Shankprakshalana - Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School
Shankprakshalana - Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School
Shankprakshalana - Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School
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Recently I came<br />
across the<br />
viewpoint:“<br />
“You must<br />
ensure that yoga<br />
doesn’t become<br />
egotistical, you<br />
must also think<br />
of world peace”.<br />
It made me<br />
think of when<br />
you do something<br />
for yourself,<br />
<strong>and</strong> when<br />
do you do<br />
something for<br />
others? And<br />
how does this<br />
relate to peace<br />
on earth?“<br />
I remember<br />
one summer<br />
evening in<br />
Sweden, at Håå Course Center. The<br />
participants of a new course had just<br />
arrived. We sat in the yoga room <strong>and</strong><br />
everybody presented themselves. I<br />
had spent many summers at the<br />
course center, as I was responsible<br />
for the ecological farming, <strong>and</strong> I<br />
recognised a middle aged man from<br />
Norway. He had regularly attended<br />
courses for the last few years, <strong>and</strong><br />
when it came to his turn for presenting<br />
himself, he related cheerfully:<br />
“Actually, I couldn’t afford to<br />
come on a course this year, but when<br />
I told my friends, they were alarmed.<br />
They began to collect money for me,<br />
so that I could come after all”.<br />
2<br />
Like circles on the water<br />
Those of us who knew him laughed.<br />
He was usually a little hotheaded<br />
when he arrived, <strong>and</strong> discernibly<br />
more calm <strong>and</strong> well-balanced when<br />
he went home two weeks later.<br />
Obviously his family <strong>and</strong> friends<br />
agreed that this way they also benefited<br />
a great deal from the course.“<br />
In another instance, I taught at the<br />
school in Copenhagen, <strong>and</strong> after a<br />
class, a woman came up to me <strong>and</strong><br />
said: “My daughter appreciates that I<br />
do yoga. - She says that I no longer<br />
scold her as much”.“<br />
This girl’s experience with her<br />
mother is in concord with one of the<br />
approaches of<br />
resolving conflicts,<br />
which was<br />
recently drawn<br />
up by the<br />
Conflict<br />
Resolution Network<br />
in Sydney,<br />
Australia, with a<br />
grant from the<br />
UN. It states<br />
that:<br />
“For things to<br />
change, I must<br />
change”.<br />
That things are<br />
related <strong>and</strong> are<br />
part of a whole,<br />
is also expressed<br />
in WHO’s new<br />
definition of<br />
health, which<br />
states:<br />
“Health is a state of complete<br />
physical, mental <strong>and</strong> social wellbeing<br />
<strong>and</strong> not merely the absence of<br />
disease or infirmity”.<br />
As regard to world peace, it is<br />
commendable to work in different<br />
ways to create tolerance <strong>and</strong> peace<br />
between people <strong>and</strong> nations. In my<br />
experience with yoga, I can see that<br />
tranquillity <strong>and</strong> well-being also comes<br />
from within naturally, <strong>and</strong> spreads as<br />
good humour <strong>and</strong> inspiration. If I am<br />
in harmony with my self, it is easier<br />
to be the same with the surroundings,<br />
<strong>and</strong> I wonder - isn’t it here that world<br />
peace starts.<br />
Mira q
Contents<br />
Intestinal Cleansing - <strong>Shankprakshalana</strong>: 4<br />
A cleansing process that sharpens the senses. Four<br />
simple exercises are practised <strong>and</strong> the entire<br />
intestinal tract is rinsed with warm salt water.<br />
Harmony between the experiencer <strong>and</strong> the<br />
experienced 10<br />
An article by Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a about the Tantric<br />
meditation Antar Mauna (Inner Silence) - <strong>and</strong> its<br />
ancestors <strong>and</strong> cousins.<br />
A pearl of a meditation - the most basic <strong>and</strong><br />
advanced at the same time. It opens with methods<br />
that make you independent in relation to influences<br />
- inner as well as outer.<br />
Håå Course Center in southern Sweden 20<br />
“more awake <strong>and</strong> inspired in daily life...” Rikke<br />
<strong>and</strong> Dennis recount what a stay in Håå has meant<br />
for their daily life. Overview of the courses in 1996-<br />
97.<br />
The Lotus pose - a classical meditation pose 22<br />
Why is this pose the most important yoga exercise?<br />
Read why, <strong>and</strong> see what medical research has to<br />
say. Archaeologists also verify this, through their<br />
discovery of various yoga pose sculptures<br />
throughout the world.<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong>, Tantra <strong>and</strong> <strong>Meditation</strong> in Daily Life 25<br />
Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a's book on yoga from a yogi's<br />
point of view.<br />
Australian tour with Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a 25<br />
<strong>and</strong> Sita in Queensl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> New South Wales<br />
The <strong>Yoga</strong> shop 26<br />
Neti pots, tapes, books...<br />
Silver Jubilee<br />
It is not an everyday occurrence that a yoga school celebrates its silver<br />
jubilee. Over the years we have seen other schools come <strong>and</strong> go,<br />
collapsing beneath their own success, or altogether failing to take<br />
off. We therefore take the opportunity to congratulate the founder,<br />
Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a, under whose guidance the school has blossomed<br />
over the years to become one of the leading lights of yoga in Europe.<br />
With Bindu, we intend to exp<strong>and</strong> the horizons of yoga <strong>and</strong> to<br />
hopefully shatter some myths <strong>and</strong> ideals concerning yoga into the<br />
bargain.<br />
This September <strong>and</strong> October Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a<br />
will be holding courses in Queensl<strong>and</strong>, Australia <strong>and</strong><br />
taking part in a yoga congress in Sydney. Following<br />
this, in November he will be teaching at the new<br />
University of <strong>Yoga</strong> in Bihar, India.<br />
3
Intestinal cleansing - <strong>Shankprakshalana</strong><br />
by Shanti<br />
Many years ago I met a friend on the<br />
street who cheerfully told me of a<br />
girl he had just met. Then he said<br />
something that caused me to prick<br />
up my ears: “she rinses her intestines<br />
with salt water!” I had never heard<br />
the like before. I was both curious<br />
<strong>and</strong> sceptical at the same time!<br />
Katrin's Christmas present...<br />
A woman wrote to me five months after<br />
her first intestinal cleansing: “As I’m<br />
sure you remember, I was allergic to<br />
milk <strong>and</strong> sugar, when I visited you in<br />
November. I say was, as just before<br />
Christmas I received the best Christmas<br />
present ever. I cautiously tried to<br />
eat normally, <strong>and</strong> it worked! Since<br />
then I haven’t had any problems at<br />
all. A very happy Katrin.”<br />
Hatha <strong>Yoga</strong><br />
The yoga tradition is very rich,<br />
containing a comprehensive knowledge<br />
of the body <strong>and</strong> mind. It is a<br />
science, whose methods are tried <strong>and</strong><br />
tested <strong>and</strong> refined over thous<strong>and</strong>s<br />
of years. Everybody can use yoga,<br />
regardless of what you believe in<br />
or who you are. The methods work<br />
precisely <strong>and</strong> without side effects.<br />
They give you access to your own<br />
resources.<br />
Hatha <strong>Yoga</strong> is the area of the yoga<br />
tradition that includes the physical<br />
cleansing processes which remove<br />
toxins <strong>and</strong> waste products <strong>and</strong> ease<br />
the coarser tensions of the body. The<br />
state of health can be improved with<br />
Hatha <strong>Yoga</strong>. Stomach problems <strong>and</strong><br />
4<br />
indigestion, psycho-somatic illnesses<br />
such as diabetes, asthma <strong>and</strong> migraine<br />
can be relieved, even cured, by yoga.<br />
A young man with diabetes stayed at<br />
Håå Course Center on a longer course.<br />
His pancreas did not produce any insulin<br />
at all when he arrived, <strong>and</strong> he had to<br />
take insulin several times a day. After<br />
just a couple of days of yoga training,<br />
his insulin requirement decreased. We<br />
teachers had prepared him for the possibility<br />
of change after the intestinal<br />
cleansing, but we did not expect such a<br />
quick response. His<br />
pancreas began to work, <strong>and</strong> towards<br />
the end of the course he needed very<br />
little supplementary insulin.<br />
The cleansing processes of<br />
Hatha <strong>Yoga</strong> are divided into six main<br />
groups: Shat Karma. Some of the<br />
simpler methods are, for example,<br />
brushing the teeth <strong>and</strong> “cleaning the<br />
scalp.” In one of the old scriptures,<br />
Gher<strong>and</strong>a Samhita, they are described<br />
alongside other more comprehensive<br />
methods.<br />
There is, for instance, nose cleansing,<br />
Neti, where lukewarm salt water is<br />
poured through the nose (read Bindu<br />
no. 3) <strong>and</strong> stomach cleansing, Kunjal<br />
Kriya, where salt water is drunk<br />
<strong>and</strong> vomited up again. And stomach<br />
exercises such as Agnisar <strong>and</strong> Nauli,<br />
where the muscles of the abdomen<br />
are rotated, massaging the intestines<br />
<strong>and</strong> kindling the digestion. The breathing<br />
exercise Kapalabhati cleanses the<br />
lungs. It is also said to “purify the frontal<br />
region of the brain” (partly by oxidising<br />
the blood). Tratak, where you<br />
concentrate on the flame of a c<strong>and</strong>le,<br />
gives a better balance in the brain<br />
<strong>and</strong> strengthens <strong>and</strong> cleanses the eyes.<br />
Tratak is also a concentration technique.<br />
And finally there is <strong>Shankprakshalana</strong>,<br />
intestinal cleansing:<br />
<strong>Shankprakshalana</strong><br />
Here we have the most comprehensive<br />
cleansing process, which cleans all<br />
the way from the mouth to the anus.<br />
In Sanskrit, the approximately seven<br />
meter long folded intestine is called a<br />
conch shell (Shankha). “Prakshalana”<br />
means to wash thoroughly.<br />
In the intestines “residue” accumulates,<br />
waste products remain sitting<br />
in the small folds of the intestines,<br />
around which tensions arise, binding<br />
energy <strong>and</strong> affecting one's well-being.<br />
When the intestines are rinsed, the residue<br />
<strong>and</strong> tensions are removed.<br />
The skin becomes soft <strong>and</strong> various<br />
kinds of skin allergies <strong>and</strong> eczema<br />
are relieved, <strong>and</strong> can even disappear<br />
completely. Pallid skin becomes purer<br />
<strong>and</strong> clearer.<br />
The senses are sharpened to such a<br />
degree that they feel as though they<br />
were “muffled”, <strong>and</strong> have now been<br />
unwrapped. I will never forget the taste<br />
of that boiled carrot I ate after my first<br />
intestinal cleansing. Its taste was more<br />
carrot-like than I had ever previously<br />
experienced.<br />
The effects, however, are not only<br />
physical, such as an improvement in<br />
taste <strong>and</strong> sight. When the coarse tensions<br />
are removed from the stomach <strong>and</strong><br />
abdomen, you have the released energy<br />
at your disposal, <strong>and</strong> the body feels<br />
light <strong>and</strong> healthy. It becomes easier to<br />
calm down, something that facilitates<br />
the learning of meditation. In the old<br />
source material, the body is described<br />
as “radiant” after intestinal cleansing.
