Introduction to Tantra Sastra - Aghori
Introduction to Tantra Sastra - Aghori
Introduction to Tantra Sastra - Aghori
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130<br />
INTRODUCTION TO TANTRA ŚĀSTRA<br />
water up <strong>to</strong> the navel, and the anus is contracted and<br />
expanded by aivini mudrā; or the same is done in the<br />
paścimottānāsana, and the abdomen below the navel is<br />
gently moved. In neti the nostrils are cleansed with a<br />
piece of string. Laulikī is the whirling of the belly from<br />
side <strong>to</strong> side. In trātakā the yogī, without winking, gazes<br />
at some minute object until the tears start from his<br />
eyes. By this the “celestial vision” (divya-dṛ ṣṭ i) so often<br />
referred <strong>to</strong> in the Tāntrika-upāsanā is acquired. Kapālabhati<br />
is a process of the removal of phlegm, and is<br />
three-fold—vāta-krama by inhalation and exhalation;<br />
vyūtkrama by water drawn through the nostrils and<br />
ejected through the mouth; and śitkrama the reverse<br />
process.<br />
These are the various processes by which the body is<br />
cleansed and made pure for the yoga practice <strong>to</strong> follow.<br />
DṚ DHATĀ: ĀSANA<br />
Dydhata, or strength or firmness, the acquisition of<br />
which is the second of the above-mentioned processes, is<br />
attained by āsana.<br />
Āsanas are postures of the body. The term is generally<br />
described as modes of seating the body. But the<br />
posture is not necessarily a sitting one: for some asanas<br />
are done on the belly, back, hands, etc. It is said 1 that<br />
the āsanas are as numerous as living beings, and that<br />
there are 8,400,000 of these; 1,600 are declared <strong>to</strong> be excellent,<br />
and out of these thirty-two are auspicious for men,<br />
which are described in detail. Two of the commonest of<br />
1 Gheraṇḍa-Saṃ<br />
hitā, Second Upadeśa. In the Śiva-Saṃ<br />
hitā (chap. iii,<br />
verses 84-91) eighty-four postures are mentioned, of which four are recommended—viz.,<br />
siddhāsana, ugrāsana, svastikāsana, and padmāsana.