Shankprakshalana - Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School

Recently I came 

across the 

viewpoint:“ 

“You must 

ensure that yoga 

doesn’t become 

egotistical, you 

must also think 

of world peace”. 

It made me 

think of when 

you do something 

for yourself, 

and when 

do you do 

something for 

others? And 

how does this 

relate to peace 

on earth?“ 

I remember 

one summer 

evening in 

Sweden, at Håå Course Center. The 

participants of a new course had just 

arrived. We sat in the yoga room and 

everybody presented themselves. I 

had spent many summers at the 

course center, as I was responsible 

for the ecological farming, and I 

recognised a middle aged man from 

Norway. He had regularly attended 

courses for the last few years, and 

when it came to his turn for presenting 

himself, he related cheerfully: 

“Actually, I couldn’t afford to 

come on a course this year, but when 

I told my friends, they were alarmed. 

They began to collect money for me, 

so that I could come after all”. 

2 

Like circles on the water 

Those of us who knew him laughed. 

He was usually a little hotheaded 

when he arrived, and discernibly 

more calm and well-balanced when 

he went home two weeks later. 

Obviously his family and friends 

agreed that this way they also benefited 

a great deal from the course.“ 

In another instance, I taught at the 

school in Copenhagen, and after a 

class, a woman came up to me and 

said: “My daughter appreciates that I 

do yoga. - She says that I no longer 

scold her as much”.“ 

This girl’s experience with her 

mother is in concord with one of the 

approaches of 

resolving conflicts, 

which was 

recently drawn 

up by the 

Conflict 

Resolution Network 

in Sydney, 

Australia, with a 

grant from the 

UN. It states 

that: 

“For things to 

change, I must 

change”. 

That things are 

related and are 

part of a whole, 

is also expressed 

in WHO’s new 

definition of 

health, which 

states: 

“Health is a state of complete 

physical, mental and social wellbeing 

and not merely the absence of 

disease or infirmity”. 

As regard to world peace, it is 

commendable to work in different 

ways to create tolerance and peace 

between people and nations. In my 

experience with yoga, I can see that 

tranquillity and well-being also comes 

from within naturally, and spreads as 

good humour and inspiration. If I am 

in harmony with my self, it is easier 

to be the same with the surroundings, 

and I wonder - isn’t it here that world 

peace starts. 

Mira q

Contents 

Intestinal Cleansing - Shankprakshalana: 4 

A cleansing process that sharpens the senses. Four 

simple exercises are practised and the entire 

intestinal tract is rinsed with warm salt water. 

Harmony between the experiencer and the 

experienced 10 

An article by Swami Janakananda about the Tantric 

meditation Antar Mauna (Inner Silence) - and its 

ancestors and cousins. 

A pearl of a meditation - the most basic and 

advanced at the same time. It opens with methods 

that make you independent in relation to influences 

- inner as well as outer. 

Håå Course Center in southern Sweden 20 

“more awake and inspired in daily life...” Rikke 

and Dennis recount what a stay in Håå has meant 

for their daily life. Overview of the courses in 1996- 

97. 

The Lotus pose - a classical meditation pose 22 

Why is this pose the most important yoga exercise? 

Read why, and see what medical research has to 

say. Archaeologists also verify this, through their 

discovery of various yoga pose sculptures 

throughout the world. 

Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life 25 

Swami Janakananda's book on yoga from a yogi's 

point of view. 

Australian tour with Swami Janakananda 25 

and Sita in Queensland and New South Wales 

The Yoga shop 26 

Neti pots, tapes, books... 

Silver Jubilee 

It is not an everyday occurrence that a yoga school celebrates its silver 

jubilee. Over the years we have seen other schools come and go, 

collapsing beneath their own success, or altogether failing to take 

off. We therefore take the opportunity to congratulate the founder, 

Swami Janakananda, under whose guidance the school has blossomed 

over the years to become one of the leading lights of yoga in Europe. 

With Bindu, we intend to expand the horizons of yoga and to 

hopefully shatter some myths and ideals concerning yoga into the 

bargain. 

This September and October Swami Janakananda 

will be holding courses in Queensland, Australia and 

taking part in a yoga congress in Sydney. Following 

this, in November he will be teaching at the new 

University of Yoga in Bihar, India. 

3

Intestinal cleansing - Shankprakshalana 

by Shanti 

Many years ago I met a friend on the 

street who cheerfully told me of a 

girl he had just met. Then he said 

something that caused me to prick 

up my ears: “she rinses her intestines 

with salt water!” I had never heard 

the like before. I was both curious 

and sceptical at the same time! 

Katrin's Christmas present... 

A woman wrote to me five months after 

her first intestinal cleansing: “As I’m 

sure you remember, I was allergic to 

milk and sugar, when I visited you in 

November. I say was, as just before 

Christmas I received the best Christmas 

present ever. I cautiously tried to 

eat normally, and it worked! Since 

then I haven’t had any problems at 

all. A very happy Katrin.” 

Hatha Yoga 

The yoga tradition is very rich, 

containing a comprehensive knowledge 

of the body and mind. It is a 

science, whose methods are tried and 

tested and refined over thousands 

of years. Everybody can use yoga, 

regardless of what you believe in 

or who you are. The methods work 

precisely and without side effects. 

They give you access to your own 

resources. 

Hatha Yoga is the area of the yoga 

tradition that includes the physical 

cleansing processes which remove 

toxins and waste products and ease 

the coarser tensions of the body. The 

state of health can be improved with 

Hatha Yoga. Stomach problems and 

4 

indigestion, psycho-somatic illnesses 

such as diabetes, asthma and migraine 

can be relieved, even cured, by yoga. 

A young man with diabetes stayed at 

Håå Course Center on a longer course. 

His pancreas did not produce any insulin 

at all when he arrived, and he had to 

take insulin several times a day. After 

just a couple of days of yoga training, 

his insulin requirement decreased. We 

teachers had prepared him for the possibility 

of change after the intestinal 

cleansing, but we did not expect such a 

quick response. His 

pancreas began to work, and towards 

the end of the course he needed very 

little supplementary insulin. 

The cleansing processes of 

Hatha Yoga are divided into six main 

groups: Shat Karma. Some of the 

simpler methods are, for example, 

brushing the teeth and “cleaning the 

scalp.” In one of the old scriptures, 

Gheranda Samhita, they are described 

alongside other more comprehensive 

methods. 

There is, for instance, nose cleansing, 

Neti, where lukewarm salt water is 

poured through the nose (read Bindu 

no. 3) and stomach cleansing, Kunjal 

Kriya, where salt water is drunk 

and vomited up again. And stomach 

exercises such as Agnisar and Nauli, 

where the muscles of the abdomen 

are rotated, massaging the intestines 

and kindling the digestion. The breathing 

exercise Kapalabhati cleanses the 

lungs. It is also said to “purify the frontal 

region of the brain” (partly by oxidising 

the blood). Tratak, where you 

concentrate on the flame of a candle, 

gives a better balance in the brain 

and strengthens and cleanses the eyes. 

Tratak is also a concentration technique. 

And finally there is Shankprakshalana, 

intestinal cleansing: 

Shankprakshalana 

Here we have the most comprehensive 

cleansing process, which cleans all 

the way from the mouth to the anus. 

In Sanskrit, the approximately seven 

meter long folded intestine is called a 

conch shell (Shankha). “Prakshalana” 

means to wash thoroughly. 

In the intestines “residue” accumulates, 

waste products remain sitting 

in the small folds of the intestines, 

around which tensions arise, binding 

energy and affecting one's well-being. 

When the intestines are rinsed, the residue 

and tensions are removed. 

The skin becomes soft and various 

kinds of skin allergies and eczema 

are relieved, and can even disappear 

completely. Pallid skin becomes purer 

and clearer. 

The senses are sharpened to such a 

degree that they feel as though they 

were “muffled”, and have now been 

unwrapped. I will never forget the taste 

of that boiled carrot I ate after my first 

intestinal cleansing. Its taste was more 

carrot-like than I had ever previously 

experienced. 

The effects, however, are not only 

physical, such as an improvement in 

taste and sight. When the coarse tensions 

are removed from the stomach and 

abdomen, you have the released energy 

at your disposal, and the body feels 

light and healthy. It becomes easier to 

calm down, something that facilitates 

the learning of meditation. In the old 

source material, the body is described 

as “radiant” after intestinal cleansing.

Preparation 

Even though the intestinal cleansing 

is simple to perform, it nevertheless 

demands guidance by a teacher with 

personal experience in it, and therefore 

should not be done alone the first times. 

It is necessary to set aside a whole 

day when you decide to do the intestinal 

cleansing. The evening meal the 

day before should also be skipped, but 

you can drink as much water or herbal 

tea as you like, but not dairy products. 

The water and salt 

The water for the intestinal cleansing 

must be physiological salt water, the 

same salt concentration as the body’s 

own, 0.9%. This allows the water to 

leave the stomach more quickly, whilst 

maintaining the same osmotic pressure 

upon both sides of the intestinal wall. 

This means that the body neither 

absorbs nor yields salt and water in 

significant quantities. Ordinary salt is 

used. We have ascertained that some 

people are allergic to sea salt. Maybe 

this is because our oceans are presently 

polluted, or due to natural substances 

such as allergy provoking pollen and 

spores. We therefore suggest using 

ordinary salt from deep salt mines. 