Preparation<br />
Even though the intestinal cleansing<br />
is simple to perform, it nevertheless<br />
dem<strong>and</strong>s guidance by a teacher with<br />
personal experience in it, <strong>and</strong> therefore<br />
should not be done alone the first times.<br />
It is necessary to set aside a whole<br />
day when you decide to do the intestinal<br />
cleansing. The evening meal the<br />
day before should also be skipped, but<br />
you can drink as much water or herbal<br />
tea as you like, but not dairy products.<br />
The water <strong>and</strong> salt<br />
The water for the intestinal cleansing<br />
must be physiological salt water, the<br />
same salt concentration as the body’s<br />
own, 0.9%. This allows the water to<br />
leave the stomach more quickly, whilst<br />
maintaining the same osmotic pressure<br />
upon both sides of the intestinal wall.<br />
This means that the body neither<br />
absorbs nor yields salt <strong>and</strong> water in<br />
significant quantities. Ordinary salt is<br />
used. We have ascertained that some<br />
people are allergic to sea salt. Maybe<br />
this is because our oceans are presently<br />
polluted, or due to natural substances<br />
such as allergy provoking pollen <strong>and</strong><br />
spores. We therefore suggest using<br />
ordinary salt from deep salt mines.<br />
The ease with which the water<br />
passes through the intestines is also<br />
dependent on the temperature of the<br />
water. It is perfect when it is as warm<br />
as soup.<br />
The procedure<br />
Intestinal cleansing is done by drinking<br />
a glass of salt water <strong>and</strong> performing<br />
four simple exercises that help the<br />
water to pass through the intestines.<br />
Afterwards, you again drink a glass<br />
of salt water, do the exercises <strong>and</strong><br />
continue like this. After the sixth glass,<br />
you begin to go to the toilet following<br />
the exercises. Gradually, as you drink<br />
more <strong>and</strong> more glasses <strong>and</strong> do the<br />
exercises, the water that is evacuated<br />
becomes lighter <strong>and</strong> contains fewer<br />
<strong>and</strong> fewer particles. Finally, it is as<br />
clear as the water you drink, <strong>and</strong><br />
completely free from particles. The<br />
intestinal cleansing itself is now over.<br />
Altogether, about sixteen large glasses<br />
of salt water are drunk.<br />
Kunjal Kriya<br />
- stomach cleansing<br />
Now the stomach must be cleansed.<br />
The water for the stomach cleansing<br />
is also physiological, but only luke<br />
warm. This technique is called Kunjal<br />
Kriya, not to be confused with<br />
“Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong>”, which is an advanced<br />
meditation technique.<br />
In Sanskrit, Kunjal means “to<br />
throw up water”, <strong>and</strong> Kriya “process”.<br />
1/ The first exercise is called Tiryaka Tadasana in<br />
Sanskrit. We call it “the tree in the wind”. It influences<br />
the upper part of the intestinal tract.<br />
St<strong>and</strong> with the legs apart, fold the h<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> turn the<br />
palms outwards. Stretch the arms over the head, look up<br />
at the h<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> sway from side to side, eight times to<br />
each side.<br />
2/ The second exercise is Kati Chakrasana, “the waist<br />
twist”. The feet are slightly apart, arms hang loose by<br />
the sides of the body. Swing the body <strong>and</strong> head so<br />
that you look far back over the shoulder, in a rotating<br />
movement.<br />
This movement causes the arms to swing loose<br />
horizontally outwards from the body. This exercise is<br />
also done eight times to each side. The effect here is mostly at the middle of the stomach.<br />
6
You drink until the stomach is<br />
full; the water has a tendency to<br />
come up again by itself. Otherwise<br />
you can stick a couple of fingers<br />
down your throat <strong>and</strong> trigger the<br />
vomiting reflex, so that the water<br />
comes up.<br />
Stomach cleansing is a simple <strong>and</strong><br />
quick process followed by a feeling<br />
of well-being <strong>and</strong> deep relaxation.<br />
If a more thorough acquaintance<br />
with the method is desired, then it<br />
can be done every morning on an<br />
empty stomach, for up to forty days.<br />
No special diet is required, but<br />
wait at least an hour before you<br />
eat anything.<br />
Neti - nose cleansing<br />
The nose is cleansed afterwards.<br />
It is also done with luke warm,<br />
physiological salt water. A neti pot<br />
is filled with luke warm salt water.<br />
The spout is placed into one nostril,<br />
so that it sits tight. The head is held<br />
at an angle so that the water runs by<br />
itself in through one nostril <strong>and</strong> out<br />
of the other.<br />
Rest <strong>and</strong> food<br />
When you have cleansed <strong>and</strong> dried<br />
the nose, again done the exercises,<br />
been to the toilet, <strong>and</strong> gotten the final<br />
water out, then lie down <strong>and</strong> rest for<br />
an hour. You don’t sleep but just lie <strong>and</strong><br />
relax, <strong>and</strong> maybe listen to some pleasant<br />
music.<br />
The rest following the intestinal<br />
cleansing is described in this way<br />
in Yogic Management of Asthma <strong>and</strong><br />
Diabetes, by Dr. Swami Shankaradevan<strong>and</strong>a<br />
Saraswati:<br />
“This is the only time, where the<br />
digestion gets a total rest, as it is only<br />
when the stomach is completely empty,<br />
that the activity of the digestive nerve<br />
impulses <strong>and</strong> gl<strong>and</strong>s stops.”<br />
When you’ve finished resting, then<br />
you eat a special meal, consisting of<br />
rice, red lentils <strong>and</strong> ghee. This meal<br />
helps the digestive process start again<br />
in a gentle <strong>and</strong> balanced way.<br />
Then take it easy for the rest of the<br />
day. Of course you can take a walk<br />
in the fresh air, but don’t do anything<br />
strenuous.<br />
The diet<br />
A diet is observed after the intestinal<br />
cleansing, involving mild <strong>and</strong> easy<br />
digestible food, such as boiled grains<br />
(rice, pasta without egg, etc.), boiled<br />
vegetables <strong>and</strong> legumes, for instance<br />
beans or lentils. This gives the body<br />
time to stabilise the effect of the<br />
intestinal cleansing.<br />
The first ten days the following<br />
things are to be refrained from:<br />
3/ The third exercise is called Tiryaka Bhujangasana,<br />
which can be translated as “the<br />
twisted cobra”. First lie on the floor with the<br />
legs wide apart; then raise the body up on<br />
straight arms <strong>and</strong> twist the head <strong>and</strong> torso so<br />
that you can look over the right shoulder <strong>and</strong><br />
see down towards the left heel. Repeat to the<br />
other side. Here it is the lower part of the<br />
intestines that are stimulated. The exercise is<br />
repeated eight times relaxedly to each side.<br />
4/ The fourth exercise, Uddarakarshanasana, translates as “abdominal massage.” Sit in<br />
a squatting position with the h<strong>and</strong>s placed upon the knees. Hold the upper body <strong>and</strong> head<br />
erect. Lower the right knee to the left foot, whilst pressing the left leg against the body<br />
so that it exerts a pressure against the stomach, all the way down to the groin. Repeat<br />
to the other side. This exercise massages the lowest part of the intestines. Do it eight<br />
times to each side.<br />
7
Coffee, tea, sugar, honey, chocolate,<br />
all varieties of sweets, tobacco, alcohol<br />
<strong>and</strong> also medicine that is not absolutely<br />
necessary. Vegetables such as onions<br />
<strong>and</strong> leeks, raw vegetables <strong>and</strong> spices<br />
are also to be avoided, as well as all<br />
forms of fruit <strong>and</strong> dairy produce. Meat,<br />
fish <strong>and</strong> eggs are not eaten for forty<br />
days.<br />
If you are in doubt as to what you<br />
can eat during the diet period, then<br />
do a little experiment <strong>and</strong> ask yourself<br />
whether you would give it to a baby.<br />
If you wouldn’t, then don’t eat it until<br />
after the diet.<br />
A diet of boiled vegetables <strong>and</strong><br />
grains may sound a little bit boring<br />
to some, but you can make interesting<br />
food by just using your imagination.<br />
Already after a couple of days, you can<br />
begin to season the food with a tiny bit<br />
of herbs. All seasonings can be used<br />
in limited quantities, as your taste buds<br />
have been awoken from a slumber.<br />
Even though ecological vegetables<br />
are a little dearer than others, the<br />
investment is worthwhile. This<br />
In hospitals in the East <strong>and</strong> West<br />
“<strong>Yoga</strong> hospitals” can be found in many places in India, where people with various psychosomatic illnesses, such as<br />
diabetes <strong>and</strong> asthma, are treated. Common to them all is that medicine is not used in the treatment; it consists entirely<br />
of yoga techniques.<br />
At The Yogic Treatment-cum-Research Center in Jaipur, founded by Swami An<strong>and</strong>an<strong>and</strong>a, where he collaborated<br />
with a team of doctors, the treatment consists of intestinal cleansing. It is followed up by a few yoga programmes <strong>and</strong><br />
supplemented with the small intestinal cleansing, which can be done as often as necessary with regard to the patients<br />
needs. With these simple forms of treatment, diabetic <strong>and</strong> asthma patients experience a noticeable improvement, if not<br />
full recovery.<br />
A special surgeon at the university clinic in Cologne, Germany, heard about the intestinal cleansing from a colleague<br />
who had tried it on one of our courses. He became so interested in trying the technique on his patients prior to their<br />
operations, that he invited one of our yoga teachers to Cologne. Normally the doctors would use a method where the<br />
patient would sit on a special chair with a hole in the seat, <strong>and</strong> put a stomach pump in them. In this way the intestines<br />
were rinsed with a saline solution. It is a harsh treatment to say the least. The first one to do the intestinal cleansing was<br />
a 75 year old woman. The doctor was very surprised to find how easy, with the help of the exercises, the water passed<br />
through her system. He was even more surprised the following day during the operation, when he discovered that her<br />
entire alimentary canal was completely clean - no particles could be found even in the folds of the intestines.<br />
8
especially concerns base vegetables<br />
such as potatoes, carrots <strong>and</strong> parsnips.<br />
At our city schools, we end the<br />
intestinal cleansing by going through<br />
the diet. On the courses at Håå it is<br />
easy as the food is served to you.<br />
When you exp<strong>and</strong> on your menu<br />
after the diet period, bear in mind the<br />
body’s increased sensitivity which perhaps<br />
means that you don’t need to eat<br />
the same as before. Be attentive to<br />
the body’s signals. After the intestinal<br />
cleansing it is easier than at other times<br />
to change one's eating habits. It can also<br />
be a good time to stop smoking as many<br />
lose the desire following the process.<br />
The small intestinal cleansing<br />
There is also a shorter version called<br />
Laghoo <strong>Shankprakshalana</strong>. It is used<br />
by people undergoing special<br />
treatment, such as diabetics. They do<br />
it every day for forty days following<br />
the larger one.<br />
It is simpler because there is no<br />
diet to observe afterwards, <strong>and</strong> only six<br />
to eight glasses are drunk. The same<br />
exercises are done after every other<br />
glass.<br />
The little intestinal cleansing is<br />
done in the morning on an empty<br />
stomach. In contrast to the full<br />
intestinal cleansing, which is normally<br />
done only once or twice a year, the<br />
small one can be done as often as<br />
necessary.q<br />
Intestinal cleansing <strong>and</strong> gall stone treatment<br />
When I had gall stone pains, I went<br />
to the hospital, to confirm that it was<br />
gall stones. I got an appointment for<br />
ultra-sound scanning, <strong>and</strong> later I should<br />
arrange a date for an operation. I said<br />
that I would only be operated on if<br />
it was absolutely necessary, <strong>and</strong> that<br />
I would first try an old-fashioned oil<br />
therapy to get the stones out.<br />
At home in the yoga school I did the<br />
intestinal cleansing first. It took a little<br />
longer than usual, as I couldn’t do the<br />
exercises thoroughly due to the pain,<br />
which felt as if there was a knife<br />
just below the rib-cage on the right<br />
side. After the intestinal cleansing I<br />
rested for an hour as usual, <strong>and</strong> then -<br />
instead of the food - I drank a litre of<br />
olive oil. I had a slice of orange ready,<br />
so that after every swallow I chewed<br />
on the orange before I could taste the<br />
oil. I managed to drink the oil by thinking<br />
about the operation I was avoiding<br />
<strong>and</strong> the two week stay in the hospital<br />
afterwards. Since then I have heard<br />
from others, that it is sufficient with<br />
two decilitres of oil, which works just<br />
as well.<br />
The next couple of hours I needed<br />
to rest again, so that the oil could<br />
