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The Invisible
Channels ( Nadis )
Raja Yoga postulates
that the human body has invisible channels called Nadis. The major
left Nadi is called the Ida and the major right Nadi, the Pingala.
The Sepentine coiled Energy called Kundalini, lies coiled in the
base Root Chakra ( Muladhara ). Through another invisible channel
called the Sushumna, the Kundalini, the Serpent Power, rises in
its ascent towards the Crown Chakra ( Sahasrara ). By Pranayama,
this mighty corresponding microcosmic power of the Cosmic Shakthi,
which is latent in all beings, can be evoked.
A Power to
call Eternity into Time And make the body's joy as vivid as the
soul's ( Aurobindo )
It is this
Power-aspect of the Consciousness which India has represented as
the Divine Mother - Prakriti in Sankhya, Maya in Vedanta & Shakti
in Tantra.
Pranayama
Many think
Pranayama is the control of breath. This is far from true. Pranayama
means to know & control the Vital energy or Prana.
Control of
this mighty energy gives us infinite power. If a man can know &
control Prana, where power is there not in him ?
He can control
everything from microcosm to macrocosm, the whole universe comes
under his control.
The ancient
Seers sought Truth within themselves and asked the perennial question
" What is it, when known, everything is known ? "
Since it is
impossible to study all sciences in a lifetime ( each science being
an infinite ocean) , the ancient Seers were after the mighty Secret,
some special knowledge of Substance, which when known, everything
is known!
All principles
have a Unitary principle as the base. If that is comprehended, then
everything is comprehended. All powers are but manifestations of
that Cosmic Energy, Prana. He who has controlled Prana has controlled
all the minds in the universe; all the bodies of the Universe: for
Prana is the base of all Manifestation !
How to control
Prana is the aim of Pranayama.
The sum total
energy in the Universe is an absolute constant: Universal Energy
can neither be created nor destroyed; hence it is indestructible.
It has two aspects, unmanifest and manifest. This power is Prana
& its control is Pranayama.
The main aim
or Pranayama is to arouse the Kundalini. In ordinary mortals the
base of the Sushumna will not be open. To open it is the function
of Pranayama.
In Sanskrit,
Kundalini means the coiled Energy. The base of all mental impulses
is the Root Chakra and the Consciousness - Force power is this coiled
energy. When we concentrate deeply or meditate intensely, we find
that this place of the Root Chakra is heated up. When we do Raja
Yoga, we experience a subtle warmth. This coiled Serpentine energy
rises via the Sushumna and when it hits the different Chakras, it
creates tremendous reactions.
Practice of
Pranayama - The Three techniques
First technique
We have to
breathe in deeply ( as deeply as possible ) through both the nostrils
and then breathe out slowly. We have to do this initially to prepare
ourselves for the practice of Pranayama. Here the time taken for
exhalation and inhalation should be equal. Normally instead of counting
one, two, three, in the Orient, mantras are chanted. Om is the usual
mantra chanted.
Second Technique
Inhalation
is known as Pooraka
Retention is known as Kumbhaka
Exhalation is known as Rechaka
First inhale,
then retain breath & then exhale.
If inhalation
is 4 seconds, retention of breath should be 16 seconds and exhalation
8 seconds. During this process, one should meditate upon the triangular
Root Chakra ( Muladhara ). Mind should concentrate on this Chakra.
Third Technique
In this technique,
first do Pooraka ( inhalation ). Then immediately do Rechaka ( exhalation
). Then do Retention ( Kumbhaka )
If you do the
first technique, your voice will become beautiful. Your face will
appear peaceful. The more you practise this technique, the more
peace you will get.
Once the Golden
Serpent rises, your thinking will change.Your perceptions will change.
Then you need not rely on books. Then your mind will become your
book. This wonderful phenomenon called the mind is a repository
of endless knowledge. Once the Kundalini via the Sushumna rises,
we reach a transcendental plane. The main aim of the Yogi is to
open the Sushumna. On the path of the Sushmna are the Chakras, dynamoes
of cosmic energy in man.
She sports
as Universal Power in the Macrocosm; and in the microcosm as the
coiled Serpent Power!
Infinite Power
of the Absolute art Thou!
The Cause of the Universe as Maya
The entire Creation is Thy Play
Thy blessing is Bliss Absolute !
The essence
of all sciences art Thou
All women Thy manifestations !
The visible Universe Thou art
And the dormant Serpentine Power !
The Scientific
basis for observing continence
Semen and the
mind are interrelated. That is why Continence has been prescribed
for controlling the mind. Dhanwantri, the Father of Ayurveda told
his disciples that the panacea for all ills is Brahmacharya ( Continence).
The basic principle
of Raja Yoga is that seminal energy has properties of Vidyut ( electricity
) Ojas (light) & Tapas ( heat ). This energy when preserved
is converted to spiritual energy and stored in the brain. This process
is called sublimation. Havelock Ellis, in his Psychology of Sex,
opines that the sublimation of the seminal energy can give skills,
artistic and scientific. He only proved what Raja Yoga proclaimed
thousand of years ago.
This seminal
energy ( Urdhwa Retas ) is stored by the Raja Yogi in the body by
observing Brahmacharya. Raja Yoga advocates the preservation of
the seminal energy for 12 years for the yogic faculties to blossom.
Once sublimated, this energy goes by the name of Ojas ( Effulgence
) and is stored in the brain !
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