The ease with which the water 

passes through the intestines is also 

dependent on the temperature of the 

water. It is perfect when it is as warm 

as soup. 

The procedure 

Intestinal cleansing is done by drinking 

a glass of salt water and performing 

four simple exercises that help the 

water to pass through the intestines. 

Afterwards, you again drink a glass 

of salt water, do the exercises and 

continue like this. After the sixth glass, 

you begin to go to the toilet following 

the exercises. Gradually, as you drink 

more and more glasses and do the 

exercises, the water that is evacuated 

becomes lighter and contains fewer 

and fewer particles. Finally, it is as 

clear as the water you drink, and 

completely free from particles. The 

intestinal cleansing itself is now over. 

Altogether, about sixteen large glasses 

of salt water are drunk. 

Kunjal Kriya 

- stomach cleansing 

Now the stomach must be cleansed. 

The water for the stomach cleansing 

is also physiological, but only luke 

warm. This technique is called Kunjal 

Kriya, not to be confused with 

“Kriya Yoga”, which is an advanced 

meditation technique. 

In Sanskrit, Kunjal means “to 

throw up water”, and Kriya “process”. 

1/ The first exercise is called Tiryaka Tadasana in 

Sanskrit. We call it “the tree in the wind”. It influences 

the upper part of the intestinal tract. 

Stand with the legs apart, fold the hands and turn the 

palms outwards. Stretch the arms over the head, look up 

at the hands and sway from side to side, eight times to 

each side. 

2/ The second exercise is Kati Chakrasana, “the waist 

twist”. The feet are slightly apart, arms hang loose by 

the sides of the body. Swing the body and head so 

that you look far back over the shoulder, in a rotating 

movement. 

This movement causes the arms to swing loose 

horizontally outwards from the body. This exercise is 

also done eight times to each side. The effect here is mostly at the middle of the stomach. 

6

You drink until the stomach is 

full; the water has a tendency to 

come up again by itself. Otherwise 

you can stick a couple of fingers 

down your throat and trigger the 

vomiting reflex, so that the water 

comes up. 

Stomach cleansing is a simple and 

quick process followed by a feeling 

of well-being and deep relaxation. 

If a more thorough acquaintance 

with the method is desired, then it 

can be done every morning on an 

empty stomach, for up to forty days. 

No special diet is required, but 

wait at least an hour before you 

eat anything. 

Neti - nose cleansing 

The nose is cleansed afterwards. 

It is also done with luke warm, 

physiological salt water. A neti pot 

is filled with luke warm salt water. 

The spout is placed into one nostril, 

so that it sits tight. The head is held 

at an angle so that the water runs by 

itself in through one nostril and out 

of the other. 

Rest and food 

When you have cleansed and dried 

the nose, again done the exercises, 

been to the toilet, and gotten the final 

water out, then lie down and rest for 

an hour. You don’t sleep but just lie and 

relax, and maybe listen to some pleasant 

music. 

The rest following the intestinal 

cleansing is described in this way 

in Yogic Management of Asthma and 

Diabetes, by Dr. Swami Shankaradevananda 

Saraswati: 

“This is the only time, where the 

digestion gets a total rest, as it is only 

when the stomach is completely empty, 

that the activity of the digestive nerve 

impulses and glands stops.” 

When you’ve finished resting, then 

you eat a special meal, consisting of 

rice, red lentils and ghee. This meal 

helps the digestive process start again 

in a gentle and balanced way. 

Then take it easy for the rest of the 

day. Of course you can take a walk 

in the fresh air, but don’t do anything 

strenuous. 

The diet 

A diet is observed after the intestinal 

cleansing, involving mild and easy 

digestible food, such as boiled grains 

(rice, pasta without egg, etc.), boiled 

vegetables and legumes, for instance 

beans or lentils. This gives the body 

time to stabilise the effect of the 

intestinal cleansing. 

The first ten days the following 

things are to be refrained from: 

3/ The third exercise is called Tiryaka Bhujangasana, 

which can be translated as “the 

twisted cobra”. First lie on the floor with the 

legs wide apart; then raise the body up on 

straight arms and twist the head and torso so 

that you can look over the right shoulder and 

see down towards the left heel. Repeat to the 

other side. Here it is the lower part of the 

intestines that are stimulated. The exercise is 

repeated eight times relaxedly to each side. 

4/ The fourth exercise, Uddarakarshanasana, translates as “abdominal massage.” Sit in 

a squatting position with the hands placed upon the knees. Hold the upper body and head 

erect. Lower the right knee to the left foot, whilst pressing the left leg against the body 

so that it exerts a pressure against the stomach, all the way down to the groin. Repeat 

to the other side. This exercise massages the lowest part of the intestines. Do it eight 

times to each side. 

7

Coffee, tea, sugar, honey, chocolate, 

all varieties of sweets, tobacco, alcohol 

and also medicine that is not absolutely 

necessary. Vegetables such as onions 

and leeks, raw vegetables and spices 

are also to be avoided, as well as all 

forms of fruit and dairy produce. Meat, 

fish and eggs are not eaten for forty 

days. 

If you are in doubt as to what you 

can eat during the diet period, then 

do a little experiment and ask yourself 

whether you would give it to a baby. 

If you wouldn’t, then don’t eat it until 

after the diet. 

A diet of boiled vegetables and 

grains may sound a little bit boring 

to some, but you can make interesting 

food by just using your imagination. 

Already after a couple of days, you can 

begin to season the food with a tiny bit 

of herbs. All seasonings can be used 

in limited quantities, as your taste buds 

have been awoken from a slumber. 

Even though ecological vegetables 

are a little dearer than others, the 

investment is worthwhile. This 

In hospitals in the East and West 

“Yoga hospitals” can be found in many places in India, where people with various psychosomatic illnesses, such as 

diabetes and asthma, are treated. Common to them all is that medicine is not used in the treatment; it consists entirely 

of yoga techniques. 

At The Yogic Treatment-cum-Research Center in Jaipur, founded by Swami Anandananda, where he collaborated 

with a team of doctors, the treatment consists of intestinal cleansing. It is followed up by a few yoga programmes and 

supplemented with the small intestinal cleansing, which can be done as often as necessary with regard to the patients 

needs. With these simple forms of treatment, diabetic and asthma patients experience a noticeable improvement, if not 

full recovery. 

A special surgeon at the university clinic in Cologne, Germany, heard about the intestinal cleansing from a colleague 

who had tried it on one of our courses. He became so interested in trying the technique on his patients prior to their 

operations, that he invited one of our yoga teachers to Cologne. Normally the doctors would use a method where the 

patient would sit on a special chair with a hole in the seat, and put a stomach pump in them. In this way the intestines 

were rinsed with a saline solution. It is a harsh treatment to say the least. The first one to do the intestinal cleansing was 

a 75 year old woman. The doctor was very surprised to find how easy, with the help of the exercises, the water passed 

through her system. He was even more surprised the following day during the operation, when he discovered that her 

entire alimentary canal was completely clean - no particles could be found even in the folds of the intestines. 

8

especially concerns base vegetables 

such as potatoes, carrots and parsnips. 

At our city schools, we end the 

intestinal cleansing by going through 

the diet. On the courses at Håå it is 

easy as the food is served to you. 

When you expand on your menu 

after the diet period, bear in mind the 

body’s increased sensitivity which perhaps 

means that you don’t need to eat 

the same as before. Be attentive to 

the body’s signals. After the intestinal 

cleansing it is easier than at other times 

to change one's eating habits. It can also 

be a good time to stop smoking as many 

lose the desire following the process. 

The small intestinal cleansing 

There is also a shorter version called 

Laghoo Shankprakshalana. It is used 

by people undergoing special 

treatment, such as diabetics. They do 

it every day for forty days following 

the larger one. 

It is simpler because there is no 

diet to observe afterwards, and only six 

to eight glasses are drunk. The same 

exercises are done after every other 

glass. 

The little intestinal cleansing is 

done in the morning on an empty 

stomach. In contrast to the full 

intestinal cleansing, which is normally 

done only once or twice a year, the 

small one can be done as often as 

necessary.q 

Intestinal cleansing and gall stone treatment 

When I had gall stone pains, I went 

to the hospital, to confirm that it was 

gall stones. I got an appointment for 

ultra-sound scanning, and later I should 

arrange a date for an operation. I said 

that I would only be operated on if 

it was absolutely necessary, and that 

I would first try an old-fashioned oil 

therapy to get the stones out. 

At home in the yoga school I did the 

intestinal cleansing first. It took a little 

longer than usual, as I couldn’t do the 

exercises thoroughly due to the pain, 

which felt as if there was a knife 

just below the rib-cage on the right 

side. After the intestinal cleansing I 

rested for an hour as usual, and then - 

instead of the food - I drank a litre of 

olive oil. I had a slice of orange ready, 

so that after every swallow I chewed 

on the orange before I could taste the 

oil. I managed to drink the oil by thinking 

about the operation I was avoiding 

and the two week stay in the hospital 

afterwards. Since then I have heard 

from others, that it is sufficient with 

two decilitres of oil, which works just 

as well. 

The next couple of hours I needed 

to rest again, so that the oil could 

work in peace. I lay on my right side 

and waited for the gall stones to come 

out. I went to the toilet a few times, 

but only oil and slime came out. At 

one point I gave up waiting, and ate 

the food and took it easy the rest of 

the day. 