work in peace. I lay on my right side<br />
<strong>and</strong> waited for the gall stones to come<br />
out. I went to the toilet a few times,<br />
but only oil <strong>and</strong> slime came out. At<br />
one point I gave up waiting, <strong>and</strong> ate<br />
the food <strong>and</strong> took it easy the rest of<br />
the day.<br />
The next morning, when I went to<br />
the toilet, a large green gall stone as big<br />
as the nail on my thumb came out, <strong>and</strong><br />
the pain was gone!<br />
There was still a heavy sensation<br />
around the gall bladder, so I repeated<br />
the same process again a week later -<br />
intestinal cleansing, rest, this time only<br />
half a litre of oil, then again rest <strong>and</strong><br />
food. The next morning I was prepared<br />
<strong>and</strong> caught over thirty smaller gall<br />
stones in a sieve.<br />
A few days later I did the treatment<br />
for the third time. This resulted in more<br />
than half a h<strong>and</strong>ful of gall stones the<br />
size of grains of s<strong>and</strong> - <strong>and</strong> the last<br />
heavy sensation around the gall bladder<br />
was gone.<br />
The time had come for a close<br />
examination before the operation. I<br />
took the small grass green stones in a<br />
glass to the hospital <strong>and</strong> told them what<br />
I had done <strong>and</strong> that there was no<br />
longer any pain. The scan showed that<br />
there were no more stones left. The<br />
doctor’s conclusion was, “you can’t just<br />
go home <strong>and</strong> remove the gall stones<br />
yourself, so there has probably been<br />
a misdiagnosis from the start.” The<br />
slightly elder doctor, who<br />
performed the ultra-sound<br />
examination said to me in all<br />
confidence that research was being carried<br />
out on the effect of fatty acids on<br />
gall stones.<br />
This all happened thirteen years ago,<br />
<strong>and</strong> I haven’t had any more stones<br />
since. I have done the treatment quite<br />
a few times just to be on the safe<br />
side, but only green liquid from the<br />
gall bladder comes out. Naturally, I<br />
do yoga exercises that keep the gall<br />
bladder <strong>and</strong> the other digestive organs<br />
in form. Other teachers <strong>and</strong> students<br />
at our schools, who have tried the<br />
treatment, have had equally good<br />
results from it. Some have waited with<br />
the food, <strong>and</strong> have instead washed<br />
the stones out with the help of the<br />
small intestinal cleansing, where only<br />
six glasses of salt water are drunk.<br />
A similar oil therapy is used<br />
by some health farms <strong>and</strong> natural<br />
doctors. My late gr<strong>and</strong>mother<br />
removed her gall stones by drinking<br />
double cream <strong>and</strong> melted butter.<br />
If you have a problem with the gall<br />
bladder yourself, you can contact an<br />
experienced yoga teacher at one of<br />
our schools.<br />
Laxmiq<br />
9
Harmony between the experiencer <strong>and</strong> the<br />
experienced<br />
On the Tantric meditation Antar Mauna (Inner Silence),<br />
its ancestors <strong>and</strong> cousins<br />
by Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a<br />
“When a mood against someone<br />
or for someone arises, do not place<br />
it on the person in question, but<br />
remain centered.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong> <strong>and</strong> Tantra<br />
The purpose of yoga is to prepare for<br />
meditation. <strong>Yoga</strong> has no purpose other<br />
than enabling one to achieve the<br />
meditative state. This occurs through<br />
cleansing processes, such as nose<br />
cleansing <strong>and</strong> intestinal cleansing<br />
(see page 4); by yoga postures; breathing<br />
exercises; by mudra <strong>and</strong> b<strong>and</strong>ha<br />
(“attitudes <strong>and</strong> locks”), which influence<br />
the body’s energy field <strong>and</strong> thus the<br />
general attitude to yourself <strong>and</strong> your<br />
surroundings, just as they contribute to<br />
the awakening of the body’s chakra<br />
(the psychic centers); <strong>and</strong> finally, by<br />
pratyahara, where you learn to free<br />
yourself from outer influences, as well<br />
as influences of a physical, emotional<br />
or psychic nature.<br />
Through these methods the “side<br />
effects” of yoga come into play,<br />
presenting clarity, good health,<br />
increased energy, removing depression<br />
<strong>and</strong> whatever else might be st<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
in the way of you experiencing the<br />
meditative state <strong>and</strong> being able to<br />
remain in it. If the body is suffering<br />
from illness <strong>and</strong> pain, or if fear <strong>and</strong><br />
anxiety occupy the mind to such a<br />
degree that it is the only thing you<br />
can identify with, then you must find<br />
ways <strong>and</strong> means to rise above it.<br />
Rishi Patanjali described the obstacles<br />
to yoga 2300 years ago, in his<br />
10<br />
book <strong>Yoga</strong> Sutra, as being “disease,<br />
dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness,<br />
craving for enjoyment, erroneous perception,<br />
lack of ability to reach the<br />
finer states, lack of stability...”<br />
With Patanjali, a branch of yoga<br />
was put forth that would come to<br />
influence the underst<strong>and</strong>ing that<br />
people have of yoga <strong>and</strong> what they<br />
expect from it. The rather theoretical<br />
yoga of Patanjali was preferred in<br />
learned circles, here his ideals of<br />
controlling the mind were seen as<br />
preconditions rather than results of<br />
practice. Therefore, the description<br />
of yoga in encyclopaedia <strong>and</strong> other literature<br />
has generally been identified<br />
with this interpretation, <strong>and</strong> with the<br />
branch that developed after Patanjali<br />
called Raja <strong>Yoga</strong>.<br />
In his four small books, each containing<br />
from between thirty to fifty<br />
short verses that constitute <strong>Yoga</strong> Sutra,<br />
Patanjali is both inspiring <strong>and</strong> brilliant,<br />
<strong>and</strong> any self-respecting yoga school<br />
naturally has his book as a part of<br />
its curriculum - together with other<br />
“works” from the tradition. However,<br />
Patanjali has given the intellectual <strong>and</strong><br />
cultured citizen of the east as well<br />
as of the west an excuse to think, philosophise<br />
<strong>and</strong> moralise instead of realising<br />
<strong>and</strong> experiencing the effect of the<br />
actual yoga <strong>and</strong> meditation techniques.<br />
When one is stuck with concepts alone,<br />
something quite different, namely the<br />
tangible effects of the practical exercises<br />
fail to appear.<br />
In the same way that Puritanism<br />
dominated in Europe, so it was in<br />
India, where a rigid scholastic interpretation<br />
of Patanjali came to overshadow<br />
all other yoga. Ideals arose<br />
so large that it distanced yoga from<br />
people.<br />
Naturally, Tantra <strong>and</strong> the Tantric<br />
meditations include elements described<br />
in Raja <strong>Yoga</strong>, for the simple reason that<br />
Raja <strong>Yoga</strong> is a small branch which has<br />
grown from the tree of the Tantric tradition.<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong> is accessible not only to<br />
those wanting to control life <strong>and</strong><br />
themselves. The Tantric tradition<br />
includes much more, enabling you<br />
to submit yourself to the vicissitudes of<br />
life, while remaining at one with your<br />
self - <strong>and</strong> to learn to live fully.<br />
In Tantra, undisturbed by the<br />
prevailing fashion <strong>and</strong> the limitations<br />
of the ages, the yogis have continued<br />
along the original path, in the way<br />
you relate to life <strong>and</strong> to the discovery<br />
or reconquest of yourself. The<br />
importance of concrete <strong>and</strong> practical<br />
training, rituals <strong>and</strong> meditation is<br />
emphasised. It is something you do.<br />
Theory alone is regarded as a kind<br />
of by-product, arising from the communication<br />
with those who do not<br />
yet know the finer states. It is the<br />
personal <strong>and</strong> direct contact between<br />
people that counts, when this<br />
knowledge has to be passed on.<br />
Whatever you experience, you<br />
acknowledge <strong>and</strong> use in the process<br />
of realisation, rather than avoiding<br />
it through control <strong>and</strong> restraint. This<br />
approach is of fundamental importance
in Tantra - in its practices,<br />
rituals <strong>and</strong> meditations. It is not a<br />
question of taking severe measures,<br />
but of being aware <strong>and</strong> present in<br />
what is anyway done, thought <strong>and</strong><br />
experienced. In a devoted <strong>and</strong> yet<br />
neutral way you let happen what<br />
happens, without reacting or<br />
struggling against it - <strong>and</strong> without<br />
giving up or letting yourself be<br />
overwhelmed by or dependent upon<br />
anything.<br />
“...whatever concept or idea appeareth,<br />
the procedure is to be<br />
indifferent to the thought, allowing<br />
it to do as it liketh, neither falling<br />
under its influence, nor attempting<br />
to impede it.<br />
Wholly ab<strong>and</strong>on all directing<br />
<strong>and</strong> shaping of thoughts...”<br />
(Evans-Wentz: Tibetan <strong>Yoga</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> Secret Doctrines)<br />
“O Beloved, put attention<br />
neither on pleasure<br />
or pain but between<br />
these.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava<br />
Tantra)<br />
It is safe to say that<br />
through meditation one<br />
restores the cells to their<br />
natural state <strong>and</strong> frequency,<br />
thus neutralising inhibitions<br />
<strong>and</strong> influences, which normally<br />
captivate the mind <strong>and</strong> lead one<br />
to forget oneself <strong>and</strong> place the<br />
identity in something other than<br />
what one really is. A clear example<br />
of this is stress. However, other physical<br />
<strong>and</strong> mental troubles or illnesses<br />
can also be avoided by returning<br />
to the original state - as it was<br />
before whatever<br />
influenced the state <strong>and</strong> upset the<br />
balance in the body <strong>and</strong> mind.<br />
In your essence there is an image<br />
of your own good health,<br />
of your own true form.<br />
And it’s easier than you think<br />
to be<br />
in it,<br />
to return<br />
to it.<br />
By using the techniques <strong>and</strong> meditations<br />
of Tantric yoga, <strong>and</strong> thereby<br />
realising: what captivated or<br />
fascinated the mind are but mere<br />
<strong>Meditation</strong><br />
<strong>Meditation</strong> teaches <strong>and</strong><br />
trains us to be receptive<br />
<strong>and</strong> creative towards<br />
“reality”, instead of constrained,<br />
infatuated, submissive<br />
or in a reaction.<br />
Small “hooks” are found in<br />
the mind, stated Sri Aurobindo,<br />
a yogi who lived in Pondicherry,<br />
India, in the previous generation. These<br />
hooks catch the thoughts that fit them.<br />
Thoughts that appear in the mind again<br />
<strong>and</strong> again are “maintained” by the<br />
hooks. They hold us prisoners in certain<br />
attitudes <strong>and</strong> expectations.<br />
To become free from habitual<br />
thoughts <strong>and</strong> limiting ideas of ourexperiences<br />
- you then remove the very<br />
limitations mentioned by Patanjali.<br />
Let’s take, for example, a strong<br />
emotion of anger or sorrow. In the<br />
midst of that state, in the midst of<br />
that emotion, you go on experiencing<br />
it <strong>and</strong> thus you allow what you experience<br />
to happen. You do not try to<br />
interfere with the thought or the<br />
emotion. You do not try to stop it.<br />
You allow it to express itself <strong>and</strong> spend<br />
its fury. You neither try to avoid the<br />
anger or sorrow, nor do you cling to<br />
it. Therefore nothing is left hanging<br />
afterwards in the form of tension or a<br />
grudge, <strong>and</strong> you can continue to live in<br />
the now.<br />
A picture that may illustrate this: As<br />
a child I would be quite overwhelmed<br />
by the cold after swimming in the sea.<br />
I shivered, my teeth chattered, <strong>and</strong> I<br />
could barely put on my clothes<br />
again <strong>and</strong> do the buttons up after<br />
drying myself. This could go on<br />
for quite a while, unless at some<br />
point or other I gave up <strong>and</strong><br />
allowed myself to be in that<br />
freezing state. When I<br />
allowed myself to experience<br />
the state, the<br />
shivering <strong>and</strong> chattering<br />
ceased at once, <strong>and</strong> I<br />
calmed down <strong>and</strong> regained<br />
warmth.<br />
11
selves <strong>and</strong> our surroundings, from<br />
states such as stress, unwanted<br />
changes of mood <strong>and</strong> the experience<br />
of too much or too little energy,<br />
we have to straighten out the hooks.<br />
The thoughts will then no longer<br />
stick to the mind, we can let go <strong>and</strong> let<br />
them pass.<br />
How does one abolish enslavement<br />
by the thoughts? After all, it is not<br />
only the opinions that we hold on to<br />
