AN ANCIENT UNIVERSITY - Nalanda

NALANDA

       Nalanda has much history to it.  the Jarasandha-ka-Akhada is where  Bhima and Jarasandha fought for 28 days before Bhima tore Jarasandha's leg apart.  This was when Rajgir was the capital of Magadha and Jarasandha ruled.

       Nalanda is not really a holy place like most of the other towns, but it does have some importance for Buddhists and Jains.  Buddha and Mahavira, the last Jain tirthankara, visited and taught at this place often, and the Nalanda University became famous because of its exceptional professors and high standard of teaching.  

       At one point, when Hieun Tsang visited in the seventh century, the students  numbered over 10,000 and there were 2,000 teachers.  The local princes supported the college, thus enabling it to accommodate the students' room, board and education without charge.  And many of the Gupta Kings built monasteries for the resident monks.  The university started to decline during the eighth century because of political changes in India.  But, when the Mohammedan invaders arrived, they killed many of the monks and ransacked and burned the university.  The library is said to have had two million volumes and burned for six months.

       Presently, the ruins of the university, the main point of interest in this town, can still be seen, and from a distance it looks like a huge fortress.  You can go through what is left of some of the monasteries and temples and see how big they were, with rooms for students, lecture halls, kitchens, libraries, bathrooms, and wells.  Most of it is now merely when is left of the foundations.  West of here is the Sariputra stupa, which was built by Asoka in honor of Ananda, the first disciple of Buddha.  Nalanda also has Jain, Japanese and Burmese rest houses, as well as Thai and Chinese temples.  There is also a research center on Buddhism and Pali literature set-up by the Bihar Government.

      From the second to the ninth century, Nalanda was one of the greatest universities in India.  It lay to the north-east of Bodh-Gaya.  There were other universities, too, in ancient India, built in Kurukshetra, Kashi, Madia, Taxila, Vidarbha, Ajanta and Ujjain.  Kashi was the greatest centre of Brahmin scholarship.  Taxila was, even at the time of Alenander's invasion of India, known all over Asia as a centre of Hindu philosophy. Ujjain was noted for the study of astronomy, as Ajanta was for the teaching of art.

       Nalanda was famous as one of the greatest centres of Buddhist thought and the Hindu philosophy of yoga.  The residents, at any one time, amounted to ten thousand men, of whom eight thousand five hundred were students, the rest were teachers.  Students came from different parts, also from Japan and China, Korea, Mongolia and Tartary.  And out of this great University went scholars to Tibet and China and spread the culture of India.

       The University of Nalanda had a hundred lecture-rooms and six hundred blocks of dormitories four stories high.  Hsuan Tsang was astonished at its observatories which, he said "were lost in the vapours of the morning and the upper rooms towered above the clouds."  The University was built by the devotion of great scholars and the generosity of merchants and kings.  Six Kings helped the University.  the first of them was a lover of the poor.  He served the widow and the orphan.  And he had reverence for scholars and sages.

Hsuan Tsang

       When Hsuan Tsang visited Nalanda, the Head of the University was Silabhadra, surnamed the Treasure of the Good Law."  He was a learned man.  He had wandered to many parts of India and, after many wanderings, had come to Nalanda.  He could, if he liked, be a Raja [King] in East Bengal, but he realized that wisdom was richer than rubies.  And Silabhadra moved on in quest of knowledge, until, at last, he came to Nalanda and there became, one day, the President of the great University.  Silabhadra was not only a great scholar: he was a man of awakened buddhi -- a saint filled with true spirit of seva, service of humanity. 

       Hsuan Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim, comes to Nalanda and in reverence bows down to Silabhadra and asks, "Tell me, master!  What is knowledge.

       Silabhadra says to him: "My child!  Knowledge is perception of the principles or laws of life."

       "What are they?" asks the pilgrim.

Principles of Laws of Life

       Silabhadra says: the principles of laws of life are five: 

(1)  the principle of fellowship;

(2)  principle of reverence;

(3)  principle of concentration, meditation, dhyana,

(4)  the principle of tolerance; and 

(4)  the principle of compassion, sympathy, seva and yagna, 

     service and sacrifice."

       In these few words, the saintly, old man, already a hundred and six years old, summed up the whole philosophy of education.

       "And I am come from China," said the Chinese pilgrim, "in order to study under your direction the laws of the yoga-shastra."  He expressed three wishes:

1) After having studied in India, I desire to return 

   to my country, China;

2)  I desire to be born again, one day, in the Heaven 

    of the Blessed gods, and serve Maitreyi. And

3) I long that I may one day be, like the Buddha, 

   a servant of the suffering ones.

       Silabhadra sheds tears and says: "So true has proved the dream I dreamt asking me to wait here the arrival of a monk from China and instruct him in the Wisdom of India."  For fifteen months, Silabhadra interprets to Hsuan Tsang the mystic philosophy of yogachara. 

       'Yoga', 'synthesis', was the essence of Wisdom of India.  The Nalanda University was in itself a synthesis of the Community's life in its various aspects-economic, intellectual, social and spiritual.  there was a farm-house belonging to the Nalanda Colony: and the University was supported by the revenues of a hundred villages.