The next morning, when I went to 

the toilet, a large green gall stone as big 

as the nail on my thumb came out, and 

the pain was gone! 

There was still a heavy sensation 

around the gall bladder, so I repeated 

the same process again a week later - 

intestinal cleansing, rest, this time only 

half a litre of oil, then again rest and 

food. The next morning I was prepared 

and caught over thirty smaller gall 

stones in a sieve. 

A few days later I did the treatment 

for the third time. This resulted in more 

than half a handful of gall stones the 

size of grains of sand - and the last 

heavy sensation around the gall bladder 

was gone. 

The time had come for a close 

examination before the operation. I 

took the small grass green stones in a 

glass to the hospital and told them what 

I had done and that there was no 

longer any pain. The scan showed that 

there were no more stones left. The 

doctor’s conclusion was, “you can’t just 

go home and remove the gall stones 

yourself, so there has probably been 

a misdiagnosis from the start.” The 

slightly elder doctor, who 

performed the ultra-sound 

examination said to me in all 

confidence that research was being carried 

out on the effect of fatty acids on 

gall stones. 

This all happened thirteen years ago, 

and I haven’t had any more stones 

since. I have done the treatment quite 

a few times just to be on the safe 

side, but only green liquid from the 

gall bladder comes out. Naturally, I 

do yoga exercises that keep the gall 

bladder and the other digestive organs 

in form. Other teachers and students 

at our schools, who have tried the 

treatment, have had equally good 

results from it. Some have waited with 

the food, and have instead washed 

the stones out with the help of the 

small intestinal cleansing, where only 

six glasses of salt water are drunk. 

A similar oil therapy is used 

by some health farms and natural 

doctors. My late grandmother 

removed her gall stones by drinking 

double cream and melted butter. 

If you have a problem with the gall 

bladder yourself, you can contact an 

experienced yoga teacher at one of 

our schools. 

Laxmiq 

9

Harmony between the experiencer and the 

experienced 

On the Tantric meditation Antar Mauna (Inner Silence), 

its ancestors and cousins 

by Swami Janakananda 

“When a mood against someone 

or for someone arises, do not place 

it on the person in question, but 

remain centered.” 

(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra) 

Yoga and Tantra 

The purpose of yoga is to prepare for 

meditation. Yoga has no purpose other 

than enabling one to achieve the 

meditative state. This occurs through 

cleansing processes, such as nose 

cleansing and intestinal cleansing 

(see page 4); by yoga postures; breathing 

exercises; by mudra and bandha 

(“attitudes and locks”), which influence 

the body’s energy field and thus the 

general attitude to yourself and your 

surroundings, just as they contribute to 

the awakening of the body’s chakra 

(the psychic centers); and finally, by 

pratyahara, where you learn to free 

yourself from outer influences, as well 

as influences of a physical, emotional 

or psychic nature. 

Through these methods the “side 

effects” of yoga come into play, 

presenting clarity, good health, 

increased energy, removing depression 

and whatever else might be standing 

in the way of you experiencing the 

meditative state and being able to 

remain in it. If the body is suffering 

from illness and pain, or if fear and 

anxiety occupy the mind to such a 

degree that it is the only thing you 

can identify with, then you must find 

ways and means to rise above it. 

Rishi Patanjali described the obstacles 

to yoga 2300 years ago, in his 

10 

book Yoga Sutra, as being “disease, 

dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, 

craving for enjoyment, erroneous perception, 

lack of ability to reach the 

finer states, lack of stability...” 

With Patanjali, a branch of yoga 

was put forth that would come to 

influence the understanding that 

people have of yoga and what they 

expect from it. The rather theoretical 

yoga of Patanjali was preferred in 

learned circles, here his ideals of 

controlling the mind were seen as 

preconditions rather than results of 

practice. Therefore, the description 

of yoga in encyclopaedia and other literature 

has generally been identified 

with this interpretation, and with the 

branch that developed after Patanjali 

called Raja Yoga. 

In his four small books, each containing 

from between thirty to fifty 

short verses that constitute Yoga Sutra, 

Patanjali is both inspiring and brilliant, 

and any self-respecting yoga school 

naturally has his book as a part of 

its curriculum - together with other 

“works” from the tradition. However, 

Patanjali has given the intellectual and 

cultured citizen of the east as well 

as of the west an excuse to think, philosophise 

and moralise instead of realising 

and experiencing the effect of the 

actual yoga and meditation techniques. 

When one is stuck with concepts alone, 

something quite different, namely the 

tangible effects of the practical exercises 

fail to appear. 

In the same way that Puritanism 

dominated in Europe, so it was in 

India, where a rigid scholastic interpretation 

of Patanjali came to overshadow 

all other yoga. Ideals arose 

so large that it distanced yoga from 

people. 

Naturally, Tantra and the Tantric 

meditations include elements described 

in Raja Yoga, for the simple reason that 

Raja Yoga is a small branch which has 

grown from the tree of the Tantric tradition. 

Yoga is accessible not only to 

those wanting to control life and 

themselves. The Tantric tradition 

includes much more, enabling you 

to submit yourself to the vicissitudes of 

life, while remaining at one with your 

self - and to learn to live fully. 

In Tantra, undisturbed by the 

prevailing fashion and the limitations 

of the ages, the yogis have continued 

along the original path, in the way 

you relate to life and to the discovery 

or reconquest of yourself. The 

importance of concrete and practical 

training, rituals and meditation is 

emphasised. It is something you do. 

Theory alone is regarded as a kind 

of by-product, arising from the communication 

with those who do not 

yet know the finer states. It is the 

personal and direct contact between 

people that counts, when this 

knowledge has to be passed on. 

Whatever you experience, you 

acknowledge and use in the process 

of realisation, rather than avoiding 

it through control and restraint. This 

approach is of fundamental importance

in Tantra - in its practices, 

rituals and meditations. It is not a 

question of taking severe measures, 

but of being aware and present in 

what is anyway done, thought and 

experienced. In a devoted and yet 

neutral way you let happen what 

happens, without reacting or 

struggling against it - and without 

giving up or letting yourself be 

overwhelmed by or dependent upon 

anything. 

“...whatever concept or idea appeareth, 

the procedure is to be 

indifferent to the thought, allowing 

it to do as it liketh, neither falling 

under its influence, nor attempting 

to impede it. 

Wholly abandon all directing 

and shaping of thoughts...” 

(Evans-Wentz: Tibetan Yoga 

and Secret Doctrines) 

“O Beloved, put attention 

neither on pleasure 

or pain but between 

these.” 

(Vigyana Bhairava 

Tantra) 

It is safe to say that 

through meditation one 

restores the cells to their 

natural state and frequency, 

thus neutralising inhibitions 

and influences, which normally 

captivate the mind and lead one 

to forget oneself and place the 

identity in something other than 

what one really is. A clear example 

of this is stress. However, other physical 

and mental troubles or illnesses 

can also be avoided by returning 

to the original state - as it was 

before whatever 

influenced the state and upset the 

balance in the body and mind. 

In your essence there is an image 

of your own good health, 

of your own true form. 

And it’s easier than you think 

to be 

in it, 

to return 

to it. 

By using the techniques and meditations 

of Tantric yoga, and thereby 

realising: what captivated or 

fascinated the mind are but mere 

Meditation 

Meditation teaches and 

trains us to be receptive 

and creative towards 

“reality”, instead of constrained, 

infatuated, submissive 

or in a reaction. 

Small “hooks” are found in 

the mind, stated Sri Aurobindo, 

a yogi who lived in Pondicherry, 

India, in the previous generation. These 

hooks catch the thoughts that fit them. 

Thoughts that appear in the mind again 

and again are “maintained” by the 

hooks. They hold us prisoners in certain 

attitudes and expectations. 

To become free from habitual 

thoughts and limiting ideas of ourexperiences 

- you then remove the very 

limitations mentioned by Patanjali. 

Let’s take, for example, a strong 

emotion of anger or sorrow. In the 

midst of that state, in the midst of 

that emotion, you go on experiencing 

it and thus you allow what you experience 

to happen. You do not try to 

interfere with the thought or the 

emotion. You do not try to stop it. 

You allow it to express itself and spend 

its fury. You neither try to avoid the 

anger or sorrow, nor do you cling to 

it. Therefore nothing is left hanging 

afterwards in the form of tension or a 

grudge, and you can continue to live in 

the now. 

A picture that may illustrate this: As 

a child I would be quite overwhelmed 

by the cold after swimming in the sea. 

I shivered, my teeth chattered, and I 

could barely put on my clothes 

again and do the buttons up after 

drying myself. This could go on 

for quite a while, unless at some 

point or other I gave up and 

allowed myself to be in that 

freezing state. When I 

allowed myself to experience 

the state, the 

shivering and chattering 

ceased at once, and I 

calmed down and regained 

warmth. 

11

selves and our surroundings, from 

states such as stress, unwanted 

changes of mood and the experience 

of too much or too little energy, 

we have to straighten out the hooks. 

The thoughts will then no longer 

stick to the mind, we can let go and let 

them pass. 