<strong>and</strong> defend, but also the more unconscious,<br />
automatic thoughts, which<br />
colour our reality. It is thoughts that<br />
appear by themselves in every situation,<br />
that judge or explain whatever<br />
we are facing. Can we regard them<br />
as just thoughts, or do we believe<br />
them? How many times has your mind<br />
without any ado judged a situation,<br />
<strong>and</strong> you took for granted that what<br />
your mind presented was true? Did<br />
you know? Or did you “guess”? When<br />
we do not realise that the mind often<br />
functions in a completely automatic<br />
way, presenting us with ready-made<br />
opinions, we are kept in a prison of<br />
grey routine. Thus we are unable to<br />
see things anew <strong>and</strong> unable to adapt to<br />
each new situation.<br />
It requires a special ability to disregard<br />
the seductive games of the mind.<br />
After all, the mind with its senses<br />
is the tool through which we survive<br />
in this dimension on earth. In the<br />
Tantric yoga tradition there are<br />
techniques that can help us see<br />
through that which the mind presents<br />
to us, so the mind becomes a real<br />
tool instead of a slave driver - <strong>and</strong> we<br />
become independent.<br />
The meditation we deal with here is<br />
called Antar Mauna. Translated from<br />
12<br />
Sanskrit it means Inner Silence - a pearl<br />
of a meditation, which I learned from<br />
Swami Satyan<strong>and</strong>a when I lived with<br />
him for some years in the late sixties.<br />
Tantra - in Buddhism, in<br />
Hinduism <strong>and</strong> by itself<br />
In scriptures from Kashmir (some are<br />
said to be over 4000 years old),<br />
intense, short sentences or verses<br />
(sutra) reveal essential instructions in<br />
Tantric yoga <strong>and</strong> meditation. As part<br />
of an initiation - that was otherwise<br />
passed on verbally <strong>and</strong> secretly from<br />
teacher to student from generation to<br />
generation, for thous<strong>and</strong>s of years -<br />
these early sutras hint at a knowledge<br />
of the mind, which in a practical<br />
way can open the doors of meditation:<br />
Vigyana Bhairava Tantra, Soch<strong>and</strong>a<br />
Tantra <strong>and</strong> Malini Vijaya Tantra,<br />
quoted in the article under one name:<br />
Vigyana Bhairava Tantra *).<br />
From this Tantric tradition grew,<br />
for example, the deep relaxation<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong> Nidra <strong>and</strong> Inner Silence, a<br />
meditation, that has been evolved<br />
into a basic form of seven parts.<br />
Apart from this basic form, there are<br />
more advanced variants, where the<br />
teacher during the meditation constantly<br />
allows himself to be “infected”<br />
by a student straying <strong>and</strong> identifying<br />
with different states, experiences <strong>and</strong><br />
even diseases, only to free himself<br />
from them, together with the student,<br />
<strong>and</strong> return to the essential.<br />
The following passage is from<br />
Kularnava Tantra, (a later work than<br />
the above mentioned) concerning the<br />
importance of direct instruction:<br />
“Neither Asramas (four stages of<br />
life) nor philosophies or sciences can<br />
provide the means for liberation;<br />
only the Jnana [insight]of all the Sastras<br />
[tantric scriptures] can give it. And<br />
this Jnana can be received through the<br />
word of a Guru.<br />
All other ways are deceptive,<br />
oppressive; the knowledge of<br />
Truth alone is life-giving.”<br />
Already before the rise of Buddhism,<br />
traces of this meditation can be found<br />
in the Tantric tradition - yes, even<br />
before Alex<strong>and</strong>er the Great coined<br />
the word Hinduism as a collective<br />
term for the way people lived by<br />
the Indus river.<br />
Tantra was an independent<br />
tradition <strong>and</strong> science even before<br />
certain aspects of it became<br />
integrated, first with “Hinduism”<br />
<strong>and</strong> later with Buddhism.<br />
The Tantric literature is outwardly<br />
called non-Vedic, Agama, in order<br />
to declare its independence from the<br />
Vedic tradition, on which Hinduism<br />
to a great extent is based.<br />
Here are a few examples of the<br />
ancient instructions:<br />
“The appreciation of objects<br />
<strong>and</strong> subjects is the same for an<br />
enlightened person as for an<br />
unenlightened person.<br />
The former has one greatness:<br />
he remains in the subjective mood,<br />
not lost in things.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)<br />
“In moods of extreme desire,<br />
be undisturbed.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)<br />
*) Vigyana Bhairava Tantra from Kashmir has had a fundamental influence on Swami Satyan<strong>and</strong>a’s way of teaching the Tantric<br />
meditations. Excerpts of the work were first published in the West in 1955 in Gentry magazine in an adapted issue by Paul<br />
Reps <strong>and</strong> later incorporated in the book Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. The Sanskrit text is translated to Hindi by Swami Satyan<strong>and</strong>a<br />
<strong>and</strong> Swami Satsangan<strong>and</strong>a, <strong>and</strong> certain parts of this text have been translated into English.
When Buddhism came to Japan, the<br />
Tantric element it contained laid the<br />
basis for the meditation Za-Zen. In its<br />
attitude <strong>and</strong> in all its simplicity it is<br />
related to Antar Mauna. There are also<br />
many similarities to the Buddhist meditation<br />
Vipasana. I suppose it is used<br />
especially in Southeast Asia. Its name<br />
can mean unfettering.<br />
In Tibet a similar method developed<br />
from the Tantric source, the meditation<br />
Maha Mudra. When it was presented<br />
by Evans-Wentz in the thirties, he called<br />
it “the yoga of the great liberation”,<br />
or “the yoga of the great symbol”.<br />
The fact that Evans-Wentz <strong>and</strong> the<br />
lamas with whom he collaborated have<br />
chosen the latter, somewhat abstract<br />
translation of the title, requires one<br />
to reflect on the meaning of the<br />
word symbol - which I shall refrain<br />
from doing here. Evans-Wentz himself<br />
admits in the commentary to the title,<br />
that mudra means attitude. From my<br />
own background, I can translate Maha<br />
Mudra as: the great attitude, signifying<br />
the greatest attitude, the best attitude<br />
one can have to life. There is, however,<br />
the pitfall with this Tibetan variant,<br />
inspiring though it may be, that it<br />
has a relatively large philosophical<br />
superstructure. This could easily lead<br />
to an underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the concepts,<br />
that one should<br />
otherwise free oneself from - one philosophises<br />
<strong>and</strong> becomes reliant upon<br />
one's own notions, thus blocking the<br />
experience or the insight in the meditation.<br />
This probably is the sole purpose<br />
that the more direct teaching<br />
from teacher to student, as always<br />
in Tantra, may not <strong>and</strong> cannot be<br />
recounted in writing, it must be<br />
received in a teaching situation. However,<br />
when Maha Mudra is used correctly<br />
it can, just like Antar Mauna,<br />
embody both the most fundamental <strong>and</strong><br />
highest form of initiation.<br />
13
I shall now recount<br />
the step, where the<br />
student must give<br />
up all his or her concepts,<br />
even conceptions<br />
that he or she<br />
has used all through<br />
his or her life on the<br />
religious or spiritual<br />
journey - up to reaching<br />
this step. An<br />
excerpt from Evans-<br />
Wentz’s book:<br />
“... The various<br />
concepts, too,<br />
being illusory,<br />
<strong>and</strong> none of them<br />
real, fade away<br />
accordingly.<br />
Thus, for<br />
example, everything<br />
postulated of the<br />
Whole, the Sangsara<br />
<strong>and</strong><br />
Nirvana, arises from<br />
nothing more than<br />
mental concepts.<br />
Changes in one’s train of thought<br />
[or in one’s association of ideas]<br />
produce corresponding changes in<br />
one’s conception of the external<br />
world.<br />
Therefore, the various views<br />
concerning things are due merely to<br />
different mental concepts...<br />
In general, all things mentally<br />
perceived are concepts.<br />
The happiness of gods in heavenworlds<br />
<strong>and</strong> of men is another mental<br />
concept...<br />
The full realisation of the passing<br />
away into Nirvana is also a concept of<br />
mind.<br />
Misfortune caused by demons <strong>and</strong><br />
evil spirits is also a concept of mind.<br />
Gods <strong>and</strong> good fortune are also concepts<br />
of mind.”<br />
14<br />
February 1969, from the time when I received the teaching <strong>and</strong> training that laid the<br />
foundation for the insight on which this article is based.<br />
Or, as it says in the ancient literature<br />
from Kashmir:<br />
“Since, in truth, bondage <strong>and</strong><br />
freedom are relative, these words<br />
are only for those terrified with<br />
the universe. This universe is a reflection<br />
of minds. As you see many<br />
suns in water from one sun, so see<br />
bondage <strong>and</strong> liberation.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)<br />
“Saraha states:<br />
...Whoever<br />
contemplates the<br />
nature of<br />
nirvana<br />
Without spontaneous<br />
awareness<br />
Will not realise the ultimate.<br />
The Tantric meditations do to a great<br />
extent go together. That applies to the<br />
original Tantric meditations that were<br />
found, <strong>and</strong> are found in India, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
corresponding meditations that were<br />
assimilated by Buddhism in general,<br />
in Tibetan <strong>and</strong> Japanese Buddhism in<br />
particular.<br />
However, there is one crucial difference<br />
- a choice,<br />
perhaps - for<br />
someone st<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
outside, looking<br />
in. The difference<br />
lies in the goal<br />
itself, <strong>and</strong> with it<br />
the insights which<br />
the underlying<br />
concepts convey.<br />
What they do have<br />
in common, on<br />
the other h<strong>and</strong>, is<br />
awareness <strong>and</strong> the<br />
ability to experience.<br />
In Mahamudra<br />
by Takpo Tashi<br />
Namagyal from<br />
1986, one reads:<br />
Tilopa supports this position:<br />
Whether by expounding the tantric<br />
mysticism,<br />
The transcending wisdom, the sacred<br />
canon, <strong>and</strong> the concise sayings,<br />
Or by following the various classic<br />
treatises<br />
And the doctrines of conceptual<br />
determination,<br />
One may not realise mahamudra as<br />
lucid awareness.”<br />
Who is it then that<br />
experiences?<br />
Who possesses awareness?<br />
When I was a child, I experienced<br />
myself as a child. When I was a<br />
teenager, I experienced myself as a
teenager, <strong>and</strong> in this<br />
way throughout life<br />
I have experienced<br />
myself in its different<br />
periods. Who am I?<br />
The body has<br />
changed. Each time<br />
I had to have my<br />
passport or driving<br />
licence renewed, I<br />
needed new photos.<br />
The old photos do<br />
not resemble me any<br />
more.<br />
And the personality,<br />
well, that has undergone<br />
its phases.<br />
Ideas have been<br />
replaced by insight,<br />
hope by contentment,<br />
which again<br />
was followed by<br />
disappointment,<br />
frustration, hope <strong>and</strong><br />
contentment.<br />
It is as though life<br />
is a large wheel <strong>and</strong><br />
we tear along somewhere out on the<br />
rim.<br />
The rim is divided into life’s phases<br />
- phases where everything runs smoothly<br />
<strong>and</strong> falls into place, interspersed with<br />
phases of resistance <strong>and</strong> adversity. It<br />
may hurt when we have to let go of<br />
customary values, because experience<br />
<strong>and</strong> maturing tells us that they will not<br />
hold - <strong>and</strong> we are torn between action<br />
<strong>and</strong> reflection.<br />
And behind the personality? Isn’t<br />
something stored? Something individual?<br />
A growing knowledge? A knowledge<br />
that is not merely intellectual in<br />
character, a maturation that, in spite<br />
of it all, takes you in the direction you<br />
once envisioned that life maybe would<br />
go? A greater benevolence perhaps, a<br />
greater tolerance? And a greater courage<br />
to st<strong>and</strong> by that which is of value<br />
Informal discussions around the fire, the day before I (on the left) received my<br />
initiation to become a Swami by Swami Satyan<strong>and</strong>a (on the right).<br />
<strong>and</strong> needs defending, a determination<br />
to cut through all empty imitations<br />
<strong>and</strong><br />
automatic ways of doing things?<br />
Is life, I wonder, a constant spiralling<br />
closer towards the wheel’s<br />
hub, where a real overview exists -<br />
towards the hole in the hub?<br />
And something else I also got from<br />
the meditation: an ability to seek,<br />
which extends further than that of<br />
thinking or underst<strong>and</strong>ing, an ability<br />
to experience. Experience what? No,<br />
not the meaning of life. Life gives us<br />
that, as Piet Hein says, right up to the<br />
day when we ask about it. But something<br />
else, a search for that “place”<br />