       The present-day distinction between vocational and liberation education is, to my mind, artificial.  Every system of education must be liberal and vocational.  It must relate knowledge to life, to ideal values and to utilities of national and social life.  At Nalanda, professors and students studied and meditated: they, also, did manual work.

Secret of Education

       The secret of education is communion of students with their teachers.  Nalanda had great reaches.  One of them was Nagarjuna, the famous Buddhist philosopher.  He developed the doctrine of sunyata (void).  If Nagarjuna was the great Buddhist philosopher, Shanti Deva, the greatest poet of Mahayana Buddhism.

       What a noble ideal was enshrined in the world "Nalanda!  The world suggests "service without intermission", uninterrupted service, unbroken seva. Nalanda had a number of able teachers, scholars who were men of character and charged with the spirit of service and sacrifice.  

      Look around you, today!  Think for a moment what many of our schools and colleges are striving for.  Degrees!  And my bewildered heart has asked, again and again: "where" is character-building?"  Beloved India is broken.  She stands urgently in need of men of character, heroic men, pure men,  sacrificial  men, men who would pour their lives as an offering in the great yagna of humanity.

Shanthi Deva

      Shanthi Deva was a man of sacrifice.  He "took refuge" in the Buddha and the Dhamma and the Sangha (Brotherhood), and rejoiced in the service of humanity and all creatures.  "In giving", said he, "is the secret of the wisdom that ever shines."  "No knowledge," he said, "do I desire, save such as may serve all living beings, high and low."  Compassion  was  his constant word. "In purest compassion," he said, "give, give and enter into joy!"  "Three rules", he said, repeating the teaching of the Buddha, "must you observe in daily life:

1)  speak what is true;
2)  from anger abstain; and
3)  give, even if it be a little, to him who is in need!"

      And again: "More than myriad stars hath He given of His eyes to serve and succour men!  And more all the seas hath He shed of His life to serve and succour life!"

       Nalanda was a great experiment in education.  It aimed at pursuit of Truth and service of man and bird and beast.  It taught yoga (the science of the soul), the psychology of the conscious and the subconscious.  It taught a  system  of discipline with a view to union with the Truth.  It aimed at development of inner powers by (1) meditation and (2) service.

Karma

       One of the truth taught at Nalanda was Karma.  Karma is the Law, of cause and effect. In obedience to this Law, man builds his character.  Indeed, a man's character is his karma; for just is the Law.  "If but the nations would understand that "justice" is the Law of the Universe!  Justice may, to many of us, appear to be slow in coming, but come it must, sure as the sun rises in the East.  Every nation carries within its actions and aspirations its own "fate", its own future, its Destiny.

Reverence

       Reverence, too, was taught to pupils, reverence not alone for elders, but also, for what is  "beneath" us, for  brother  bird and brother beast.  And the teaching was given, again and again, that one must sit at the feet even of "strangers" to learn of them vidya and arts.  It was recognized that knowledge was international: and he who was a scholar claimed all aspect at Nalanda University - no matter what his country or creed. 

       The greeting given to Hsuan Tsang indicated the catholic vision of Nalanda.  He was a stranger but he was a scholar; and he was received with the respect due to a scholar.  Four men of distinguished positions in the University came out a long way off -- seven yojanas, to meet him.  On the way he halted at a village: and the four men were soon joined by two hundred teachers and some thousand lay patrons to escort him to the University.  They carried standards, umbrellas, flowers and perfumes to do him honour.  As he entered Nalanda, the whole University greeted him.  He was requested to take a special seat by the side of the President.  An upasaka and a Brahmin accompanied him with a riding elephant.  What a reception!  What a  recognition  of "internationalism@ of cltulre!

       Nor was aesthetic life ignored in the Nalanda University. I believe profoundly in the values of aesthetic and spiritual ideals in education.  Ethics and aesthetics entered into the life of Nalanda and shaped the energies and aspirations of the student-community.

       The current system of education in this country has awakened aggressive intellect and aroused ambitions: and nothing is sadder than to see intelligence stripped of moral obligations and those aesthetic impulses which find satisfaction in the joy of altruism.

       Nalanda recognized the truth that Immaterial was the Vital, that the Ideal was the Real, that the truly dynamic and transforming things are those of a spiritual order.  In the hearts of the teachers of Nalanda was reverence for the spiritual truths of life.  Are the teachers and the teaching dead, today?  Are the songs and the lore of the Buddha and Shankara, of the Vedic Rishis and the Sages of the Upanishads a matter of history?  Or do they still slumber in India's heart, making India still a Holy land, the hope of a new world-culture, the cradle of a new synthetic civilization?  Ask not the fettered school-master of today: ask the singers in the streets, for an answer.

