhale and recite it again completely as you exhale. Do this for the usual 108 breaths. Obviously one inhalation and one exhalation is one breath.

Leo ascendant Integration

The mantra can change sometimes spontaneously. Ultimately all Dhyan-mantra will merge into OM.

While you do your Dhyan-mantra with the 108 breathes, you are training your mind with it. Mantra means ‘manah tarayati iti ‘, ie the mantra is used to save, entrain, clean, enlighten etc, the mind. So naturally the mantra is of use as long as the mind is still whirring out of control. Once you achieve the unmani-avastha, ie the mind becomes still, the mantra will change its form and purpose.

Or if you are doing a longer mantra then as you reach the seed of the manifested it will convert to the Ajapa mantras or directly to the OM. Every mantra has a specific level of energy, once you have absorbed it all, it will change its form. This mantra changing thing is not really relevant if you are using one of these three, Soham/ Hamsa/ Om mantras. These three will take you to the highest Advaita as they are at the very deepest creation point of the manifested Universe. Once you have absorbed their immensity only the Self remains. This is the reason why I suggest you choose any of these three as your Dhyan-mantra. These are the fast-tracks, they work at the very core of your existence. 

Ultimately all the Mantras merge into OM. Then as you pierce the Bindu that OM is, you reach the undefinable indescribable Advaita. 

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Outer forms of pujas, pilgrimages, satsangs are all junior school. Dhyan is senior school. What is desired is the Eternal Advaita.

Suppose you have hurt your legs and cannot walk properly, and have to use a crutch. The crutch is essential but you do not love it nor do you wish to use it forever. You wish your legs get well so that you can walk without support. Similarly the practice is a crutch, you are going to need it as long as your mind misbehaves. But you cannot get attached to the crutch. You should study your mantra, check out how you can use it most effectively, maintain it, respect it, learn about its functions etc get the most use out of it. Use it. Be dispassionate about your practice. Your mantra is a tool, you have to use it. It will get you till a point in your journey, but after its work is done later you will discard it. 

Another way of looking at it is this. In your journey, you travel in a boat, then go in a bus, travel in a plane and then trek a bit depending on the route. You keep on changing your mode of transport, you do not remain attached to the boat or the bus you travel in. The boat-ride is not your objective. Yes, the boat helps you travel a particular stretch of your route but once that stretch is over you change your mode of transport. You are not attached to the route you travel nor the act of travelling. Neither the journey or the route or the vehicle is your final objective. Will you keep sitting in the car when you reach home? You get out of it and enter your house.

Your final destination is what inspires you. Rest of it, the route and the vehicle, just is, it is incidental. Your deepest desire is to get to Your Self, this is the source of your faith.

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And finally even if you are just learning astrology do you need to do Dhyan in the first place?

Yes, you have to. Astrology is actually Jyotish, the science of the internal illumination. It is a Veg-Ang, it is connected to the Ved, it is a part of Sanatan Dharma aka Hinduism. And it is a Vidya. Vidya is a science which studies conscious intelligence. You cannot learn a Vidya unless you are connected to the Advaita within your own self. I remember when I was a child, about 5yrs old, my Dad made me learn the Ganapati Atharvasheersha. Only then did I start on the Nakshatra, the Graha and the Rashis of Jyotish. So if you want to become an exceptional Jyotishi you must power yourself with these 108 breaths + Dhyan-mantra. 

So do your Soham or Hamsa or Om with every breath you take. Choose one of these and practice regularly. And if you have time for yourself, do your Dhyan at least once a day. It will heal you at the core of your being and eventually give you Eternal Happiness.

Venus and Jupiter in opposition

Clairvoyance and how to develop it

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The human body is an extraordinary instrument made of 5 layers (panch-kosh) arranged into 3 ‘bodies’, material body, subtle body and the inner most causal body. Most of us limit our awareness only till the material levels ie the material body/ sthool sharir and its antics. But some of us can delve into the mysteries of the subtle body/ sookshma sharir and thus gain ‘occult powers’ which include clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience etc. Clairvoyance and the rest of the clair— ‘occult powers’ are very common and actually very simple to develop. If you are doing your regular spiritual practice then you can do all this and more very easily.