How does one abolish enslavement 

by the thoughts? After all, it is not 

only the opinions that we hold on to 

and defend, but also the more unconscious, 

automatic thoughts, which 

colour our reality. It is thoughts that 

appear by themselves in every situation, 

that judge or explain whatever 

we are facing. Can we regard them 

as just thoughts, or do we believe 

them? How many times has your mind 

without any ado judged a situation, 

and you took for granted that what 

your mind presented was true? Did 

you know? Or did you “guess”? When 

we do not realise that the mind often 

functions in a completely automatic 

way, presenting us with ready-made 

opinions, we are kept in a prison of 

grey routine. Thus we are unable to 

see things anew and unable to adapt to 

each new situation. 

It requires a special ability to disregard 

the seductive games of the mind. 

After all, the mind with its senses 

is the tool through which we survive 

in this dimension on earth. In the 

Tantric yoga tradition there are 

techniques that can help us see 

through that which the mind presents 

to us, so the mind becomes a real 

tool instead of a slave driver - and we 

become independent. 

The meditation we deal with here is 

called Antar Mauna. Translated from 

12 

Sanskrit it means Inner Silence - a pearl 

of a meditation, which I learned from 

Swami Satyananda when I lived with 

him for some years in the late sixties. 

Tantra - in Buddhism, in 

Hinduism and by itself 

In scriptures from Kashmir (some are 

said to be over 4000 years old), 

intense, short sentences or verses 

(sutra) reveal essential instructions in 

Tantric yoga and meditation. As part 

of an initiation - that was otherwise 

passed on verbally and secretly from 

teacher to student from generation to 

generation, for thousands of years - 

these early sutras hint at a knowledge 

of the mind, which in a practical 

way can open the doors of meditation: 

Vigyana Bhairava Tantra, Sochanda 

Tantra and Malini Vijaya Tantra, 

quoted in the article under one name: 

Vigyana Bhairava Tantra *). 

From this Tantric tradition grew, 

for example, the deep relaxation 

Yoga Nidra and Inner Silence, a 

meditation, that has been evolved 

into a basic form of seven parts. 

Apart from this basic form, there are 

more advanced variants, where the 

teacher during the meditation constantly 

allows himself to be “infected” 

by a student straying and identifying 

with different states, experiences and 

even diseases, only to free himself 

from them, together with the student, 

and return to the essential. 

The following passage is from 

Kularnava Tantra, (a later work than 

the above mentioned) concerning the 

importance of direct instruction: 

“Neither Asramas (four stages of 

life) nor philosophies or sciences can 

provide the means for liberation; 

only the Jnana [insight]of all the Sastras 

[tantric scriptures] can give it. And 

this Jnana can be received through the 

word of a Guru. 

All other ways are deceptive, 

oppressive; the knowledge of 

Truth alone is life-giving.” 

Already before the rise of Buddhism, 

traces of this meditation can be found 

in the Tantric tradition - yes, even 

before Alexander the Great coined 

the word Hinduism as a collective 

term for the way people lived by 

the Indus river. 

Tantra was an independent 

tradition and science even before 

certain aspects of it became 

integrated, first with “Hinduism” 

and later with Buddhism. 

The Tantric literature is outwardly 

called non-Vedic, Agama, in order 

to declare its independence from the 

Vedic tradition, on which Hinduism 

to a great extent is based. 

Here are a few examples of the 

ancient instructions: 

“The appreciation of objects 

and subjects is the same for an 

enlightened person as for an 

unenlightened person. 

The former has one greatness: 

he remains in the subjective mood, 

not lost in things.” 


“In moods of extreme desire, 

be undisturbed.” 


*) Vigyana Bhairava Tantra from Kashmir has had a fundamental influence on Swami Satyananda’s way of teaching the Tantric 

meditations. Excerpts of the work were first published in the West in 1955 in Gentry magazine in an adapted issue by Paul 

Reps and later incorporated in the book Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. The Sanskrit text is translated to Hindi by Swami Satyananda 

and Swami Satsangananda, and certain parts of this text have been translated into English.

When Buddhism came to Japan, the 

Tantric element it contained laid the 

basis for the meditation Za-Zen. In its 

attitude and in all its simplicity it is 

related to Antar Mauna. There are also 

many similarities to the Buddhist meditation 

Vipasana. I suppose it is used 

especially in Southeast Asia. Its name 

can mean unfettering. 

In Tibet a similar method developed 

from the Tantric source, the meditation 

Maha Mudra. When it was presented 

by Evans-Wentz in the thirties, he called 

it “the yoga of the great liberation”, 

or “the yoga of the great symbol”. 

The fact that Evans-Wentz and the 

lamas with whom he collaborated have 

chosen the latter, somewhat abstract 

translation of the title, requires one 

to reflect on the meaning of the 

word symbol - which I shall refrain 

from doing here. Evans-Wentz himself 

admits in the commentary to the title, 

that mudra means attitude. From my 

own background, I can translate Maha 

Mudra as: the great attitude, signifying 

the greatest attitude, the best attitude 

one can have to life. There is, however, 

the pitfall with this Tibetan variant, 

inspiring though it may be, that it 

has a relatively large philosophical 

superstructure. This could easily lead 

to an understanding of the concepts, 

that one should 

otherwise free oneself from - one philosophises 

and becomes reliant upon 

one's own notions, thus blocking the 

experience or the insight in the meditation. 

This probably is the sole purpose 

that the more direct teaching 

from teacher to student, as always 

in Tantra, may not and cannot be 

recounted in writing, it must be 

received in a teaching situation. However, 

when Maha Mudra is used correctly 

it can, just like Antar Mauna, 

embody both the most fundamental and 

highest form of initiation. 

13

I shall now recount 

the step, where the 

student must give 

up all his or her concepts, 

even conceptions 

that he or she 

has used all through 

his or her life on the 

religious or spiritual 

journey - up to reaching 

this step. An 

excerpt from Evans- 

Wentz’s book: 

“... The various 

concepts, too, 

being illusory, 

and none of them 

real, fade away 

accordingly. 

Thus, for 

example, everything 

postulated of the 

Whole, the Sangsara 

and 

Nirvana, arises from 

nothing more than 

mental concepts. 

Changes in one’s train of thought 

[or in one’s association of ideas] 

produce corresponding changes in 

one’s conception of the external 

world. 

Therefore, the various views 

concerning things are due merely to 

different mental concepts... 

In general, all things mentally 

perceived are concepts. 

The happiness of gods in heavenworlds 

and of men is another mental 

concept... 

The full realisation of the passing 

away into Nirvana is also a concept of 

mind. 

Misfortune caused by demons and 

evil spirits is also a concept of mind. 

Gods and good fortune are also concepts 

of mind.” 

14 

February 1969, from the time when I received the teaching and training that laid the 

foundation for the insight on which this article is based. 

Or, as it says in the ancient literature 

from Kashmir: 

“Since, in truth, bondage and 

freedom are relative, these words 

are only for those terrified with 

the universe. This universe is a reflection 

of minds. As you see many 

suns in water from one sun, so see 

bondage and liberation.” 


“Saraha states: 

...Whoever 

contemplates the 

nature of 

nirvana 

Without spontaneous 

awareness 

Will not realise the ultimate. 

The Tantric meditations do to a great 

extent go together. That applies to the 

original Tantric meditations that were 

found, and are found in India, and the 

corresponding meditations that were 

assimilated by Buddhism in general, 

in Tibetan and Japanese Buddhism in 

particular. 

However, there is one crucial difference 

- a choice, 

perhaps - for 

someone standing 

outside, looking 

in. The difference 

lies in the goal 

itself, and with it 

the insights which 

the underlying 

concepts convey. 

What they do have 

in common, on 

the other hand, is 

awareness and the 

ability to experience. 

In Mahamudra 

by Takpo Tashi 

Namagyal from 

1986, one reads: 

Tilopa supports this position: 

Whether by expounding the tantric 

mysticism, 

The transcending wisdom, the sacred 

canon, and the concise sayings, 

Or by following the various classic 

treatises 

And the doctrines of conceptual 

determination, 

One may not realise mahamudra as 

lucid awareness.” 

Who is it then that 

experiences? 

Who possesses awareness? 

When I was a child, I experienced 

myself as a child. When I was a 

teenager, I experienced myself as a

teenager, and in this 

way throughout life 

I have experienced 

myself in its different 

periods. Who am I? 

The body has 

changed. Each time 

I had to have my 

passport or driving 

licence renewed, I 

needed new photos. 

The old photos do 

not resemble me any 

more. 

And the personality, 

well, that has undergone 

its phases. 

Ideas have been 

replaced by insight, 

hope by contentment, 

which again 

was followed by 

disappointment, 

frustration, hope and 

contentment. 

It is as though life 

is a large wheel and 

we tear along somewhere out on the 

rim. 

The rim is divided into life’s phases 

- phases where everything runs smoothly 

and falls into place, interspersed with 

phases of resistance and adversity. It 

may hurt when we have to let go of 

customary values, because experience 

and maturing tells us that they will not 

hold - and we are torn between action 

and reflection. 

And behind the personality? Isn’t 

something stored? Something individual? 

A growing knowledge? A knowledge 

that is not merely intellectual in 

character, a maturation that, in spite 

of it all, takes you in the direction you 

once envisioned that life maybe would 

go? A greater benevolence perhaps, a 

greater tolerance? And a greater courage 

to stand by that which is of value 

Informal discussions around the fire, the day before I (on the left) received my 

initiation to become a Swami by Swami Satyananda (on the right). 

and needs defending, a determination 

to cut through all empty imitations 

and 

automatic ways of doing things? 