Infrastructural  facilities at Nalanda

       Nalanda gave to all her students free tuition, free board and lodging, and free medicine.  And Nalanda taught her students to be simple and pure in daily life.  Ten great swimming pools belonged to the University.  Cleanliness was recognized as the way to holiness.  The students were taught for thirteen years: some stayed for thirty years: some, indeed, remained at Nalanda till death.  And in the teaching they received, the emphasis was always on purity, simplicity, reverence, service and sacrifice.

       Nalanda was built in the heart of spaciousness, in an atmosphere of the beautiful.  The record of the Chinese pilgrim scholar speaks of  the  "richly adorned towers", the "fairy-like turrests".  "From the windows", we read, "we may see every hour the winds and the clouds produce new forms.  and above the soaring eaves one may see the conjunctions for the sun and the moon."  "Round the monasteries," we read further "there flowed a winding stream of azure water, made more beautiful by blue lotus flowers.  Within the Temple, beautiful trees hung down their dazzling golden blossoms and outside groves of mango sheltered the dwellings with their thick shade."  "The roofs were covered with tiles" that reflected "the light in a thousand shades."  "These things", says the Chronicle, "add to the beauty of the scene."  Surrounded by such things, Nalanda stood erect to bless teachers and students and develop in them the impulse to worship and to serve for Beauty's sake.

       Shanthi Deva was revered as a poet a Bodhisattva, a lover of the Beautiful and a servant of all creatures in suffering and pain.  He loved the contemplative life: he loved, also, the teacher's vocation.  He loved to draw the youths, nearer and nearer, to the Buddha.  Shanthi Deva has been rightly compared to the Asian mystic who renounced his throne and said, "Write me as one and who loves his fellow-men!"

       In his teaching at Nalanda Shanthi Deva emphasized the thought: "build your lives in bodhi (wisdom."  He further taught: "Learn self-control, for to the pure is given bodi or Illumination."  Therefore, he said, "take the vow of purity in the presence of the Buddha or the Teacher: for such a vow is not likely to be broken."

       Shanthi Deva emphasized the moral foundation of knowledge or wisdom.  So he asked his pupils to take special care of their sangha - company or environment.  And he stressed the life of discipline.  Never, he said, praise yourself even if you really have the virtue of which you speak.  and never speak lightly of any teacher.  Never boast of your attainments, and resist the temptation to speak of siddhis or "psychic powers" or "higher attainments".

       Shanthi Deva's heart was filled, through and through with the prayer which he prayed, again and again, in the "presence of the buddhas":  "May I still the pains of all creatures in suffering and pain!"

       Shanthi Deva taught in an atmosphere full of the associations of nature.  "For a yojana  around this spot", we read, "the space is full of sacred trees."  Such a site gave scope for outdoor life, for nature-communion, for fellowship with birds and animals of the woods, a fellowship emphasized in the teaching at once of the rishi and of the Buddha.  The beautiful surroundings of the University of Nalanda secured that correlation of the physical, intellectual and aesthetic powers which is essential to sound training.

       It was difficult to find fault with the discipline of Nalanda.The Chinese Pilgrim says  that  "during the seven hundred years since the foundation of the Nalanda University, there has been no single case of guilty rebellion against the rules."  

       Shanthi Deva rightly points out that the true discipline is one of Dhamma, not of the "rod".  Yes, right discipline is not of the "barrack-room" but of the ashram.  The community of the teachers and taught at Nalanda lived a life of self-control and self-discipline.  Study, toil and duty were intermingled one with the other and the mainspring of this discipline was the inspiration of human fellowship in the service of the Sangha (Brotherhood) and reverence for the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.  Comradeship of the right type made the teachers one community, one Fellowship of Service: and the pupil was often addressed as a "son".  Nalanda was a family.

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Source: Excerpts from the book "Spiritual India Handbook" by Stephen Knapp
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SAHASRARA CHAKRA

BINDU

       The Sanskrit word bindu  means 'drop' or 'point'.  But the name of the centre we are talking about is actually bindu visarga which literally means 'falling of the drop'.  The drop referred to is amrit, the immortalizing nectar.  It is this particular secretion which maintains the life of yogis who undertake such feats as being buried alive for forty days without food, water or oxygen.  It controls all possible process of metabolism, produces nutrition and the required quantity of oxygen.  Bindu is the seat of this nectar.

Location 

       The location point for bindu is at the top back of the head, where Brahmins have a tuft of hair.  Today Brahmins only keep this tuft of hair to show that they are Brahmins, but traditionally the tuft of hair was pulled tight and twisted, creating tension right on the centre of bindu.  This was the best method of gaining awareness of bindu which incidentally has no kshetram.  Bindu is directly connected with vishuddhi by a particular network of nerves which flow through the interior portion of the nasal orifice passing through lalana (a minor chakra which is responsible for storing and secreting amrit).  Lalana is not a centre of awakening, nor is bindu.  When awakening takes place in vishuddhi it also occurs in bindu and lalana.

       Bindu is a centre of nada yoga.  There is not one particular sound in bindu, but many, many sounds.  When practising nada yoga one should concentrate on bindu.

