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PRACTICE in Kashmir Shaivism
This is a discourse on the ways which will lead an aspirant
to one-pointedness in meditation and to the Awareness which
he aspires.
The first requirement is an absolutely clean mind which knows
no duality and has feelings of sameness for everyone. This
"sameness" means you do not over or under-express
love for any one person in particular, nor should you possess
animosity against any person. If you do not possess this sense
of feeling sameness towards everyone, your efforts to achieve
the Truth and Absolute in meditation will be totally wasted
and will go un-rewarded, like carrying water in a wicker basket
to nowhere.
In meditation there is no room for coarse feelings. The mind
must be absolutely clean and purged of the acts of seeming
love and showing hate." Both are evils. Only
when the mind has been purged of them can you meditate with
confidence. At that point you will be glorified by the fruits
of this divine exercise of meditation.
Now I shall explain how to enter this domain of meditation
this is my advice.
MEDITATION
When you have decided to meditate, the first important thing
that has to be settled is the seat (asana), i.e. the
place where you choose to sit for meditation. Here on this
seat you have to sit absolutely motionless like a rock, with
no movement of your body. You should not twitch your eyelids,
move your lips, scratch your ears or nose, yawn or belch.
You should be like a frozen body, absolutely motionless.
It matters little in the beginning if thoughts continue to
stream through your mind, rising and passing away. At this
point you should simply avoid physical distractions such as
moaning and sneezing. In an hours time you will feel your
mind has started settling softly into a subtle state of thought
and mood. Gradually you will experience your mind moving quickly
into the domain of meditation filled with peace and rest.
Here your mind will become one-pointed and subtle.
In the Bhagavad Gita the Lord says:
As the wandering mind will
never remain on one point You must be ever vigilant, and whenever
it strays bring it under control and fix it again towards
God Consciousness."
You need not struggle to fix your mind upon that point from
which it has begun to waiver. You need only sit still with
one-pointed effort, and in one hours time you will understand
and experience the bliss of the dawning of awareness.
You must sit erect for meditation
with enough strength to maintain that position, and at the
same time you must fix your gaze in the direction of the tip
of your nose in order to restrain your eyes from wandering."
(Bhagavad Gita)
The posture has to be quite steady, straight and motionless.
It must be one-pointed, with the mind fully concentrated on
the guru-shabda or guru-dharana. Though the
literal meaning of the text is that the aspirant should direct
his sight in the direction of his nose, it may also be taken
to refer to concentration on the word of the Master (guru-shabda),
the resonance of unlimited I-consciousness which He embodies
and which is to be found in the junction (sandhi).
This state of concentration can be achieved if you have freed
your mind of all domestic worries, finished your daily routine
activities, and have had your full dose of sleep. Your mind
must be absolutely free from all preoccupations, then alone
will you be able to see inside yourself and meditate without
deviation.
At the time of meditation your mind must be serene
and free from the intimidation to meditate. You must be determined
with devotion to discover God Consciousness. In this state
your mind is to be continuously directed toward God Consciousness."
(Bhagavad Gita)
In this verse the Lord is telling you that you must be serene,
fearless, and determined in order to achieve your goal. You
should be subdued in mind, at harmony and in peace; with devotion
you should meditate with vigor. There should be no outside
pressure for you to meditate. It should be an out-flowing
of your own desire.
From the above verse observance of Brahmacarya means
full of devotedness and engrossment in thought. It does not
mean you have to embellish yourself with a saffron robe, keep
a long tuft of hair on your head or a large mark on your forehead;
or wear a garland and cover your forehead and body with ashes.
Continuously directed towards God Consciousness,
refers to full devotion in the act of meditation leading to
one-pointedness and ultimate Awareness. But this is only the
physical posture for meditation. There is also an internal
posture, which enables the mind to be one-pointed towards
and in awareness.
Breath
On the pathway of your breath maintain continuously
refreshed and full awareness on and in the center of breathing
in and breathing out. This is force and this is internal asana."
(Netra Tantra)
Concentration has to be on the center, i.e. you must practice
on the junction-(sandhi). You must concentrate on guru-shabda
in the center, with full devotedness. You should be aware
of the center at the points of inhaling and exhaling the breath.
You should not only concentrate on the center when the center
is reached; but from the beginning until the end point of
exhaling. The effort is to be one-pointed in the center. If
you do not meditate in this way all your efforts will be wasted.