which is not really any place, but everywhere,<br />
as the water in the sea <strong>and</strong><br />
the air in the space we live in, a state,<br />
an attitude, a symbol.<br />
“Sweet-hearted<br />
one, meditate on<br />
knowing <strong>and</strong> notknowing,<br />
existing<br />
<strong>and</strong> not existing.<br />
Then leave both<br />
aside that you<br />
may be.”<br />
(Vigyana<br />
Bhairava Tantra)<br />
In the beginning<br />
comes a glimpse,<br />
an experience of<br />
what is eventually<br />
to become a<br />
familiar place, a<br />
state. A place to<br />
return to again <strong>and</strong><br />
again, to be, to<br />
rest <strong>and</strong> restore the<br />
fundamental harmony<br />
in body <strong>and</strong><br />
mind.<br />
From there I<br />
gaze upon life:<br />
Life changes<br />
constantly, but here doesn’t change -<br />
here is still, here IS - silence, on whose<br />
background life unfolds.<br />
“This consciousness is the spirit of<br />
guidance of each one. Be this one.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)<br />
All over the world minor <strong>and</strong> major<br />
philosophies, religions, shamanism,<br />
etc., the innermost in people is experienced<br />
as something, an identity, an<br />
existence, a being, a soul, a self.<br />
Whereas in Buddhism (at least in the<br />
Theravada branch), the final goal is<br />
nothing: “The occidental idea that<br />
the human mind grasps a ´thing´<br />
better than a ´no-thing´ is clearly<br />
wrong, <strong>and</strong> I state this on the basis<br />
of my Siamese [Thai] professorial<br />
experience...”<br />
15
This is how the Austrian Swami Agehan<strong>and</strong>a<br />
Bharati (who lived the most<br />
of his life in India <strong>and</strong> concluded it in<br />
USA) expressed himself in his autobiography,<br />
The Ochre Robe.<br />
He continues: “The Hindu, when he<br />
hears the term ´non-self´, immediately<br />
thinks of the Absolute with which the<br />
Self is identified. Not so the Siamese<br />
[Thai] - for he has never really heard<br />
about an Absolute. For him, anatmavada<br />
simply means `doctrine of nonself´,<br />
where atma (self) refers solely to<br />
his own ego, his particular individuality,<br />
which Buddhism denies as a fiction...”<br />
And when C. J. Jung had to<br />
write the preface to Evans-Wentz’s<br />
book: The Tibetan Book of the Great<br />
Liberation, he sounded rather too<br />
naively idealistic, as one from<br />
outside would view things a bit<br />
apprehensively, <strong>and</strong> has not himself<br />
dared to experience what it is about.<br />
Nevertheless, Jung may be in accord<br />
with Buddhism when he writes:<br />
“... unless one is prepared to turn away<br />
from the world <strong>and</strong> to disappear into<br />
the unconscious for good, mere teaching<br />
has no effect, or at least not the<br />
desired one...”<br />
In maintaining this, however, he<br />
neglects the systematic <strong>and</strong> scientific<br />
method inherent in meditation, where<br />
a beneficial effect transpires progressively,<br />
regardless of what you may<br />
think, just as long as you are capable<br />
of following the method. Subsequent<br />
to Jung’s death, such effects have been<br />
measured <strong>and</strong> confirmed in medical<br />
laboratories world-wide.<br />
Also, what he apparently did not<br />
know, was that, as one gradually<br />
becomes experienced in meditation,<br />
a new light is cast over things, <strong>and</strong><br />
everything appears different than the<br />
expectations <strong>and</strong> the philosophy one<br />
had before beginning to meditate.<br />
16<br />
Still, one is faced with a fundamental<br />
choice here, when Buddha states<br />
that even the idea itself of a self (or a<br />
soul) is an obstacle to total liberation:<br />
a choice between<br />
nothing, complete emptiness<br />
no self, no I....<br />
or<br />
something<br />
(Raja <strong>Yoga</strong> etc.)<br />
concentration<br />
focusing<br />
the soul<br />
<strong>and</strong>/or<br />
(Tantra)<br />
letting go<br />
experience<br />
being<br />
<strong>and</strong> all that you are anyway.<br />
One day a so-called sadhu came to the<br />
ashram in Monghyr asking for shelter<br />
<strong>and</strong> received it. Since he had come to<br />
an ashram, then he would also meditate.<br />
I was curious, <strong>and</strong> when he had<br />
left again, I asked Swamiji what he<br />
had been doing. “Well,” said Swami<br />
Satyan<strong>and</strong>a, “he sat in the meditation<br />
hall for a while. And then he came out<br />
enthusiastically <strong>and</strong> said:<br />
‘Swamiji, I’ve been in samadhi!<br />
I saw nothing. I heard nothing.<br />
I was gone completely!’”<br />
I looked in wonder at Swamiji<br />
after that statement, <strong>and</strong> he gave<br />
this comment: “What the man<br />
experienced was a state of<br />
unconsciousness. Yes, he was<br />
probably sleeping. To me,<br />
samadhi is not unconsciousness, but<br />
total consciousness, inner as well as<br />
outer.”<br />
How is yoga <strong>and</strong> thus<br />
meditation defined?<br />
I don’t want to use that hackneyed<br />
definition of yoga, where one speaks<br />
of becoming one with the higher self,<br />
or to unite the higher <strong>and</strong> lower self.<br />
Higher <strong>and</strong> lower, that’s nonsense,<br />
there is just one. Such a definition is<br />
based on false ideals, which may just<br />
as easily distance people from themselves,<br />
as it may be inspiring - in<br />
such thinking a dem<strong>and</strong> to be holy<br />
is hidden, something that can give a<br />
sense of guilt, lead to hypocrisy <strong>and</strong><br />
make one become censorious or compare<br />
oneself to others. Who is higher?<br />
Who is lower? Where do I st<strong>and</strong>? No<br />
thanks!<br />
There is a definition of yoga which I<br />
hope cannot be interpreted in this way.<br />
And it implies that it is something that<br />
the individual can do with a little help<br />
from tradition <strong>and</strong> a good teacher, but<br />
without having to compete on the spiritual<br />
or other planes.<br />
“The purity of other teachings is<br />
as impurity to us. In reality know<br />
nothing as pure or impure.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)<br />
After all, this is about that which<br />
one is already, in essence, or<br />
everywhere:<br />
Stillness is our consciousness,<br />
the one which experiences behind it<br />
all. One is stillness - <strong>and</strong> everything<br />
else: sounds, what one sees, feels<br />
<strong>and</strong> smells; nature, the town, all<br />
material <strong>and</strong> all inner things, feelings,<br />
thoughts, inner pictures, dreams, all<br />
these are experiences, which change<br />
<strong>and</strong> are forgotten.<br />
“This consciousness exists as each<br />
being, <strong>and</strong> nothing else exists.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)
“<strong>Meditation</strong>, therefore, is a process by<br />
which you see your own<br />
consciousness - consciousness<br />
sees itself through itself, without<br />
any intervening medium, support or<br />
agency. In meditation you undergo<br />
a process, not of self-analysis but selfperception.<br />
It is in this that meditation<br />
goes beyond the<br />
psycho-analysis of modern<br />
psychology. You do not merely<br />
analyse yourself; you see yourself.”<br />
(Swami Satyan<strong>and</strong>a)<br />
Experience <strong>and</strong> consciousness<br />
The definition of yoga can be<br />
expressed by a symbol. It is an<br />
archetypal symbol which certain<br />
movements, religions <strong>and</strong> countries<br />
have taken for their symbol (e.g.<br />
Israel) that is true, but it is not<br />
limited to a movement or a nation.<br />
Two triangles, one pointing upwards<br />
<strong>and</strong> one downwards, is forming this<br />
symbol: the six pointed star. It is<br />
found in all cultures, for example<br />
on the clothes of the prairie Indians,<br />
often placed on the middle of the<br />
chest. Also in the Tantric tradition,<br />
it is found in various symbols or yantras<br />
- one of them is the yantra for Anahata<br />
Chakra, the psychic center located<br />
at the level of the heart.<br />
It is a symbol which expresses harmony<br />
between the experiencer <strong>and</strong> that<br />
which is experienced - <strong>and</strong> when this<br />
harmony comes about, unity is experienced<br />
between the two - unity in everything.<br />
Energy <strong>and</strong> consciousness<br />
One could also talk about the<br />
stillness, about the one who is<br />
experiencing <strong>and</strong> the experiences,<br />
in another way.<br />
One could talk about energy. Everything<br />
consists of energy. The atoms<br />
in the walls are energy, <strong>and</strong> my<br />
17
ody is energy. What comes out<br />
of my mouth when I talk is<br />
energy, thoughts are energy,<br />
emotions, everything. It is what<br />
I experience, energy.<br />
The two triangles make a<br />
harmonic form of balance. The<br />
triangle pointing downwards<br />
signifies energy, the triangle<br />
pointing upwards signifies consciousness.<br />
If the triangles, in<br />
this connection, are placed any<br />
other way in relation to each<br />
other, then balance is not<br />
present, <strong>and</strong> then it is about<br />
too much or too little, insensitivity,<br />
ignorance, self-forgetfulness,<br />
about lack of contact with what is<br />
essential, a false identity...<br />
Naturally, I have experienced<br />
when harmony is not present,<br />
when I try to control or suppress<br />
my thoughts or feelings, when<br />
I identify myself with them, or<br />
when I have been overwhelmed<br />
so that I forget myself. But<br />
here the question<br />
is not whether there is control or lack<br />
of control. It has neither to do with<br />
rebelling nor with taking everything<br />
lying down. It is about being present,<br />
in the midst of what is happening,<br />
inner as well as outer. That is a Tantric<br />
definition of yoga.<br />
“When vividly aware through some particular<br />
sense, stay in the awareness.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)<br />
This is trained in the meditation Inner<br />
Silence, because it isn’t really something<br />
you think about or philosophise<br />
about. It is something you do <strong>and</strong> you<br />
learn this with the help of the techniques.<br />
Inner Silence is an absolute<br />
necessity for all other advanced yoga<br />
<strong>and</strong> meditation, including the more<br />
advanced forms of Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong>.<br />
18<br />
It was a time when Swamiji taught everything himself. What appealed<br />
to me was a view of life which in a great many ways harmonised with<br />
my own. He was sober-minded, yes, almost atheistically scientific.<br />
Idealism <strong>and</strong> Consciousness<br />
“The mirror is given us humans by<br />
God, but the devil has given it the one<br />
defect: that it can never show, how one<br />
looks, when one is n o t looking in a<br />
mirror.”<br />
(A “Grook” by Piet Hein)<br />
When my students learn Inner Silence,<br />
I ask them not to be idealistic. Try<br />
not to be other than you normally<br />
are, when you sit down to meditate,<br />
you don’t need to act holy, good or<br />
“positive”. Begin the meditation as<br />
you are. It is unimportant for the<br />
outcome of the meditation whether<br />
you feel happy, unhappy, tired or full<br />
of energy. Or whether you are restless,<br />
shaken or apathetic. Sit down <strong>and</strong><br />
begin the meditation wherever you are,<br />
the way you feel.<br />
If you want something from<br />
the meditation, then cease to<br />
have all kinds of expectations<br />
or associations between you <strong>and</strong><br />
what appears of itself in your<br />
meditation. You need neither<br />
to have negative nor positive<br />
notions of yourself. You are the<br />
Inner Silence, the silence on the<br />
background of which you experience<br />
what happens in your<br />
mind. Experience what happens<br />
without wanting to influence it,<br />
so it can happen spontaneously<br />
<strong>and</strong> without being restrained<br />
or changed by your ideals or<br />
expectations. Only thereby can<br />
you get to know it as it is. Let<br />
the experiences come of themselves<br />
without you interfering in<br />
the least. Remain the one who is<br />
experiencing.<br />
“Whenever your mind is w<strong>and</strong>ering,<br />
internally or externally,<br />
at this very place, this.”<br />
(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)<br />
Summary<br />
Antar Mauna is a meditation that starts<br />
in the totality of where you find yourself,<br />
in the world that you experience<br />
through your senses, in that place <strong>and</strong><br />
in those surroundings of where at the<br />
moment you are meditating.<br />
You train your ability to experience.<br />
From the senses you progress gradually<br />
<strong>and</strong> inevitably through the states,<br />
habits, thoughts <strong>and</strong> emotions that<br />
your personality normally contains.<br />
You learn to experience the personality<br />
without immediately becoming critical<br />
or analytical towards it, without inhibiting<br />
or changing it. You get to know it.<br />
Then you go deeper, through the various<br />
dimensions of your inner universe,<br />
to the innermost of your being, from<br />
where you experience everything.