       Symbolically bindu is represented by both a full moon and a crescent moon.  The full moon is the infinitesimally small drop of nectar and the crescent moon is associated with the phases of the moon.  In the same way that the moon is progressively revealed during the period from new moon to full moon, so immensity of sahasrara behind the bindu can be gradually unveiled through yogic sadhana.  The bindu is drawn on the background of the night sky indicating that the basis of the bindu, the saharasrara, is infinite.  For the awakening of bindu there are no specific practices.  Once vishudhi becomes active it will have a consequential influence on bindu.

SAHASRARA

      The Sanskrit word sahasrara means 'one thousand'.  Although sahasrara is represented by a lotus with one thousand petals, the 'one thousand' literally implies that its magnitude and significance is vast, in fact, unlimited.  Sahasrara is shoonya, the void.  It is difficult to discuss sahasrara for its transcends concepts and words and is beyond experience, for the experience, the experienced and the experiencer are one and the same.  Sahasrara is the merging of consciousness and prana.  It is culmination of yoga, it is yoga itself, the perfect union.  When one gains mastery over sahasrara he becomes free in all states; he becomes rooted in happiness and free from grief and bondage.  With the blossoming of sahasrara the yogi is said to acquire various psychic powers but if he can free himself from attachment to such powers, he may then become the knower of the supreme and acquire every kind of knowledge.

SADHANA FOR ALL CHAKRAS

       Once you have become familiar with the exact location of each chakra, you can start to practise the two advanced techniques which follows:

Chakra anusadhana

       This is one of the first kriya yoga practices which, in english can be translated as 'search for the chakras'.  In this kriya and in other kriyas you are required to move your awareness through two psychic passages called the arohan and the awarohan. The path of these passage is as follows:

Arohan

       Arohan is the ascending psychic passage which starts from mooladhara chakra, travel forward to swadhisthana kshetram in the public area, then travels upward through the kshetrams of manipura, anahata and vishuddhi, then in a straight line to bindu at the back of the head.

Awarohan

       Awarohan is the descending passage which starts at bindu, travels forward to ajna chakra, then down through sushumna in the spine, passing through all the chakra points in turn to finally terminate at mooladhara.

      These two passage ways join at bindu and mooladhara.  They are widely known through the world, especially in mystical circles and healing systems such as acupuncture in which arohan is yang and awarohan is yin.

Technique

Sit in a comfortable meditative posture, preferably siddhasana or siddha yoni asana.  Make the spine erect, relax the whole body and close the yes.

Breathing normally, focus your awareness at mooladhara chakra.

Now ascend your awareness through the arohan passage way passing in turn through swadhisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddhi, until it reaches bindu.  As you pass through each kshetram, mentally say the name of the centre.

When you reach bindu, immediately let your awareness descend through the awarohan passage to mooladhara.  Mentally repeat the name of each chakra as your awareness passes through it:  ajna, vishuddhi, anahata, manipura, swadhishthana, mooladhara.

This completes one round or circuit of awareness.  You should immediately start a second round by moving your awareness upwards through the arohan passage, again mentally repeating the name of each centre as you pass through it.

Do not make tense efforts to locate the chakra and shetram points.  Let your awareness flow through the centres without effort.  Imagine that each centre is a railway station, and that your awareness is like a train that passes through them without stopping.

The centres should be regarded as though they are part of the psychic scenery.  Alternatively, you can visualize your awareness as a thin silver serpent travelling an elliptical path within the body.  Practice 3 rounds and gradually icnrease to a amximum of 9 rounds.

Altar visualization

Sit in a comfortable cross-legged meditative posture.  Your body should be relaxed but erect, with your head, neck and chest in a straight line.  Eyes closed.

Take your awareness to mooladhara chakra and visualize an altar of fire there.  It is triangular in shape with the flames forming the upper point of the triangle.

You can see the flames rising from the altar and illuminating the whole of the spinal column.  Practise ujjayi pranayma with kchechari mudra for a few minutes.

Now as you inhale, visualize the flames shooting up through sushumna nadi and momentarily illuminating and warming each chakra, then finally passing out of the body through sahasrara.

You must try to hear the steady sounds of the fire.  As you exhale you should try to see and hear the arousal of the flames in mooladhara.

Practise 3 rounds.

Then with each exhalation, either mentally or aloud, and in harmonization with the sounds of the fire, chant the mantra Om.

Notice how it causes the fire to burn brighter.

Prefer a maximum of 7 rounds with the feeling that you are being absorbed in the altar of fire.

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Source:  Excerpts from the book on "Sure-ways of Self Realization" by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

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AJNA CHAKRA

AJNA CHAKRA

       Our reflection on the psychic centres, begins from ajna chakra.  According to traditions, mooladhara chakra is generally designed as the first chakra since it is the seat of kundalini shakthi.  However, there is another system in which consideration and study of the chakras commence from ajna.