Is life, I wonder, a constant spiralling 

closer towards the wheel’s 

hub, where a real overview exists - 

towards the hole in the hub? 

And something else I also got from 

the meditation: an ability to seek, 

which extends further than that of 

thinking or understanding, an ability 

to experience. Experience what? No, 

not the meaning of life. Life gives us 

that, as Piet Hein says, right up to the 

day when we ask about it. But something 

else, a search for that “place” 

which is not really any place, but everywhere, 

as the water in the sea and 

the air in the space we live in, a state, 

an attitude, a symbol. 

“Sweet-hearted 

one, meditate on 

knowing and notknowing, 

existing 

and not existing. 

Then leave both 

aside that you 

may be.” 

(Vigyana 

Bhairava Tantra) 

In the beginning 

comes a glimpse, 

an experience of 

what is eventually 

to become a 

familiar place, a 

state. A place to 

return to again and 

again, to be, to 

rest and restore the 

fundamental harmony 

in body and 

mind. 

From there I 

gaze upon life: 

Life changes 

constantly, but here doesn’t change - 

here is still, here IS - silence, on whose 

background life unfolds. 

“This consciousness is the spirit of 

guidance of each one. Be this one.” 


All over the world minor and major 

philosophies, religions, shamanism, 

etc., the innermost in people is experienced 

as something, an identity, an 

existence, a being, a soul, a self. 

Whereas in Buddhism (at least in the 

Theravada branch), the final goal is 

nothing: “The occidental idea that 

the human mind grasps a ´thing´ 

better than a ´no-thing´ is clearly 

wrong, and I state this on the basis 

of my Siamese [Thai] professorial 

experience...” 

15

This is how the Austrian Swami Agehananda 

Bharati (who lived the most 

of his life in India and concluded it in 

USA) expressed himself in his autobiography, 

The Ochre Robe. 

He continues: “The Hindu, when he 

hears the term ´non-self´, immediately 

thinks of the Absolute with which the 

Self is identified. Not so the Siamese 

[Thai] - for he has never really heard 

about an Absolute. For him, anatmavada 

simply means `doctrine of nonself´, 

where atma (self) refers solely to 

his own ego, his particular individuality, 

which Buddhism denies as a fiction...” 

And when C. J. Jung had to 

write the preface to Evans-Wentz’s 

book: The Tibetan Book of the Great 

Liberation, he sounded rather too 

naively idealistic, as one from 

outside would view things a bit 

apprehensively, and has not himself 

dared to experience what it is about. 

Nevertheless, Jung may be in accord 

with Buddhism when he writes: 

“... unless one is prepared to turn away 

from the world and to disappear into 

the unconscious for good, mere teaching 

has no effect, or at least not the 

desired one...” 

In maintaining this, however, he 

neglects the systematic and scientific 

method inherent in meditation, where 

a beneficial effect transpires progressively, 

regardless of what you may 

think, just as long as you are capable 

of following the method. Subsequent 

to Jung’s death, such effects have been 

measured and confirmed in medical 

laboratories world-wide. 

Also, what he apparently did not 

know, was that, as one gradually 

becomes experienced in meditation, 

a new light is cast over things, and 

everything appears different than the 

expectations and the philosophy one 

had before beginning to meditate. 

16 

Still, one is faced with a fundamental 

choice here, when Buddha states 

that even the idea itself of a self (or a 

soul) is an obstacle to total liberation: 

a choice between 

nothing, complete emptiness 

no self, no I.... 

or 

something 

(Raja Yoga etc.) 

concentration 

focusing 

the soul 

and/or 

(Tantra) 

letting go 

experience 

being 

and all that you are anyway. 

One day a so-called sadhu came to the 

ashram in Monghyr asking for shelter 

and received it. Since he had come to 

an ashram, then he would also meditate. 

I was curious, and when he had 

left again, I asked Swamiji what he 

had been doing. “Well,” said Swami 

Satyananda, “he sat in the meditation 

hall for a while. And then he came out 

enthusiastically and said: 

‘Swamiji, I’ve been in samadhi! 

I saw nothing. I heard nothing. 

I was gone completely!’” 

I looked in wonder at Swamiji 

after that statement, and he gave 

this comment: “What the man 

experienced was a state of 

unconsciousness. Yes, he was 

probably sleeping. To me, 

samadhi is not unconsciousness, but 

total consciousness, inner as well as 

outer.” 

How is yoga and thus 

meditation defined? 

I don’t want to use that hackneyed 

definition of yoga, where one speaks 

of becoming one with the higher self, 

or to unite the higher and lower self. 

Higher and lower, that’s nonsense, 

there is just one. Such a definition is 

based on false ideals, which may just 

as easily distance people from themselves, 

as it may be inspiring - in 

such thinking a demand to be holy 

is hidden, something that can give a 

sense of guilt, lead to hypocrisy and 

make one become censorious or compare 

oneself to others. Who is higher? 

Who is lower? Where do I stand? No 

thanks! 

There is a definition of yoga which I 

hope cannot be interpreted in this way. 

And it implies that it is something that 

the individual can do with a little help 

from tradition and a good teacher, but 

without having to compete on the spiritual 

or other planes. 

“The purity of other teachings is 

as impurity to us. In reality know 

nothing as pure or impure.” 


After all, this is about that which 

one is already, in essence, or 

everywhere: 

Stillness is our consciousness, 

the one which experiences behind it 

all. One is stillness - and everything 

else: sounds, what one sees, feels 

and smells; nature, the town, all 

material and all inner things, feelings, 

thoughts, inner pictures, dreams, all 

these are experiences, which change 

and are forgotten. 

“This consciousness exists as each 

being, and nothing else exists.” 

(Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)

“Meditation, therefore, is a process by 

which you see your own 

consciousness - consciousness 

sees itself through itself, without 

any intervening medium, support or 

agency. In meditation you undergo 

a process, not of self-analysis but selfperception. 

It is in this that meditation 

goes beyond the 

psycho-analysis of modern 

psychology. You do not merely 

analyse yourself; you see yourself.” 

(Swami Satyananda) 

Experience and consciousness 

The definition of yoga can be 

expressed by a symbol. It is an 

archetypal symbol which certain 

movements, religions and countries 

have taken for their symbol (e.g. 

Israel) that is true, but it is not 

limited to a movement or a nation. 

Two triangles, one pointing upwards 

and one downwards, is forming this 

symbol: the six pointed star. It is 

found in all cultures, for example 

on the clothes of the prairie Indians, 

often placed on the middle of the 

chest. Also in the Tantric tradition, 

it is found in various symbols or yantras 

- one of them is the yantra for Anahata 

Chakra, the psychic center located 

at the level of the heart. 

It is a symbol which expresses harmony 

between the experiencer and that 

which is experienced - and when this 

harmony comes about, unity is experienced 

between the two - unity in everything. 

Energy and consciousness 

One could also talk about the 

stillness, about the one who is 

experiencing and the experiences, 

in another way. 

One could talk about energy. Everything 

consists of energy. The atoms 

in the walls are energy, and my 

17

ody is energy. What comes out 

of my mouth when I talk is 

energy, thoughts are energy, 

emotions, everything. It is what 

I experience, energy. 

The two triangles make a 

harmonic form of balance. The 

triangle pointing downwards 

signifies energy, the triangle 

pointing upwards signifies consciousness. 

If the triangles, in 

this connection, are placed any 

other way in relation to each 

other, then balance is not 

present, and then it is about 

too much or too little, insensitivity, 

ignorance, self-forgetfulness, 

about lack of contact with what is 

essential, a false identity... 

Naturally, I have experienced 

when harmony is not present, 

when I try to control or suppress 

my thoughts or feelings, when 

I identify myself with them, or 

when I have been overwhelmed 

so that I forget myself. But 

here the question 

is not whether there is control or lack 

of control. It has neither to do with 

rebelling nor with taking everything 

lying down. It is about being present, 

in the midst of what is happening, 

inner as well as outer. That is a Tantric 

definition of yoga. 

“When vividly aware through some particular 

sense, stay in the awareness.” 


This is trained in the meditation Inner 

Silence, because it isn’t really something 

you think about or philosophise 

about. It is something you do and you 

learn this with the help of the techniques. 

Inner Silence is an absolute 

necessity for all other advanced yoga 

and meditation, including the more 

advanced forms of Kriya Yoga. 

18 

It was a time when Swamiji taught everything himself. What appealed 

to me was a view of life which in a great many ways harmonised with 

my own. He was sober-minded, yes, almost atheistically scientific. 

Idealism and Consciousness 

“The mirror is given us humans by 

God, but the devil has given it the one 

defect: that it can never show, how one 

looks, when one is n o t looking in a 

mirror.” 

(A “Grook” by Piet Hein) 

When my students learn Inner Silence, 

I ask them not to be idealistic. Try 

not to be other than you normally 

are, when you sit down to meditate, 

you don’t need to act holy, good or 

“positive”. Begin the meditation as 

you are. It is unimportant for the 

outcome of the meditation whether 

you feel happy, unhappy, tired or full 

of energy. Or whether you are restless, 

shaken or apathetic. Sit down and 

begin the meditation wherever you are, 

the way you feel. 

