Yoga and Meditation

KUNDALINI YOGA By SRI SWAMI SIVANAND

Chapter One

PRELIMINARY
Patanjali-vyasamukhan gurunanyamscha bhaktitah; Natosmi vangmanah-kayairajnanadhvanta-bhaskaran—We offer our obeisance by word, mind and body to Patanjali, Vyasa and to all other Rishis and Yogic Masters who are like so many Suns to remove the darkness of Ajnana (ignorance).

Foundation—Vairagya
Man, ignorant of his true Divine nature, vainly tries to secure happiness in the perishable objects of this illusory sense-universe. Every man in this world is restless, discontented and dissatisfied. He feels actually that he is in want of something, the nature of which he does not really understand. He seeks the rest and peace that he feels he is in need of, in the accomplishment of ambitious projects. But he finds that worldly greatness when secured is a delusion and a snare. He doubtless does not find any happiness in it. He gets degrees, diplomas, titles, honours, powers, name and fame; he marries; he begets children; in short, he gets all that he imagines would give him happiness. But yet, he finds no rest and peace.

Are you not ashamed to repeat the same process of eating, sleeping and talking again and again? Are you not really fed up with the illusory objects created by the jugglery of Maya? Have you got a single sincere friend in this universe? Is there any difference between an animal and the so-called dignified human being with boasted intellect, if he does not do any spiritual Sadhana daily, for Self-realisation? How long do you want to remain a slave of passion, Indriyas, woman and body? Fie on those miserable wretches who revel in filth and who have forgotten their real Atmic nature and their hidden powers!

The so-called educated persons are refined sensualists only. Sensual pleasure is no pleasure at all. Indriyas are deceiving you at every moment. Pleasure mixed with pain, sorrow, fear, sin, diseases is no pleasure at all. The happiness that depends upon perishable objects is no happiness. If your wife dies, you weep. If you lose money or property, you are drowned in sorrow. How long do you want to remain in that abject, degraded state? Those who waste their precious life in eating, sleeping and chatting without doing any Sadhana are brutes only.

You have forgotten your real Svarupa or purpose of life on account of Avidya, Maya, Moha and Raga. You are tossed up hither and thither aimlessly by the two currents of Raga and Dvesha. You are caught up in Samsara-Chakra on account of your egoism, Vasanas, Trishnas and passions of various sorts.

You want a Nitya (eternal), Nirupadhika (independent), Niratisaya (Infinite) Ananda. This you will find in your realisation of the Self only. Then alone will all your miseries and tribulations melt away. You have taken this body only to achieve this end. “Din nike bite jate hain—The days are passing away quickly.” The day has come and gone. Will you waste the night also?

“Aashaya badhyate loko karmana bahu-chintaya;
Ayukshinam na janati tasmat jagrata jagrata—

You are bound in this world by desires, actions and manifold anxieties. Therefore you do not know that your life is slowly decaying and is wasted. Therefore wake up, wake up.”

Now wake up. Open your eyes. Apply diligently to spiritual Sadhana. Never waste even a minute. Many Yogins and Jnanins, Dattatreya, Patanjali, Christ, Buddha, Gorakhnath, Matsyendranath, Ram Das and others have already trodden the spiritual path and realised through Sadhana. Follow their teachings and instructions implicitly.

Courage, Power, Strength, Wisdom, Joy and Happiness are your Divine heritage, your birth-right. Get them all through proper Sadhana. It will be simply preposterous to think that your Guru will do the Sadhana for you. You are your own redeemer. Gurus and Acharyas will show you the spiritual path, remove doubts and troubles and give some inspiration. You will have to tread the Spiritual Path. Remember this point well. You will have to place each step yourself in the Spiritual Path. Therefore do real Sadhana. Free yourself from death and birth and enjoy the Highest Bliss.

What Is Yoga?
The word ‘Yoga’ comes from a Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’ which means to join. In its spiritual sense it is that process by which the identity of the Jivatma and Paramatma is realised by the Yogins. The human soul is brought into conscious communion with God. Yoga is restraining the mental modifications. Yoga is that inhibition of the functions of the mind which leads to abidance of the spirit in his real nature. The inhibition of these functions of the mind is by Abhyasa and Vairagya” (Yoga Sutras).

Yoga is the Science that teaches the method of joining the human spirit with God. Yoga is the Divine Science which disentangles the Jiva from the phenomenal world of sense-objects and links him with the Ananta Ananda (Infinite Bliss), Parama Shanti (Supreme Peace), joy of an Akhanda character and Power that are inherent attributes of the Absolute. Yoga gives Mukti through Asamprajnata Samadhi by destroying all the Sankalpas of all antecedent mental functions. No Samadhi is possible without awakening the Kundalini. When the Yogi attains the highest stage, all his Karmas are burnt and he gets liberation from Samsara-Chakra.

Importance Of Kundalini Yoga
In Kundalini Yoga the creating and sustaining Sakti of the whole body is actually and truly united with Lord Siva. The Yogi goads Her to introduce him to Her Lord. The rousing of Kundalini Sakti and Her Union with Lord Siva effects the state of Samadhi (Ecstatic union) and spiritual Anubhava (experience). It is She who gives Knowledge or Jnana, for She is Herself That. Kundalini Herself, when awakened by the Yogins, achieves for them the Jnana (illumination).

Kundalini can be awakened by various means and these different methods are called by different names, viz., Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, etc. The practitioner of this Kundalini Yoga claims, that it is higher than any other process and that Samadhi attained thereby is more perfect. The reason that they allege, is this:—In Dhyana Yoga, ecstasy takes place through detachment from the world and mental concentration leading the variety of mental operation (Vritti) of the uprising of pure consciousness unhindered by the limitations of the mind. The degree to which this unveiling of consciousness is effected, depends upon the meditative power, Dhyana Sakti, of the Sadhaka and the extent of detachment from the world. On the other hand, Kundalini is all Sakti and is therefore Jnana Sakti Herself—bestows Jnana and Mukti, when awakened by the Yogins. Secondly, in Kundalini Yoga there is not merely a Samadhi through meditation, but the central power of the Jiva, carries with it the forms of both body and mind. The union in that sense is claimed to be more complete than that enacted through methods only. Though in both cases the body-consciousness is lost, in Kundalini Yoga not only the mind but the body also, in so far as it is represented by its central power, is actually united with Lord Siva at the Sahasrara Chakra. This union (Samadhi) produces Bhukti (enjoyment) which a Dhyana Yogi does not possess. A Kundalini Yogi has both Bhukti (enjoyment) and Mukti (liberation) in the fullest and literal sense. Hence this Yoga is claimed to be the foremost of all Yogas. When the sleeping Kundalini is awakened by Yogic Kriyas, it forces a passage upwards through the different Chakras (Shat-Chakra Bheda). It excites or stimulates them into intense activity. During its ascent, layer after layer of the mind becomes fully opened. All Kleshas (afflictions) and the three kinds of Taapa will vanish. The Yogi experiences various visions, powers, bliss and knowledge. When it reaches Sahasrara Chakra in the brain, the Yogi gets the maximum knowledge, Bliss, power and Siddhis. He reaches the highest rung in the Yogic ladder. He gets perfectly detached from body and mind. He becomes free in all respects. He is a full-blown Yogi (Purna Yogi).