In further explanation, exhaling and inhaling also refer to
day and night. That is, you should not practice meditation
in the day or during the night, but in the center points between
day and night, i.e. in the morning when the Goddess of dawn
meets day, and in the evening when dusk meets night, i.e.
when the sun seems to kiss and sink into the horizon. I swear
by Absolute Reality that if you practice meditation in this
manner you will never fail.
There can be no one-pointedness of continuously fresh awareness
in absolute day or absolute night. Even if you remain conscious
while exhaling and inhaling you will achieve nothing.
Do not worship the Lord during
the day, do not worship the Lord during the night; the Lord
must be worshipped at the point of the meeting of day and
night." (Abhinavagupta Tantraloka)
Do not worship God during the day or the night; do not meditate
during the day or the night; do not maintain awareness upon
exhaling (day) or inhaling (night). Concentrate on the CENTER.
The Lord of Gods must be worshipped where day and night meet.
This is meditating on the junction-(sandhi).
When my Master first told me about this meditation I immediately
started doing it hurriedly and abruptly without understanding
it completely. Like when I tell one of my devotees to go and
do something for me, he hurriedly runs to accomplish what
I have ordered him to do. Without understanding what I really
meant, he simply rushes to do it in excitement. So, in the
same way, when my Guru said I must meditate, I immediately
rushed off to begin in hurry and haste. I didn'tt wait
to ask my Master the means and method for doing it, I just
did it. I was exhaling and inhaling but to no avail. I became
dismayed and cried in my failure. I felt so sad for not having
achieved anything.
Once, in this disappointment I felt drowsy and quickly fell
asleep. I had a dream in which I felt myself thinking, Let
me go to the ashram and seek the guidance of my Master."
In this dream I went to the ashram, but saw not my Master,
but my Grandmaster Swami Ram. I appealed to Him saying, Sir,
I feel as if I am achieving nothing, my efforts are going
to waste." My Grandmaster told me, You should practice
sandh." My dream abruptly ended and I opened my
eyes.
The next day I went to my Master and told Him about my dream.
I wanted to know the meaning of the words, You should
practice sandh." My Master said, Yes . .
. you started in hurry and haste, without proper understanding.
You have to learn this practice properly." In Kashmiri
language the word sandh is used for the Sanskrit word
sandhi-(the junction). Sandh is called meditation,
and being aware is not an ordinary affair. You have to be
aware at the door of the 'Brahmapuri' the center of
the two.
If you meditate upon your Self ceaselessly, remaining
always attached to Me, thinking of Me only, you will gain
that peace which is residing in My own nature and which will
effortlessly carry you to liberation." (Bhagavad
Gita)
You must have full and complete attachment to meditation,
it must not become routine-like. When you are about to meditate
you must feel excitement, and be thankful to God that you
have received this opportunity of beginning meditation. Unless
you fall in love with meditation with total infatuation, attachment,
and longing, you cannot really enter into the realm of Awareness.
All your efforts to achieve Awareness are bound to fail. They
will be useless and futile. The aspirant thus pledged to such
a glorified state, by maintaining peace and harmony, will
attain that nirvana-(liberation) which abides in the
Kingdom of the Lord.
You must unravel all the various knots which exist in
your mind. For example, if you feel jealously thinking that,
Swamiji is concerned with him and not me, you
are thinking improperly. You should not think this way. You
have to see Me and not him. You must concentrate on your Guru
and not on your Guru brother. Thoughts of this kind are full
of avarice and jealousy. Through these you will deviate and
wander adrift in the desert. You should not see who your Guru
is looking at. You should concentrate on your Guru alone.
Keeping your mind absolutely pure you should follow what I
have just said.
ASANA
Now I shall instruct you regarding the nature of asana
or seat. Although by 'asana' is generally meant the
erect posture assumed in meditation, this is not its central
or essential meaning. When I use the word 'asana' I
do not mean the various forms of asanas such
as Padmasana, Vajrasana, Svastikasana, or Bhadrasana.
By 'asana' I mean something else, and this is what
I want to explain to you.
First let me speak to you about breath; about the inhaling
breath-apana, and the exhaling breath-prana.
Breath is extremely important in meditation; particularly
the central breath-madhyama-pranan, which is neither
prana nor apana. It is the center of these two,
the point existing between the inhaling and exhaling breaths.
This center point cannot be held by any physical means, as
a material object can be held by the hand. The center between
the two breaths can be held only by knowledge-jnana
not discursive knowledge, but by knowledge which is
awareness. When this central point is held by continuously
refreshed awareness which is knowledge and which is
achieved through devotion to the Lord that is, in the
true sense settling into your asana.
