Why Yogic Practices are Often Done in Sets of Three. Sadhguru tells us a story about Shiva, to illustrate why yogic practices are often done in sets of three. Questioner: Yogic practices are often done in sets of three. Is there a reason why? Sadhguru: There are many ways to look at this. This is a dialectical culture. In modern science, they call it “fuzzy logic,” which is a good way to describe it.
You know, yoga started with Adiyogi, and one of his names is Tripurantaka. If I say, “Rest it. There was a rakshasa king. This rakshasa king became very powerful, so powerful he built three cities floating in the sky. That many gods and yet this man had no sanctity for anything. Tri-pura means “three cities.” The message is: unless you shoot all three of them at once, you will never be victorious. Editor’s Note: Download Sadhguru’s ebook, Shiva – Ultimate Outlaw, along with Vairagya, an album of sacred chants (also available as an Android App).
Download Now This article is based on an excerpt from the October 2014 issue of Forest Flower. Asanas, Mudras and Bandhas - Awakening Ecstatic Kundalini - books-amb-sample.pdf. A Total Experience. Delivered by Swami Satyananda Saraswati at the Convention of the European Union of National Federations of Yoga in Zinal, Switzerland, 1977. In the science of tantra, kriya yoga is one of the ways used for awakening the spiritual consciousness in man. Traditionally, this system was transmitted only from guru to disciple, but now the time has come for it to be more widely known. Actually, in many ancient traditions throughout the world, there were mystic practices which were similar to kriya yoga and they were communicated in the same way. The word 'kriya' means movement. In this sense it represents the internal movement of consciousness, and its goal is the evolution of this consciousness. The individual consciousness is inherent in every living being.
Evolution is the law of nature and we are all evolving unconsciously, automatically, but this natural movement of evolution for us will take millions of years. What is this evolution? Who am I ? The practices themselves. VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online - Vedic Encyclopedia, Bhakti-yoga in vedas, Library. KarmaJiva (soul)SupersoulKrsna and Radha, GolokaSri Radha's name in the SB Karma - definition: (BG 8.3) "activity pertaining to the development of mat. bodies"karmabhih praninam loke sarva cesta pravartakah: Karma is the cause of all activities among the living beings of this world. (Vayu Purana 21.42) - categories: aprarabdham-phalam-papam kutam-bijam-phalonmukham (Padma Purana, quoted in BG 9.2p.) - child's: from 14 years (Mahabharata Adi Parva 108, Madhvacarya quoted in SB 11.21.16 p.) - conditional (by sakti, buddhi, samrddhi, desa, avastha): SB 11.21.11 - devotee's: changed by Krsna - "Krsna-karma": (SB 2.7.42, 3.28.38, 10.87.40, CC Antya 6.193p., Brhad-bhagavatamrta 2.4.85-86) Vedanta-sutra 4.1.15: only anarabdha-karma burned by vidya.
. - devotees vs. nondevotees: (SB 8.9.28) "The place, the time, the cause, the purpose, the activity and the ambition were all the same for both the demigods and the demons, but the demigods achieved one result and the demons another. Jayapataka Swami: Bursting the Bud of Creativity. Swami Satyananda Saraswati Given at Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Antwerp, Belgium on 30th Aug. For centuries, man has been pondering the possibility of a super-physical existence and, at the same time, he has been thinking about how to become the master of nature. Each time a person has an inner experience, he wants to know how it happened and from where it came. Occasionally we hear about a miraculous happening, or we may even experience one ourselves. Man is convinced that there is a power beyond the mind, but as yet he has been unable to clarify the whole situation.
He has interpreted these phenomena as the emanations of some ghost, spirit or devil, who comes to tell him things. Man has not arrived at any final and valid conclusions about the cause of miraculous happenings. In the study of modern parapsychology, we have been confronting these problems. Kundalini and evolution In India, people have been making discoveries about kundalini yoga for ages. Understanding the process. Tantra. For Tantric Buddhism, see Vajrayana. For the texts classified as Tantras, see Tantras. Tantra[note 1] is the name given by recent scholars to a style of meditation and ritual which arose in India no later than the 5th century AD.[1] Definitions[edit] Several definitions of Tantra exist.
Traditional[edit] The Tantric tradition offers various definitions of tantra. Because it elaborates (tan) copious and profound matters, especially relating to the principles of reality (tattva) and sacred mantras, and because it provides liberation (tra), it is called a tantra.[2] A second, very similar to the first, comes from Swami Satyananda. Tantra embodies two sanskrit words: tanoti (expands) and trayoti (liberates)... A tantra is a divinely revealed body of teachings, explaining what is necessary and what is a hindrance in the practice of the worship of God; and also describing the specialized initiation and purification ceremonies that are the necessary prerequisites of Tantric practice.[4] Western[edit] Guru Tattva – Freedom Vidya. Longevity and Enlightenment. Shuang Yan Guan Zhu There exists a paradox between longevity and enlightenment. Spiritual enlightenment does not require good health.