“Good or bad, I am the seer;<br />
disturbance or one-pointedness,<br />
I am the seer. If I change my<br />
physical position, I am the seer.<br />
I am not the concentrator; I am<br />
not the meditator. No, I am just<br />
the seer of all that is taking<br />
place in me. I am impartial,<br />
detached <strong>and</strong> unrelated.<br />
Antar Mauna has to be practical<br />
<strong>and</strong> methodical. It should<br />
be done stage by stage. First we<br />
practice a witnessing of sense<br />
experiences that come from outside,<br />
then we practice a witnessing<br />
of the spontaneous thought<br />
processes that evolve from the<br />
depth of our personality. Finally<br />
we come to a stage where we<br />
become a witness of thoughtlessness.”<br />
(Swami Satyan<strong>and</strong>a)<br />
This is a meditation that is best<br />
learnt directly, from teacher to<br />
student, so that the mind does<br />
not resort to equivocations, so<br />
that one is constantly guided<br />
back to oneself, to the one which experiences<br />
behind it all. It is based on laws<br />
or tendencies in the mind which are<br />
common to all people.<br />
It is not surprising, therefore, that<br />
also in Europe we find references <strong>and</strong><br />
instructions, through various ages, that<br />
point toward a similar insight, like the<br />
one Inner Silence is based on. We will<br />
deal with these specific instances at a<br />
later date in Bindu, just as in the future<br />
we will go on revealing some of the<br />
secrets of Inner Silence.<br />
The knowledge <strong>and</strong> insight sprouting<br />
from the meditation also influence daily<br />
life. It represents the essence of Tantra,<br />
the Tantric attitude. You accept how you<br />
are, how you live. You don’t need to be<br />
another person to realise yourself - or to<br />
live. You don’t need to change, you are<br />
already - your self.<br />
It was a concrete teaching in exercises <strong>and</strong> meditations, <strong>and</strong> a<br />
training in awareness - a spiritual attitude without any form of<br />
worship or manipulation of people's religious feelings.<br />
“You are the one observer <strong>and</strong>, as<br />
such, you have indeed always been<br />
free. Your only bondage has been<br />
that you see someone else as the<br />
observer.” (Ashtavakra Gita)<br />
The first preliminary exercise<br />
The following is an example of<br />
how a part of the first step in the meditation<br />
is guided verbally by a teacher,<br />
when during the learning process, one<br />
practises it in a group.<br />
Sit with a straight back (it can be on<br />
a chair, or in a meditation pose) <strong>and</strong><br />
close the eyes. - Sit for a moment<br />
without being busy with having<br />
something to do, other than just<br />
sitting. Do not dem<strong>and</strong> anything of<br />
yourself. Do not expect anything from<br />
the meditation.<br />
Do not try to do anything<br />
other than what is happening<br />
anyway here in the beginning.<br />
But, when you have adjusted<br />
the body, sit completely still,<br />
in a pose where this is possible,<br />
c o m p l e t e l y s t i l l ,<br />
continue for a while.<br />
Now turn the mind outward<br />
towards the surroundings - <strong>and</strong><br />
listen to the sounds around you.<br />
Normally, when listening, one<br />
listens for something or one<br />
tries to avoid hearing certain<br />
things - but you don’t do<br />
that now - you listen to all<br />
the sounds in the surroundings<br />
together, the way they come<br />
to your ears. An all<br />
encompassing awareness of<br />
sounds.<br />
Consciousness is like a light,<br />
that shines equally in all<br />
directions. It perceives<br />
everything with the same<br />
interest, nothing is emphasised,<br />
nothing pushed aside.<br />
Hear the car in the street, for<br />
example, at the same time as the<br />
ticking of the clock, at the same time<br />
as the television upstairs. Perceive<br />
the surroundings as a whole, all the<br />
sounds, at the same time.<br />
Do this for five to fifteen minutes,<br />
sitting some place where you have<br />
time to do it undisturbed.<br />
And also try it for a short while,<br />
a minute or two, on the train, in the<br />
bus, in a queue, on a bench in a<br />
park or at a market place. In town or<br />
by the sea, in the woods or in the<br />
countryside - wherever.<br />
Become one with the sounds of the<br />
surroundings...q<br />
19
A yoga holiday at Håå Course Center<br />
Will deepen your experience of yoga <strong>and</strong> meditation, yourself <strong>and</strong> your daily life<br />
“The benefits of the<br />
summer's intensive work<br />
with yoga <strong>and</strong> meditation<br />
(a 14 days course <strong>and</strong> the<br />
Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong> course) can be<br />
felt on return to daily life.<br />
Karma <strong>Yoga</strong>’s influence<br />
is evident - more energy<br />
<strong>and</strong> a desire to organise<br />
the practical things.<br />
Through yoga <strong>and</strong><br />
meditation, I have become<br />
better at concentrating on<br />
the things I do. When I<br />
dance, I dance, when I<br />
draw, I draw, when I make<br />
food, I make food...<br />
By actually experiencing<br />
what you do while doing<br />
it, even though you are<br />
busy, you don’t feel<br />
stressed.<br />
After I came home from<br />
Håå, I started to practise<br />
Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong> in the<br />
morning before my<br />
classes at Architect<br />
college or my dance<br />
training <strong>and</strong> I can feel the<br />
effect in my studies. I’m more concentrated at lectures <strong>and</strong><br />
I feel more awake <strong>and</strong> inspired during slide lectures,<br />
which I have previously found tiring. Concerning my<br />
studies, I have discovered, that by doing the alternate<br />
breathing (Nadi Shodana Pranayama) before presenting<br />
my project, I gain greater peace <strong>and</strong> a better overview of<br />
the situation.”<br />
(Rikke Zachariasen)<br />
“The personal<br />
knowledge of oneself,<br />
gained by doing yoga<br />
<strong>and</strong> meditation, means<br />
that one isn’t so easily<br />
disturbed when<br />
concentrating on<br />
something. One isn’t<br />
easily interrupted by<br />
irrelevant thoughts,<br />
feelings or physical<br />
discomfort (I can’t! I’m<br />
tired!, indolence or<br />
something similar).<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong> <strong>and</strong> meditation<br />
give me the energy to<br />
break old habits <strong>and</strong><br />
the clarity to<br />
consciously choose<br />
whether or not I allow<br />
myself be disturbed. In<br />
other words, my daily<br />
yoga practice (Kriya<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong>) gives me the<br />
opportunity to exercise<br />
more self discipline -<br />
not strenuous but a<br />
relaxed <strong>and</strong> engaged<br />
awareness directed<br />
towards what is<br />
necessary, whatever it<br />
may be. For me, this is playing music - <strong>and</strong> it’s especially<br />
so in my daily practice routines <strong>and</strong> my studies at the<br />
conservatory that I benefit from yoga. I can simply use my<br />
time more effectively, so that the time I use for yoga, is<br />
returned many times, both because I manage to do more<br />
<strong>and</strong> feel better during the day, <strong>and</strong> because I need less<br />
sleep.”<br />
(Dennis Jensen)<br />
20
At our international Course Center<br />
in Håå in southern Sweden, we conduct<br />
retreats that will give you a different<br />
experience to the evening classes we<br />
hold in the cities. We operate in the tradition<br />
of an ashram; a spiritual workshop.<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong> <strong>and</strong> meditation, work <strong>and</strong><br />
freetime, the everyday <strong>and</strong> holiday are<br />
combined in a programme to help you<br />
recharge <strong>and</strong> break away from habits<br />
<strong>and</strong> the media.<br />
This exceptional way of teaching,<br />
which has been used to impart the<br />
yoga tradition for thous<strong>and</strong>s of years,<br />
gives you the opportunity, in a<br />
relatively short period, to have a<br />
deeper experience of yoga <strong>and</strong><br />
meditation. This is helped by<br />
cleansing techniques, healthy<br />
vegetarian food, canoeing, walking<br />
<strong>and</strong> horse riding in the beautiful<br />
forests <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>scapes of Southern<br />
Sweden - <strong>and</strong> lastly but by no means<br />
least, a period of silence which allows<br />
the mind to calm down...<br />
There are many transport options for<br />
reaching Håå Course Center. Please<br />
contact us for further help with travel<br />
plans.<br />
Please note: Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a <strong>and</strong><br />
Sita are touring Australia <strong>and</strong> possibly<br />
New Zeal<strong>and</strong>, giving retreats, see p.25.<br />
Welcome to our Courses<br />
10 <strong>and</strong> 14 days Courses<br />
16 - 26 May 4200/3300 SwCr<br />
Shanti & Omkaran<strong>and</strong>a<br />
26 May - 8 June 4500/3500 SwCr<br />
Gunnar Petersen & <strong>Yoga</strong> Shakti<br />
9 - 22 June 4500/3500 SwCr<br />
Jörgen Hastrup & Joachim Rodenbech<br />
23 June - 6 July 4800/3900 SwCr<br />
An<strong>and</strong>a Murti & Robert Nilsson<br />
7 - 20 July 4800 SwCr<br />
Franz Jervidalo & Laxmi<br />
1 - 14 September 4800/3900 SwCr<br />
Robert Nilsson & Mette Kierkgaard<br />
10 - 20 October 4200/3300 SwCr<br />
Mira & An<strong>and</strong>an<strong>and</strong>a<br />
19 Dec. - 1 Jan. 4800 SwCr<br />
Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a & Bhawana Murti<br />
2 - 12 January 4200/3300 SwCr<br />
Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong> Course<br />
20 July - 18 August 7500 SwCr<br />
Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a & An<strong>and</strong>an<strong>and</strong>a<br />
3-Months Course 1997<br />
22 Jan. - 19 April 18000 SwCr<br />
Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a, Sita <strong>and</strong> other<br />
ashram teachers. This is a sadhana<br />
retreat. Sadhana means 'that which<br />
leads to the goal'.<br />
You learn to apply some of the<br />
most profound yoga <strong>and</strong> meditation<br />
methods from the Tantric tradition.<br />
For example during 33 days of silence<br />
you will be instructed in the great<br />
Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong> (with up to 24 Kriyas)<br />
<strong>and</strong> advanced versions of Antar<br />
Mauna. The peace <strong>and</strong> energy you<br />
achieve helps you to get a perspective<br />
on your life <strong>and</strong> gives you the strength<br />
to do what you really want to do.<br />
Bhawana Murti & Ambika<br />
Contact us for the Håå Course Center brochure which describes it all thoroughly.q<br />
21
The Lotus pose - a classical meditation posture<br />
I was 15 years old <strong>and</strong> at the local swimming<br />
baths, when I saw for the first time a living<br />
human being sitting in the Lotus pose. A<br />
young woman quickly <strong>and</strong> with ease placed<br />
her legs over each other. I was filled with<br />
awe <strong>and</strong> surprise. Although I had<br />