Clairvoyance can be of different types. One is when you read the thoughts of the person sitting near you. Here you are reading information from his aura. If you have learnt to see the aura (post here), you will be able to do this with some practice. The easiest way is this. Ask your friend to sit with you in a silent room. Ask him to think of a particular object in the room with a single focus. You should try to sense his aura and you will soon see the image of that object pop up in your third eye. Next you can ask him to think of a mutual friend and you try to ‘guess’ his name. You can try to ‘guess’ what he has eaten before coming to meet you. This is the first step, to read the aura of the person sitting in your visual range and thus ‘guess’ what he is thinking of. This gets better with practice.

If you can do this much with your friend, you can try these exercises. Try to decipher a person’s nature by touching a pen used by him, or by touching a cut strand of his hair or the clothes he has worn. Or the nature of a home by picking up some soil from its yard. These material objects carry aura impressions from the living persons who have used them or were in contact with them. If you practice, you can also use these objects to see what your target is doing in real time. Eg the pen was used by the target 10 days ago, but if you touch and focus you can ‘see’ what your target is doing in real time now. Later as this ability gets automatic and you get used to the target’s energy you can ‘see’ him even without the aid of the kerchief. This is also a type of psychic spying!

For these sort of experiments, you should be alone in the room, relaxed and keep your eyes shut. Always try to ‘see’ things by focussing into your third eye. Later as you get used to all this, you can do this wherever you want. If you have had a heavy meal, then wait for about 2hrs before doing anything with energy.

Clairvoyance and how to develop it

Another simple exercise. Call up your friend when both of you are relaxed. Then try to guess things around him. Try to guess who else is at home with him. The clothes and colors that they are wearing. The show that they are watching on TV. Or the food that is being laid out on their table. You should be able to sense whatever your friend is seeing/ hearing. Here your friend is concentrating on the information and you are trying to pick it up through your shared bond. He is also willing to share this information with you. This is also easy and with a bit of practice you should be able to easily do it. You and your targets, the food, the show etc are separated by space, you are at a distance. You are not directly sensing your friend’s aura but tapping into your shared bond and exchanging information through this channel.

We create a psychic bond with everyone we meet. It becomes stronger with continued interactions. The bond between a two people who have been physically intimate with each other, where energy has been shared on the deepest levels is the strongest. The bond of a parent with a child is also very strong as it is linked to the DNA that they both share. Psychic bonds developed between people who have no emotional or blood connect are relatively weak, but can be made stronger by continued interaction.

You can use reflecting surfaces like mirrors or crystal balls or water in bowls to aid your clairvoyance. I have written about scrying earlier. I have used the ‘water in a bowl’ method and it works quite well. You channelise the power of the Moon and create a tool to aid your subconscious. Mirrors are also useful and can be used as scrying tools. I have never used crystal balls because I could never find a large enough clear crystal ball in the shops. But these are just tools, always remember that your subconscious is the real thing. So practice.

Then there is the true clairvoyance. Here you do not need any other person to support you or to feed you images, nor do you need physical objects or reflecting surfaces. This means to absorb information directly from the environment around you. This is not as grand as it sounds as you might get bombarded by unnecessary information. This can also be rather disturbing sometimes as you will see/ hear/ sense images superimposed on your surroundings and this may happen suddenly. Eg you go to someone’s house and you ‘see’ the entire building burning around you. Later your host casually mentions that the old house had burned down 20yrs ago. This is seeing images from some other time period. You and what you are seeing are separated by time. Once, I was travelling near the Ganga-canals, Haridwar, at night and I ‘saw’ an elephant being killed by some white man and his Indian servants, an incident from the past. True clairvoyance comes with time and practice where it becomes practically a second nature to ‘see’ stuff.

If you have developed your extra-abilities till the levels of true clairvoyance, you should shield yourself sufficiently before venturing into areas which have seen traumatic events. In fact at this stage, energy shielding and protection from random astral/ psychic events becomes a necessity. Some people are born with the ability to ‘see’ other things, have ‘occult powers’ right from birth. Astrologically their charts will show Ketu to be in a prominent position, either with the Sun, Moon or Venus or in the ascendant sign or with the ascendant lord.