      Ajna chakra is the point of confluence where the three main nadis or forces - ida, pingala and sushumna, merge into one stream of consciousness and flow up to sahasrara, the crown centre.  In mythology, these three nadis are represented by the three great rivers - Ganga (ida), Jamuna (pingala) and Saraswati (a subterranean current which represents sushumna).  They converge at a place called Prayag or Triveni, which is near present day Allahabad.  Indians believe that every twelve years, when the sun is in Aquarius, if one takes dip at the point of confluence, he or she will be purified.  This place of confluence corresponds symbolically to ajna chakra.

       When the mind is concentrated at this conjunctions, transformation of individual consciousness is brought about by the merging of the three great forces.  Individual consciousness is mainly comprised of ego, and it is on account of ego that we are aware of dualities.  As long as there is duality, there cannot be samadhi; as long as you remember yourself, you cannot get out of yourself.

       Although there are experiences of trance in the other chakras, there is no merger of the individual ego with the cosmic ego.  All throughout you find you are trying to assert yourself behind all the experiences you are having, but ida and pingala unite with sushumna in ajna chakra, you lose yourself completely.

      By this I do not mean that you become unconscious. Your awareness expands and becomes homogeneous.  The individual awareness falls flat and you completely transcend the realm of duality.  Therefore, ajna chakra is a very important centre, which you must experience in order to bring about purification of the mind.  Once the mind is purified, the experience and awakening of the other chakras can proceed.

       There is a certain problem with the awakening of the other chakras.  Each of these chakras contain within it a store of karmas or samskaras, which may be both good and bad, positive or negative, painful or pleasant.  The awakening of any chakra will bring to the surface an explosion or an expression of these karmas, and not everybody is prepared or ready to face them.  Only those who are equipped with reason and understanding can cope.  Therefore, it is aid that, before you start awakening and manifesting the great force, it is best to purify the mind at the point of confluence.  Then, with the purified mind, you can awaken all the other chakras.  Therefore, we begin our exposition of the chakra with ajna.

The centre of command

       The word ajna comes from the Sanskrit root which means 'to know, to obey or to follow'.  Literally, ajna means 'command' or 'the monitoring centre'.  In astrology ajna is the centre of Jupiter, which symbolizes the guru or preceptor.  Amongs tge deities, Jupiter is represented by Brihaspathi, the guru of the devas and preceptor of the gods.  Therefore, this centre is also known as 'the guru chakra'.

       Ajna is the bridge which links the guru with the disciples.  It represents the level at which it is possible for direct mind to mind communication to take place between two people.  It is in this chakra that communications with the external guru, teacher or preceptor takes place.  And it is here that the directions of the inner guru are heard in the deepest state of meditations, when all the sense modalities are withrawn and one enters the state of shoonya or void.

       This is a state of absolute nothingness, whee the empirical experiences of name and form, subject and object, do not penetrate.  In this completely static state, the light of the mind is extinguished; the consciousness ceases to function, and no ego awareness remains.  This void state is the same as the death experience, and in order to traverse it the voice or command of the guru must be heard in ajna chakra.

       Of course, if you are new to spiritual life you will not be facing this problem yet, but when it comes you will find it very difficult to manage.  At the moment your problems are just mental - dispersion of mind, worries, anxiety, restlessness etc., but when the night is dark and you have gone very deep in meditation, losing your individual awareness, the only thing that can guide you at this point is the instructions or command of your guru heard through ajna chakra.

       It has also been called 'the eye of intuition', and it is the doorway through which the individual enters the astral and psychic dimension of consciousness.  Perhaps, the most common name for this chakra is 'the third eye', and the mystical traditions of every age and culture make abundant references to it.  It is portrayed as psychic eye located midway between the two physical eyes and it looks inward instead of outward.

       In India, ajna chakra called divya chakshu the divine ye), jana chakshu or jnana netra (the eye of knowledge because it is the channel through which the spiritual aspirant receives revelation and insight into the underlying nature of existence.  It is also called 'the eye of Shiva', for Shiva is the epitome of meditation, which is directly associated with the awakening of ajna chakra.

       It is interesting to note that ajna chakra is more active in females than in males.  Women are more sensitive, psychic and perspective and they are often able to predict coming events.  However, in most people this inner ye remains closed, and though they see the events of the outside world, knowledge and understanding of truth cannot be gained.  In this sense, we are blind to the real possibilities of the world, unable to view the deeper levels of human existence.  

Meaning of world Ajna Chakra

   

       The Sanskrit word ajna means 'command'.  Ajna chakra is the guru chakra.  It is the centre through which the guru communicates with his disciples.  It is also the place where the inner guru resides and directs.

       Ajna chakra has many other names such as the eye of intution, the eye of Shiva, the third eye, to name but a few.

Location

       The location point of ajna chakra is in the centre of the brain at the top of the spine.  However, this is a difficult area to locate, so in yogic practices bhrumadhya, the eyebrow centre is utilized.  Ajna and bhrumadhya are directly connected by psychic passage.  Ajna is also directly linked to the pineal gland.

Appearance

       Ajna chakra is the confluence of the three great forces (ida, pingala and sushumna) which link all the chakras.  Thus ajna is a very important centre which must be greatly purified before one commences to awaken the other chakras.  It is directly connected with mooladhara chakra and if any awakening take place in ajna it is first experience in mooladhara.  Both these chakras contain the inverted triangle shakti.