Conversely, good health does not necessarily lead to spiritual enlightenment. According to Arthur Avalon, there are two lines of yoga – namely, Dhyāna or Bhāvanā-yoga, and Kundalini-yoga. The two forms of yoga differ both as to method and result. (Figure 1) Dhyāna-Yogi – It is possible to be successful Dhyāna-Yogi and yet to be weak in body and health, sick and short-lived.
There are three major adjuvant methods which can enhance the process of Kundalini and enlightenment. It is interesting to note that if prana or Qi possesses electro-magnetic properties, and the body is known to be a bio-electro-magnetic system, there must be interaction between the two. Mantra: in Serpent Power, A. Mantras are a phrase or word that is repeated over and over again during meditation. Ham as the bija mantra of the ether element. Mudras are simple hand or body postures. Devamaya-Yoga. Devamaya-Yoga. Devamaya-Yoga: Tantra - what is it really? Tantra is an ancient philosophy, with practices which help to emancipate the mind from its unawakened state, it’s non-transcendental state. From ongoing sorrowfulness and tension. In the unawakened state the mind can only mimick that which it is taught and as a result becomes conditioned, and, trapped within the tension of this conditioning. The stronger the conditioning, the deeper the entrapment and tensions.
If you've ever felt you want to break FREE, its from the layers and lifetimes of conditioning in the mind, weighing down on the Soul. Slowly you break with conditioning and the mind becomes liberated, free. The philosophy of Tantra espouses that the life we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the Divine, Shakti. Ritual Usually tantric rituals involve that which is Beautiful and Auspicious and moving to the spiritual heart. Mantra Mantra is sound vibration. Deity Yantra Ruling up a yantra is a practice which develops connection with the transcendental mind. Yoga Friedrichshain. The Subtle Body. Kundalini Shakti works in and through her container, the subtle body. The subtle body includes the three central sheaths (koshas) of the five coverings that, according to the Vedic philosophy of India, comprise the human being (see the diagram under “What is Shakti”).
These three aspects of the subtle body are the energy, mind, and discernment sheaths. They manifest into the physical body, and they emanate from the causal body. The causal body, in combination with the One, the essential all-pervading core, is Kundalini Shakti, The Divine within. The three sheaths of the subtle body are: 1. Click Photo to Enhance Images. - subtle energy functions (vayus or pranas), – subtle energy currents (nadis), – subtle energy centers (chakras), – subtle elements (tattvas), – subtle perceptive and motor senses (tanmatras), – subtle breath flow patterns (svaras), – subtle energy points (marmas), and – subtle brain centers (dalas). 2. 3. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Maharishi) Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Photos. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Maharishi) Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Photos. Kriya Yoga Pranayama in the Bhagavad Gita. Excerpts from God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda Page 3 of 7 Prana and Apana: Two Main Currents in the Body This present Gita verse deals with two specific functions of life force in its differentiations as prana and apana.
As there is a "tug-of-war" on the macrocosmic scale reflecting Spirit's projecting wish to create and His opposing attracting wish to bring the many back into the One, so does this same contest in duality take place on a microcosmic scale in man's body. One expression of this positive-negative duality involves the interaction between prana and apana. There are two main currents in the body. The other main current is that of prana, which flows from the coccyx to the point between the eyebrows. The vital current flowing outward from the brain and spine to the cells, tissues, and nerves becomes attached to and clogged up in matter. Breath — Cord that Ties Soul to the Body It is thus said that the human breath knots the soul to the body. Prana and Apana, A Lecture by Charles F. Lutes. Prana and Apana Prana is the life force itself. In Sanskrit it is synonymous with life and it is also the name of the life-breath we take in with each inhalation. Prana is also the name of one of the five major airs in the body.
Prana, as a body air, is situated in the cavity of the mouth and it enables food to pass through into the stomach. It resides normally in the area from the nostrils to the lungs and its location near the heart preserves life from destruction. Prana maintains the other elements of the body in balance and controls their function. It is with the help of prana that we are able to move, think, see and hear. From birth to death prana plays a crucial role in our lives. In yoga, prana is of primary importance. Prana is not to be confused with oxygen. Apana literally means, downwards. There are many remedies for conditions brought on by apana, but there is no understanding of their cause.