Everyone should try and develop the ability to read auras at least. You will be able to know if the person sitting with you is genuine or a liar. Or correctly ‘guess’ the small but important things which make a big difference in life. This is the basic minimum and will help you in your profession and daily life.

 

Clairvoyance and how to develop it

Using your dreams to improve your health

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There are four stages of existence, when you are awake, in deep sleep, in the dreaming state and the last one is the Turiya, the indescribable. Generally all of us experience the first three stages every day of our lives. Reality exists in all these  three states of existence. Neither of them is more ‘real’ than the other. In fact the spiritual texts consider the awake state to be a Dirgha swapna, an extended dream!

Dreams have always fascinated us, it is almost magical that we go to another world as we sleep. Most of us see 5-6 dreams every night. These are the ordinary dreams triggered by whatever you were doing during the day or what was on your mind as you went to bed. If your mind was in turmoil or emotions were agitated or you were more into material/sensual things, your dreams would be haphazard and disconnected. Or you might see too many dreams, thus disturb your rest cycle. (Your body/mind/soul rejuvenates only during the deep sleep/sushupti phase.) If you have had a peaceful relaxing day and were contented as you went to bed, your dreams would be less troublesome and you will experience more deep sleep time.

Using your dreams to improve your health

 

Dreams are special as you are both the actor and the audience. You feel the emotions of only the actor. You feel like/dislike and attraction/repulsion while acting out your dream. But as the spectator you are merely the witness. Thus the ancient Rishis considered the dream phase as an important component for creating the Sakshi-bhav, the mind-set of the Witness. If you can bring this witness-mind-set into your waking state too you have achieved your spiritual goal.

Your dreams are dependent on your personal nature and inclinations. If your mind has achieved steadiness you get prophetic dreams of events to come. People who do regular spiritual practice often get guidance in such dreams. You can see significant events from your past/parallel lives which have a bearing on your present situation. Sometimes you can see your past life’s self telling you what to do. Your sub-conscious mind can give you creative or intuitive hints during dreams. The dreams seen early in the morning are the most useful of the lot. This time before sunrise is called the ‘Brahma muhurt’ and is extremely auspicious. Your ancestor spirits often communicate via dreams. If you are exceptionally spiritually inclined, you can see deities or your source of faith in your dreams. In the Indian context seeing dreams of Rishis or Gurus is very auspicious. Often you will be given valuable guidance in such dreams.

If you can control your mind you can also control your dreams. If you have achieved this you can complete significant karma in this way. Then you take on the role of the puppeteer as you direct your actor/puppet self in the dream scenes. The potential of dreams in this respect is limitless.

You mind plays games with you. If you analyse the working of your mind, you will realise that your mind does only two things 1) Imagine and 2) Discriminate. An out of control mind prefers to ‘imagine’ more than ‘discriminate’. e.g. your boyfriend has vanished, phone unreachable. You wonder why. You think he has ignored you. You start feeling hurt. You get upset. You waste your mental energy. You don’t feel like eating dinner. You meet him the next day and he tells you that he was at the hospital because his grandmom fell ill. You are concerned and you both talk normally. Things are rosy and you feel in-love again! But do you appreciate that you let your mind drive you nuts just because it ‘imagined’ things?

 

Using your dreams to improve your health

Keeping your mind in control starts with not letting it run wild imagining things, but forcing it to discriminate, analyse logically.As per Ayurved, the science of life and the living, there are three tendencies of the mind and body, called Pitta, Vaat and Kapha. Each one has one of these in excess again depending on our horoscopes. You would be surprised to know that your dreams are also linked to these, if you have dreams of light/fire you are pitta dominant. You will experience ‘heat’ in your dreams. If it goes out of balance completely you dream horrifying scenes and your forehead can get hot. If you body is Vata dominant at that time, you will see scenes with sky, winds, flying in space. If you tend towards the Kapha your dreams will be of water bodies. An easy way to balance out your Kapha-Pitta-Vaat is this. If you know from your dreams that one of these is out of balance. Then for one minute before you go to sleep do this tiny thing, Sit comfortably, back and neck straight. Close your eyes, focus at your third eye/ajnya chakra and visualise the following.

  1. A red dot – Pitta dosha will be balanced
  2. A black dot – Vaat dosha will be balanced
  3. A white dot – Kapha dosha will be balanced.

