Yoga and Meditation

Q. How is Nadi-Suddhi done?

A. The cleansing of the Nadi (Nadi-Suddhi) is either Samanu or Nirmanu—that is, with or without the use of Bija. According to the first form, the Yogi in Padmasana or Siddhasana offers his prayers to his Guru and meditates on him. Meditation on ‘Yam’ (y:ö) he does Japa of the Bija 16 times through Ida, Kumbhaka with Japa of the Bija 64 times, and then exhalation through the solar Nadi and Japa of Bija 32 times. Fire is raised from Manipura and united with Prithvi. Then following inhalation by the solar Nadi with the Vahni Bija ‘Ram’ (rö) 16 times, Kumbhaka with 64 times Japa of the Bija, followed by exhalation through the lunar Nadi and Japa of the Bija 32 times. He then meditates on the lunar brilliance, gazing at the tip of the nose, and inhales by Ida with Japa of Bija ‘Tham’ (Yö) 16 times. Kumbhaka is done with the Bija ‘Vam’ (v:ö) 64 times. He thinks himself as flooded by nectar, and considers that the Nadis have been washed. He exhales by Pingala with 32 times Japa of the Bija ‘Lam’ (l:ö) and considers himself strengthened thereby.

If you are careless in getting down through the steps of a stair-case, you will fall down and break your bones. If you are careless when you walk in the busy parts of a city, you will be crushed by the motor-car. If you are careless when you purchase a ticket at the Railway Station, you will lose your money-purse. If you are careless in dispensing mixtures you will kill the patients by giving a poison or a wrong medicine or administering a medicine in overdoses. Even so, when you practise Pranayama and other Yogic exercises you will have to be careful about your diet. You should avoid overeating; you should take light, easily digestible and nutritious food. You should not go beyond your capacity in retaining the breath, you should first practise inhalation and exhalation only (without retention of breath) for one or two months. You should gradually increase the ratio from 1:4:2 to 16:64:32, You should exhale very very slowly. If these rules are observed, there will be no danger at all in the practice of Pranayama and other Yogic exercises.

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Glossary

ADHIKARI—Fit aspirant (Uttama: Good; Madhyama: medium; Adhama: inferior)
Agni—Fire
Ahamkara—Ego
Aisvarya—Material or spiritual wealth
Ajna-Chakra—Cavernous plexus
Akasa—Ether, space, sky
Alasya—Lethargy, inertia
Anahata—Cardiac plexus
Anga—Subordinate step, limb
Anima—Subtlety, reducing body in size
Antahkarana—Internal psychic organ, mind
Apana—Vital energy functioning in excretion
Apas—Water
Arambha—A state reached in Pranayama
Asana—Bodily position, posture
Ashtanga—Eight limbs (of Patanjali’s Raja Yoga)
Astika—Believer of God or the Vedas
Asura—Demon, evil tendency in man
Asuri—Devilish
Atman—Divine soul in man, the Supreme Self
Avadhani—Attentive, concentrated
Avastha—State

BANDHA—A lock in Yogic posture
Bandhu—Relative, one connected by relation
Bhakta—Devotee
Bhakti—Devotion
Bhastrika—Bellows (a kind of Pranayama)
Bhati—To shine
Bhava—(Devotional) attitude
Bheda—Difference, splitting
Bija—Seed, source
Bijakshara—Seed-letter containing latent power of Mantra
Brahmachari—Celibate, student of scriptures
Brahmanda—Macrocosm, Brahma’s egg
Brahmarandhra—Head fontanelle at the top of head
Buddhi—Intellect, understanding, reason

CHAKRA—Wheel, plexus
Charu—Boiled milk and rice
Chit—Consciousness
Chitta—Mind-stuff, subconscious mind

DAIVI—Divine
Dama—Control of outer senses
Deva(ta)—Deity
Dhairya—Heroism, valour
Dharma—Duty, virtue, righteous way of living
Dhyana—Deep meditation
Dridhata—Firmness

GAYATRI—A very sacred Mantra in the Vedas
Ghata—A state reached in Pranayama
Granthi—Knot (of nerves or psychic energy)
Grihastha—Householder

HAMSA—Swan, Divine Self
Hiranyagarbha—Cosmic intelligence, cosmic mind, Brahma

IDA—Psychic nerve-current flowing through nostril; lunar
Indriya—Sense of perception whether physical (Karma Indriya) or internal current (Jnana Indriya)
Ishta—Object of desire, chosen ideal