If you want something from 

the meditation, then cease to 

have all kinds of expectations 

or associations between you and 

what appears of itself in your 

meditation. You need neither 

to have negative nor positive 

notions of yourself. You are the 

Inner Silence, the silence on the 

background of which you experience 

what happens in your 

mind. Experience what happens 

without wanting to influence it, 

so it can happen spontaneously 

and without being restrained 

or changed by your ideals or 

expectations. Only thereby can 

you get to know it as it is. Let 

the experiences come of themselves 

without you interfering in 

the least. Remain the one who is 

experiencing. 

“Whenever your mind is wandering, 

internally or externally, 

at this very place, this.” 


Summary 

Antar Mauna is a meditation that starts 

in the totality of where you find yourself, 

in the world that you experience 

through your senses, in that place and 

in those surroundings of where at the 

moment you are meditating. 

You train your ability to experience. 

From the senses you progress gradually 

and inevitably through the states, 

habits, thoughts and emotions that 

your personality normally contains. 

You learn to experience the personality 

without immediately becoming critical 

or analytical towards it, without inhibiting 

or changing it. You get to know it. 

Then you go deeper, through the various 

dimensions of your inner universe, 

to the innermost of your being, from 

where you experience everything.

“Good or bad, I am the seer; 

disturbance or one-pointedness, 

I am the seer. If I change my 

physical position, I am the seer. 

I am not the concentrator; I am 

not the meditator. No, I am just 

the seer of all that is taking 

place in me. I am impartial, 

detached and unrelated. 

Antar Mauna has to be practical 

and methodical. It should 

be done stage by stage. First we 

practice a witnessing of sense 

experiences that come from outside, 

then we practice a witnessing 

of the spontaneous thought 

processes that evolve from the 

depth of our personality. Finally 

we come to a stage where we 

become a witness of thoughtlessness.” 

(Swami Satyananda) 

This is a meditation that is best 

learnt directly, from teacher to 

student, so that the mind does 

not resort to equivocations, so 

that one is constantly guided 

back to oneself, to the one which experiences 

behind it all. It is based on laws 

or tendencies in the mind which are 

common to all people. 

It is not surprising, therefore, that 

also in Europe we find references and 

instructions, through various ages, that 

point toward a similar insight, like the 

one Inner Silence is based on. We will 

deal with these specific instances at a 

later date in Bindu, just as in the future 

we will go on revealing some of the 

secrets of Inner Silence. 

The knowledge and insight sprouting 

from the meditation also influence daily 

life. It represents the essence of Tantra, 

the Tantric attitude. You accept how you 

are, how you live. You don’t need to be 

another person to realise yourself - or to 

live. You don’t need to change, you are 

already - your self. 

It was a concrete teaching in exercises and meditations, and a 

training in awareness - a spiritual attitude without any form of 

worship or manipulation of people's religious feelings. 

“You are the one observer and, as 

such, you have indeed always been 

free. Your only bondage has been 

that you see someone else as the 

observer.” (Ashtavakra Gita) 

The first preliminary exercise 

The following is an example of 

how a part of the first step in the meditation 

is guided verbally by a teacher, 

when during the learning process, one 

practises it in a group. 

Sit with a straight back (it can be on 

a chair, or in a meditation pose) and 

close the eyes. - Sit for a moment 

without being busy with having 

something to do, other than just 

sitting. Do not demand anything of 

yourself. Do not expect anything from 

the meditation. 

Do not try to do anything 

other than what is happening 

anyway here in the beginning. 

But, when you have adjusted 

the body, sit completely still, 

in a pose where this is possible, 

c o m p l e t e l y s t i l l , 

continue for a while. 

Now turn the mind outward 

towards the surroundings - and 

listen to the sounds around you. 

Normally, when listening, one 

listens for something or one 

tries to avoid hearing certain 

things - but you don’t do 

that now - you listen to all 

the sounds in the surroundings 

together, the way they come 

to your ears. An all 

encompassing awareness of 

sounds. 

Consciousness is like a light, 

that shines equally in all 

directions. It perceives 

everything with the same 

interest, nothing is emphasised, 

nothing pushed aside. 

Hear the car in the street, for 

example, at the same time as the 

ticking of the clock, at the same time 

as the television upstairs. Perceive 

the surroundings as a whole, all the 

sounds, at the same time. 

Do this for five to fifteen minutes, 

sitting some place where you have 

time to do it undisturbed. 

And also try it for a short while, 

a minute or two, on the train, in the 

bus, in a queue, on a bench in a 

park or at a market place. In town or 

by the sea, in the woods or in the 

countryside - wherever. 

Become one with the sounds of the 

surroundings...q 

19

A yoga holiday at Håå Course Center 

Will deepen your experience of yoga and meditation, yourself and your daily life 

“The benefits of the 

summer's intensive work 

with yoga and meditation 

(a 14 days course and the 

Kriya Yoga course) can be 

felt on return to daily life. 

Karma Yoga’s influence 

is evident - more energy 

and a desire to organise 

the practical things. 

Through yoga and 

meditation, I have become 

better at concentrating on 

the things I do. When I 

dance, I dance, when I 

draw, I draw, when I make 

food, I make food... 

By actually experiencing 

what you do while doing 

it, even though you are 

busy, you don’t feel 

stressed. 

After I came home from 

Håå, I started to practise 

Kriya Yoga in the 

morning before my 

classes at Architect 

college or my dance 

training and I can feel the 

effect in my studies. I’m more concentrated at lectures and 

I feel more awake and inspired during slide lectures, 

which I have previously found tiring. Concerning my 

studies, I have discovered, that by doing the alternate 

breathing (Nadi Shodana Pranayama) before presenting 

my project, I gain greater peace and a better overview of 

the situation.” 

(Rikke Zachariasen) 

“The personal 

knowledge of oneself, 

gained by doing yoga 

and meditation, means 

that one isn’t so easily 

disturbed when 

concentrating on 

something. One isn’t 

easily interrupted by 

irrelevant thoughts, 

feelings or physical 

discomfort (I can’t! I’m 

tired!, indolence or 

something similar). 

Yoga and meditation 

give me the energy to 

break old habits and 

the clarity to 

consciously choose 

whether or not I allow 

myself be disturbed. In 

other words, my daily 

yoga practice (Kriya 

Yoga) gives me the 

opportunity to exercise 

more self discipline - 

not strenuous but a 

relaxed and engaged 

awareness directed 

towards what is 

necessary, whatever it 

may be. For me, this is playing music - and it’s especially 

so in my daily practice routines and my studies at the 

conservatory that I benefit from yoga. I can simply use my 

time more effectively, so that the time I use for yoga, is 

returned many times, both because I manage to do more 

and feel better during the day, and because I need less 

sleep.” 

(Dennis Jensen) 

20

At our international Course Center 

in Håå in southern Sweden, we conduct 

retreats that will give you a different 

experience to the evening classes we 

hold in the cities. We operate in the tradition 

of an ashram; a spiritual workshop. 

Yoga and meditation, work and 

freetime, the everyday and holiday are 

combined in a programme to help you 

recharge and break away from habits 

and the media. 

This exceptional way of teaching, 

which has been used to impart the 

yoga tradition for thousands of years, 

gives you the opportunity, in a 

relatively short period, to have a 

deeper experience of yoga and 

meditation. This is helped by 

cleansing techniques, healthy 

vegetarian food, canoeing, walking 

and horse riding in the beautiful 

forests and landscapes of Southern 

Sweden - and lastly but by no means 

least, a period of silence which allows 

the mind to calm down... 

There are many transport options for 

reaching Håå Course Center. Please 

contact us for further help with travel 

plans. 

Please note: Swami Janakananda and 

Sita are touring Australia and possibly 

New Zealand, giving retreats, see p.25. 

Welcome to our Courses 

10 and 14 days Courses 

16 - 26 May 4200/3300 SwCr 

Shanti & Omkarananda 

26 May - 8 June 4500/3500 SwCr 

Gunnar Petersen & Yoga Shakti 

9 - 22 June 4500/3500 SwCr 

Jörgen Hastrup & Joachim Rodenbech 

23 June - 6 July 4800/3900 SwCr 

Ananda Murti & Robert Nilsson 

7 - 20 July 4800 SwCr 

Franz Jervidalo & Laxmi 

1 - 14 September 4800/3900 SwCr 

Robert Nilsson & Mette Kierkgaard 

10 - 20 October 4200/3300 SwCr 

Mira & Anandananda 

19 Dec. - 1 Jan. 4800 SwCr 

Swami Janakananda & Bhawana Murti 

2 - 12 January 4200/3300 SwCr 

Kriya Yoga Course 

20 July - 18 August 7500 SwCr 

Swami Janakananda & Anandananda 

3-Months Course 1997 

22 Jan. - 19 April 18000 SwCr 

Swami Janakananda, Sita and other 

ashram teachers. This is a sadhana 

retreat. Sadhana means 'that which 

leads to the goal'. 

You learn to apply some of the 

most profound yoga and meditation 

methods from the Tantric tradition. 

For example during 33 days of silence 

you will be instructed in the great 

Kriya Yoga (with up to 24 Kriyas) 

and advanced versions of Antar 

Mauna. The peace and energy you 

achieve helps you to get a perspective 

on your life and gives you the strength 

to do what you really want to do. 