In terms of the vital energy, the udan pran is responsible for vivifying the subconscious mind who creates our dreams. If you engage in activities which regulates udan pran you will see a difference in the dreams you see. Try it out!

If you are suffering from some medical conditions then keeping track of the dreams you see, can help in determining how the disease is going to unfold. Eg if you are suffering from cold and you dream of water, it means your cold is worsening. If you are suffering from diarrohea and dreaming of cold stuff will indicate that it is going to get worse. If you are suffering from problems of the lungs, and you see yourself running or in a windy area etc the condition will get worse. So use the power of your dreams pro-actively. If you are suffering from a medical problem, you can try this simple experiment. Choose one photograph of yourself from your healthier and happier times. You should be smiling and looking visibly happy/healthy. Keep this at your bed-side table and look at it for a minute or so before you sleep. Your sub-conscious mind will ‘remember’ this past healthy state and work to get you back to this. Try this for 21 days and evaluate for yourself.

Those few minutes before you sleep are very important. Whatever you do in these few minutes will have the maximum impact on your sub-consciousness. This will be replayed in your dreams. So use this time wisely. A couple more tips. You are in bed and falling asleep, try to visualise a silvery full-moon at your third eye chakra during these couple of minutes. This will increase your life-span. Visualise the gold disc of the sun for an energetic/youthful mind and body.

Dreaming is essential for mental, emotional and physical health. Dreams are an essential self-diagnostic tool. Keep a dream-diary at your bed-side table and write a few keywords as you wake up so that you will remember your dreams. Analyse your dreams over time, you will learn a lot about yourself. If you get negative dreams for extended periods of time, take it as a signal that something is going wrong and actively work to set it right.

 

 

Using your dreams to improve your health

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

Rudraksh Again

astrologerbydefault

I had written a bit on Rudraksh earlier. But there has been a request for more on the different faceted ones. There is a huge market for weirdly shaped higher faceted Rudrakshs which the dealers capitalise on. You might be swayed by your dealer into parting with large amounts of money for beads named, ‘Gauri-shankar’, ‘Ganesha’, ‘Saraswati’, ‘Laxmi’, ‘Trijuta’, etc. But remember the Shiva Puran and the shastra is the basic resource for information on Rudraksh not your dealer. So be very careful while buying this bead. You should buy a round, spherical Nepalese bead not the Indian/Indonesian beads as far as possible.

Rudraksh Again

According to Shiva Puran following beads should not be worn.

  1. Beads which have been damaged by worms and have visible holes where the worms have eaten them.
  2. Rudraksha beads have natural holes (Nepalese beads) through which the string is tied. This natural hole is irregular and not drilled smooth. Indian and Sri Lankan beads do not have holes and these are drilled artificially to give smooth holes.
  3. Roundness. Beads have to be spherical and smoothly round. Irregularly shaped beads are either not genuine or not good energy.
  4. Rudraksh of faces above fourteen are not mentioned in the shastras.
  5. Buy a bead which looks light for its size. So a light weighted large bead will be good or if you want to wear a small sized one it should be perfectly round in shape and size and the ridges on it should be pleasantly rounded not spiky.
  6. As far as I have seen Rudraksh is not a planetary remedy. (It is possible that some people have had other experiences with the Rudraksh as a remedy for planets, but I have not). So if your astrologer asks you to wear a 1-Mukhi bead for balancing your Sun, do take a second opinion and follow your conscience.

So how can you check out if the bead you have is genuine? It should be first of all round, spherical and pleasing to the eye. Indian beads are elongated. Indonesian beads are small and do not have prominent enough ridges.

  1. Break it open? The bead is a seed-case. The ridges on the outside/the facets correspond to the number of seed chambers inside. But do not destroy your bead, just X-ray it. The number of faces outside should be the same as the number of seed chambers inside it.
  2. Presence of a natural irregular hole is genuine. (not a drilled smooth perfect hole.)
  3. If you drop a rudraksh in water, it should sink vertically straight to the bottom.
  4. Avoid rudraksh on which dyes, vermillion etc has been applied, even if your dealer says it is a puja done to enhance the potency of the bead. More likely it is been done to hide the fake bead till you have paid for it.
  5. And finally for those who can see auras and feel the energy, a real Rudraksh has a silver-gold aura and if you hold it in your hand you can sense its force through your palm chakras.