On the pathway of your breath
maintain continuously refreshed and full awareness on and
in the center of breathing in and breathing out. This is internal
asana." (Netra Tantra)
Asana, therefore, is the gradual dawning in the spiritual
aspirant of the awareness which shines in the central point
found between inhaling and exhaling.
This awareness is not gained by that person who is full of
prejudice, avarice, or envy. Such a person, filled with all
such negative qualities, cannot concentrate. The prerequisite
of this glorious achievement is, therefore, the purification
of your internal egoity. It must become pure, clean, and crystal
clear. After you have purged your mind of all prejudice and
have started settling with full awareness into that point
between the two breaths, then you are settling into your asana.
When in breathing in and breathing
out you continue to maintain your awareness in continuity
on and in the center between the incoming and outgoing breath,
your breath will spontaneously and progressively become more
and more refined. At that point you are driven to another
world. This is pranayama." (Netra Tantra)
After settling in the asana of meditation arises the
refined practice of pranayama. Pranayama
does not mean inhaling and exhaling vigorously like a bellow.
Like asana, pranayama is internal and very subtle.
There is a break less continuity in the traveling of your awareness
from the point of asana into the practice of pranayama.
When through your awareness you have settled in your asana,
you automatically enter into the practice of pranayama.
Our Masters have indicated that there are two principle forms
of this practice of asana-pranayama, i.e.
cakrodaya and ajapa-gayatri. In the practice of ajapa-gayatri
you are to maintain continuously refreshed full awareness-(anusandhana)
in the center of two breaths, while breathing in and out slowly
and silently. Likewise in the practice of cakrodaya
you must maintain awareness, which is continually fresh and
new, filled with excitement and vigor, in the center of the
two breaths you are to breathe in and out slowly, but
in this case with sound.
AJAPA-GAYATRI
Ajapa-gayatri is therefore anusandhana along
with the slow and silent movement of the breath. The inhaling
and exhaling should be so slow and so utterly silent that
even he who is breathing cannot hear his own breath.
To illustrate this form of pranayama Paramananda has
said:
You must ascend that mountain
known as Pancala. This mountain composed of the glory of God
Consciousness is the mountain of Bhairava, and is filled with
the mantra so'ham. And this ascent, which is begun after establishing
your mind in God Consciousness, must be accomplished very
slowly so that the jewel which is your goal and which lies
on the peak of this mountain is preserved and not destroyed."
Your awareness during this climb must be strong, fresh and
held in continuity. You must maintain an undisturbed movement
of the breath. It should be slow, inaudible, and without break
or pause. The continuity of this movement is extremely important
and must be maintained with complete awareness in the middle
of the two breaths. You must maintain full awareness at the
point where the inhaling breath reaches its completion, the
birth place of the exhaling breath. And so, also, you must
maintain awareness at the end point of exhalation, the birth
place of the inhaling breath. The practice of ajapa-gayatri
does not allow the missing of a single breath. Your awareness
must be break less, continuously refreshed, and fixed in the
center of the two slowly and silently moving breaths. This
is ajapa-gayatri anusandhana.
CAKRODAYA
The second form of the practice of asana-pranayama
is cakrodaya.
This cakrodaya, which I have
described according to my own experience, the teachings of
my Master, and the explanation of the scriptures, must be
undertaken with the most refined awareness."
(Abhinavagupta Tantraloka.)
You must maintain that awareness which is most subtle. This
is neither external awareness nor internal awareness, but
is rather in the center of the depths of these two. This is
Fukushima the most refined
awareness.
There is a difference between cakrodaya and ajapa-gayatri.
If, in the beginning, you attempt to practice ajapa-gayatri,
you will fail and subsequently fall. You will only fall asleep
during meditation. The practice of ajapa-gayatri is
very difficult. You will no sooner try to hold it than you
will fall. In the beginning, therefore, you should practice
cakrodaya and in the final stages you can practice
ajapa-gayatri. To practice ajapa-gayatri you
should:
Ball your fists, clench your
teeth, tense all the muscles of your body, but conquer your
mind." (Yoga Vashistha.)
This is the advice Vashistha gave to Rama. He tells him that
he must first conquer his mind. Unless you have courage you
cannot conquer your mind, and unless you have conquered your
mind you cannot dare to practice ajapa-gayatri. According
to the Shaiva shastras cakrodaya is easier than ajapa-gayatri.