already read about it, I was convinced,<br />
up to that very moment, that the Lotus<br />
pose was reserved for a few people<br />
only - <strong>and</strong> hardly possible for<br />
ordinary people.<br />
Together with the Headst<strong>and</strong>, the<br />
Lotus pose probably is the best<br />
known yoga pose. In one way<br />
or another most people have<br />
either heard or read about it.<br />
The legs are crossed in such<br />
a way that the feet are<br />
placed on the thighs, the<br />
h<strong>and</strong>s are resting on the<br />
knees <strong>and</strong> you sit with a<br />
straight spine. Padmasana,<br />
which the Lotus pose<br />
is called in Sanskrit,<br />
is one of the classical<br />
meditation poses.<br />
Why a meditation<br />
pose?<br />
When you want<br />
to meditate, it is<br />
important to be<br />
able to sit still,<br />
upright <strong>and</strong><br />
relaxed for a<br />
certain length of<br />
time. When the<br />
body is held motionless <strong>and</strong> stable, it becomes relaxed <strong>and</strong><br />
the mind begins to calm down which is a precondition for<br />
going deeper.<br />
Naturally, it is not m<strong>and</strong>atory to sit in the Lotus pose in<br />
22<br />
by Joachim Rodenbeck<br />
order to meditate. It is important, however, that you<br />
can sit still for a period, without having to worry<br />
about the body. To achieve that, there are also<br />
more simple poses which anyone (including<br />
the untrained) can use without difficulty.<br />
In some meditations, i.e. when you begin<br />
practising Inner Silence, you can also sit on<br />
a high-backed chair or even in an armchair<br />
as long as you sit comfortably <strong>and</strong> upright. On<br />
the other h<strong>and</strong>, when you want to go deeper (in<br />
Inner Silence) or work with your psychic<br />
energy in meditations like Ajapa Jap or<br />
Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong>, it is necessary to learn<br />
one of the genuine meditation postures<br />
since the posture has an effect<br />
in itself.<br />
The Lotus pose<br />
Once having learned to master<br />
the Lotus pose, you have<br />
the benefit of being able to<br />
sit motionless <strong>and</strong> effortless<br />
for long periods of time. In<br />
other poses, like the normal<br />
cross-legged position, the<br />
upper body easily sags <strong>and</strong><br />
becomes tired. In a real<br />
meditation pose like the<br />
Lotus pose, on the other<br />
h<strong>and</strong>, one can learn<br />
to avoid restlessness<br />
<strong>and</strong> muscular<br />
tensions. It<br />
could be argued<br />
that one could<br />
lie much more<br />
comfortably<br />
on the back in<br />
the dead-still<br />
pose (Savasana,<br />
see Bindu no. 7) as one does in different types of relaxation.<br />
Relaxation <strong>and</strong> calmness in the body, however, is only a<br />
small part of the overall effect of the Lotus pose.
To some it comes easy to learn to use<br />
the Lotus pose - children for instance<br />
do it spontaneously while they play<br />
- whereas others need more practice. Do<br />
not try to force your body into the pose:<br />
as with any yoga posture the body needs<br />
time to get used to it - the hips, the legs<br />
<strong>and</strong> the knee- <strong>and</strong> foot-joints must be<br />
pre- pared <strong>and</strong> made supple in a systematic<br />
way. Refer to the second part of the<br />
program Air- <strong>and</strong> tension-releasing exercises,<br />
i.e. the Crow Walk, the Butterfly,<br />
the Pump etc. (for thorough guidance see<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong>, Tantra <strong>and</strong> <strong>Meditation</strong> in Daily Life<br />
p. 38-39). To sit in the Half Lotus is also a<br />
good preparation.<br />
Don’t be alarmed if one day the soles of<br />
your feet are smiling at you from on top<br />
of your thighs.<br />
Energy<br />
In the spinal cord, the passages of the<br />
central nervous system connect the brain<br />
with the rest of the body. All parts of<br />
the body are controlled through these<br />
passages. The upright <strong>and</strong> undisturbed<br />
position of the spine in Padmasana is<br />
important in order for the nerve impulses<br />
to flow freely during meditation.<br />
These nerve paths, together with the<br />
brain, are surrounded by a protective<br />
membrane within which the so called<br />
cerebrospinal fluid flows. This fluid<br />
nurtures the nerve endings <strong>and</strong> the<br />
brain - the Lotus pose provides an<br />
optimal condition for its flow. (A chiropractor<br />
will in many cases treat diseases<br />
by removing blockages in the<br />
flow of the cerebrospinal fluid.)<br />
When we go on to a finer dimension,<br />
to the psychic energy, then, in the<br />
spinal cord, we find the energy flows<br />
Ida, Pingala <strong>and</strong> Shushumna, the three<br />
most important passages in the network<br />
of our psychic energy. They should not<br />
be mistaken for our nervous system,<br />
although closely connected with it.<br />
Today’s science confirms that man only<br />
makes use of a fraction of his brain<br />
capacity.<br />
Within the yoga tradition, however,<br />
the breathing exercises <strong>and</strong> meditations<br />
(i.e. Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong>) are known to stimulate<br />
<strong>and</strong> awaken the energy <strong>and</strong>, through its<br />
flows, awaken the dormant parts<br />
of the brain. It is therefore crucial to use<br />
a real meditation pose - it ensures that<br />
the energy generated during the meditation<br />
is directed into its proper paths<br />
<strong>and</strong> that a harmonic expansion of consciousness<br />
is taking place.<br />
Better fitness<br />
through sitting still?<br />
The classical yoga script, Gher<strong>and</strong>a<br />
Samhita, names the Lotus pose “the<br />
destroyer of all diseases” - <strong>and</strong> it surely<br />
has a good number of healing effects.<br />
The following medical survey took<br />
place in 1975 under the direction of the<br />
Indian doctor, Professor Salgar. Her<br />
research team compared a group of<br />
people, who over a six-months period<br />
were sitting in the Lotus pose daily<br />
(without using any kind of additional<br />
meditation or relaxation technique), to<br />
another group who over the same length<br />
of time followed a traditional fitness<br />
training programme with weight lifting,<br />
spring exp<strong>and</strong>ers etc. A third group of<br />
people, who were not doing any such<br />
activity, constituted the control group.<br />
The researcher determined for one<br />
thing that the oxygen in the body was<br />
better utilised in the Lotus pose. Before<br />
<strong>and</strong> after the six-months period all<br />
participants were exposed to a fitness<br />
test. As one might expect, the physical<br />
fitness training group obtained a clearly<br />
improved efficiency, but so did surprisingly<br />
enough the group who had<br />
“only” been sitting in the Lotus pose.<br />
23
Under a heavy load which dem<strong>and</strong>ed<br />
great muscular strength, the physical<br />
fitness training group showed the best<br />
results. However, under normal strain,<br />
the Lotus group surpassed the physical<br />
fitness group. Even though there had<br />
been no actual muscle growth, the<br />
Lotus pose people were better able to<br />
make efficient use of their strength.<br />
The control group showed no changes<br />
24<br />
The Lotus pose can also be used as a<br />
variation in different yoga poses.<br />
whatsoever.<br />
With her findings, Professor Salgar<br />
was able to show that merely sitting in<br />
the Lotus pose has a positive influence<br />
on the metabolism <strong>and</strong> on the overall<br />
body fitness, which was significantly<br />
improved.<br />
What brought about such<br />
changes?<br />
To place the body in such an unusual<br />
position, of course, is not done by<br />
accident <strong>and</strong> indicates that the ancient<br />
yogis possessed an accurate knowledge<br />
of the processes in the body, even<br />
though they did not use the modern terminology<br />
of medical science.<br />
Through the crossed legged position,<br />
the blood supply to the legs is decreased<br />
<strong>and</strong> redirected to the abdominal region.<br />
This increased flow of blood in the<br />
abdominal region is beneficial for the<br />
inner organs <strong>and</strong> improves the digestion.<br />
It can be recommended to people<br />
with nervous disorders that they sit in<br />
the Lotus pose. Furthermore, the nerves<br />
emanating from the coccyx <strong>and</strong> sacrum<br />
are also influenced. These nerves serve<br />
the whole abdomen, the intestines <strong>and</strong><br />
the genitals.<br />
The Nadis, the finer energy passages,<br />
also become activated through the special<br />
position of the legs. From the<br />
viewpoint of acupuncture, (where they<br />
also work with the energy flows,<br />
<strong>and</strong> call the Nadis Meridians), it<br />
has been described how Padmasana<br />
influences the stomach-, the gall bladder-,<br />
the spleen-, the kidney- <strong>and</strong> the<br />
liver-meridians, which again influence<br />
other body parts <strong>and</strong> organs.<br />
The use of the Lotus pose is instrumental<br />
in bringing about a series of<br />
curative <strong>and</strong> health improving effects,<br />
when the energies of the body are fundamentally<br />
harmonised. The actual purpose<br />
of the pose, however, aims further<br />
- as an aid to spiritual absorption.<br />
Not only in India<br />
It is common knowledge that the use<br />
of the Lotus pose in the Indian yoga<br />
tradition <strong>and</strong> in the Far East dates back<br />
a very long time. It is perhaps not so<br />
well-known that sculptures <strong>and</strong> rockcarvings<br />
of this <strong>and</strong> other poses have<br />
been found in the old cultures of Egypt,<br />
Mexico, Colombia, <strong>and</strong> Sc<strong>and</strong>inavia.<br />
The bronze sculpture on the back cover<br />
of this issue of Bindu is of Celtic<br />
origin <strong>and</strong> a part of a “bucket” found<br />
on the “Oseberg” Viking ship in the<br />
Oslo fiord in Norway.<br />
Little is known about the kind of<br />
meditation that was in use in the pre-<br />
Columbian <strong>and</strong> northern cultures. The<br />
tradition in these <strong>and</strong> other cultures<br />
are, compared with the living tradition<br />
Clay sculpture from West-Colombia.<br />
Museum of Ethnology, Berlin.<br />
of India <strong>and</strong> China, less accessible.<br />
However, there is no doubt that the<br />
use of meditation once was worldwide.<br />
In coming issues of Bindu, we<br />
will publish some of the findings that<br />
Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a, through 30 years<br />
of research, has discovered in relation<br />
to the origin of yoga. This study clearly<br />
shows that yoga does not have to be<br />
tied up with a specific mythology or<br />
religion, it is teachings of wisdom <strong>and</strong><br />
a science in itself.q
<strong>Yoga</strong>, Tantra <strong>and</strong> <strong>Meditation</strong><br />
in Daily Life<br />
Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a’s book<br />
in a revised <strong>and</strong> extended edition.<br />
(Rider Books, UK <strong>and</strong> Weiser, USA)<br />