Bhawana Murti & Ambika 

Contact us for the Håå Course Center brochure which describes it all thoroughly.q 

21

The Lotus pose - a classical meditation posture 

I was 15 years old and at the local swimming 

baths, when I saw for the first time a living 

human being sitting in the Lotus pose. A 

young woman quickly and with ease placed 

her legs over each other. I was filled with 

awe and surprise. Although I had 

already read about it, I was convinced, 

up to that very moment, that the Lotus 

pose was reserved for a few people 

only - and hardly possible for 

ordinary people. 

Together with the Headstand, the 

Lotus pose probably is the best 

known yoga pose. In one way 

or another most people have 

either heard or read about it. 

The legs are crossed in such 

a way that the feet are 

placed on the thighs, the 

hands are resting on the 

knees and you sit with a 

straight spine. Padmasana, 

which the Lotus pose 

is called in Sanskrit, 

is one of the classical 

meditation poses. 

Why a meditation 

pose? 

When you want 

to meditate, it is 

important to be 

able to sit still, 

upright and 

relaxed for a 

certain length of 

time. When the 

body is held motionless and stable, it becomes relaxed and 

the mind begins to calm down which is a precondition for 

going deeper. 

Naturally, it is not mandatory to sit in the Lotus pose in 

22 

by Joachim Rodenbeck 

order to meditate. It is important, however, that you 

can sit still for a period, without having to worry 

about the body. To achieve that, there are also 

more simple poses which anyone (including 

the untrained) can use without difficulty. 

In some meditations, i.e. when you begin 

practising Inner Silence, you can also sit on 

a high-backed chair or even in an armchair 

as long as you sit comfortably and upright. On 

the other hand, when you want to go deeper (in 

Inner Silence) or work with your psychic 

energy in meditations like Ajapa Jap or 

Kriya Yoga, it is necessary to learn 

one of the genuine meditation postures 

since the posture has an effect 

in itself. 

The Lotus pose 

Once having learned to master 

the Lotus pose, you have 

the benefit of being able to 

sit motionless and effortless 

for long periods of time. In 

other poses, like the normal 

cross-legged position, the 

upper body easily sags and 

becomes tired. In a real 

meditation pose like the 

Lotus pose, on the other 

hand, one can learn 

to avoid restlessness 

and muscular 

tensions. It 

could be argued 

that one could 

lie much more 

comfortably 

on the back in 

the dead-still 

pose (Savasana, 

see Bindu no. 7) as one does in different types of relaxation. 

Relaxation and calmness in the body, however, is only a 

small part of the overall effect of the Lotus pose.

To some it comes easy to learn to use 

the Lotus pose - children for instance 

do it spontaneously while they play 

- whereas others need more practice. Do 

not try to force your body into the pose: 

as with any yoga posture the body needs 

time to get used to it - the hips, the legs 

and the knee- and foot-joints must be 

prepared and made supple in a systematic 

way. Refer to the second part of the 

program Air- and tension-releasing exercises, 

i.e. the Crow Walk, the Butterfly, 

the Pump etc. (for thorough guidance see 

Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life 

p. 38-39). To sit in the Half Lotus is also a 

good preparation. 

Don’t be alarmed if one day the soles of 

your feet are smiling at you from on top 

of your thighs. 

Energy 

In the spinal cord, the passages of the 

central nervous system connect the brain 

with the rest of the body. All parts of 

the body are controlled through these 

passages. The upright and undisturbed 

position of the spine in Padmasana is 

important in order for the nerve impulses 

to flow freely during meditation. 

These nerve paths, together with the 

brain, are surrounded by a protective 

membrane within which the so called 

cerebrospinal fluid flows. This fluid 

nurtures the nerve endings and the 

brain - the Lotus pose provides an 

optimal condition for its flow. (A chiropractor 

will in many cases treat diseases 

by removing blockages in the 

flow of the cerebrospinal fluid.) 

When we go on to a finer dimension, 

to the psychic energy, then, in the 

spinal cord, we find the energy flows 

Ida, Pingala and Shushumna, the three 

most important passages in the network 

of our psychic energy. They should not 

be mistaken for our nervous system, 

although closely connected with it. 

Today’s science confirms that man only 

makes use of a fraction of his brain 

capacity. 

Within the yoga tradition, however, 

the breathing exercises and meditations 

(i.e. Kriya Yoga) are known to stimulate 

and awaken the energy and, through its 

flows, awaken the dormant parts 

of the brain. It is therefore crucial to use 

a real meditation pose - it ensures that 

the energy generated during the meditation 

is directed into its proper paths 

and that a harmonic expansion of consciousness 

is taking place. 

Better fitness 

through sitting still? 

The classical yoga script, Gheranda 

Samhita, names the Lotus pose “the 

destroyer of all diseases” - and it surely 

has a good number of healing effects. 

The following medical survey took 

place in 1975 under the direction of the 

Indian doctor, Professor Salgar. Her 

research team compared a group of 

people, who over a six-months period 

were sitting in the Lotus pose daily 

(without using any kind of additional 

meditation or relaxation technique), to 

another group who over the same length 

of time followed a traditional fitness 

training programme with weight lifting, 

spring expanders etc. A third group of 

people, who were not doing any such 

activity, constituted the control group. 

The researcher determined for one 

thing that the oxygen in the body was 

better utilised in the Lotus pose. Before 

and after the six-months period all 

participants were exposed to a fitness 

test. As one might expect, the physical 

fitness training group obtained a clearly 

improved efficiency, but so did surprisingly 

enough the group who had 

“only” been sitting in the Lotus pose. 

23

Under a heavy load which demanded 

great muscular strength, the physical 

fitness training group showed the best 

results. However, under normal strain, 

the Lotus group surpassed the physical 

fitness group. Even though there had 

been no actual muscle growth, the 

Lotus pose people were better able to 

make efficient use of their strength. 

The control group showed no changes 

24 

The Lotus pose can also be used as a 

variation in different yoga poses. 

whatsoever. 

With her findings, Professor Salgar 

was able to show that merely sitting in 

the Lotus pose has a positive influence 

on the metabolism and on the overall 

body fitness, which was significantly 

improved. 

What brought about such 

changes? 

To place the body in such an unusual 

position, of course, is not done by 

accident and indicates that the ancient 

yogis possessed an accurate knowledge 

of the processes in the body, even 

though they did not use the modern terminology 

of medical science. 

Through the crossed legged position, 

the blood supply to the legs is decreased 

and redirected to the abdominal region. 

This increased flow of blood in the 

abdominal region is beneficial for the 

inner organs and improves the digestion. 

It can be recommended to people 

with nervous disorders that they sit in 

the Lotus pose. Furthermore, the nerves 

emanating from the coccyx and sacrum 

are also influenced. These nerves serve 

the whole abdomen, the intestines and 

the genitals. 

The Nadis, the finer energy passages, 

also become activated through the special 

position of the legs. From the 

viewpoint of acupuncture, (where they 

also work with the energy flows, 

and call the Nadis Meridians), it 

has been described how Padmasana 

influences the stomach-, the gall bladder-, 

the spleen-, the kidney- and the 

liver-meridians, which again influence 

other body parts and organs. 

The use of the Lotus pose is instrumental 

in bringing about a series of 

curative and health improving effects, 

when the energies of the body are fundamentally 

harmonised. The actual purpose 

of the pose, however, aims further 

- as an aid to spiritual absorption. 

Not only in India 

It is common knowledge that the use 

of the Lotus pose in the Indian yoga 

tradition and in the Far East dates back 

a very long time. It is perhaps not so 

well-known that sculptures and rockcarvings 

of this and other poses have 

been found in the old cultures of Egypt, 

Mexico, Colombia, and Scandinavia. 

The bronze sculpture on the back cover 

of this issue of Bindu is of Celtic 

origin and a part of a “bucket” found 

on the “Oseberg” Viking ship in the 

Oslo fiord in Norway. 

Little is known about the kind of 

meditation that was in use in the pre- 

Columbian and northern cultures. The 

tradition in these and other cultures 

are, compared with the living tradition 

Clay sculpture from West-Colombia. 

Museum of Ethnology, Berlin. 

of India and China, less accessible. 

However, there is no doubt that the 

use of meditation once was worldwide. 

In coming issues of Bindu, we 

will publish some of the findings that 

Swami Janakananda, through 30 years 

of research, has discovered in relation 

to the origin of yoga. This study clearly 

shows that yoga does not have to be 

tied up with a specific mythology or 

religion, it is teachings of wisdom and 

a science in itself.q

Yoga, Tantra and Meditation 

in Daily Life 

Swami Janakananda’s book 

in a revised and extended edition. 

(Rider Books, UK and Weiser, USA) 

This book offers an alternative to the 

misconception put forward by many yoga 

books, that one must take on a new life 

style to use yoga and meditation. 

Swami Janakananda describes yoga 

from within, based on his own experience 

- from a yogi’s point of view. 

As you follow the exercises in this 

book, you will realise that yoga is based 

on a profound knowledge of human 

nature. It is the fruit of a living tradition, 

where knowledge is passed directly from 

teacher to student, from generation to 

generation. Step by step you are guided 

through the subject and in a practical 

manner you can benefit from the different 

poses, breathing exercises, meditations 

and the Tantric sexual yoga. 