Now for the question on the number of faces on the bead.

1-face. A rudraksha of a single face is Siva himself very potent and with powerful energies which will grant Moksha. It is a round bead. It is extremely rare and never seen in the commercial markets. ‘Kaju-dana’ (Cashew Shaped) is not an ek mukhi/1-faced bead, it is not even a Rudraksh.

2-faces. A rudraksha with two faces is the Isha form of Shiva. It is also called the Ardhnarishwar as it symbolises the union of 2 forces which results in Creation/manifestation. It will grant you all the desires you want. Is quite rare, recheck before buying.

3-faces. A Rudraksh with three faces is dedicated to Shiva in the form of Agni. It represents the illumination seen at the third eye/Agni. This helps in clearing chakras especially increases focus on the third eye. Is quite rare.

4-faces. A Rudraksh of four faces is Shiva is the form of the creator Brahma. It will help in completing the 4 aims of life Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. This one is easily available in the market and is never faked.

5-faces. A Rudraksh with five faces is Shiva in the form of Kalagni-Rudra. It helps in balancing the 5 tattvas (Prithvi, Aap, Tej, Vayu and Akash). Is found in all sizes and very common. The smaller this one is the potent its energy.

6-faces. A Rudraksh with six faces represents the son of Shiv-Kartikeya. It is worn on the right arm or the right wrist. It adds to learning and wisdom of all types. This is also quite easily available.

7-faces. A Rudraksh with seven faces is called Ananga and is linked to prosperity. This bead is easily available.

8-faces. This bead is called Bhairva and is easily available. It helps overcome fears of every sort and allows you to do your sadhana with single minded concentration.

9-faces. This Rudraksha with nine faces is also called Bhairav but with a difference. This one is presided over by the 9 forms of Shakti Herself and worn on the left arm. This bead is easily available.

10-faces. This is also called as Janardana and helps removal of all sorts of obstacles, evil eye and negativity. This is also available in the market but should be verified before buying.

11-faces. This bead is the 11 forms of Rudra Himself. It allows control over the vital energy/pran flowing in your body. It is available but is often faked, so be careful while buying it.

12-faces. This bead is linked to the 12 Adityas and is worn on the head in the hair. It is simply brilliant and helps in sadhana. If used properly can accelerate your spiritual progress so that you are able to ‘see’ the Golden Sun in your third eye(Hiranyagarbha).

13-faces. This bead is called Vishvedev. It is often used by religious leaders. This bead in the market is often fake made by cutting more grooves in the lower faced beads.

14-faces. Is the highest energy of Shiva, Tripurari. This bead is worn on the head in the hair, is called the Devmani (jewel of illumination). This bead in the market is often fake, made by cutting more grooves in the lower faced beads.

Now a bit on how to wear. You can wear all the types of beads as a single bead pendant. (wearing the specific faced ones on the arm or head will be obviously better). Or you can make a jaap mala of 108 beads (plus one Sumeru bead) and use it to count your mantra jaap or wear it in your neck. You can also dip them in water, do your mantra jaap over the water and sprinkle the water over yourself and in your house.

Then the mantra to be used with the Rudraksh in your puja. This bead like any other is a tool for channelising energy. You need to do some puja daily if you want to derive the benefits of the bead.  For normal householders like you and me the best and easiest way is to recite, ‘Om namah Shivaya’ 108 times (will take 5 minutes of your time every day). Or if you have a bit more time recite the Mahamrutunjai Mantra, Om Tryambakam yajamahe, sungandhim pushtivardhanam, uruvarukmiva bandhanat, mryutor mukshiya maam amrutat. Om’ 108 times (will take 15 mins of your time everyday).

(There are beej mantras different for each type of bead. But beej mantras are to be treated with respect and not randomly used. Pronunciation is paramount in using beej mantras. And rudraksh is a very potent energy. If you wish to find out more they are mentioned in Shivapuran, Padmapuran, Skandapuran and Brahajjalopanishad. I will not give them out in a post.)

 

Rudraksh Again