This book offers an alternative to the<br />
misconception put forward by many yoga<br />
books, that one must take on a new life<br />
style to use yoga <strong>and</strong> meditation.<br />
Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a describes yoga<br />
from within, based on his own experience<br />
- from a yogi’s point of view.<br />
As you follow the exercises in this<br />
book, you will realise that yoga is based<br />
on a profound knowledge of human<br />
nature. It is the fruit of a living tradition,<br />
where knowledge is passed directly from<br />
teacher to student, from generation to<br />
generation. Step by step you are guided<br />
through the subject <strong>and</strong> in a practical<br />
manner you can benefit from the different<br />
poses, breathing exercises, meditations<br />
<strong>and</strong> the Tantric sexual yoga.<br />
“For a long time I have had a yearning<br />
to take up yoga, but have been put off<br />
by the narrow scholarly <strong>and</strong> religious<br />
approaches that often seemed apparent.<br />
Your approach, <strong>and</strong> the convenient<br />
inclusion of tantra <strong>and</strong> kundalini was<br />
so refreshing, <strong>and</strong> just what I had been<br />
looking for. I could thoroughly identify<br />
with everything you said; not only<br />
that, but I felt that the way in which<br />
you communicated your knowledge <strong>and</strong><br />
beliefs was perfect.”<br />
(V. Williamsson, London, UK.)<br />
Australian tour with Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a<br />
In September 1996, Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a <strong>and</strong> Sita will visit Australia, giving courses <strong>and</strong><br />
participating in a convention in Sydney. Requests for courses have also come from<br />
students in New Zeal<strong>and</strong> but no arrangements have been finalised at the time of printing. At<br />
the end of the journey Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a will be teaching at Bihar <strong>Yoga</strong> Bharati in India,<br />
before returning to Sweden for a winter season of yoga teacher seminars, meditation courses,<br />
satsangs <strong>and</strong> the yearly 3-month course (see p. 20 - 21).<br />
A 10-day residential course: 25 September - 5 October 1996<br />
in Mackay, Queensl<strong>and</strong><br />
“It is now two days ago since we left the course in Acre <strong>and</strong> I still have an elated <strong>and</strong><br />
self-contradictory feeling of super-charged energy <strong>and</strong> deep inner calm.”<br />
(Student from a course held in Israel)<br />
The course begins with preparatory exercises<br />
for relaxation <strong>and</strong> meditation <strong>and</strong> a gentle<br />
<strong>and</strong> refreshing cleansing process (see p.4).<br />
The main part of the course is centred<br />
around different yoga poses, breathing<br />
exercises <strong>and</strong> methods of cleansing the<br />
energy flows of the body, thus establishing<br />
a healthy field of energy in <strong>and</strong> around<br />
your body. Other methods used are:<br />
Inner Silence (in Sanskrit: Antar Mauna),<br />
a meditation method through which you can<br />
come to terms with your mind <strong>and</strong> learn to<br />
accept your personality in a constructive way.<br />
You develop your capacity to think creatively<br />
<strong>and</strong> thus realise your visions. But first <strong>and</strong><br />
foremost, you get closer to your self <strong>and</strong><br />
experience your true identity (see also p.10).<br />
Ajapa Japa, a preliminary form of Kriya<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong>. In nine steps you go from the coarse to<br />
the finer levels of your being, from using a special<br />
way of breathing to contacting the chakras,<br />
the inner space <strong>and</strong> your psychic symbol.<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong> Nidra, a unique deep relaxation (p.27).<br />
Silence (Mauna), a valuable <strong>and</strong> integrated<br />
part of yoga. Two <strong>and</strong> a half days of silence<br />
raises your awareness further - thus increasing<br />
your capacity to experience. It makes you<br />
better able to experience the finer stages of<br />
the meditations that we practice at this point.<br />
Lectures. Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a <strong>and</strong> Sita will<br />
also give lectures on the Tantric tradition,<br />
yoga <strong>and</strong> meditation techniques <strong>and</strong> how<br />
these can be used <strong>and</strong> integrated in daily life.<br />
Dance <strong>and</strong> Music play a small but<br />
important part in the process of the course.<br />
Venue: Department of Education Camp, Kinchant Dam (approximately 30 Kms south<br />
west of Mackay, Oueensl<strong>and</strong>). The camp is located in a quiet, rural setting in close proximity<br />
to Kinchant Dam. There are many bush walks with an abundance of wallabies,<br />
scrub turkeys <strong>and</strong> birdlife. Bunkroom accommodation. Please bring your own bedding<br />
or sleeping bag. Fee: $ 750 all inclusive for 10 days tuition, accommodation <strong>and</strong> meals.<br />
Weekend courses:<br />
Mackay, Queensl<strong>and</strong><br />
Venue: Concept Training, cnr Victoria<br />
<strong>and</strong> Brisbane Streets, Mackay, Q 4742<br />
Dates <strong>and</strong> times:<br />
Friday 20 September 6.00 pm - 9.30 pm<br />
Saturday 21 Sept. 9.00 am - 6.00 pm<br />
Sunday 22 September 9.00 am - 6.00 pm<br />
Tea Gardens, New South Wales<br />
Venue: The Green Hall, East Lope Way,<br />
North Arm Cove. NSW 2324<br />
Friday 18 to Sunday 20 October<br />
(same times <strong>and</strong> fee as Mackay).<br />
Contact Gillian Young, P.O. Box 118 Tea<br />
Gardens, NSW 2324 Telephone:<br />
(049) 971601<br />
Fee: $ 225.<br />
Bookings for Mackay Courses: contact Robyn Taylor, Concept Training, PO Box 89,<br />
Mackay Q 4740, Telephone: (079) 531 594.<br />
25
Read<br />
Bindu<br />
Previous issues<br />
are still<br />
available, with<br />
articles on:<br />
No. 2: Music<br />
<strong>and</strong> meditation<br />
No. 3: On the ability to experience.<br />
Headst<strong>and</strong>. Nose Cleansing...<br />
No. 4: Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong> I. The effect of<br />
yoga on the finer energy. The Source of<br />
Energy - a Tantric meditation...<br />
No. 5: Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong> II. Psychic energy.<br />
Scientific research on the 3-Months<br />
Courses. The Pyramid <strong>and</strong> Pratyahara.<br />
No. 6: The twilight hour - did we<br />
have a living meditation tradition in the<br />
North? Invent tomorrow's education.<br />
Shoulderst<strong>and</strong>...<br />
No. 7: Silver Jubilee issue! Read about<br />
Kriya <strong>Yoga</strong> III. <strong>Yoga</strong> for pregnant<br />
women. Savasana.<br />
<strong>Yoga</strong> shop<br />
The book: <strong>Yoga</strong>, Tantra <strong>and</strong> <strong>Meditation</strong><br />
in Daily Life<br />
175 Sw.Cr. + 55 Sw.Cr. postage.<br />
See also page 25.<br />
The tape: Experience <strong>Yoga</strong> Nidra<br />
120 Sw.Cr. + 30 Sw.Cr. postage.<br />
The periodical: Bindu, no. 2-7,<br />
25 Sw.Cr. each + 30 Sw.Cr. postage.<br />
Nose cleansing pot<br />
with instruction brochure:<br />
Joghus, (short spout) blue, red, yellow,<br />
green or black.<br />
145 Sw.Cr.+ 55 Sw.Cr. postage.<br />
Krutis, (long spout) blue, s<strong>and</strong>,<br />
white or green, 195 Sw.Cr. +<br />
105 Sw.Cr. postage.<br />
The brochure (free): about the<br />
retreats at Håå International Course<br />
Center (see pages 20-21).<br />
We can only accept payment in<br />
Swedish Crowns by Eurocheque,<br />
international money order or to our<br />
postal giro acc. 73 86 03 - 0 in Sweden.<br />
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<strong>Sc<strong>and</strong>inavian</strong> <strong>Yoga</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Meditation</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, Håå Course Center<br />
340 13 Hamneda, Sweden.<br />
Sweden Håå Course Center, 340 13 Hamneda tel. +46 372 55063<br />
Stockholm Västmannag. 62, 113 25 Stockholm tel. +46 8 32 12 18<br />
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You are welcome to support us, so we<br />
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Publisher: Bindu,<br />
Håa Course Center,<br />
340 13 Hamneda,<br />
Sweden. Tel. +46 372 55063<br />
Fax. +46 372 55036<br />
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email: haa@sc<strong>and</strong>-yoga.org<br />
Circulation: 4,000 in English<br />
(Also printed in German, Swedish<br />
<strong>and</strong> Danish)<br />
Printed: Håå Course Center,<br />
by Erling Christiansen & Mark<br />
Richards<br />
Translation: Mark Richards, Uri<br />
Andersen & Robyn Taylor.<br />
Pictures: Front page:<br />
An<strong>and</strong>an<strong>and</strong>a <strong>and</strong><br />
Omkaran<strong>and</strong>a,<br />
back page: “Oseberg man”,<br />
Ove Holst,<br />
© Oslo university’s museum,<br />
p.2 Ingela Hageman,<br />
p.11 “Anahat Chakra”<br />
An<strong>and</strong>an<strong>and</strong>a,<br />
p.14, 15, 18 <strong>and</strong> 19<br />
Knud Hvidberg,<br />
p.17 Tibetan Tanka,<br />
p.23 Ambika,<br />
p.26 Jörgen Hastrup,<br />
other pictures: Omkaran<strong>and</strong>a.<br />
Copyright © 1996 Bindu<br />
& <strong>Sc<strong>and</strong>inavian</strong> <strong>Yoga</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>Meditation</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
26
Experience <strong>Yoga</strong> Nidra<br />
- a cd you can use in your daily life<br />
All you need to do is to lie down <strong>and</strong> follow the<br />
instructions - completely still <strong>and</strong> with closed eyes!<br />
Two deep relaxations, based on Swami Satyan<strong>and</strong>a’s classic <strong>Yoga</strong> Nidra,<br />
created <strong>and</strong> guided by Swami Janakan<strong>and</strong>a, who has also composed the<br />
background of nature sounds. Music by Roop Verma.<br />
“This tape is a hit, if you can talk about hits within relaxation.”<br />
(A. Thomson, therapist <strong>and</strong> New Age bookseller in Engl<strong>and</strong>)<br />
“The tape is one of the most inspiring I have heard for a long time. It is a multi-dimensional work of art<br />
of a nature that is rarely seen.” (M. Lammgård, musician <strong>and</strong> therapist, Växthuset Kaprifol, Sweden)<br />
“After a number of years of having a stressed life with a job that almost ruined my ability to live in the present, I’m now<br />
again happy to face each new day, not to unnecessarily worry about tomorrow. I have learnt to laugh again. I think it’s<br />
fantastic.” (E. Berg, Ludvika, Sweden)<br />
“<strong>Yoga</strong> Nidra sounds like nothing I’ve heard before. It is accompanied by nature sounds, <strong>and</strong> the Indian musician Roop<br />
Verma. Sound symbols for the various chakras are also played, from that music tradition called Nada <strong>Yoga</strong>. Naturally,<br />
this practice is an individual experience . Personally, I find it utterly fascinating. I feel refreshed <strong>and</strong> revitalised after the<br />
practice, <strong>and</strong> I know I will continue with it.” (Nils-Olof Jacobsen in the magazine Sökaren)<br />
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Celtic figure in Lotus Pose - found on a Viking ship near Oslo, Norway