Function

       Ajna is the centre of wisdom and  intuition.  When this chakra is awakened the mind becomes a perfect instrument, steady, reliable and free of all attachments.  Willpower becomes very strong and all goals are achieved.  One gains full control of his prana and can distribute it to all parts of his body and outside at will.  With the awakening of ajna, siddhis (psychic powers), are likely to manifest in accordance with one's mental tendencies.

Manas chakra

       The tattwa [principle] and karmendriya of ajna is mind [manas].  

Petals

       A silver coloured lotus with two petals represents ajna chakra.

Yantra

       The yantra is clear circle.

Mantra

       The bija [seed] mantra is Om.

Vehicle

       The vehicle of ajna is nada, unbroken sound.

       Whether directly or indirectly, almost all yogic practices are concerned with awakening ajna chakra.  The following will simultaneously develop sensitivity to the location of ajna and bhrumadhya; trataka (steady gazing) on a candle flame, chidakasha dharna, shambhavi mudra (gazing at space between eyebrow).

Shambhavi Mudra (eyebrow centre gazing)

Sit in any comfortable meditative pose.

Close the eyes and relax the whole body.

Look forward at a fixed point.

Then without moving the head, look upward and inward, focusing the eyes at the eyebrow centre.

Hold the gaze for only a few seconds at first.

Release at the slightest sensation of strain.

Close your eyes and relax them.

Concentrate on this centre and let your thoughts dwell on teh supreme consciousness, your inner guru.

Start with 5 rounds and gradually increase upto 10 over a period of time.

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Source: Excerpts from the book on "The Sure ways for self-realization" by Swamy Satyananda Saraswati.

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VISHUDDHI CHAKRA

VISHUDDHI

       The Sanskrit word vishuddhi means 'purification', therefore this chakra is usually translated as the 'purification centre.  It is the centre that purifies and harmonizes all opposites.  Vishuddhi is often called 'the centre of nectar' because it is the level of being where poison and nectar, good and bad, etc., are united into a common experience of bliss.

Location

       Vishuddhi location point is situated in the spine directly behind the throat pit and the kshetram is in the throat where the thyroid gland is situated.

Function

       Awakening of vishuddhi chakra is responsible for the  maintenance of health, youth and longevity.  When vishuddhi is functioning, degenerated tissues become rejuvenated and disease will not manifest.  One can also completely overcome the need for food and drink.

       Vishuddhi chakra is responsible for picking up the thoughts from the minds of others.  Although people are not aware of it, vishuddhi is actually the centre where the thought waves are received and conducted to the respective centres in the brain.

       Vishuddhi is the centre where one is ready to accept the world for what it is, taking the good with the bad.  The nectar and the poison are both consumed and there is no ill effect from the poison.  One will be able to perceive the sense and intelligence behind all happenings and will be able to flow with the current of life.  He becomes compassionate, peaceful and full of bliss.  It is said that a person who has activated vishuddhi chakra knows all the scriptures without needing to read them. 

Symbolism of Vishuddi 

       The tattwa (principle) of this chakra is ether (akasha).  Vishuddhi is closely related to the sense of hearing and the karmendriya or organ of action is the vocal cords.
 

Appearance

       Vishuddhi chakra is represented as a purple lotus with sixteen petals.

Yantra

       The yantra is a circle, as white as full moon.

Mantra

       The bija [seed] mantra is ham.  

Animal

       The animal which serves as the vehicle of vishuddhi is a pure white elephant.

Jalandhara Bandha (throat lock)

Sit in any meditation posture which allows the knees to firmly touch the floor.

Place the palms of the hands on top of the knees.

Close the eyes and relax the whole body.

INHALE slowly and deeply, and retain the breath inside.

While retaining the breath, bend the head forward and press the chin tightly against the chest.

Straighten the arms and lock them firmly into position.

Simultaneously hunch the shoulders upwards and forward.

This will ensure that the arms stay locked.

Hold this position for as long as you can comfortably retain the breath.

Then relax the shoulders, bend the arms, slowly release the lock, raise the head and exhale.

This is one round.

Practise 3 rounds and gradually increase to 10 rounds.

All your breath to return to normal after each round.

Vishuddhi Dhyana

Focus your awareness at vishuddhi kshetram.

As you inhale imagine that the breath is coming in through vishuddhi kshetram and passes through to the chakra in the spine.

As you exhale chant the mantra ham continuously and rhythmically until the exhalation is complete:  ham-ham-ham-ham-ham and send the mantra forward to vishuddhi kshetram.

Concentrate fully on the sound of the mantra and feel its vibrations resonating in vishuddhi.

Visualization

Become aware of chidakasha and an infinite space.

Visualize an elephant manifesting in this space.  A huge white elephant...snow white elephant symbolizing purification of the grosser aspects of one's nature.

Now visualize a circle...white...like a full moon...A white circle...yantra of vishuddhi chakra and the elephant either.

