Nirvakalpa Samadhi of Kundalini Yoga versus Jnana Yoga

12-09-2001, 11:19 PM

Dea Harsha,

Kundalini Yoga is not different from Jnana Yoga, which is included within the
total practice. There seems to be some fixation on an idea that Kundalini Yoga
is a total focus on triggering the release of energy from the Kandal, between
the navel and the 4th vertebra, and the openning of energy through the Crown
governed by the Sahasrara.

Actually, the Atma nadi between the brain and Hrdayam, is the location of what
yogi's call the vibration of unstruck sound, which is the pulsation of the "I as
I" felt in the Hrdayam, atma nadi and brain area.

The Hrdayam is known as the dissolusionary force, while the Kandal is known as
the generative force and the Sahasrara the involutionary force. These are also
all well known yogic points of meditation, where the Hrdayam is known as the
self-effulgent light which is the source of the light that lights the body and
mind.

In the pactice of Kundalini Yoga, all these chakras, nadis and force centers mae
up the a mechanisms that function within the body field, where the awaking of
the ever present three fold Awareness simply brings about the dissolving of the
distinction between an idea of an individual self - Atman, and the single
all-pervasive Self - Brahman.

When the ancient sages began to teach Kundalini Yoga, it was to develop a means
through which the mind could be purified to the point where the Truth could be
heard, so that the reading of the spiritual texts or being told of the Truth
would have a direct and immediate effect in triggering the inversion of the mind
to the Heart.

In Kundalini Yoga, thevarious aspects of the mechanisms do not operate in a
vacuum. They're all part of one cohesive, in fact, undifferentiated whole,
which is why this Kundalini Yoga is known as the Totality of Being. This yoga
has the sole purpose to bring up the overall energy in the system to the point
where the vibratory energy levels related to the images apearing and held in the
subconscious begin to balance and rise to the level of pure intuition from which
the thoughts, sensations and images eminate, which is the Intelligence shining
through the reflected consciouness of the mind.

This Intelligence (buddhi), then pulls the sense of "I" that permeates the mind
into Itself, dissolving the sense of separateness that holds the mind, just like
the Singularity of a Black Hole pulls in the objects swirling around it
releasing vast amounts of light in the process. - "...and the whole body is
filled with light." (Luke 11:34)

Kundalini is just another word meaning undifferentiated Awareness. The
perspective of the Kundalini Yoga begins with the recognition of this Truth, and
then develops those practices that bring about the isolation of the seer and
dissolusion of the illusion held in the sub-conscient of Atman and Brahman being
2.

I know of one Master of Kundalini Yoga, who has been teaching the mantra "God
and me, me and God are One," where God is simply "I as I" and has been repeating
"Always abide in the non-dual," for over 30 years, as the basis for all
practice. To him Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga have never been separate
approaches, rather always taught from ancient times as eminating from within the
Total.

A lot of wasted time is spent on making distinctions and catagorizations, which
really amount to arguements as to why the hands are better than the feet, or why
the eyes are better than the ears or why nose is better than the mouth and so
on, with very few actually spending there precious time as humans actually
touching, walking, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and so on as a total man
or woman, when the Total has been given to use, as always undifferentiated from
the One.

These ancient Sages have always taught that while the veiling aspect of Maya has
hidden the shining forth of the Self, the diversity aspect of Maya can be
directly utilized to realize the Truth. This diversity aspect is Kundalini
Yoga, which involves the Totality of Being.

"To live in the Great Way is neither easy nor difficult, but those with limited
views are fearful and irresolute" - exerpts from Faith Mind of the Third Zen
Patriarch

Pieter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 24
Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2001 16:08:50 -0500
From: "Harsha"
Subject: Mie/Smadhi/ Drugs/Was Reincarnation

Dearest brother Michael,

I have heard that some people like Ramdas (Timothy Leary?) who experimented with
mind altering drugs and experienced different states became interested in the
nature of consciousness and spirituality. There are such examples. However, what
you say is correct. A person who already knows the deepest truth will not be
attracted to drugs and alcohol to change his state of awareness, as there would
be nothing to change. If we go one step further Mike, a Self-Realized person may
even lose interest in various methods and techniques of meditation and yoga
(although losing of such interest is not necessary at all).