In cakrodaya exists the gross state of breath, the
gross movement of breath. It is breath with sound. Through
practice this gross movement of breath is refined and with
the passage of time becomes more and more subtle. This can
only be accomplished through your own will and concentration.
Even the Guru's Grace will not help you unless you yourself
are determined, with full devotion and attachment, to maintain
awareness and concentration. This Grace of the Guru helps
those who are simple, and simple are those who have awareness
and consciousness. The spiritual aspirant who waivers and
becomes disturbed gains nothing.
If you undergo these practices without full awareness and
concentration for one thousand centuries you will have wasted
all one thousand of those centuries. The movement of breath
has to be filled with full awareness and concentration.
God Consciousness is not achieved
by means of the scriptures, nor is it achieved by the Grace
of your Master. God Consciousness is only achieved by your
own subtle awareness." (Yoga Vashistha.)
The scriptures will not lift him nor can his Master elevate
him, but when his consciousness is fixed in his own awareness
then his soul becomes visible.
PRANAYAMA Awareness of breath
After you have settled in your asana, through the practice
of either ajapa-gayatri anusandhana or cakrodaya
anusandhana, then commences pranayama. By maintaining
the constantly refreshed continuity of your awareness in the
center of the two breaths you settle in your asana,
and the movement of your breath becomes very subtle, very
refined, as if thin. At this stage you feel like going to
sleep, but it is not really sleep. You are proceeding towards
the subtle state of awareness. Your awareness will not allow
you to fall asleep. At this point you enter the fourth state-turya,
which is neither the waking, the dreaming, nor the deep sleep
state. This is the beginning of parama-spanda-tattva.
Shankaracarya has said:
If you maintain your awareness
at that point which is found between waking and sleeping you
will be focused to that supreme felicity which is the supreme
bliss of God Consciousness." (Shloka ashtaka.)
This is the point through which you pass in the fourth state
(turya). It is that point, which is found at the ending
of wake-fullness and the beginning of sleep, the point between
waking and sleeping. This point or junction is very important,
it is the entrance into the state of Turya, which has
become open through settling in your asana and undergoing
pranayama.
In this connection I have also composed these lines long ago:
There is a point between sleep
and waking
Where thou shalt be alert without shaking.
Enter into the New World where forms so hideous pass.
They are passing, endure, do not be taken by the dross.
Then the pulls and pushes about the throttle,
All those shalt thou tolerate.
Close all ingress and egress, yawnings there may be;
Shed tears, crave, implore and thou will not prostrate.
A thrill passes and that goes down to the bottom,
It riseth-may it bloom forth. That is Bliss.
Blessed Being! Blessed Being! O greetings be to thee!
I have explained that there are two means for settling in
your asana commencing with pranayama, i.e. ajapa-gayatri
and cakrodaya. Asana must be understood to mean
maintaining full repeatedly refreshed awareness on and in
the center of the two breaths. Pranayamathe automatic
refinement of the breathtakes place through settling
your asana and results in gaining entry into Turya,
the fourth state.
I have told you that settling in your asana through
ajapa-gayatri is extremely difficult, if not well neigh
impossible. I do not advise you, therefore, to pursue ajapa-gayatri.
I suggest instead that you practice cakrodaya. In this
practice there is real hope. It is practical.
In the practice of cakrodaya you must inhale and exhale
in long breaths with sound. Long breaths do not occupy as
much space in the movement of breath. Inhaling and exhaling
quickly, in short breaths, occupies much more space. The longer
the breath the less space it occupies; the less space it occupies
the quicker the results.
By decreasing the span of your
breathing by just one tuti you will become omniscient and
omnipotent." (Kallata)
The movement of breath occupies sixteen tutis; from
its internal beginning point at the heart to its external
ending point, the dvadashanta. One tuti is equivalent
to the space occupied by 2-1/4 fingers laid side by side.
At certain times the breath may occupy 17 tutis. When you
are being chased by a tiger, for example, and are very much
afraid and running very fast, the breath occupies more space.
In the practice of cakrodaya the breath is to occupy
a minimum of space. At the time of practice you must be able
to hear the sound of the inhaling and exhaling breath. The
sound of your breathing should be loud enough so that even
those sitting near you can hear it.
There are two understandings of how cakrodaya is to
be practiced. Some say, that the breath is to be inhaled
and exhaled by the throat. Others say, that the
breath is to be inhaled and exhaled by the heart. Those
that say that the breath should be inhaled and exhaled by
the heart are wrong. It is a very dangerous and deadly procedure
to adopt. To practice in this manner will produce such powerful
and intense heat that the heart will be adversely effected
and severely damaged. You will die in as short a time as a
few weeks. The practice of cakrodaya, therefore, must
be practiced by inhaling and exhaling by the throat, not by
the heart.