Expand your vision outward.  See vishuddhi as a purple lotus.  A purple lotus with sixteen petals.  

Slowly the lotus begins to turn...sixteen purple petals going around and around... spinning lotus...whirling vortex of primal energy.  

See yourself being drawn onto this spinning whirlpool of energy.  

Merge into it and feel its energy pulsating through your body.

When this vision fades, become aware of your natural breath.  

Awareness of your body and its surroundings.

Chant Om 3 times, then slowly open your eyes.

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Source:  Excerpts from the book on "SURE WAYS TO SELF-REALIZATION" by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

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ANAHATA CHAKRA

POSITION OF ANAHATA CHAKRA

       The Sanskrit world anahata means 'unstruck' or 'unbeaten'.  Anahata is the centre of unbeaten sound.  It is a cosmic sound which is continuous and in not caused by two objects hitting each other.  The physical trigger point of anahata chakra is in the spine directly behind the centre of the chest, in line with the heart.  Anahata kshetram is at the heart.

       Anahata chakra is considered to be the seat of Shiva and Shakti.  These two great forces are depicted in anahata as an upright and an inverted triangle.  They are interlinked, indicating that they are in union.  The result is this union is expressed in creativity.  Anahata is connected with that particular part of the brain which is responsible for all kinds of creative and artistic ability.  When one is at the level of anahata he expresses greater creativity, whether in the field of science, art, music, writing or whatever.

       It is said that in this present age, the people of the world are passing through a phase of anahata.  It means that anahata chakra has begun to function in many, many people.  Being the centre of emotions, anahata is very powerful.  When one creates an image in his mind he can visualize it in anahata.  When a mantra is chanted its vibrations should be felt resonating through the body from anahata.

Anahata - wish fulfilling centre

       According to tantric scriptures, anahata is the wish fulfilling centre.  When a person is at the level of anahata he finds he attains all that he hopes for, and if he makes a resolve it is certain to come true.  One must be very careful that his thoughts are pure and positive.  However, it is highly unlikely that anyone with evil intentions could rise to this level.

       Anahata chakra is the centre where one begins to love everyone and all things  unconditionally.  Tolerance develops and all things are accepted and loved for what they are.  One realizes that although people and objects may have gross aspects and differences, they really are embodiments of perfection.

Symbolism behind Anahata Chakra

       Anahata is a symbolic of the air (vayu) tattwa [principle] and is closely related with the sense of touch or feeling and with the movement of the hands.  It is represented as a blue lotus with twelve petals.  

Appearance - Yantra

       The yantra is a six pointed star formed from the two interlaced triangles.  The inverted triangle is the symbol of Shakti (creativity) and the upright triangle is Shiva (consciousness).  

Seed Mantra

       The bija mantra of anhata is yam.  

Animal

       The animal which is the vehicle of anahata is a black antelope symbol of alertness and mercy.  An antelope is also noted for its fleetness.  

       In many systems anahata is commonly represented by a lake with a tree growing in its centre, or by a blue lotus on the surface of a huge lake.

Anahata Shuddhi

       Sit in a comfortable cross-legged posture with the spine erect and the eyes closed.  Take your awareness to the centre of the chest and witness its expansion and contraction with each inhalation and exhalation.

       As you inhale, feel the breath being pulled from anahata's location point in the spine through to anahata kshetram at the front of the body.  

       As you exhale, feel the breath being pushed inwards through the kshetram to the chakra in the spine.  Try to feel the exact location of the chakra and kshetram.  Continue for about 5 minutes.

       Then synchronize the mantra Om with the breathing process:  om with inhalation, Om with exhalation.

       Feel the breath and mantra pierce the chakra and kshetram with each inahalation and exhalation.

       Continue in this way for about 10 minutes.

Anahata Dhyana

       Focus your  awareness  at anahata chakra.  Now breathe in deeply.  As you exhale, chant the mantra yam continuously and rhythmically until exhalation is complete.  Chant yam-yam-yam-yam and feel the vibrations resonating in the heart.  Practise 13 rounds.

Visualization

       Now try to imagine an antelope.  A black antelope, very swift and alert.  Antelope... a symbol of gentleness, certainty and fleetness.

       Now flash to a six pointed star..a smoky coloured star with six points.  A star...formed from two interlaced triangles.  A triangle pointing upwards...symbol of Shiva highest consciousness.  An inverted triangle...symbol of Shakti, the creative force.  See these two triangles interlaced...a star... Shiva and Shakti in union.

       Awareness of an infinite darkness in chidakasha..  The darkness of night... Amidst the darkness there is a feeble light...the light of a candle.  Concentrate on the light of this flickering candle.

       Now imagine you are walking through a garden...a large garden...a very beautiful...many trees...many flowers.  A very colorful garden...very soft grass beneath your feet...a gentle breeze caresses your skin...  In the centre of the garden is a large lake...a large lake of still, clear water.  In the middle of the lake is a tree...it is growing out from the water.  Concentrate on this tree and make a resolve.  Make a positive resolve and repeat it 3 times.