It is an esoteric, rarely known, but an experiential truth that "Nirvikalpa
Samadhi" of Raja Yoga (including Kundalini and Kriya Yogas) has a different
meaning than that of Nirvikalpa Samadhi in Jnana Yoga. The first takes place
with the merging of Shakti at the Sahasarara. The second takes places when the
Shakti after having first reached the Sahasarara makes its way down a frontal
path called Amrita Nadi and merges into the Spiritual Heart. In Nirvikalpa
Samadhi, the breath is literally taken or sucked away as the lungs become
completely empty and the heart may stop temporarily. However, even in Savikalpa
Samadhi the breath appears to stop but actually goes on at a subtle level and
the heart continues to beat. Kevala Kumbhaka (restraint of breath) can also be
produced through practice of higher level pranayama.

The third Nirvikalpa is beyond description and is called Sahaj. The natural
state. Here, nothing rises, sets, or merges.

Love to all
Harsha

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

12-10-2001, 02:57 AM

Dear Pieter,

Thanks for your note and the explanation. I find your insights to be very
meaningful. What I write is from my experience and the teachings of Ramana
Maharshi. Sri Ramana has commented and spoken clearly on such terms as the
Heart, Jnana, Self, Kundalini, Nirvikalpa, etc. Sri Ramana's comments and
explanations make sense to me in light of my own experiences so that I feel
comfortable using the Sage's teachings as a vehicle for my expressions. As a
devotee of the Sage of Arunachala, I point to Him as the final authority.

My understanding of Sri Ramana's teachings is at an intuitive level. The
Sage's teaching is simple which suits me as I am a simple person. One time,
I was going for a walk with another professor (an Indian and a friend
familiar with the teachings of many saints). My friend said that Sri Ramana
once said such and such about siddhas. I told him politely that Sri Ramana
could never have made such a statement. My friend was surprised and perhaps
a bit annoyed and asked whether I was familiar with all the literature about
Sri Ramana. I answered that I was familiar only with a little bit but knew
the essence of Sri Ramana's teachings. I asked my friend whether he could
point me to the source where Sri Ramana had said such and such, etc. My
friend could not do so.

We use the terms Jnana Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Bhakti Yoga etc., for the sake
of convenience. Indeed such distinctions from one perspective are not
meaningful and I am glad that you point that out. Each person's path is
unique. The poets have written beautifully that just like the bird flying
through air leaves no mark, the Sage's path to the Self cannot be traced.

Each must see with their own Eye behind the eye (I) by whatever means is
useful or makes sense to them.

Love to all
Harsha

-----Original Message-----
From: Pieter Schoonheim Samara [mailto:pietersa@...]
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2001 4:19 AM
To: HarshaSatsangh (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com
Subject: [HarshaSatsangh] Nirvakalpa Samadhi of Kundalini Yoga versus
Jnana Yoga

Dea Harsha,

Kundalini Yoga is not different from Jnana Yoga, which is included within
the total practice. There seems to be some fixation on an idea that
Kundalini Yoga is a total focus on triggering the release of energy from the
Kandal, between the navel and the 4th vertebra, and the openning of energy
through the Crown governed by the Sahasrara.

Actually, the Atma nadi between the brain and Hrdayam, is the location of
what yogi's call the vibration of unstruck sound, which is the pulsation of
the "I as I" felt in the Hrdayam, atma nadi and brain area.

The Hrdayam is known as the dissolusionary force, while the Kandal is known
as the generative force and the Sahasrara the involutionary force. These
are also all well known yogic points of meditation, where the Hrdayam is
known as the self-effulgent light which is the source of the light that
lights the body and mind.

In the pactice of Kundalini Yoga, all these chakras, nadis and force centers
mae up the a mechanisms that function within the body field, where the
awaking of the ever present three fold Awareness simply brings about the
dissolving of the distinction between an idea of an individual self - Atman,
and the single all-pervasive Self - Brahman.