Prana. Prana (प्राण, prāṇa) is the Sanskrit word for "life force"; in yoga, Indian medicine, and martial arts, the term refers to a cosmic energy believed to come from the sun and connecting the elements of the universe. The universal principle of energy or force, responsible for the body's life, heat and maintenance, prana is the sum total of all energy that is manifest in the universe. This life energy, prana (प्राण), has been vividly invoked and described in Vedas. In Ayurveda, tantra and Tibetan medicine "praṇā vāyu" is the basic vāyu (wind, air) from which all the other vāyus arise. It is analogous to qi. Nadis[edit] In Yoga, the three main channels of praṇā vāyu are the Ida, the Pingala and the Sushumna.
Ida relates to the right side of the brain, and the left side of the body, terminating at the left nostril and Pingala to the left side of the brain and the right side of the body, terminating at the right nostril. Sushumna connects the base chakra to the crown chakra. Vāyus[edit] Moscow Sri Aurobindo Center of Integral Yoga - Practice - Antahkarana.
Practice Antahkarana Pranas (winds) There are main five pranas in the body: Vyana vayu is the omnipresent wind, Udana vayu is the ascending wind, Prana vayu is the supporting life wind, Samana vayu is the wind similar to the fire, Apana vayu is the falling (descending) wind. Vyana-Vayu (the energy spreaded through the body) It pierces the whole body. It controls voluntary and involuntary muscle motion of the whole body and joints. Vyana-Vayu furthers joining contemplation and practice to any action of the body, work, motions etc. Vyana-Vayu is a pure radiance of the endless consciousness 'Self' — a subject in the highest transcendental state — Samadhi (Turiyatita). A yogin controls the process of the Vyana-Vayu breathing methods (through skin and bones).
Vyana-Vayu and luminescence of aura The thin spiritual energy (Ojas) influences fire (Tejas) manifesting itself from the thin body on a physical level. Udana-Vayu (Energy that goes up) Udana-Vayu activates sense organs. . ~ levitation, ~ jump high. Bindu: Pinnacle of the Three Streams of Yoga Meditation, Vedanta, and Tantra. Piercing the Pearl of Non-Dual Wisdom by Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati This article is available in print: Symbols of the Bindu, Dot, or Point Understanding the end of the journey: Bindu means Point or Dot, is sometimes likened to a Pearl, and is often related to the principle of a Seed. This is not just a poetic choice of words or philosophy.
There literally is a stage of Yoga Meditation in which all experiences collapse, so to speak, into a point from which all experiences arose in the first place. The Bindu is near the end of the subtlest aspect of mind itself, after which one travels beyond or transcends the mind and its contents. Convergence of practices: Awareness of the nature of Bindu helps tremendously in seeing how all of the various practices are complementary, not contradictory, with each, in its own way, leading in the direction of the Bindu.
See also the Advanced section (lower right) of the article: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Meditation 1st Stream: Yoga Summary. Five Prana Vayus. The-Five-Pranas.jpg (JPEG Image, 1044 × 664 pixels) - Scaled (98%) Yoga: Prana Vayu – Five vital forces. (also see Pranayama and Kundalini) The Vayus – Vital winds “Prana” is the one life force that permeates all living things and in fact all matter. This cohesive, animating force is also known as “Maha Prana” or great prana. In the human body, this universal prana has been observed to move in specific ways in specific regions in the body, regulating and controlling physical and mental function. These pancha pranas are categorized as: Prana vayu, Apana vayu, Samana vayu, Udana vayu and Vyana vayu.
The practices of yoga, especially asana and pranayama, optimize the functioning of these vayus as well as bring them under our influence. 1. 2. *Prana vayu and Apana vayu move in complimentary opposite directions during inhale and exhale.As you inhale, Prana vayu moves upward from the navel to the chest, while Apana vayu moves downward from the navel toward the floor of the pelvis. 3. Samana vayu is associated with the element of fire. 4. 5. . - Vyana moves from the core out to the periphery.
Five currents of prana and how they organize your physiology (5 Vayus ) I heard a theory (and I don’t know whether or not it’s true) that western medicine grew out of studying cadavers, while in the eastern world cutting up the dead bodies was frowned upon. As a result, western medicine doesn’t have a concept of vital energy in the body, while eastern physicians had developed sophisticated ideas about the flow of human energy from having to study living-breathing human beings. Whether or not that’s true, one thing is certain – yogis derived their way of understanding the world from personal observation and experimentation, and the flow of prana (vital energy) was of major significance.
According to the yoga tradition there are five major currents of vital force that run through the body and organize it’s physiological functioning. This is known as the Pancha Vayu Model. So whatever physiological issue you are experiencing, it can usually be understood in terms of vayu function: Diarrhea? Constipation? Cold hands and feet? Digestive issues? The 5 Prana Vayus Chart. The Five Vayus • Yoga Basics.