       Visualize the lake once again.  You will notice a blue lotus... a blue lotus with blue petals going around and around...spinning lotus...whirling vortex of primal energy.  See yourself being drawn into this spinning whirlpool of energy.  Merge into it and feel its vibration energy pulsating through your body.  When the vision fades, become aware of your natural breath.  Now become fully aware of your physical body and its surroundings.

      Chant om  3 times, then slowly open your eyes.

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Source: Excerpts from the book on "Sure ways to Self-realization" by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

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MANIPURA CHAKRA

MANIPURA

Introduction

       The Sanskrit wold mani means 'gem' or 'jewel'; the word pur means 'city'.  Therefore the word "manipura" means the "city of jewels'.  It is so called because of the intensity of the pranic energy of this centre.  The physical location point for manipura chakra is in the middle of the spine directly behind the  navel.  Manipura kshetram is exactly at the navel.

       Manipura chakra is the centre of prana within the human framework.  It is often called the 'sun chakra' as it radiates and distributes pranic energy of life throughout the entire body.  It is also compared to a blazing fire as it burns up and assimilates the energy in food.

       Contrary to the tantric-yogic concept, Buddhists regard manipura as the seat of kundalini.  In reality, kundalini can be regarded as residing in all the chakras.  Tantra and yoga regard spiritual life, or expansion of awareness, as commencing at the level of mooladhara.  On the other hand, Buddhists ascertain that man's consciousness begins to expand from manipura chakra.  They consider the two lower chakras to belong to the higher ranges of animal life, whereas manipura chakra marks the beginning of the evolution of the higher man.  Once consciousness is established in manipura it is confirmed awakening; there is no danger of downfall.  At the level of mooladhara or swadhisthana, consciousness is liable to recede.

       Manipura is the centre of self-assertion.  One becomes  dynamic and energetic and tends to dominate situations and other people.  There are many who function at this level.  They see all things and all people as a means of providing personal power and satisfying their worldly ambitions.  This is expressed in the predominant motive of gaining wealth and a great deal of respect.  It is at this level that people seriously begin to question their attitude towards life and their place in the scheme of existence.

Symbolism

       Manipura is symbolic of fire (agnic) principle [tattwa] and is closely related to the sense of light and movement of the feet.  

       Manipura is represented as a bridge yellow lotus with ten petals.  

Yantra

       The yantra is a red triangle and inside the triangle is a blazing sun.  

Mantra

       Ram is the bija mantra.  The animal serves as the vehicle of manipura is a ram, symbol of assertiveness and energy.

       According to hatha yoga, the practice of trataka will awaken manipura chakra because of its connection with the eyes.  One should remember that any practices concerned with developing awareness of manipura chakra will greatly benefit digestion.

Uddiyana Bandha (abdominal contraction)

Sit in siddha/siddha yoni asana or padmasana with the spine erect and the knees in contact with the floor.

Place the palms of the hands on the knees.

Close the eyes and relax the whole body.

Exhale deeply and retain the breath outside.

Perform jalandhara bandha.

Then contract the abdominal muscles as far as possible inwards and upwards.

This is the final position.  Hold this lock for as long as possible without creating any strain.

Slowly release the stomach muscles, then jalandhara bandha and inhale deeply.

This is one round.  Practice 3 rounds and gradually increase to 10 rounds over a few months.

Manipura Dhyana

Focus your awareness at manipura kshetram.

Now as you inhale imagine you are drawing the breath in through the navel and send it up the front of the body to ajna chakra.  

As you exhale chant the mantra ram on a low note.  

Chant continuously and rhythmically until exhalation is complete:  ram-ram-ram-ram.  Feel the mantra travelling down from ajna through the spine to manipura chakra.

This is one round.  Practice 13 rounds.

Visualization

Become  acutely  aware of manipura chakra.  Continue to inhale through the navel and as the breath ascends to ajna try to visualize it as a pranic light.  White streaks of light, experienced like a current of energy charging the upper portion of the body.  As you exhale visualize this pranic energy descending through the spine to manipura chakra.  Practice 7 rounds.

Then take your awareness to chidakasha.  Witness your feelings, thoughts and any sensations in the body.

Now imagine a ram manifesting in chidakasha.  A strong robust ram, kicking his hind legs out behind him.  A ram... symbol of energy and assertiveness.

Now flash to a red triangle... simple red triangle...red triangle...yantra of the fire element.

Within the triangle is a blazing sun.  A very bright sun, radiating heat.  Try to see this sun and feel its energy and warmth.

Take your attention from this blazing sun and see manipura as a bright yellow lotus.  A bright yellow lotus with ten petals.  Slowly the lotus begins to turn...ten yellow petals going around and round...spinning lotus...whirling yellow vortex of primal energy.

See yourself being drawn into the spinning whirlpool of energy.  Merge into it and feel its vibrant energy pulsating through you. After sometime this vision will fade.

Then become aware of your natural breath.

Awareness of your body and its surroundings.

Chant Om 3 times, then slowly open your eyes.

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Source:Excerpts from the book on "Sure Ways of Self realization" written by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

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