When, through the practice of cakrodaya, your asana
is established, your breath (prana) becomes more refined,
more subtle, as if thinner. At this point begins pranayama.
As I told you previously, you might, at that time, feel that
you are on the verge of sleep, but your 'awareness' will not
allow you to sleep. You may nod, but you will not be allowed
to sleep, your 'awareness' will see to that. As I have explained,
you will enter instead into that state called simply, turyathe
fourth state. It is neither wakefulness, dreaming, nor deep
sleep. In reality it exists in the junction between any of
these three states, i.e. between waking and dreaming, between
dreaming and deep sleep, and between deep sleep and waking.
PRATYAHARA
At this point you gain entry into this state automatically.
Your breath, though extremely subtle and refined, continues
to move in and out. At that moment your awareness is full.
You have no opportunity to be giddy or feel lazy. These feelings
pass the moment you gain entry into turya and, therefore,
at this point you practice your meditation whole-heartedly.
In your spiritual journey you are now at the point of pranayama
moving towards pratyahara. Here action does not
exist for you, the organs of action (karmendriyas)
are rendered powerless. You cannot move your hands or fingers;
nor can you move your legs or feet, open your eyes, or even
wink. From the point of view of action and activity you can
do nothing. You hear external sounds but only indistinctly,
they don't capture your attention, you don't become involved
in them. They appear to you as a far off whisper.
When walking on a path, you
perceive all the features of the landscape, grass, trees,
clouds; but they don't leave impressions in your mind. In
this manner you must act in the world. Do everything but leave
the impressions behind."
When you are walking, you dont notice the falling of
leaves or the movements of the clouds in the sky. So also
the spiritual aspirant who has entered turya does not
concern himself with external events occurring around him.
This is the full state of pranayama. The external travel in
waking, dreaming, and deep sleep has ended and internal travel
in turya, the fourth state has begun. This internal
voyage will be long and arduous. I advise you, therefore,
not to envy each other. Be without avarice and hate. This
distant path is tortuous like the path of a maze or a labyrinth.
Concentrate only on your journey. Do not concern yourself
negatively with others. Love is the answer and the key. Through
Love you can find the way through this maze. This is a very
difficult journey and the goal is not easily achieved.
Ancient saints and wise men
have taught that traveling on the path of Spirituality is
very difficult. It is just like walking on the edge of an
extremely sharp sword." (Upanishads)
At the beginning of this internal journey, in the state of
pranayama, you will vividly experience the five subtle
elements (tanmatras), i.e. subtle hearing, subtle touch,
subtle sight, subtle taste, and subtle smell. These elements
attack your five senses and you perceive them vividly and
clearly even as you are breathing slowly in and out with full
awareness as your Master has instructed you. The experience
of these five elements is unbelievably attractive and filled
with sensual enjoyment. It is the experience of the most wonderful
sound, the most enjoyable touch, the most lovely sight, the
most delicious taste, and the most fragrant smell. Being so
attractive these experiences are extremely distracting. But
by these you must not be distracted. You must continue on
your journey toward pratyahara.
Bhagavan Shankara (Lord Shiva) has said:
When during meditation you
experience the divinely produced internal Tanmatras pass them
through un-minding your mind with great awareness, and enter
into the Supreme state of God Consciousness. This is pratyahara."
(Netra Tantra)
In the state of turya you perceive mentally the presence
of the five subtle elements (tanmatras). You must not
indulge in these five attractions. You must ignore them completely
and settle ever more deeply into your own one-pointed awareness.
This settling is called pratyahara. It is winding up
of the external world and entering into the Supreme internal
world.
Your breath is traveling towards pratyahara. You must
try vigorously to gain entry into that supreme state of meditation.
You cannot enter it by physical force but only by mind. No
darkness exists there. It is light itself.
Pratyahara cuts the bondage
of samsara. (Netra Tantra)
There you will find your intellect filled with ultimate
Truth."
(Patanjalis Yoga Sutras)
Here the intellect-(buddhi) is filled with Truth-(ritambhara
prajnana). Whatever is untrue cannot exist there. Here
you will find only Truth and Light.
Your journey in turya continues. At this point your
breath is moving in meditation (abhyasa). Now your
journey turns toward contemplation (dhyana).