“For a long time I have had a yearning 

to take up yoga, but have been put off 

by the narrow scholarly and religious 

approaches that often seemed apparent. 

Your approach, and the convenient 

inclusion of tantra and kundalini was 

so refreshing, and just what I had been 

looking for. I could thoroughly identify 

with everything you said; not only 

that, but I felt that the way in which 

you communicated your knowledge and 

beliefs was perfect.” 

(V. Williamsson, London, UK.) 

Australian tour with Swami Janakananda 

In September 1996, Swami Janakananda and Sita will visit Australia, giving courses and 

participating in a convention in Sydney. Requests for courses have also come from 

students in New Zealand but no arrangements have been finalised at the time of printing. At 

the end of the journey Swami Janakananda will be teaching at Bihar Yoga Bharati in India, 

before returning to Sweden for a winter season of yoga teacher seminars, meditation courses, 

satsangs and the yearly 3-month course (see p. 20 - 21). 

A 10-day residential course: 25 September - 5 October 1996 

in Mackay, Queensland 

“It is now two days ago since we left the course in Acre and I still have an elated and 

self-contradictory feeling of super-charged energy and deep inner calm.” 

(Student from a course held in Israel) 

The course begins with preparatory exercises 

for relaxation and meditation and a gentle 

and refreshing cleansing process (see p.4). 

The main part of the course is centred 

around different yoga poses, breathing 

exercises and methods of cleansing the 

energy flows of the body, thus establishing 

a healthy field of energy in and around 

your body. Other methods used are: 

Inner Silence (in Sanskrit: Antar Mauna), 

a meditation method through which you can 

come to terms with your mind and learn to 

accept your personality in a constructive way. 

You develop your capacity to think creatively 

and thus realise your visions. But first and 

foremost, you get closer to your self and 

experience your true identity (see also p.10). 

Ajapa Japa, a preliminary form of Kriya 

Yoga. In nine steps you go from the coarse to 

the finer levels of your being, from using a special 

way of breathing to contacting the chakras, 

the inner space and your psychic symbol. 

Yoga Nidra, a unique deep relaxation (p.27). 

Silence (Mauna), a valuable and integrated 

part of yoga. Two and a half days of silence 

raises your awareness further - thus increasing 

your capacity to experience. It makes you 

better able to experience the finer stages of 

the meditations that we practice at this point. 

Lectures. Swami Janakananda and Sita will 

also give lectures on the Tantric tradition, 

yoga and meditation techniques and how 

these can be used and integrated in daily life. 

Dance and Music play a small but 

important part in the process of the course. 

Venue: Department of Education Camp, Kinchant Dam (approximately 30 Kms south 

west of Mackay, Oueensland). The camp is located in a quiet, rural setting in close proximity 

to Kinchant Dam. There are many bush walks with an abundance of wallabies, 

scrub turkeys and birdlife. Bunkroom accommodation. Please bring your own bedding 

or sleeping bag. Fee: $ 750 all inclusive for 10 days tuition, accommodation and meals. 

Weekend courses: 

Mackay, Queensland 

Venue: Concept Training, cnr Victoria 

and Brisbane Streets, Mackay, Q 4742 

Dates and times: 

Friday 20 September 6.00 pm - 9.30 pm 

Saturday 21 Sept. 9.00 am - 6.00 pm 

Sunday 22 September 9.00 am - 6.00 pm 

Tea Gardens, New South Wales 

Venue: The Green Hall, East Lope Way, 

North Arm Cove. NSW 2324 

Friday 18 to Sunday 20 October 

(same times and fee as Mackay). 

Contact Gillian Young, P.O. Box 118 Tea 

Gardens, NSW 2324 Telephone: 

(049) 971601 

Fee: $ 225. 

Bookings for Mackay Courses: contact Robyn Taylor, Concept Training, PO Box 89, 

Mackay Q 4740, Telephone: (079) 531 594. 

25

Read 

Bindu 

Previous issues 

are still 

available, with 

articles on: 

No. 2: Music 

and meditation 

No. 3: On the ability to experience. 

Headstand. Nose Cleansing... 

No. 4: Kriya Yoga I. The effect of 

yoga on the finer energy. The Source of 

Energy - a Tantric meditation... 

No. 5: Kriya Yoga II. Psychic energy. 

Scientific research on the 3-Months 

Courses. The Pyramid and Pratyahara. 

No. 6: The twilight hour - did we 

have a living meditation tradition in the 

North? Invent tomorrow's education. 

Shoulderstand... 

No. 7: Silver Jubilee issue! Read about 

Kriya Yoga III. Yoga for pregnant 

women. Savasana. 

Yoga shop 

The book: Yoga, Tantra and Meditation 

in Daily Life 

175 Sw.Cr. + 55 Sw.Cr. postage. 

See also page 25. 

The tape: Experience Yoga Nidra 

120 Sw.Cr. + 30 Sw.Cr. postage. 

The periodical: Bindu, no. 2-7, 

25 Sw.Cr. each + 30 Sw.Cr. postage. 

Nose cleansing pot 

with instruction brochure: 

Joghus, (short spout) blue, red, yellow, 

green or black. 

145 Sw.Cr.+ 55 Sw.Cr. postage. 

Krutis, (long spout) blue, sand, 

white or green, 195 Sw.Cr. + 

105 Sw.Cr. postage. 

The brochure (free): about the 

retreats at Håå International Course 

Center (see pages 20-21). 

We can only accept payment in 

Swedish Crowns by Eurocheque, 

international money order or to our 

postal giro acc. 73 86 03 - 0 in Sweden. 

No personal cheques please, as they are 

too expensive to cash. 

Please send money and order to: 

Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation 

School, Håå Course Center 

340 13 Hamneda, Sweden. 

Sweden Håå Course Center, 340 13 Hamneda tel. +46 372 55063 

Stockholm Västmannag. 62, 113 25 Stockholm tel. +46 8 32 12 18 

Denmark Copenhagen Købmagergade 65, 1150 Copenhagen tel. +45 33 14 11 40 

Århus Vestergade 45, 8000 Århus C tel. +45 86 19 40 33 

Elsinore Kongensgade 12 B, 3000 Elsinore tel. +45 49 21 20 68 

Norway Bergen Georgernes Verft 3, 5011 Bergen tel. +47 55 32 78 40 

Oslo Skytterdalen 6, 1300 Sandvika tel. +47 67 56 95 55 

Finland Helsinki Sukula, 30100 Forssa tel. +358 16 4350599 

Germany Hannover Egestorffstrasse 3, 30449 Hannover tel. +49 511 454163 

Subscription 

You are welcome to support us, so we 

can continue to distribute Bindu. Pay 

45 Sw.Cr. for one issue or 80 Sw.Cr. for 

2 issues + 30 Sw.Cr. postage (payment, 

see above). Further 

contributions 

are also welcome. 

Publisher: Bindu, 

Håa Course Center, 

340 13 Hamneda, 

Sweden. Tel. +46 372 55063 

Fax. +46 372 55036 

Postal acc. 73 86 03 - 0. 

email: haa@scand-yoga.org 

Circulation: 4,000 in English 

(Also printed in German, Swedish 

and Danish) 

Printed: Håå Course Center, 

by Erling Christiansen & Mark 

Richards 

Translation: Mark Richards, Uri 

Andersen & Robyn Taylor. 

Pictures: Front page: 

Anandananda and 

Omkarananda, 

back page: “Oseberg man”, 

Ove Holst, 

© Oslo university’s museum, 

p.2 Ingela Hageman, 

p.11 “Anahat Chakra” 

Anandananda, 

p.14, 15, 18 and 19 

Knud Hvidberg, 

p.17 Tibetan Tanka, 

p.23 Ambika, 

p.26 Jörgen Hastrup, 

other pictures: Omkarananda. 

Copyright © 1996 Bindu 

& Scandinavian Yoga and 

Meditation School. 

26

Experience Yoga Nidra 

- a cd you can use in your daily life 

All you need to do is to lie down and follow the 

instructions - completely still and with closed eyes! 

Two deep relaxations, based on Swami Satyananda’s classic Yoga Nidra, 

created and guided by Swami Janakananda, who has also composed the 

background of nature sounds. Music by Roop Verma. 

“This tape is a hit, if you can talk about hits within relaxation.” 

(A. Thomson, therapist and New Age bookseller in England) 

“The tape is one of the most inspiring I have heard for a long time. It is a multi-dimensional work of art 

of a nature that is rarely seen.” (M. Lammgård, musician and therapist, Växthuset Kaprifol, Sweden) 

“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 

again happy to face each new day, not to unnecessarily worry about tomorrow. I have learnt to laugh again. I think it’s 

fantastic.” (E. Berg, Ludvika, Sweden) 

“Yoga Nidra sounds like nothing I’ve heard before. It is accompanied by nature sounds, and the Indian musician Roop 

Verma. Sound symbols for the various chakras are also played, from that music tradition called Nada Yoga. Naturally, 

this practice is an individual experience . Personally, I find it utterly fascinating. I feel refreshed and revitalised after the 

practice, and I know I will continue with it.” (Nils-Olof Jacobsen in the magazine Sökaren) 

27

Celtic figure in Lotus Pose - found on a Viking ship near Oslo, Norway

Shankprakshalana - Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School

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