When the ancient sages began to teach Kundalini Yoga, it was to develop a
means through which the mind could be purified to the point where the Truth
could be heard, so that the reading of the spiritual texts or being told of
the Truth would have a direct and immediate effect in triggering the
inversion of the mind to the Heart.

In Kundalini Yoga, thevarious aspects of the mechanisms do not operate in a
vacuum. They're all part of one cohesive, in fact, undifferentiated whole,
which is why this Kundalini Yoga is known as the Totality of Being. This
yoga has the sole purpose to bring up the overall energy in the system to
the point where the vibratory energy levels related to the images apearing
and held in the subconscious begin to balance and rise to the level of pure
intuition from which the thoughts, sensations and images eminate, which is
the Intelligence shining through the reflected consciouness of the mind.

This Intelligence (buddhi), then pulls the sense of "I" that permeates the
mind into Itself, dissolving the sense of separateness that holds the mind,
just like the Singularity of a Black Hole pulls in the objects swirling
around it releasing vast amounts of light in the process. - "...and the
whole body is filled with light." (Luke 11:34)

Kundalini is just another word meaning undifferentiated Awareness. The
perspective of the Kundalini Yoga begins with the recognition of this Truth,
and then develops those practices that bring about the isolation of the seer
and dissolusion of the illusion held in the sub-conscient of Atman and
Brahman being 2.

I know of one Master of Kundalini Yoga, who has been teaching the mantra
"God and me, me and God are One," where God is simply "I as I" and has been
repeating "Always abide in the non-dual," for over 30 years, as the basis
for all practice. To him Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga have never been
separate approaches, rather always taught from ancient times as eminating
from within the Total.

A lot of wasted time is spent on making distinctions and catagorizations,
which really amount to arguements as to why the hands are better than the
feet, or why the eyes are better than the ears or why nose is better than
the mouth and so on, with very few actually spending there precious time as
humans actually touching, walking, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and so
on as a total man or woman, when the Total has been given to use, as always
undifferentiated from the One.

These ancient Sages have always taught that while the veiling aspect of Maya
has hidden the shining forth of the Self, the diversity aspect of Maya can
be directly utilized to realize the Truth. This diversity aspect is
Kundalini Yoga, which involves the Totality of Being.

"To live in the Great Way is neither easy nor difficult, but those with
limited views are fearful and irresolute" - exerpts from Faith Mind of the
Third Zen Patriarch

Pieter

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

Message: 24
Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2001 16:08:50 -0500
From: "Harsha"
Subject: Mie/Smadhi/ Drugs/Was Reincarnation

Dearest brother Michael,

I have heard that some people like Ramdas (Timothy Leary?) who experimented
with mind altering drugs and experienced different states became interested
in the nature of consciousness and spirituality. There are such examples.
However, what you say is correct. A person who already knows the deepest
truth will not be attracted to drugs and alcohol to change his state of
awareness, as there would be nothing to change. If we go one step further
Mike, a Self-Realized person may even lose interest in various methods and
techniques of meditation and yoga (although losing of such interest is not
necessary at all).

It is an esoteric, rarely known, but an experiential truth that "Nirvikalpa
Samadhi" of Raja Yoga (including Kundalini and Kriya Yogas) has a different
meaning than that of Nirvikalpa Samadhi in Jnana Yoga. The first takes place
with the merging of Shakti at the Sahasarara. The second takes places when
the Shakti after having first reached the Sahasarara makes its way down a
frontal path called Amrita Nadi and merges into the Spiritual Heart. In
Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the breath is literally taken or sucked away as the
lungs become completely empty and the heart may stop temporarily. However,
even in Savikalpa Samadhi the breath appears to stop but actually goes on at
a subtle level and the heart continues to beat. Kevala Kumbhaka (restraint
of breath) can also be produced through practice of higher level pranayama.

The third Nirvikalpa is beyond description and is called Sahaj. The natural
state. Here, nothing rises, sets, or merges.

Love to all
Harsha

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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