DHYANA
When you pass the internal divine sensual field you
must focus your mind on that supreme all pervading God Consciousness.
Then spontaneously Supreme God Consciousness will shine before
you. This is contemplation-dhyana."
You will remember that I told you, when you enter into the
state of turya the five organs of action-(karmendriyas)
are rendered powerless, they cease to function. Upon gaining
entry into the state of pratyahara the five subtle
elements (tanmatras) are eliminated. And when the breath
enters into the central vein (sushumna), and is thereby
annihilated, at this point in your journey meditation ceases.
This state cannot be concentrated upon; it is held automatically.
A Kashmiri proverb says:
Let me have the power to do
where there is nothing to be done. Let me have the power to
contemplate where there is nothing to contemplate."
When the breath enters the sushumna nadi, this
is the beginning of the journey of contemplation-dhyana.
When the yogi confirms internally
that he will do whatever the State of God Consciousness wills,
and when he takes hold of Spanda tattva, his breath enters
the central vein and rises again in the urdhvamagra as kundalini.
And here also he must remain alert and aware or he will enter
the state of sleep." (Spanda Karika)
Here the small self, the limited ego has been subdued. The
state of breathing, inhaling and exhaling, enters into and
becomes the state of breath itself (pranan). The aspirant
becomes the embodiment of breath (pranan). His blood
circulates so slowly that doctors cannot detect a pulse. At
this point the aspirant is charged as if by an electric shock.
But the shock that the aspirant experiences at this stage
is not charged with fear and death but with bliss and joy.
Different aspirants may experience this in various ways and,
therefore, you must be aware and cautious so that you are
not misled.
In the Tantraloka, Abhinavagupta has said, if the Master
is elevated and the discipline is endowed with complete qualifications,
then the Master can assist his disciple. But, on the other
hand, if his disciple is not really complete, then the Master
cannot properly help him or elevate him.
VEDHA DIKSHA Initiation
The shock of bliss and joy experienced by the aspirant is
called the initiation of piercing (vedha-diksha). This
initiation is just like drilling a hole in an object with
a drill. The experience of this blissful shock is one form
of realization, and is one of the phases passed through on
the path of liberation. It is called pervasion of the Self
(atma-vyapti).
Our Masters have taught us that the aspirant can experience
this shock of Bliss as six different qualities of piercing:
shakta-vedha, bindu-vedha, bhujanga-vedha, bhramara-vedha,
nada-vedha, and mantra-vedha. These all reside
in the supreme movement of breath known as prana kundalini.
This piercing by the blissful force of breath is experienced
as energy in shakta-vedha. In bindu-vedha it
is experienced as sexual bliss. If the pleasure experienced
by a couple at the climax of their lovemaking is multiplied
and intensified one billion times, even then this pleasure
will hardly approximate the Bliss felt by one who experiences
bindu-vedha. In bhujanga-vedha this piercing
is experienced as the rising of a cobra. In bhramara-vedha
as the buzzing of a black bee. In nadavedha it is experienced
as sound, and in mantra-vedha it is experienced as
the knowledge of the mantra I"-(aham).
The movement of dhyana exists only in these six vedhas.
There is also a seventh supreme vedha. This vedha,
known as para-vedha, does not exist in dhyana.
This piercing resides in the supreme awakening known as a
cit kundalini. Here you reside in the state of complete God
Consciousness.
DHARANA
When you establish your mind
in the internal reality of God Consciousness, that is dharana.
This dharana is not only to be established in internal God
Consciousness but also in all the activities of your worldly
life. This is true dharana." (Netra Tantra.)
Here, with the completion of the initiation of piercing of
whatever quality, begins the journey of dharana. This
initiation sentences you to the journey of dharana,
the journey of adjustment. Your consciousness becomes filled
and adjusted with the reality and truth that this whole universe
is only God. Nothing is experienced as being outside of God.
This is the unification of your individual God Consciousness
with Universal God consciousness.
Here, the organs of action are again infused with power, they
are reactivated. Your breath heaves and you move out into
external experience yet, while moving out you remain
in the turya state. The action of moving out into experience
while remaining in the turya state is known as krama-mudra.
You begin to experience the state of Universal God Consciousness.
You will only experience this, however, if you remain filled
with active awareness.
This unification of individual God Consciousness and Universal
God Consciousness leads to that Supreme state where God Consciousness
is experienced without break in all the states of waking,
dreaming, and deep sleep. This is the supreme state of fullness
while in the body and is called Jagadananda.
Om Namah Shivaya!
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